Hard Knox Café

Down home southern soul food

SAN FRANCISCO – When I heard about a soul food restaurant in the Dogpatch run by a Vietnamese guy from Texas, I had to check it out.

Hard Knox owner Tony Hua grew up on southern comfort foods like BBQ ribs and collard greens. Living in San Francisco, though, he found that his cravings for the flavors of his childhood were left unsatisfied. In 1999, he took matters into his own hands and Hard Knox Café was born.

The goal was to bring good, homey food to the table in a comfortable setting where people could relax, enjoy and not spend too much money. This game plan has proven successful and Hard Knox expanded to a second, roomier location in the Outer Richmond this past April.

Both restaurants are outfitted in the same kitschy-diner-meets-roadside-grill look, with walls lined in corrugated steel and a mishmash of vintage prints, divey bar décor and baseball paraphernalia.

What keeps the steady flow of people through the door? Value. And some bomb Fried Chicken, arguably some of the best in town. Take a big bite through the satisfyingly crispy skin and sink your teeth into some seriously juicy, tender meat. The seasoning is right on, and the golden crust is pumped up with garlicky goodness. This dish is an absolute steal at $10.00 for a trinity of breast, thigh and wing or drumstick, plus two sides of your choice and a pair of corn muffins.

The corn muffins get a lot of love here. Sweet and light, with a crunchy top that’s worth fighting over. Served warm out of the oven, this complimentary starter hits the spot every time.

Hua mentioned that there are actually many similarities between southern and Asian cuisine. I understood what he meant as soon as I tasted the fist-sized Oxtails Smothered in Gravy. The gelatinous meat, slowly braised to falling-off-the-bone consistency, reminded me of my mother’s oxtail soup. Maybe that’s why I kept craving a shot of Maggi soy sauce with it. The flavor was slightly bland, but the brisket-like tenderness was just right.

My favorite dish was the BBQ Spare Ribs. Four meaty pieces piled high and slathered with a finger lickin’ sweet and tangy sauce. Pair it with some Mac n’ Cheese and Yams, and you are in soul food heaven.

Let’s talk sides for a second. With such an extensive list, there were bound to be hits and misses. The macaroni and cheese was strangely both. The noodles were cooked to mush and no longer had the chew of real pasta, the sauce was a little heavy on the garlic powder and salt and there was no trace of aged cheese anywhere. This was good ol’, probably processed, American cheese. Despite all of this, I ate every last bit of melty, warm cheesiness. It nostalgically reminded me of the makeshift version I created as a kid with Kraft singles and the microwave. Hard Knox’s version is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and you are satisfied after you’ve finished it.

The Green Beans and Collard Greens are both simmered in chicken broth for an extra boost of flavor. The beans are cooked much longer than I usually prefer, but they were flavorful and I couldn’t stop popping them in my mouth. The collard greens were heavy on the salt, but I liked the bite of bitterness that countered the richness of the entrees.

The Yams, partially mashed with some chunks left for texture, provided a sweet balance of sugar and spice and everything nice to the meal.

I wasn’t a fan of the French Fries, which lacked flavor and tasted a bit undercooked, or the rice dishes: one served with smoky black eyed peas, the other served with gravy.

Hard Knox is all about comfort and value. With the generous portions offered, meals here are meant to be shared. And, with two sides included with each entrée, you are able to get a broad sampling under your (substantially loosened) belt. Good for the wallet, good for the soul… maybe not so good for the waistline.

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Visit LickMySpoon.com for more food reviews, recipes, and food musings from Asian Eats writer Stephanie Im.

Hard Knox Café
Third Street Location Clement Street Location
2526 3rd St. 2448 Clement St.
(between 22nd St. & 23rd St) (between 25th Ave & 26th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94107 San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 648-3770 (415) 752-3770
………. ……….
Hours: Hours:
Monday-Saturday, 11:00 am-9:00 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:00 am-9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am-5:00 pm Friday & Saturday, 11:00 am-10:00 pm

Thai fried chicken, or, the crispiest fried chicken ever
Recipe and photo courtesy of Chez Pim.

Ingredients:
8-10 pieces of chicken, drumsticks or thighs, or both (a little over 2lbs or 1kg)
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled
about 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro roots (or just the bottom part of the stalks)
about 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher or (large-grained) sea salt (If all you have is fine salt, skip it.)
3tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce
Enough canola oil or other high-temp oil to fill about 2-inch from the bottom of your cast iron pan (or a deep frying pan)

Preparation:
In a mortar or a small food processor, pound or chop the garlic, cilantro roots, kosher salt into a rough paste. Transfer the paste into a large bowl, add the oyster sauce and fish sauce and stir to mix well. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces thoroughly, then place them into the bowl. With your hands, toss and rub the chicken pieces all over with the marinate mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic and let marinade in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, place your pan over medium-low heat, fill it with enough oil (I used Canola) to cover about 2inches from the bottom of the pan, or about half way up the side. Let the oil come up to frying temperature, about 360F or 180C. Meanwhile, put about 2 cups of rice flour into a large plate (a pyrex pie plate works very well for this.) When the oil is ready, take the chicken pieces, one at a time, drop it into the flour plate and coat well with the rice flour. Shake each piece once or twice to remove excess flour and place them, gently, into the hot oil.

If you don’t have a thermometer, make sure your chicken pieces only gently sizzle in the hot oil. Just listen to it, you should hear the oil just softly sizzling. You should also see small bubbles around the chickens as they cook. If the oil is too hot, you’ll be able to see and hear it too. There will be a lot of large bubbles blowing up and spitting viciously. It will make a lot of violent noises and your chicken will brown up in just a few minutes, but the inside will be rare. That’s no good. Just keep the flame low, and, when in doubt, turn the heat down just a little bit.

Cook the chickens until brown and crisp all around. If you’re not so sure if they are cooked perfectly, cut one up and see if it’s cooked all the way through. If you see a little blood, no big deal. Just warm up the oven to about 225F or 100C, place your fried chickens on a cake rack over a cookie sheet and let them sit for 10 minutes to finish cooking. (Don’t forget to lower the heat on your frying pan so the rest of your chickens take a bit longer to cook!) It’s a good idea to heat up your oven to that temperature before you begin frying anyway, you can put your cooked chicken pieces in there while you fry the rest. The oven will keep everything nice and warm, not to mention super crispy.