By Kevin Hunsanger

LIKE MANY GREAT ideas, ours – to form a dining club and eat at every restaurant on Clement Street – was born from a couple bottles of wine. Of course, crushed grapes have also paved the way for much folly, so I'll leave it to you to be the judge.

Call the neighborhood what you will – New Chinatown, C-Town West, or the Avenues – one thing is certain: the Inner Richmond stretch of blocks along Clement Street is jam-packed with good eats, cheap seats, and exotic treats. There are 43 restaurants within the span of 13 blocks, to be precise, and our goal was to dine at every single one of them, one night a week for the better part of a year. An adventurous idea, sure, but we weren't going to be reckless. The first step was to come up with a plan, a way to rein in the chaos that is Clement Street dining.

We decided on the straight and narrow approach: Clement Street only, beginning on the east at Arguello Boulevard and extending west to Park Presidio Boulevard. Only restaurants with dinner service would be considered. They must have a made-to-order kitchen (no delis, et cetera). Dim-sum bakeries, while in abundant supply (and with their oh so tasty offerings), would not make the list. Coffee shops, dessert creperies, and bars with bags of pretzels would have to be visited on our own time.

Since our initial group of six consisted exclusively of neighborhood residents, each with favorite spots, we immediately dismissed the random approach as pure folly. We might make it a couple of months, sure, but once we checked off all of the highlights, how long could we stay motivated? Not that long was the general consensus. Much better to start at one end and systematically work our way, address by address, to the other. Spread out the highs, nibble through the lows, and, with luck, be rewarded by hidden gems along the way. The plan, which began in late January, has served us well to date, so pull up a seat and join us while we Eat Clement!

There is no neighborhood in San Francisco quite like the Inner Richmond. Culturally diverse and fiercely independent, Clement Street is a 100 percent Starbucks-free zone. Sidewalks teem with local residents who shop at locally owned markets. On a first visit you may experience a twinge of culture shock, but upon your return you will revisit your new favorite noodle house. By the third stroll along Clement, the varied shops and restaurants will seem uniquely your own, and before you know it, you'll be throwing around how-ya-doin's like the mayor. But for these weekly dinners, we leave the mayoral responsibilities to those so inclined, favoring instead to play like ambassadors to the whole of the gastronomic globe. From Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, and Korean to French, Mediterranean, and good ol' home cooking, Clement Street offers all of the tastes from near and far. Of course, nothing beats a good pizza, and thankfully, we didn't have a choice in the matter.

Our project began beneath a very friendly moon, as we serendipitously happened into Village Pizzeria, ideally located at 1 Clement, on its "Beer Night." Every Monday and Thursday finds big pitchers of Red Tail Ale priced to move at $4.50, but if you're really on a budget, opt instead for the $3.50 pitchers of Rolling Rock. Wonderfully lubricated, we settled into a neighborhood classic. Village Pizzeria has been hand-spinning pizza pies for well over 20 years, and with an expansive menu that includes gigantic gyro sandwiches on home-baked bread, not-too-spicy chicken wings, and a passable (but not as good as your mom's) lasagna, I expect it will be entertaining softball teams and college students for many years to come.

But chances are you'll be heading there for the pizza, which is served on either a decent thin crust, or my favorite, a knife-and-fork-necessary Sicilian. And while they pile on the meat if that's how you want it (try the Village Special), it's the unique combinations of fresh veggie stuff that truly stand out, as in their Estafeta special. With feta being its only cheese, the Estafeta is topped with a perfect mix of roasted red peppers, green onions, roma tomatoes, pesto, and artichoke hearts – you won't see that combination on many other menus. And if their house creations don't ring your bell, they have 29 individual items that you can mix and match to your heart's content. Their slogan is "Brooklyn to San Francisco," and on Clement, all we needed to do was cross the street to find ourselves ...

... in France. Tucked away behind a row of trees, you may have to look twice to spot Clémentine Restaurant, which suits the regulars just fine. Formerly the location of Alain Rondelli, the space is more often than not filled to capacity by 6 p.m. This may be the result of the generous prix-fixe special (three courses from a select menu for $23 Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 5:30 to 7 p.m.), early appetites, or that when you have a meal at Clémentine, you want to slow it down and enjoy. On our visit to this charming bistro, "bonsoir" 's rang through the air, while Pernod was served to us in the traditional manner by an attentive and enthusiastic staff. In a recent review of Clémentine, the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Bauer said that "the staff could step into Fifth Floor or Masa's and give them a run for their money." Maybe so, but I've never had as much fun at the Fifth Floor as I've had at Clémentine, where you'll encounter a Parisian aura so authentic that you may find yourself dusting off what's left of your high school French so you can play along. And then there's the food.

Chef-owner Didier Labbe took the reins of Clémentine some five years ago, direct from experience in Paris's Michelin three-star restaurant l'Arpège. It seems as though Labbe brought all of the good stuff here with him. If you only ever have sweetbreads once, have them at Clémentine. They are served as a cassoulet, with herbes de Provence and champagne vinegar. I defended this dish with zeal amid the rotating plates at our table. I only traded bites for the escargot, served out of shell and in an iron skillet dimpled with garlic butter. Entrées are equally impressive and affordable enough to make the Latin Quarter institutions lower their berets in defeat. The pan-roasted day boat scallops with lobster risotto and citrus verjus sauce at $17 can make Francophiles out of the best of us.

