BATTER BAKERY SQUARE MEALS...WHICH IS IT?

**Seems the Square Meals portion of this combo places has parted was with the Batter Bakery. Square Meals dude will join Munchery, hopefully they will leave behind that dreadful pork sandwich. Batter Bakery has found their own space just down the block from this now closed one***

It's a bright sunny Saturday and I'm wandering up Polk Street headed toward the Bay, what's this neighborhood called? Upper Polk, Upper Nob Hill, Lower Nob Hill, Lower Pac Heights, Russian Hill? I'm not sure, it could just as easily be Upper Marina what with all the girls in workout clothes, sneakers and sporting blonde ponytails--who knows. Anyway, I'm hungry and want some new place when I see this small space that says Batter Bakery. I think, hmmm, I can have a cookie or cupcake or cake for lunch--why not? I go in and the first thing that catches my eye is this:

ok, so it's a bakery/quick food kind of place. Looking around I see a showcase that has different food stuffs like meatloaf and lasagne--much like you'd see at a homestyle deli.

The cookies and sweet things are scattered across the top but I see they have printed up a lite lunch menu for the day and as I peruse it what catches my eye is something they are calling a Carolina pulled pork sandwich and, well, of course I have to try that. 

It's described as Carolina pulled pork with a barbecue mustard sauce, jalapeño aioli and vinegary cole slaw. Upon first inspection I will say there was not enough pork on it and what was there was drowned in sauce that they call Carolina mustard which is basically what South Carolina pulled pork is about, though not usually quite so saturated. The addition of the jalapeño aioli was more of a sauce overkill. You don't need both one or the other would have been just fine. I'd say ditch the aioli as it wasn't spicy and didn't add much additional flavor to the pork. The mustard sauce had some decent spice, but while not much, it was still more than enough to overpower the aioli. The cole slaw was very vinegary, which I like, but this was not traditional cole slaw, it was an odd mix of chopped brussel sprouts and shredded carrots. When I opened the bun I had to look twice and yes, sure enough it was brussel sprouts, which I guess is a form of cabbage, so props for something different at least. As far as flavor, well, it was different, not bad, but not great. Something about it was off and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. The mix of sauces and vinegar didn't totally work for me and as for the pork, while it was tender and flavor it may have had was lost under all the sauce. If nothing else, the bun was nice and soft though would have been better toasted or warmed up. 

It came served with a small salad of arugula, goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, pink grapefruit and dried papaya covered in a light drizzle of olive oil. The only thing it was missing was some salt and pepper, but once you added that is was a nice little refreshing blend of green and citrus. 

After the hit or miss meal I was going to try one of the 5 or so different cookie choices they had along the top of the showcase, but after staring at them way too long, I just didn't want to drop $3(!) for a cookie that wasn't all that big to justify such a price--I mean I can get a whole cupcake elsewhere for that. 

So is it a bakery, a lunch spot, a take home some dinner spot, a brunch spot? I think it's trying to be all of those, but not sure it really needs to be.