Every other Tuesday night when I’m not working, I take the kids on the train to meet up with the husband for dinner in the big city before returning to the ‘burbs. Just a few months ago, our typical Tuesday night dinner would consist of carby goodness at Pizzeria Delfina, ice cream at Bi-Rite Ice Creamery, and then one last stop at Tartine for some baked treats to take home. They’re all located on the same block, so we could easily waddle from one place to the next. I’d tell myself that this sugar overload was just an occasional bi-weekly treat, and given that I worked out hard all the time, it wasn’t a big deal. Wrong. My jelly belly proved it. These days, I avoid this corner of San Francisco, because it’s my kryptonite.
We now try to find places with more Paleo friendly eats, and surprisingly, we’ve done pretty well. I really don’t like to compromise on food quality and taste, so I refuse to go to a crappy chain restaurant just because they have gluten-free and/or low-carb options. I want to eat well and as Paleo as possible, so I always study the menus of every place we might eat prior to heading out so I know my options.
Tonight, we ate at Mexico DF down by the Embarcadero. It’s not the most kid friendly place, but if you go early and are armed with iPads and iPhones, you can get in and out with no meltdowns. Here’s what we ordered:
Guacamole Classico (organic avocados with lime, cilantro, onions, serrano chiles,and cherry tomatoes) with added bacon and shrimp:
Crudo Jarocho (yellow fin tuna with serrano chiles, persian cucumbers, red onion, and habanero salsa):
Nopalitos (roasted cactus with pico de gallo, lime, cilantro, and queso fresco):
1 lb carnitas (Vande Rose slow-cooked pork shoulder with organic tortillas, salsas, guacamole, and pickled onion):
The kids scarfed up the chips and tortillas, and Fitbomb and I ate everything else. Yes, there was some dairy in our meal, and I’m sure there was sugar in some of the marinades and salsas, but I’m okay with it. And, yes, I know we ordered a shitload of food. I did that on purpose so we’d have a tasty box of leftover carnitas in the fridge.
See? You can eat Paleo at a Mexican restaurant!
