El Presidente Starr's Mexico City-ish restaurant at Union Market

[Ericandblueboy]

Taking Mad Max (the dog that can't be left alone at home) on a tour of the best restaurant patios.  Yesterday we went to El Presidente, partly because I wanted to get some knives sharpened at District Cutlery.  

I was asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside.  I was perplexed and since it was hot (100 degrees), I asked how could a dog sit inside.  The host said a service dog can sit anywhere.  I said we'll sit outside since I can't pretend that Max is a service dog.  

So I ordered the crab tostada, Caesar salad, and "peking" duck confit.  Both the tostada and Caesar salad were $16.  The salad is just lettuce and croutons but the tostada had "fresh jumbo lump crab, kanikama, yuzu kosho aioli, wasabi guacamole, tobiko."  The tostada was delicious.  The Caesar salad was a good portion size but nothing spectacular.  The duck itself is just confitted and then seared to give it a little bit of crispiness.  The "peking" elements were really the accoutrements - sliced scallions, cucumbers and hot peppers and hoisin sauce.  It's a tasty dish.

Next time I'll bring a Yeti tumbler so the beer stays cold.  When this place first opened, it had a pretty interesting menu.  Now it seems more sedated.