Firecracker

I’m glad this place is closed. The owner was a psycho bitch.

Nooooo! All I want in the world is their tofu layers with spinach and miso. FIRECRACKER: I will pay you for the recipe! Others: Is there a replacement? Tell me!

It’s a very good Chinese place, and it’s a shame it’s going away within a month!
The soju cocktails are great, and go very well with the standard Chinese fare served here.

The spark on Firecracker has fizzled.
It used to be very tasty, perhaps the competition from the other Valencia street restaurants have proven too much for this tiny restaurant, that at one time packed a punch with it’s Baby Pork Dumplings (still delish — but served just a little too cold tonight) and Seared Ahi Tuna.
I loved this restaurant back in the day and I feel like my visit tonight was a chance to say goodbye to an old friend — I should have come back sooner.
I felt like the wait staff know the inevitable is coming as our table thought they were very «sad». Perhaps a long day, or perhaps they see the writing on the wall and it don’t look too good.

The food was very impressive! I was with some friends talking about some project ideas (geeky stuff) and the environment was a nice place to talk and hang out. The waitress was very kind and helped us order our dishes. The hot and sour soup is actually really good here.
The entrees took a very long time to come out, which was fine since we were chatting and had our soup and appetizer, but still we were waiting for a fairly long time. Good thing we were talking and not too bored.

For such a pretty place, I expected brighter flavors.
The only thing that really stood out for me was the tangy hot & sour soup. Still though, the service was very nice. How cute is the older lady who busses tables? Tip: she will bring you chili sauce if you ask her nicely. Because no they do not have it on the table. Do they think we are all weaksauce? Despite the sleepy flavors this was still a pleasant dining experience and I did not leave dissatisfied. Only wondering, what if??? What if they bumped up the flavor just a notch?
Which brings me to what really rocks, which is the interior. When I finish construction on my «Cuisines of the World» themed dream mansion, the Macanese opium n’ jook parlor is going to look JUST like this place. In reality I live in a cardboard box. But whatever. So yeah, in conclusion, go here if décor is your thing but strong flavor is secondary.

Firecracker is a steady presence on the Hipster Mile that I like for a few reasons.
1. It is fast, like almost too fast.
2. The waiter/​waitress’ there are super nice and I had a crush on the guy for a while. He switched restaurants (not telling where).
3. The food was interesting. You can count on it to taste like how you would expect.
So, yeah…

As a general rule, I don’t eat Chinese food unless it’s high end. Not because I’m a food snob, but because I really just don’t like it. It’s too greasy and I have a huge paranoia about meat unless it’s clear exactly what part of an animal I’m eating.
Anyway, I decided to humor my boyfriend by eating Chinese the other night. In the grand scheme of things, it was pretty good. By Chinese food standards. It was really oily but at least the meat was not scary (and it was rather good!). We had the crab and tomato fried rice and a chicken pesto noodle. Both were good. The girls working there were fantastic and so accommodating. I probably won’t eat here again since I won’t want Chinese for another few years, but if you like Chinese and want an inexpensive meal in the Mission, this could be the place for you.

I’ve been here about 5 times, since it’s one of the only Chinese restaurants in the Mission. Each time I try to keep an open mind, but the food always falls flat — maybe because there is no competition for Chinese?
The starter peanuts and vinegary carrots always seem a bit unsanitary, hanging off the edges of the bowl.
We’ve had the shrimp dish with the sauce (mayonnaise) and walnuts which I think is greasy and untasty, and other mains which all my fellow diners have given a mediocre to thumbs down rating.
They are in such a great location, I wish they had better food because I’d go there all the time.

Love Firecracker. Love the Seared Ahi Tuna and the Walnut Prawns. Also, I really enjoy the peanuts and salad they bring before the meal. I enjoy the challenge of eating the peanuts with my chopsticks. They have Ti Kwan Yin which is one of my favorite oolong teas. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had anything I didn’t like here, with the exception of their appetizers. I want them to be good; the descriptions sound good and yet…
I love the décor. I love the lamps and the bar and everything.

Hi,
went here last night; a funky twist on Chinese cuisine.
Chinese cuisine is central, yet they manage to add other Asian ingredients to make some fun and tastey cooking.
Beef with chantrelles and porcini mushrooms was inventive. The pea sprouts were very Tastey and the brown rice was flavorful too. They had a good take on Vietnamese spring rolls with chicken. Nice.
Tastey, spicey fresh tasting foods here. Pretty decent low priced Chardonnay. Good service.

Sometimes it’s hard to find restaurant compatibility with the person you’re interested in.
You may find yourself walking the length of Valencia categorizing each restaurant into a «Maybe» or «Definite Maybe» category. Wondering, if any sort of relationship with this person could work since they have agreed to come to «The Mission» for dinner and yet want nothing to do with Mexican cuisine (ok ok ok, for that night at least).
I like a challenge and I like to walk thus, the quest began.
One of the things I like about my new crush is his decisiveness, so he ultimately ended up throwing Firecracker into the «Definite» category which I didn’t know existed (the «Definite» category, that is).
Firecracker is a cute place. The décor is sublime (I don’t use that word often enough). But the chairs. Hello??? They belong in a patio-​not in a restaurant.
Appetizer compatibility called for spinach and calamari which was really the standout. I didn’t care for the walnut prawns– unusual for me but, the coffee was very good.
All in all a nice little trendy joint in the Mission, on Valencia, and they don’t serve burritos or refried beans.