Feeling a bit homesick, the EatClement group buzzed through sushi joints (Murasaki Sushi Bar's monkfish liver was a standout) and quality Vietnamese (Le Soleil: think Slanted Door without the fuss and at half the price) so we could finally kick up our heels at Q for a heaping batch of what chef-owner Andrew "Smiling Andy" Gillen dubs "funky comfort food." If you haven't stopped by for Gillen trademark fried chicken, barbecued ribs, or catfish fillets, get down there now! Q epitomizes neighborhood dining, with no reservations taken, rapidly rotating nightly specials, and a bustling staff who make the wait somehow bearable. Friendly, noisy, and industrial-chic, Q excels at big food for small prices, and that goes double for the wine list. Gillen has gone to great lengths in order to provide an incredible selection of wines at charitable prices, and with a dozen different wines by the glass and around 20 half bottles, you'll have no trouble finding just the vino to enjoy with your hearty steak or massive mac and cheese. However, if you can't make up your mind, each entrée is matched with a by-the-glass suggestion from Gillen – listen well, friends, he truly knows his stuff.

Many of the restaurants on Clement Street are owned and operated by local residents, and Burma SuperStar tells quite a story. When regular customers Joslyn and Desmond heard that their favorite spot on the block was going to close, they pooled their resources and bought the place so they could keep it alive. That was just over two years ago, and the love that Joslyn and Desmond have put into their restaurant has come back to them threefold; Burma SuperStar has truly broken out and become a vibrant Clement Street staple. Rarely is the restaurant without a queue of customers clamoring for an inside seat, but you won't hear complaints with curries this good. Start with the now famous Burmese samusa ($6.75): Burmese ravioli, hand wrapped and filled with curry potatoes and minced chicken, then deep-fried and served with the house special red sauce. The five-piece appetizer could certainly satisfy the heartiest appetite as an entrée selection. Burma SuperStar reworks the samousa into a wonderful vegetarian soup as well, and soups generally (there are several on the menu) are a specialty of the house. Vegetarians take particular note: there are twice as many vegetable/tofu entries as there are meat selections on the menu. The spicy tofu with vegetables in a garlic and chili sauce ($7.50) is good enough to make a sworn carnivore swoon with delight.

But if it's noodles you crave on Clement Street, there really is only one option: King of Thai Noodle House. With seven locations throughout the city, King of Thai still enjoys its modest roots on Clement Street. This tiny, cramped, hole-in-the-wall may make you pause in the face of its chaotic energy, but if you can elbow your way to a table in the back, you've struck gold. Truly bargain feasting at its best, King of Thai offers stir-fried flat noodles beyond compare. Dig into the stir-fried Chinese broccoli with combination seafood in gravy sauce over flat noodles for a modest $6.75 and you'll be stuffed for days. The Thai fried rice with roasted pork and Chinese sausage at $5.75 will make you sweat, unless you ask for it "not too spicy." But then, what's the fun of that? And just a couple of blocks away is King of Thai Kitchen, a more spacious facsimile of the original, but with very late-night hours. If you find yourself craving tom yum goog hot-and-sour shrimp soup with lemongrass at 1:30 a.m., you now know where to head – King of Thai Kitchen stays open until 2:30 a.m.

Well, that about brings us up to snuff. The EatClement group will have checked off a meager 17 out of 43 restaurants by the time you read this. Of course, there was pub grub at the Bitter End (its trivia night is better than the steak in peppercorn sauce, but you really should have the shepherd's pie there anyway) and the incredible spicy fries at Java. I can't really recommend the pig's ear or blood cubes at the D and A Café, but we did face that demon and had quite a fine time in spite of the ensuing MSG hangover.

Ahead of us lies the stuff of dreams: all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue at Coriya Hot Pot City (where you cook it yourself at the table); the Russian Bear, where I'm sure much vodka will make the borscht go down better; everyone's favorite throwback diner, Hamburger Haven; and then across the street to the newest addition to the 'hood, Pizza Orgasmica. Beyond those, many more spots to go before we reach our goal and have to backtrack to the ones that have opened since this project began.

We haven't missed a week yet, and the size of our dinner table keeps growing. Some nights there are 9 or 10 of us. I can feel our momentum growing, as Clement Street keeps rewarding, and regardless of the extra pounds we may have picked up along the way, EatClement has been an unqualified success. Join us next week – I'm sure you'll be impressed!

Kevin Hunsanger is an owner of Green Apple Books and Music and has been a Clement Street character for better than 12 years. Invite him to dinner at kevin@greenapplebooks.com.

The itinerary so far:

Village Pizzeria 1 Clement, S.F. (415) 221-2100.

Clémentine Restaurant 126 Clement, S.F. (415) 387-0408.

Murasaki Sushi Bar 211 Clement, S.F. (415) 668-7317.

Le Soleil 143 Clement, S.F. (415) 668-4848.

Q 225 Clement, S.F. (415) 752-2298.

Burma SuperStar 309 Clement, S.F. (415) 387-2147.

King of Thai Noodle House 639 Clement, S.F. (415) 752-5198.

King of Thai Kitchen 346 Clement, S.F. (415) 831-5593.

Bitter End 441 Clement, S.F. (415) 221-9538.

Java 417 Clement, S.F. (415) 752-1541.