Mr. Pollo in S.F.

In a Mission District full of bargain taquerias and pupuserias, it's easy to get pigeonholed into hole-in-the-wall status. Mr. Pollo certainly looks like one, with a two-man crew and barely enough seats for a dozen diners.

And yet, chef-owner Manny Torres Gimenez serves some of the city's most inspiring South American food from the humble space.

He specializes in arepas, a staple of Colombia and Venezuela. Somewhere between a taco and a pupusa, these savory white corn disks are fried and filled with cheese ($1.5o) or meat ($6.50) - your choice of beef, chicken, pork, goat or lamb.

Better still is the tasting menu ($15), a four-course extravaganza that changes daily and includes a specialty arepa, and, on one of our visits, grilled char, roasted quail and farmers' market vegetables.

If you're the choosy type, lunch and dinner plates are $10 - you choose a meat and three sides. (Don't pass on the yucca - it's perfectly fried and practically melts in your mouth.)

Even the juices are inspiring, with the maracuya ($3) providing an icy explosion of passion fruit.

Mr. Pollo: 2823 Mission St., S.F. (415) 374-5546. www.mrpollosf.com. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6-11:45 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Cash only. No alcohol.

- Janny Hu, jhu@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page G - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle