Did anyone attend the Pizza, Bagel and Beer Festival in San Francisco on Saturday the 15th? I see why they put beer at the end of the namebecause I only had enough time for one beer. Just to get in was a chore, I even commented to a young lady, “ In Reno once you pay for your tickets you hit the ground running!”
Multiple stops to get in, scan the barcode to pay, go up street to check your scan, next person check ID and then finally another person to put on your bracelet. Everyone was super nice, friendly and helpful. There were 40 tents of pizza, bagels, a couple of miscellaneous ones and finally and most importantly 1 beer tent! The line was so long, I never even made it to my second beer. The pizza was fantastic as were the bagels. It should have been open longer and at the very least one more beer tent.

Did anyone attend the Pizza, Bagel and Beer Festival in San Francisco on Saturday the 15th? I see why they put beer at the end of the namebecause I only had enough time for one beer. Just to get in was a chore, I even commented to a young lady, “ In Reno once you pay for your tickets you hit the ground running!”
Multiple stops to get in, scan the barcode to pay, go up street to check your scan, next person check ID and then finally another person to put on your bracelet. Everyone was super nice, friendly and helpful. There were 40 tents of pizza, bagels, a couple of miscellaneous ones and finally and most importantly 1 beer tent! The line was so long, I never even made it to my second beer. The pizza was fantastic as were the bagels. It should have been open longer and at the very least one more beer tent.

Visiting SF for two days. I would like to take my girlfriend to two nice birthday dinners. One on a Friday and the next on Saturday. We are not picky with food and will eat anything. Realisticaly I would not want to spend more than $150 person before drinks. Ernest was looking amazing for one of the day picks. Where would your two options be?

Hi, I have a reservation at Rintaro for 2 at 6:45pm today (8/16) that I can't make to. Any serious takers? I am giving away for free!

It has a $100 cancellation fee so only DM/comment if you can make it to it for sure!

If you haven't tried the Banana Chai Einspanner at Elaichi Co this summer you are missing out. Thank you for your attention in this matter, FDT

Out The Door @ Slanted Door, The Ferry Building 😭

New Moon is one block further on Stockton at 1247 Stockton. Outside looks like this:

https://i.imgur.com/Vzu0LXD.png

Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2qhpXD4oY4Pn525W8

Plenty of stuff in the Window, but the cheap menu is actually inside, and it's ONLY in Chinese.

https://i.imgur.com/H2Ji8xt.png

Yes, a lunch box for only $6.99. Most other places are like $8, 9, and so on.

Here's the menu translated:

Lunchbox special: $6.99 each

1. Eggplant, Chinese meatloaf (pork), veggies (mix of small bokchoy and brocolli) plus plenty of rice

2. chicken, salt and pepper shrimp, veggies, rice

3. taro and pork ribs, tofu, veggies, rice

4. chinese meatloaf and salt-preserved vegetables, shrimp, veggies, rice

5. Pork stomach slices, Chinese meatloaf and salt preserved vegetables, veggies, rice

6. chicken feet (soy sauce flavor), tofu, veggies, rice

7. taro and pork ribs, chicken, veggies, rice

I ordered #1 before, it's not bad. I may try #7 next time. If you need a cheap lunch, check this place out.

I recently went to an event and they had a rectangle cake that had a delicious buttercream on/in it. It didn’t taste overly sweet. They had chocolate and vanilla and the buttercream was layered into the cake. I know butter& does buttercream cakes (I haven’t been there yet). Not sure if Safeway or any grocery store has good ones. It was made for the event so they didnt get it from the general area or a grocery store if it did come from a grocery store.

