Eliza's Restaurant

Eliza’s in Lower Pacific Heights is a reliable standby that gets the job done, like that one tote bag you drag around everywhere. The casual Chinese spot is open every day, and has a lengthy menu of Mandarin and Hunan specialties like spicy eggplant, Hunan lamb, and kung pao prawns. The portions are also big enough to keep you fed with leftovers for at least a few meals. While the food isn’t anything you’ll be fixating on a week later, it’s nothing you’ll complain about either. Still, Eliza’s—which is filled with big round glass tables and decorated with funky Tetris-like blocks—is always a perfectly pleasant spot to hit up whenever you can’t be bothered to turn on your stove.