Despite the sketchy name and location, VIP is not a North Beach strip club. It’s a Hong-Kong-style cafe with cheap wallpaper, zero sex appeal, and two killer dishes I go back for over and over: the baked pork chop and the baked beef tongue, both served over rice. The Hong Kong-style baked pork chop is the best in the City — a huge portion smothered in a tomato-based sauce served over a bare-bones egg-fried rice (you may find a pea if you’re lucky). Nothing is organic; the service is a notch below rude; and their health score is 69 out of 100, but the food is so damn good it makes up for it.
671 Broadway Street (at Stockton), 415-989-7118, www.vipbakery.com; daily, 7 a.m.–12 a.m.
