San Francisco
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Our home and the most beautiful place in the world.
Neighborhoods
Western Neighborhoods Project. Includes the Richmond, the Sunset, and West Portal.
Inner Richmond
More Patricia Unterman recommendations:
Mission
- Schmidt's Deli (Patricia Unterman recommendation)
- Zante Pizza (Joe Blaylock recommendation)
Outer Sunset
Oceanside is the old name for the Outer Sunset area near the ocean. There's a great three block stretch on Judah west of 41st Ave with funky cafes and great organic market called Other Avenues.
Outerlands, which opened in early 2009, looks like a great place for healthy and delicious soups, salads, and desserts, with a casual and cool ambiance. The food, however, didn't meet our expectations and was slightly overpriced. It's okay if you want something healthy and warm ambiance, but it's not worth a special trip.
Patricia Unterman recommends The Pizza Place for homey, family-style pizza.
Tenderloin
More Patricia Unterman recommendations:
Restaurants
Must eat places. These are for the entire Bay Area, not just San Francisco. We tried to select only destination places, places that we'd encourage visitors in town to visit for a special San Francisco experience if they were only in town for a few days.
Bull's Head Burgers | Organic beef burger |
Koo | Sushi |
Roli Roti | porchetta sandwich |
Saravanna Bhavan | South Indian food |
Gialina's | All of their pizzas are outstanding, but their chocolate dessert pizza is special. |
Humphry Slocombe | ice cream |
Bakesale Betty's | fried chicken sandwich |
Pho Dong | Vietnamese food |
Rosamunde | Have a delicious sausage on a roll and eat it next door at Toronado with a beer. |
Golden Boy Pizza | Late night, post-carousing Sicilian pizza. |
La Palma | tortillas |
La Quinta | Mexican food |
La Oaxaquena | This Oaxacan place is hit or miss, but their tacos are a definite hit. |
Aziza | Gourmet Moroccan |
Cha-Ya | Vegan sushi. It doesn't sound good until you realize that practically everything is deep fried. |
Cinderella's Bakery | Russian food. |
Falafel Drive-In | Falafel |
San Tung | Dry chicken wings |
Chez Panisse | The capital of organic California cuisine. |
Anh Hong | Seven courses of beef. |
Tartine | The bread. |
Bay Bread | The bread. |
Gaesung Tofu House | Everything there is good, but the kimchi is outstanding. Almost as good as Mom's. |
Hog Island Oyster Company | Oysters straight from Tomales Bay. |
Oyaji | Japanese izakaya. |
Kappou Gomi | Not even sure how to describe it. Delicious Japanese food. |
On the bubble:
Red's Java House | Hot dogs |
R&G Lounge | Authentic Cantonese food. |
Shanghai Dumpling King | Xiao Long Bao |
Park Chow | Comfort food |
Marnee Thai | Duck pad kee mao |
Dotty's True Blue Cafe | Brunch |
Fraiche | Yogurt |
Gap analysis:
- Italian
- Chinese
- pub grub
- brunch
Street Food
Roli Roti | Best pork sandwich ever. Chicken is underseasoned. I like the duck when it's available (although it's also a bit underseasoned. The roasted pork is continuously marinated in rendered fat and is obviously delicious. |
Namu | Claim to have invented the Korean taco. Also at the San Francisco Ferry Building on Thursday's. A Fanny Singer recommendation. |
4505 Meats | The DIY butcher also does truck food, also at the SF Ferry Building on Thursday's. A Fanny Singer recommendation. |
Let's Be Frank | On weekends and holidays at Crissy Field. A Fanny Singer recommendation. |
Taco El Ray | In Berkeley at the foot of Ashby Ave. A Fanny Singer recommendation. |
Peko-Peko | A Fanny Singer recommendation. |
El Tonayense | These much lauded taco trucks in the Mission are good, but nothing to write home about. Can get equivalent tacos at local taquerias. |