"Beit Rima has seen the collective population of San Francisco through birthdays, first dates, and post-breakup comedowns that involve wailing into a bowl of ful. The Duboce Triangle spot is the rare SF restaurant to return to any time of year, for any reason imaginable—including fake ones we invent to get a muhammara fix on a random Tuesday night. The generously portioned Arabic comfort food deserves its cult following, which is stronger than the passion for all of the city’s pilates instructors combined. We particularly love the mezze sampler, which is a head-turner and could be a meal in itself. As for the rest of the menu, mounds of lebna are finished with a heavy glug of olive oil, chicken skewers get paired with fluffy rice and sumac-dusted hummus, and the whole-fried branzino is brightened up with a fistful of fresh herbs and red onion. You’ll need something to sop up every last bit that your fork can’t reach, so order the hand-kneaded bread, which is puffed up like an inflatable couch and covered in za'atar. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Mobs of people invade this otherwise quiet block to order everything above. So the odds of you bumping into someone you know are high. In the event you spot your run club president across the room, just pull up a chair and go halfsies on a bottle of Palestinian syrah while you discuss chafe prevention tactics. All that drinking and talking keeps the place pretty loud, but matching the decibel level of friends debriefing their days and the staff grilling in the open kitchen is all part of the fun. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself drawn back here in a couple of weeks, yapping along with everyone else. We’ll see you there. Food Rundown photo credit: Susie Lacocque Mezze Sampler The pudgy scoops of muhamarra, hummus, lebna, and baba ganoush are thick enough to insulate a room. Pita arrives warm and squishy. And the falafel (two per plate) are satisfyingly dense without feeling like you’ve swallowed a paper weight. We’ve spent a cumulative three hours of our lives talking about this platter in the past year alone, and don’t plan on stopping. Delicata Squash A cream bomb on a plate. The ratio of brown butter lebna to the pile of crispy slices of squash is about three to one—and you’ll clear it all in one pass around the table. Chicken Shish Tawook Plate Don’t get us wrong, the chicken skewers are a delight, but the real MVP of this dish is the side of “mom’s rice,” an extra savory long-grain base that makes all other versions of rice seem about as exciting as powdered oatmeal. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Samir’s Hand-Kneaded Bread This puffy, hollow bread the size (and shape) of two footballs lets out a hot sigh of steam when you tear in. It’s the ideal vehicle for the dregs of the mezze sampler (which you ordered, right?). Get at least two for the table. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Gazan Braised Lamb Shank This massive hunk of lamb, which pulls off the bone with as much effort as it takes to blink, arrives swimming in a hot tub of tomato-y broth and is big enough to share with two or three people. There’s also maftool hiding in there, and we only wish there was more of it." - Julia Chen
