The financial district in San Francisco is such a strange area. Monday to Friday the place is abuzz with people, and honestly, some fairly decent restaurants. Once the weekend hits, the place becomes a bit of a ghost town with block after block of closed store fronts. I do get it I suppose, they get a lot of business from the workers, but when you live nearby, it can also be very annoying. Especially when you find a pretty decent restaurant that you’d like to come back to on the weekend when you’ve got more time. But you can’t because they are closed. Such is Homage for me.
Homage is named that way because they like to pay homage to all the great local farms and food produce that we have here in the bay area. It’s definitely something I get and can get behind, so I was really eager to give it a try for the first time. I first came here when I met up with a friend for lunch. We both opted for the trout tartine. Funnily enough neither of us really knew what a tartine was (I suppose we could have looked it up), but we both really like smoked trout, so we thought we’d just go for it. Turns out, it’s an open faced sandwich. Good for me, not so much for her (wheat allergy). But she was a trooper and ate the topping, and I ate the whole thing and loved it. It definitely felt like a place to come back to.
So a few months later, we did! This time, I decided to give their congee a try. I have tons of friends who rave about it, and it can be really hit or miss for me as sometimes it can be quite bland. But it was a cold day, so it seemed appropriate. And not only was it appropriate, it was delicious. There was a great chili and ginger hit to the sauce, and the chicken was perfectly cooked; it was probably the best congee I’d eaten so far.
I really wanted to come back here with the other half, but sadly, the weekends were not a possibility, but we did manage to come by here one day when his work was a bit slow. This time, I had the cuban sandwich, and he went with the tartine. He really did seem to enjoy it, and my sandwich was also quite tasty. Three out of three dishes is definitely a good sign!
The venue can definitely fill up quite a bit over lunch. But it’s the financial district, everything can fill up over lunch! I have yet to come here for dinner, but it’s on my list if ever we decide to go out midweek. They have a cheese and meat board on the menu that is calling my name…
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Weekday lunch with friends
Homage
88 Hardie Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
The food looks great! Good recommendation for the next time I’m at UCSF for a doctor’s appointment…
Have you tried/considered trying Stem Kitchen (south from Homage)? I’ve only been there once but I highly recommend.
No I haven’t! Maybe I’ll suggest it next time I meet my friend for lunch!
I highly recommend it Homage though. I still think about that Congee.