A Formidable New Spot for Lunch: Stable Cafe

Finally had a moment to grab a coffee the other day at Stable Cafe, the new coffee shop on Folsom at 17th in San Francisco's Mission District.


Signs pointed to good lunching at this month-old spot, so I took the leap and suggested Stable for a business meeting yesterday with some rather discerning sandwich eaters.


How could we pass up the chance to dine ever-so-casually in a converted 1870s carriage house, once used by the mayor of San Francisco to board horses back in the day when Mission Creek still flowed nearby?

The verdict? Mega good! All the elements of a good little lunch spot seem to be in place:

 

Friendly, level-headed service (Matt, pictured, is a gracious fellow and good with crowds -- although they're going to need more help during the lunch rush!)












Stacks of fancy sandwiches: combos like fig and goat cheese, roast beef and brie, turkey and cheddar, and grilled zucchini, tomato and goat cheese, all $7-$8, are grilled to order and served with salad for eat-in patrons.


Crucial: the bread is good. Nice crustiness. Nods of approval from the table. Lots of crunching.


They do a couple of rotating daily specials as well, like an heirloom tomato/cheese/egg bake for $5, or a roast pork loin plate for $10...and the daily soup (butternut squash one day, spicy vegetable bean the next) is $3.50-$5.50.





It is refreshing to see high-quality ingredients in an elegant location, at the kind of low price point normally associated with generic catch-all cafes!


High marks for the warm, lofty design and solid early day sunshine...

...and the good De la Paz coffee done in the French press, with nice glass bottles for 1/2 and 1/2 and milk.


Bonus points for the sick brownies and the lavender sea salt shortbread cookies (which some say are tooooooo salty, but I say are kindof juuuuust right).













A nice little window seat.


(The wooden plank bar there came from a fallen tree in the owner's yard, I overheard...)










They're open for breakfast and lunch til 3, and in the next month they'll be expanding to do some evening tapas and adult beverages. The business also encompasses a rentable commercial kitchen, Mission Creek Kitchen, and I hear tell of a backyard space for events.

This place is obviously run by people who give a care and have great taste, and I'm stoked to welcome them to the neighborhood!

It would also appear that they have wi-fi, as a guest at a neighboring table was enjoying a gem sweater-bedazzled Myspace video by Leslie and the Lys on his laptop as we crunched on our delicious, delicious sandwiches.

Obviously the patrons have great taste as well.

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photos: TB