"Nice Buns" she said

Any of you who know San Francisco know we have some very interesting people in this town. And if you know the city, you know the Tenderloin packs a lot of "personality" into a shrinking neighborhood.

So if I told you I was eating in the Tenderloin and someone said to me "nice buns", you'd imagine I was speaking to a prostitute of some sex(gay, straight, trans). And I would say "Thank you, I work out" and then run before they tried to get their claws in me.

But in this case, the buns in question weren't of the gluteous maximus variety, but rather the Taiwanese street food variety.

Everyone knows about the now not so trendy Food Truck scene. It has been thriving in San Francisco for many years. And one of the stars of the scene has been The Chairman. This truck specializes Taiwanese stuffed buns, and always has long lines of people wanting to dig in.

But they now have a Brick and Mortar location, which has become the norm for successful food trucks. And it was at this small spot in the Tenderloin that I came on a Friday night for a quick bite.

The Chairman specializes in 2 types of buns, Baked and Steamed. The difference comes down to size. Baked buns are basically burger sized and are the larger of the 2. Steamed buns are about street taco sized. So if you are hungry, the Baked buns are the way to go. I tend to prefer the baked buns in terms of the flavor of the bun itself, while the ingredients inside remain the same.

Being a brick and mortar location, they have a bit of an expanded menu. So while I have had all their meaty buns in the past(cause I don't do vegetarian when given the option), I had never had their 2x Fried Chicken Wings.

The wings come in 2 sizes, 4 and 6 wings. Which doesn't sound like a lot, except when they told me that each wing is the full wing, with both the single boned drum and double boned wing. They come in a slightly sweet sticky sauce, which was very tasty, and made better with sriracha. However, when someone tells me a wing is 2x fried, I expect something a bit more crispy in nature, and these were not really crispy at all. I'm a sucker for good fried wings, and unless the location is Korean, I think these days you are out of luck. That said, the wings were meaty and a good value considering the size of the portion.

On this occasion I also grabbed a steamed bun to compliment my wings. I had the pork belly, their most popular choice. I've said before I'm over pork belly, so I went against myself on this. But in small volume like this, I think it's a nice treat. And paired with tumeric pickled radishes, a great combo of flavor.

My friend had the braised pork on a baked bun with sprouts. Side by side, his looked like a complete meal on a bun. The baked bun just looks tastier, with the shiny coated exterior of the bun, contrasted with the boring white of the steamed bun.

So if you are hitting the Chairman for a quick bite(which is convenient since it is close to Great American Music Hall and Mitchell Brothers), I recommend getting a baked bun with pork not of the belly variety. You can't go wrong with the choice.

And they will hopefully have beer soon to help quench your thirst.

So slap those buns and enjoy!