SF Spotlight: My Tofu House

My Tofu House
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
4627 Geary Blvd
(between 10th Ave & 11th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 750-1818

As you can see, I have not been cooking lately – not for lack of want, but more so because I simply haven’t had the time. So, for those of you who are not familiar with the wonder of Soon Du Bu Chige, I am presenting you with my current favorite Korean restaurant in San Francico – My Tofu House.

Located on a pretty mellow section of Geary Boulevard, My Tofu House is a favorite amongst locals, apparent by the waiting list that you will encounter during dinnertime. The menu is simple – no mile long list of unpronounceable dishes, rather, two pages in Korean with the English translation on the bottom. Though they make a pretty decent Bi Bim Bap and Bulgogi, their specialty is Soon Du Bu – tofu stew – offering at least nine different variations: original, seafood, dumpling, vegetable…I can’t remember all of them, but I have not had a bad one yet.

Once you order, they bring you an assortment of na mul, the various side dishes commonly served with Korean food: bean sprouts, several types of kim chi, a fried fish, and little dried baby fish. Next comes a big stone pot of steamed white rice. And finally, the piece de resistance – your tofu soup in a stone bowl, still bubbling. My personal favorite is the dumpling tofu stew – a rich, spicy broth with soft tofu, rice cakes, and meat filled dumplings. You can choose how spicy you want it – I prefer mine “spicy”, but for those of you who can’t stand the heat…try the “white” or “mild” version first.

Usually, when I go with friends, we order our soup as well as an additional order of bulgogi – it’s a ton of food, and often times the wait staff will offer you refills of any of the na mul that you want seconds on. And it’s fairly inexpensive – $10.00 for your soup, and the bulgogi runs about $17 for a pretty large portion. I always leave here full and nice and warm inside.