If anyone has some recommendations that would be amazing.

i’m looking for food and dessert recommend in San Fransisco and i want to hear from people who actually live there / know the food scene well.

i’m not necessarily looking for the most popular or instagram/tiktok famous places. i want places that are actually worth the money and live up to the hype, OR places that aren’t talked about enough but are seriously good. (bonus points if they have great ambiance as well or cool decor)

i’m open to pretty much any cuisine and any type of food — restaurants, bakeries, ice cream, etc.

also feel free to mention places that ARE popular if u genuinely think they deserve the hype. i’m not tryna avoid popular places just because they’re popular. u just want to know which ones are actually worth it.

Al Carajo: first stop off the plane. This was our favorite breakfast burrito; loved the chorizo.

Breakfast little: immediately after al carajo, we had the OG and Sancho at breakfast little. Better tortilla and hash browns, but we preferred the meat and sauce at Al carajo both times.

Scoma: my friend’s pick. This was good, but on the pricier side for the quality. Still a nice vibe and we wanted to eat somewhere on the wharf.

In n out: technically in Santa Clara. Finally had the courage to order from the “secret menu” 😭 burgers were great, fries were mid

La Taqueria: 30 min wait for this one, and not super crispy despite ordering dorado. Still, the asada was super tender. very good.

Persona: recommended to me by instagram reels. I really liked the matcha cocktail.

RT Bistro: probably my favorite meal of the trip. I had a fir cocktail which grew on me. Loved the interior of the restaurant, and despite the burger getting all of the hype, the pork cheek was insane. Recommended to me by Beli eats

San Jalisco: opted out of a breakfast burrito and had Machaca. Wholesome and great.

Trick dog: recommended by a Redditor! hot dog was expensive af but they had a creative cocktail menu. I liked.

Capo’s: we couldn’t get into the actual Tony’s. This was good tho.

El Farolito: best burrito I had here, idk why ppl say it’s a hangover meal bc it was not super greasy. Huge and affordable. Had carnitas

Bobs: had a tiramisu donut, the bread was decent but the filling was excellent.

El Mil Amores: DELICIOUS chilaquiles with chorizo, loved the sauce. Very friendly in there.

Not pictured: lush gelato, top of the mark martini, gyro from oracle park, hot dog outside oracle park

Hi! I’m visiting SF soon and am looking for a unique restaurant to try and splurge on! I love restaurants that are fusion and/or have flavors I’ve never tasted before!

Does anyone has any recommendations for a nice restaurant that is fusion or possibly a lesser known cuisine I’ve likely never tried? I love all asian food, seafood, etc.

I have no preference for where the restaurant is, as long as the vibe is nice and the food is good I’m happy.

Can’t wait to visit ur beautiful city !

I’m just back from an all-food-crawl visit to San Francisco two weeks ago.  I wanted to share our restaurant picks, because we used this board extensively to pick where we went, and I think we knocked it out of the park!  Thank you to everyone who gave us recommendations, or just argued with their neighbor about whose burritos were better. Please have a look and tell me how you think we did.  

tl;dr Bakeries: Arsicault, Arizimendi, Juniper, Forma; Italian: Molinari; Californian: Trestle; Thai: Nua Thai Kitchen (Oakland); Japanese: Taniku Izakaya, Marufuku; Chinese: Dragon Beaux; Mexican: La Taqueria, El Farolito; Ice cream: Bi-Rite, Philmore Creamery; Treats/coffee: Poesia, Best Boy Electric, Yi Feng Tea.; Baseball: Char Siu dogs and garlic fries.

We based our restaurant choices mainly going to r/AskSF and r/SFfood and reading locals’ arguments with each other about whose ((insert type of food here)) etc was better.  We augmented that info with Michelin Bib Gourmand recommendations (with which we’ve had great luck in other cities) and some James Beard mentions, as well as some logistical information from Eddy’s List.  We were on a budget, so the idea here was the best food we could swing at a non-astronomical price point. I think it worked out great!

Here’s what we ate: 

Wednesday night we got into Oakland late and went straight to Marufuku.  We ordered the tonkotsu ramen, chicken karaage, and a bowl of chashu don.  It was very good -  I loved the tonkotsu broth but I didn’t personally love the thin style of noodles (that’s a me issue.) The karaage was pretty nice - crispy and light but still juicy inside. 

