We got recommendations to go to Streetcar 520 from so many people, we stopped keeping track.
We arrived hungry. Seriously hungry. This glowing review may need to be tempered by our hunger. We ate breakfast and then the day sort of went awry. We were dealing with a broken car, mechanics, car dealers, banks, and so on. When all of the running around was done, we realized we’d never eaten breakfast and walked about 8 miles that day.
The name derives from the fact that the location used to be where old streetcars went to sleep for the night in the early 1900’s before buses replaced them. As you may imagine, it has a warehouse feel to it, with high ceilings, a front made almost entirely of glass, and rough exposed brick walls. It was airy, bright, and well lit. It seemed like it would be a hipster haven, but the crowd was nicely mixed and, in fact, skewed a little bit older than many other places around town.
The food explores street food from around the world, with a focus on Asian small-dishes. Each seemed to be straightforward, no weird fusions or modern takes on street food classics. I flip flopped between four or five dishes because they all looked so good. We started with a seared Ahi tuna dish that was perfectly flavored and cooked just right. I stuck with the tuna theme and had a kale and brussel sprout salad with mangos, udon noodles, pickled onion, tuna, and so many other yummy additions. I was tickled. Cas had a burger which, sadly, was overcooked (he ordered it rare and it was absolutely not rare) and heavily salted.
The service here was excellent, too. We felt like old friends. In fact, at one point, in asking our server about his favorite places around town, he sat down to share some of his ideas. It was a slower night, of course.
All in all, we’d come back and hope for the same great server!