In case you didn’t know, the San Francisco food scene is on fire with many different cultures joining together here. There is a plethora of restaurants and grocery options from which to choose. Eating in San Francisco at different restaurants can give you a look into the soul of each cuisine and how unique it is in its own special way. Alternatively, buying from different grocers and cooking your own meal can give you a similar sensation.
From dim sum in Chinatown to burritos in the Mission, restaurants in each SF district have every option you can imagine. Connect with someone who has lived or visited here and ask for their local recommendations.
Fortunately, a little bit of asking around has landed us some spectacular consumptions along the way. For instance, our first taste of Burmese food at Mandalay. The tea leaf salad (lap pat dok) was by far the best tasting salad I’ve ever had! Prepared with imported Burmese tea leaves, toasted with Lentil seeds, ground shrimp, fried garlic, green pepper, sesame seeds, peanuts, and dressing, it hit every note on the palate. Don’t order too much other food because the crunchy bits that make this salad aren’t the same when leftover.
The Mission is known for its burritos. But it was the tacos and the queso fundido topped with spiced mushrooms that had us coming back for more at Lolos. That says a lot for someone who despises mushrooms! The fried avocado tacos were vegetarian perfection and the tempura fried cod tacos almost melted in the mouth.
Pizzeria Delfina certainly wins the best pizza prize for these two pizza snobs. The individual-sized pizzas range from $14 to $20 and are worth every dollar. They also have many locations throughout the city so you can get your fix wherever you are.
On a more cost-effective note, the hype around Good Mong Kok Bakery’s dim sum is, without a doubt, well-earned. Three shrimp, lightly seasoned with garlic and pepper, stuffed inside a pillowy rice dumpling for only $3 is worth the wait. Don’t worry if you happen to incur a line (which you most likely will), it goes by quickly. Get here too early and you may not get to try an egg tart. Get here too late and you won’t be there in time for the onion bread. Pro tip: the menu may have 3 items for $3 but you can get just one if you want.
If you’re a fan of crab, it’s hard to come to this city and not get some where it’s most fresh. Fisherman’s Wharf offers many places to get it steamed, fried, in a sandwich or whatever your heart desires. Sabella and La Torre have been doing this since 1927. The crab sandwich and steamed whole dungeness crab hit just the right spot.
If you have a kitchen and you’re ready to get cooking, you’ll find your typical California grocery options like Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Target. However, supporting small business is in our nature, so we had to check out Chinatown and the local farmers market to see what our options were.
The farmers market at the Ferry Building operates every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am – 2 pm and Saturdays from 8 am – 2 pm. There is a wide variety of fresh bread and cheeses, and produce straight from the farm. It’s easy to see why this place is always busy. However, all of this comes at a price…and it’s a steep one! Avocados are $3 each, bread is $7 for a loaf on average and a small block of cheese goes for about $10.
On the other hand, one mile west of the Ferry Building are the markets on Stockton Street in Chinatown. They are usually open 8 am – 7 pm daily. You won’t always find a website for these places or know exactly what you can get on a given day, but you can bet your food dollar goes farther here than anywhere else in the city! Avocados were as low at $0.79, thirty eggs for $7, and a whole grocery run for less than $20.
In conclusion, the variety of food in San Francisco is wider than the city itself and you’ll only go hungry if you don’t walk out the door. So enjoy and leave your suggestions for places below. We’d love to hear some feedback and add to this list!
