No. 33: Fatted Calf's Meatloaf Sandwich

Jonathan Kauffman

Fatted Calf's meatloaf sandwich, $9.50.

​SFoodie's countdown of our 92 favorite things to eat and drink in San Francisco, 2011 edition.

With the Foo Fighters' new album reuniting Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and with the number of 16-year-olds on the streets now looking like extras from Singles, it seems fitting that meatloaf, which underwent a great revival-slash-upscaling in the 1990s before slipping back to the depths of critical esteem, is looking awfully appetizing again.

Or maybe it's just that the meatloaf sandwich at Fatted Calf is so damn good. Tyler Boetticher's staff make the meatloaf by grinding pork, beef, and house-cured bacon more coarsely than your average burger, then adding caramelized onions and herbs in the mix. Each bite first passes through a series of stroboscopic flashes ― whole-grain mustard, pickled onions, sweet tomato glaze. Once you stop squinting and can focus on the meatloaf itself, there are enough fine details worth studying. There's a faint hint of bacon smoke, for instance, and scattered fennel seeds, which dredge up faint memories of stromboli sandwiches, and then the natural sweetness of pork fat to round out the flavor. Fatted Calf's meatloaf sandwich is neither so kitschy-homey that it belongs in an Amy Sedaris cookbook, nor too gentrified to take over to the park, eat it hunched over your butcher-paper-covered lap, shooing away the insistent sparrows that menace your feet as they dart in to steal crumbs.

Fatted Calf: 320 Fell (at Gough), 400-5614.

Dishes in our series so far:

92: Goat tacos from El Norteño
91: Faux shark's fin soup at Benu
90: Esperpento's alcachofas a la plancha
89: Poco Dolce's olive oil chocolate bar
88: Decantr's chicken-liver mousseline
87: Outerlands' levain bread
86: Fraîche's frozen yogurt
85: Gyro King's spinach pie
84: Tandoori fish from Lahore Karahi
83: Braised oxtail and daikon from Namu
82: Golden Gate Bakery's custard tarts
81: Commonwealth's cured foie gras with umeboshi purée
80: Star Stream's Liège-style waffle
79: Mexican hot chocolate from La Oaxaqueña
78: Meatball sandwich from Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe
77: Cheesecake from Zanze's
76: Chicken pepian at San Miguel
75: Macau iced coffee at Vega/Special Xtra
74: Comstock Saloon's Pisco Punch
73: Hai Ky Mi Gia's duck leg noodle soup
72: Sauerbraten at Walzwerk
71: Boudin noir at Cafe Bastille
70: Blackstrap molasses gingerbread at Lotta's Bakery
69: Plow's crispy potatoes
68: Prospect's Catcher in the Rye
67: Pork banh mi from Little Vietnam Cafe
66: Nakaochi at Ippuku
65: Sidekick's chocolate spritzer
64: Farmhouse Culture's horseradish-leek sauerkraut
63: Destination Baking Co.'s challah
62: Cotogna's roasted carrots
61: Hard Knox Cafe's chicken and waffles
60: The Rebel Within from Tell Tale Preserve Co.
59: The Slanted Door's Whiskey Cocktail
58: Carnitas burrito from Taqueria San Francisco
57: Sakura mochi from Benkyodo
56: Birria at Gallardos
55: BBQ pork skewers at Fil-Am Cuisine
54: JapaCurry's katsu curry
53: Vegan flan at Gracias Madre
52: Cinderella Bakery's pelmeni
51: Locavore's maple andouille sausage
50: Lumpia from Hapa SF
49: Moonlight Brewing's Reality Czeck
48: Filetti pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana
47: Pupusas revueltas at La Santaneca
46: Khoresht ghaymeh at Maykadeh
45: Los Muertos at Gitane
44: Sandwich cookies from Sweet Constructions
43: Nicasio Valley Cheese Company's square
42: Nopalito's quesadilla roja
41: Croissant from Sandbox Bakery
40: Cultured's burdock kasu-zuke pickles
39: Sticky chewy chocolate ice cream at Swensen's
38: Maverick's warm Brussels sprouts with slow-cooked egg
37: Roast chicken from Limón Rotisserie
36: Seven Hills' raviolo uovo
35: Morning bun from Pinkie's Bakery
34: Kaw soi dok at Mandalay

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