One of the neat things about moving to a new office—y’know, besides how moving sucks huge and makes everything harder and worse—is the chance to get to know a new area a little differently. In our case, that area is the Design Center, a business melange we’d already frequented for years, but which now serves as our homebase; and which is also full of things to eat.
Our previous office was certainly adjacent to Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen, which was all well and good, but now we’re situated right above Pizza Centro, Yin Yang, Cleopatra and Oasis. You’d best believe we’ve taken advantage of those spots, so let’s talk about that.
We’ve already popped by Pizza Centro a few times since moving into our new digs. The long-loved downtown pizza joint is perhaps famous in certain circles for its lunchtime slice and soda special—$6.50 for a cheese or pepperoni, plus the soda of your choice. For years we’ve been saying the Southside iteration of the New York style pizzeria is the top location, though when it comes to slices, we’ve changed our mind. Downtown still reins supreme.
Final Grade: A-
One has to keep in mind that pizza is greasy and the type of lunch you can’t have all the time, but the downtown Centro is about the only spot we can think of in the area with a quick and tasty slice that doesn’t leave one feeling overfed.
We also made the trek downstairs for street tacos from Oasis Ice Cream Shop & Mexican Food, a hole in the wall we’ve loved hard since 2020, when we discovered you can get a milkshake there with a whole-ass churro all up in it. This time, however, our sights were firmly on the street tacos, and for a mere $6 and change, we came out on top with carne asada and carnitas tacos. The carne asada was the clear winner thanks to the rich taste of the beef and the multi-tiered sweet and savory seasoning. The carnitas certainly tasted great, but if we’re shopping around in the pork taco realm, especially for the slow-roasted carnitas flavor, we cannot recommend Fusion Tacos enough. Still, we’d never turn our nose up at a good taco, and our next plan for an Oasis meal is the nacho fries, which are pretty much nachos with fries instead of tortilla chips.
Final Grade: B+
Though the carnitas taco was a mite dry, the asada was excellent from the chewy tortilla to the not-too-fatty beef. The servings were also generous.
Our final Design Center meal of the week came courtesy of Cleopatra, that glorious Mediterranean spot with the menu items hailing from Egypt, Greece and beyond. Though disappointed that we couldn’t get the Giz kebabs with beef, veggies and a side of rice, we leaned into an old local fave: sheesh tawook, a chicken sandwich with onion and tomato and the so-called “homemade sauce” served on warm, fluffy pita. While we aren’t sure what the sauce is precisely (think tzatziki, but maybe a little more garlicky with a subtle tang), the marinated chicken was a tender taste explosion which meshed well with the bright and borderline citrus-y flavor of…ummm…it, Meanwhile, the warm pita maintained integrity through our madcap race to demolish that bad boy. We brought a pal for this one, too. “First of all, the falafel was really crispy, but fluffy on the outside,” he told us. “It tasted fresh and it had a good flavor, kind of like an herbaceous spice blend.”
Final Grade: A+
We’ve always loved Cleopatra, and it remains consistently tasty even now, some 200 years since we first dined there. This one might become our most regular haunt.
If you’re gonna mention milkshakes, even tangentially, it’s the law to include this jam.
Also
- ’Tis truly the end of an era as Santa Fe’s beloved Saveur Bistro closed its doors for the final time last week. Business owner Dee Rusanowski (yes, of Dee’s for people who live here and are old) told The Santa Fe New Mexican that it was just plain time—something about being 86 and and ready to not deal with a bunch of crap (we’re paraphrasing), but we know how much everyone will miss the soups and sandos of Saveur. Sorry to give you this news if you didn’t know already. Rusanowski and her husband Bernie had been there since 2003. Dang.
- Horno Restaurant owner/chef David Sellers (who kills it on the reg) appears to be making flooring upgrades to his Marcy Street eatery, at least according to the restaurant Facebook page. These upgrades will reportedly do wonders for the acoustics of the place, too, which means maybe our mom will shut up and realize that when she’s in public, sounds can occur.
