Great food in the ghetto, who knew?

It sits on 6th Street, just a few feet off Market Street in the heart of the Tenderloin: one of the most unpleasant neighborhoods in all of San Francisco (lots of drugs, lots of crime, lots of gangs, lots of amazingly pungent homeless folks peeing in the corner and hittin' ya up for change). The place itself is cramped. It has been there since 1977 and I don't think they've cleaned it since opening day. They don't take credit cards -- cash only. Their table-service is basically non-existent, and during lunch there is often a line out the door. During such times, if you go there alone then you can expect to share a table with a total stranger.

But there is something to this place. It is called Tu Lan and it's the epitome of "hole in the wall" dining. Their chicken curry is to DIE for.