Maybe this place isn’t traditional Chinese food, but so what? It’s delicious. The ying yang prawns are ridiculously good, and so is the Ginger fish. Also, all of the standard fare like Mongolian beef, noodles, kung pao chicken, etc., are all good. The happy hour is a good deal if you like soju cocktails. In sum, everything is prepared well, tastes great, and is made from quality ingredients (unlike some of the more «traditional» spots you might find in the city).
Couple things to take notice: it’s closed on Mondays, and the chairs can be a bit uncomfortable (but the benches are fine). Firecracker does takeout, and this can be a good option if you have a large party, because there isn’t a whole lot of seating.

This place still exists?
I remember coming here back when the Inner Mission had just been voted 2^nd hippest neighborhood in the country and thinking it was just nifty. So when my friend Benj suggest it for dinner, it seems like fine, nostalgic idea.
We sit down to some peanuts and pickled daikon… so far so good. The menu looks alright — mostly some standards described in ways that make them look less
we order some fresh spring rolly kind of things (good enough that I didn’t think poorly of them but not so good that I think anything much at all of them) and some pot stickers…
Now I consider myself to be something of a pot sticker connoisseur. And I use them as the benchmark for the quality of a Chinese restaurant. These sad little guys were greasy, meager, and bland. I can make better at home. And I have.
And then came the entrees — the whole snapper with caramelized ginger sounded good. But what is was was a butterflied fish in a goopy, overly sweet sauce. At least the pine nuts were good.
Next up was Firecracker Chicken. You’d think a dish named after the establishment would be a point of pride but this was pretty much a standard General Tao’s Chicken. Nicely crispy on the outside but no better than any average Chinese place. And this city is full of those so I can get that pretty much anywhere.
The basket of fortune cookies brought over by the waitress was a nice touch except once I had the thing in my mouth all I could think was «oh shit… why I am eating this? How many people’s filthy germ ridden hands have grazed this cookie?»
The fortune said «A nice message is on its way to you.» And when I got home there was a Valentine’s Day card in my mailbox. From my mom. So, like the rest of the meal, it wasn’t bad… but not as good as the real thing.
In a city with so much good Chinese food, this place seems kind of like a waste. But then again, greasy, sub-​par Chinese food is better than no Chinese food at all.

Great soju cocktails! especially pleasing during their happy hour, when all the drinks are half price. if you like sweet mojitos, you may love their so-​jito!
nice touch with the peanuts and salad starter, and we also enjoyed the ying yang prawn dish, which allows you to sample both the spicy prawn dish as well as the walnut prawns.
the brown rice was apparently very life-​less. the white rice was fine though, but not necessary for what we had ordered.
i would definitely come here again for the happy hour!

Firecracker, Firecracker, shish-​boom-​ba! Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny! Ra! Ra! Ra!
Consistent and gently upscale California-​Chinese in the heart of the nouveau-​Marina Valencia restaurant row.

San Francisco has gotta be a hard place to run a restaurant and I dont envy those seduced by its challenge. Firecracker has been around a long time, it seems. At least, throughout my 20’s, so a good ten years or so. Has it gotten more affordable or have I begun to make ends meet? hmm that is one to contemplate over their generous happy hour every day of the week, even saturday, HALF OFF COCKTAILS.
The décor of this place is comfy and matches its food well.
Of the dishes we sampled, I recommend any of the Spring Rolls and the Mushrooms with Beef dish. Firecracker, in some ways, reminds me of Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack (minus the music) doing the Asian cuisine thing. Portlandish vibe, tattooed waitstaff, and comfy food with a gourmet edge to it. But for SF, as I said in the beginning, its hard to stand out with Asian Cuisine and so this is more standby than destination.

I am going to have to go against the grain here and this is a restaurant I really wanted to like. First off, let me start with what’s right:
1) location — there is a dearth of Chinese options in the Mission
2) décor — was very nice, you can feel the creativity that the designer put into the space. Red dominates.
3) staff — better than average wait staff. very friendly
4) food — you can tell that the meats and vegetables were from a decent grocer… better than your standard Chinese restaurant.
Now while the rights outnumber the wrongs, the one critical mistake is enough to warrant the downgrade to a 2 star restaurant and that is the kitchen has an identity crisis. Firecracker is most obvious Americanized Chinese Food and that is fine but then it also doesn’t grab you with the flavors that make Americanized Chinese Food successful, i.e. over sweet or garlickly, etc… think why PF Chang or something like House of Nanking is successful… they have addictive and consistent taste to the food that keeps bringing diners back. What has happened in my opinion is that they have scaled back the flavoring at an attempt to present «delicate» food to the diners. What they have done is crafted a bland albeit fresh ingredient food. So patrons don’t get either authentic Chinese flavors nor do they get the delight of a PF Chang etc…
I think the chef and owners need to put the bold flavoring back into the food. Fusion Chinese doesn’t have to mean washed down flavoring it means melting standard Chinese fare with atypcial Chinese options.

One of my favorite restaurant in the city! The lights are dimmed so the atmosphere is very cozy. Eat some peanuts and salad while you wait for your food, it’s free. The walnut prawns are crazy delicious! The chicken dishes are also scrumptious.
Parking can be really hard, so take the bus!

I’d had Firecracker bookmarked for a while and after a recent event in the Mission I convinced a couple of friends to join me for dinner here.
Their remarks as we were heading home pretty much sum up the experience: «Great recommendation!»
We went on a Wednesday night around eight. The friendly host sat us immediately. Shortly thereafter, two dishes arrived– one with peanuts, the other with a marinated carrot and daikon salad. Both very good!
For dinner we ordered the chive spring rolls, string beans, salmon and a shrimp and chicken dish. My friends both got the plum iced tea, I had a sip and it was so good it made me wish I had ordered one too.
Absolutely no complaints about the food. Or the service. This place rocks! I will be back for sure!