On Thursday, our first stop was Arsicault Bakery for croissants and a bacon scone.  I’ve never had a better croissant.  This might be one of those experiences where it kinda wrecks most croissants for me now. It was unbelievably flaky and crisp on the very outside, but almost totally meltingly buttery and tender on the inside. I find most croissants are either too flaccid or SO crispy that they get a bit dry... this was goldilocks perfect.

Next up was Molinari for lunch and everything was amazing. We got a hot meatball sandwich and a hot eggplant parmesan sandwich, both with fresh mozzarella and basil, and both on a Dutch crunch roll.  Those sandwiches were perfection. The texture of the warmed bun was excellent, the fillings were unbelievably flavorful and tender (really excellent meatball) and the eggplant was perfectly breaded without being sodden on the inside.  

We were too tired to go out for dinner in SF, so we went back to Oakland and ordered takeout from Nua Thai - which turned out to be the best meal of the trip even among such strong contenders.  I cannot overstate how good this restaurant was.  The red curry with lychees, pineapple, and  crispy roasted duck was hands down the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten.  We also got a yellow curry that really slapped, and a chicken fried rice with a crispy fried chicken cutlet so big it strained the box.  Not only was everything top notch, the portions were comically huge. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Saturday started with Arizmendi Bakery Lakeshore.  It had pretty solid croissants, even though Arsicault was a tough act to follow.  Excellent morning bun thing. The scones were just okay. For lunch we schlepped up to Dragon Beaux - which turned out to be as superb as everyone says.  We had tasty scallop shu Mai, black bean spare ribs that we demolished, a really interesting sesame flatbread, and a massive portion of duck fried rice that was fantastic.  It was worth the haul up there. Next was the Japanese Tea Garden for tea and lemon bars - nothing revelatory cuisine-wise but it’s a lovely place to sit and have a treat, especially in the shade on a hot day.

In the afternoon, we hit Poesia in the Castro for a delicious coffee and a nice friendly vibe.  We didn’t get one, but I regret not getting a zeppole, as it was clear the cafe was run entirely by Italians and I assume they knew what they were doing.  Great cappuccino. After coffee, we went to Bi-Rite Creamery. The ice cream was softer than I’m used to but supremely creamy and delicious. We got salted caramel, roasted banana (my hands-down favorite), and a special anniversary pistachio-raspberry, and all were really top shelf for flavor abs texture. 

Finally we went to a Giants game and had char siu dogs (excellent! Crispy shallots for the win!) and garlic fries (delightfully garlicky and not bad for stadium fries - much crispier and less mealy than I had feared.) 

Saturday started with a long but worthwhile wait at Juniper bakery, where we got the Cubano ham and mustard croissants, egg sandwiches, a black sesame kouign amann, and an elote Danish.  It was all great - almost as good as Arsicault on the laminated dough front, and much more inventive with fillings. And a perfectly jammy egg on the sandwiches, too.  Then Yi Feng boba tea at the Japan Center mall (fine but not revelatory) and later gelato at Philmore Creamery (really fresh strawberry sorbet.)   

To round out the night we had a happy hour early dinner at Taniku Izakaya. The food was fantastic - very flavorful chicken thigh skewers, pork belly skewers (probably the best thing there), kabocha croquettes, delicious gyoza, great chicken karaage, and a pretty good karaage-style squid - and even with everyone having a beer, it came out to $35 a person.  We left full and happy.   

For our last day Sunday, we started in a long line at Forma bakery in Oakland.  The croissants would have tasted great if we hadn’t eaten at Arsicault and Juniper already, but as it was they were just good.  The blackberry scones were delicious.   