- While we were perusing Facebook, we discovered that Tibet Kitchen announced some new menu items, including bobba drinks (their spelling, and we think they might mean “boba”) and, unexpectedly, carne asada and a turkey club. We enjoyed Tibet Kitchen when we dined there some time ago (we’ve never reviewed it), and we can totally recommend FitMania if you’re after Tibetan food.
- Local totally good restaurant Palace Prime has partnered with chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen for a fundraising dinner slated for Thursday, Jan. 23. For what will those funds be raised, you ask? Displaced Los Angeles residents facing the terror of the state’s worst fire, naturally. And it’s an easy ask: Simply dine at Palace Prime on Jan. 23, and they’ll donate 20% of the sales to the cause. And if you’re wondering, chef Doug Hesselgesser totally does rule. For more info, visit either the World Central Kitchen site or Palace Prime’s.
- We received an email from sometimes SFR contributor and all-around brilliant local artist (and official Fork Favorite) Erin Currier, who tells us she now has artwork up in three local restaurants. Not only will you find a killer portrait of Escondido’s chef Fernando Ruiz and his buds Toby Morfin and Toby Ralph, Currier has work up in Cafecito and, soon, Henry & the Fish. Way to go, Erin! Everyone should check ‘em out, and also because Ruiz makes killer tacos, Cafecito’s chef Jordan Isaacson is among the best in the city and Henry & The Fish (from former owners of the Atomic Grill, no less) is a stellar brekkie/brunch/lunch spot. What do these paintings look like, exactly? Well, here’s a link to Currier’s site so you can get the gist, but you should pop in to see them in the wild, as it were, and that’s an order.
If you want to know more about chef José Andrés, there’s a Ron Howard-directed movie for that.
More Tidbits
- Oh, good, new research suggests drinking bottled water is somehow worse for you than drinking tap water. Apparently it mostly boils down to loose FDA guidelines, but it’s important to listen when health journal BMJ Global Health says stuff like “The use of plastic bottles for the consumption of beverages, including water, exacts an immense toll on human and planetary health.” In summation? We’re all gonna die. And soon!
- As much as we remain weirded out by Eater-dot-com’s choice to restructure, thereby kinda screwing writers while going more regional than focused, we admit to enjoying this thoughtful read about immigration and restaurants. If Trump’s extra-xenophobic nonsense does indeed become a reality, what’s to become of immigrants who work in restaurants and how, most white folks are probably wondering, will that hit diners? Read on here.
- Lastly in not-just-local stuff this week, a piece that is a few months old but still valuable in that it breaks down what Trader Joe’s wines are the best. Thanks, Popsugar-dot-com! The list was reportedly compiled by folks who love the TJ wine selection, so you know it’s probably true. As always, drink responsibly and know you’re not nearly as interesting as you think you are when you’re all sloshed out.
A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence
In the print edition of SFR this week, our writer returns to Maria’s after years to see if it’s any good now. No spoilers here, but you can read about it Wednesday.
Number of Letters Received
12
*And Erin Currier was one of them, so that rules.
Most Helpful Tip (A Barely Edited Comment From a Reader)
Nada. Zilch. Goose Egg. Nuthin’.
*No one sassed us this week at all!
Actually Helpful Tip
“I’ve been getting emails from newmexico.news saying that SF Reporter email subscriptions are now managed through them. But when I go to their subscription settings web page, I have just one general option for the Reporter — nothing about The Fork. It’s confusing AND annoying. Am I still subscribed to The Fork??? HALP!”
*A good question, Kristen M, and one that we’re told might be common about the Forkeratti. The short answer is that if you’re still getting Forks (this is the second one of 2025), you’re set. If not, write us at thefork@sfreporter.com, and we’ll start hassling people who work above us (which is sooooooo many people, because no one loves Le Fork). See y’all next week!
Unlovable—yet full of street tacos,
The Fork