San Francisco is also bordered by over 100 miles of verdant farmland and ranches, aided by northern California’s mostly temperate climate and a long growing season. Bounded by both the sea and the bay, the city has also long sustained fishing communities up and down the California coast (thank you, Dungeness crab). It’s no wonder people here love to eat—how can we help ourselves?
Our food scene can be as mercurial as our weather—skyrocketing rents mean more restaurant closures than we can bring ourselves to count—but one thing remains the same: There are delicious treasures in every corner of San Francisco, if you know where to look. Our collective diet is shaped by our neighborhoods, nostalgia, and novelty. Eating like a local is a sincere commitment to preserving the old school, while steadily supporting an earnest new school.
While not even an encyclopedia could capture the dynamic foodscape of San Francisco, my list is a humble, short offering to a city that keeps my stomach full and my heart even more so.