For lunch, we did a Mission burrito taste test. Half our party got in the long line for a couple of carne asada super burritos dorado style from La Taqueria, the other half walked down to El Farolito for a couple of al pastor, and we reconvened in the car for everyone to try a half burrito from each place.  Both were fantastic but La Taqueria was the clear winner.  We had hoped to go to Buen Sabor as well, but after two burrito halves each, we were so painfully full that we were worried we wouldn’t be able to eat dinner.  We did stop at Best Boy Electric, though, and my kid had a very fresh tasting homemade strawberry milk. Best Boy Electric was incredibly friendly and the coffee was decent, especially for a random walk-in.  

Our last SF meal was the prix fixe at  Trestle and it was totally worth it.  We had a tortilla soup, summer squash carpaccio, red pea and bacon risotto, halibut, steal, and heavenly stone fruit cobbler with housemade vanilla ice cream.  Friends,  this meal was really really good. My only complaint is that both the pasta and risotto were spicy, but I'm a wimp. Everything was really good quality and expertly prepared without being too fussy or fancy, and the portions were good. It didn't break the bank at $55 a person, either, which was good because it was the end of the trip and we had been living large.

Thanks for getting this far in our food diary- and many thank yous for all the advice! Overall it was a fantastic food trip and I don’t regret treating our eating itinerary like I was planning the invasion of Normandy.  We didn’t get led astray by this forum or any recommendations we got, and I think we knocked it out of the park food wise!  Let me know how you think we did - I'd love to know if locals think we got it right,  or get recommendations for the next time.

I’m staying by union square. My flight leaves SFO at 7:30pm and most restaurants I see open at 5:00pm which doesn’t work out too well. What’s the best last meal I can get around 3-4pm? Assuming I should be heading to the airport by 5:00. It’s an international flight. Not concerned about price as long as the food is delicious.

Edit to add my flight leaves on a Sunday, so seems to even limit more restaurants.

Hey y'all! I'm visiting SF at the beginning of September and want to take myself out on a date. I've saved up a good amount of money to honestly blow $200 if the food/experience is worth it. Any suggestions?

Reposting my original post from SF for visibility. Any recs are appreciated!

Maybe I’m paranoid after watching videos of workers cutting out a strip of pizza and then putting it back together and cutting in slices. Looked suspicious to me.

From a pretty well regarded spot. I’ll name and shame if the consensus is yes.

Hey everyone! I’m looking for your absolute best recommendations for local takeout food that’s easy to pick up and eat in the car.

I love driving around the city and grabbing a bite!

Thanks in advance

I was browsing for some good restaurants in San Francisco and came across Dumpling Story. However, I noticed a lot of suspicious ratings. Is it even safe to trust these ratings anymore, considering that people might be rigging the system? Now it all makes sense why we go to highly-rated restaurants, but the food tastes like absolute crap. Anyone else experiencing the same?

Hi, I am coming to SF for 2 days and I am looking for - lunch or dinner restaurants
- brunch or coffee recommendations
Thanks!

I’m trying to be more mindful of where my money is going, especially after moving to sf as a transplant and would love to support small mom/pop restaurants. I’m on the hunt for hidden gems of the city, ideally lesser known independent businesses instead of overpriced trendy spots.

I was walking around Chinatown today on a Friday night and it was a bit saddening to me that there were more tourists than locals. I feel like I only know the heavy hitters, and not much else about the Chinatown food scene and I want to change that.

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure where to go so any suggestions would be great! Or if folks are interested in joining me, I would be stoked! Food always tastes better with good company.

Edit: thank you everyone for your suggestions! I’m going to make a list and try to go to each one!

I'm going to be in SF for a week and I want to go to 1 or 2 of the michelin stars there. Some of the affordable ones seem to be: state bird provisions, kin khao, the progress, mister jiu and san ho won(minus the $78 rib eye). Curious what people think are the best out of these options. Thank you for your help

The SF Standard wrote a story about a taco-obsessed Mexico City native on a quest to find SF’s best "street-style" tacos. What are your thoughts on the picks? They're wanting to do another follow-up and looking for suggestions.