Kincaid's Burlingame

Many elementary schools have a multi-purpose room, used for school assemblies on weekdays, parent meetings at night and student performances on weekends. You might say that Kincaid’s Fish, Chop & Steak House in Burlingame is a multi-purpose restaurant.

On midweek evenings, many diners are out-of-town business travelers staying in nearby airport hotels, which is why Wednesday is the restaurant’s busiest night. The weekday lunch crowd tends to be locals who live or work on the mid-peninsula. And weekend dinners lure locals looking for a “special place” to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.

Kincaid’s is right on the bay on the Bay Trail recreational path, so many walkers, runners and cyclists go right past the tall windows. It’s also close enough to SFO that during lulls in the conversation, you can hear the muffled roar of the jets and identify the logos on each plane. Most importantly, it’s a place where you can enjoy the view (from the San Francisco skyline to Mt. Diablo) and a good meal without overpaying for the privilege. Dinner entrees start at $16 and lunch entrees are only $10-$18.

The chef takes pride in offering extensive lunch and dinner entrée specials that change seasonally, such as Char Grilled Sirloin Chateau, Cajun Spiced Alabama Catfish, Pan-Roasted Sturgeon and Albacore Tuna with Kaffir Lime. But there are also ample choices on the main menu, which is similar at all 10 Kincaid’s nationwide. (The only other Northern California location is in Oakland.)

The main menu features a variety of dishes for all palates—multi-purpose, remember? On both the lunch and dinner menus, for example, are innovative items like the Organic Baby Greens with blue cheese spring rolls, radish, bell peppers, fennel, tomatoes and balsamic reduction; and Chili-Smoked Tiger Prawns with bacon-cheese grits and barbecue hollandaise sauce. For dessert, try the Chocolate Torte with Belgian chocolate ganache, Grand Marnier anglaise, vanilla bean ice cream and fresh strawberry compote. Mmm!

HelloSanFrancisco tip: In the large, separated bar or just outside on the patio, celebrate Happy Hour on weekdays (4-6 p.m.) or weekends (4 p.m. to close) with half-price appetizers and $4 drink specials.

- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.