Muracci's Japanese Curry & Grill

307 Kearny St (between Bush St & Pine St)
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 773-1101
www.muraccis.com

One of my favorite magazines is 7X7. It tells you all the latest and greatest restaurants in San Francisco and it also informs you of any events that are going on in the city. As I was reading an article on the "SF's Best Cheap Eats: Chow Down", I stumbled across a Japanese Curry House that's literally 1.5 block away from my work. Last Friday I decided to try this place. Everything you read (from 7X7 and Yelp) is absolutely true: hidden, long wait (both ordering and picking up), small and stuffy, cooked to order....

After reading all the reviews and when NOT to go (11:45-1:15), my stomach couldn't wait any longer so I left my office at 1:30. I can definitely see why people could easily walk by it and not realize it as there's no real obvious sign (other than a long line out the door). With a huge sigh of relief (for my stomach's sake), I was the 5th person in line to order. However, no big surprise that i had to wait 5 minutes just to place my order. As I was waiting, it was pretty amazing to watch the old man frying up the tonkatsu, placing rice in the to go containers/plates while the old woman was making the curry, as ordered, in individual pans AND cooking the grilled meats/fish.

15 minutes later i hear "number 60" and quickly ran out and back to the office to eat this so-i've-read-delicious curry!

As I opened the to-go box, there was a fried to perfection pork katsu with crispy panko flakes lying on top of a bed of rice. this katsu pretty much stretched from one end all the way to the other end of the box. But what i like most about this place is that you get to order how hot you want the curry (mild, medium or hot) and they put it in a separate container so you can pour as much as you'd like over your rice and katsu (i liked to dip my katsu in it). The curry had a great depth and complexity of flavor - it was spicy, but not too spicy and had clearly been long simmered.

Despite the long wait, there's a reason why people keep coming back for more....