San Francisco is a culinary mecca on par with some of the greatest cities in the world. From San Francisco sourdough to the original Mission burrito, the City by the Bay offers a bevy of famous eats that you can’t experience anywhere else.
Mission Burrito in the Mission District
The Mission-style burrito originated in San Francisco’s Mission District, a neighbourhood dominated by Central American culture. Noted for its jumbo proportion, the Mission burrito includes extra rice and other goodies, such as sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Try El Farolito or Taqueria La Cumbre for a true San Francisco burrito experience.
For more information check out: Best Burritos by Neighborhood | San Francisco, CA (sftravel.com)
Sourdough Bread from Boudin Sourdough
No trip to San Francisco is complete without a bread bowl full of chowder from the Boudin factory. The Original San Francisco Sourdough is the longest continually operating business in the city, having baked bread since Isidore Boudin perfected the recipe in 1849. The flagship factory on Fisherman’s Wharf serves not only bread bowls but also animal-shaped loaves for the little ones.
For more information check out: Guide to Boudin Bakery | San Francisco Travel (sftravel.com)
Anchor Steam Beer
America’s first craft brewery was founded here in 1896. Brewers used the cool climate of San Francisco’s rooftops in lieu of ice to cool the wort. The warm liquid would steam when exposed to the night air, and the name stuck.
For more information: Anchor Steam Beer | Historic Craft Beer from California (anchorbrewing.com)
Secret Breakfast from Humphry Slocombe
A wildly popular ice cream joint, Humphry Slocombe has become a San Francisco icon since it started scooping in 2008. Flavour combinations accommodate fresh seasonal ingredients, such as Candy Cap-mushroom and peanut butter-curry. But they’re also known for innovative staples like their Secret Breakfast Ice Cream, a unique combination of bourbon and cornflakes.
For more information: Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream
Dim Sum in Chinatown
San Fran’s diverse communities have added their own flavours to our city’s bounty of delicious dining options. One of the dishes most synonymous with San Francisco’s vibrant and storied Chinese community is dim sum. From takeaway spots like Golden Gate Bakery to sit-down restaurants like Lai Hong Lounge, the bustling streets of Chinatown are the best spot for dim sum.
For more information check out: Best Dim Sum by Neighborhood | San Francisco, CA (sftravel.com)
Irish Coffee from Buena Vista Café
A San Francisco landmark, known across the country for its menu and history, visitors come from around the world for fresh Dungeness crab, the all-day breakfast, and a selection of lunch and dinner favorites. Most important, they come for Buena Vista Café’s Irish Coffee. Ironically, the Irish coffee was not popularized on the Emerald Isle. It was commercialized in San Francisco, where Buena Vista Cafe co-owner Jack Koeppler challenged international travel writer Stanton Delaplane to help him re-create a highly touted “Irish Coffee” served at an airport in Ireland. The two experimented, ultimately crafting the perfect combination of hot coffee, Irish whiskey and whipped cream.
For more information check out: Everything You Need to Know About San Francisco’s Historic Buena Vista Cafe | San Francisco Travel (sftravel.com)
Seafood at Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf is a seafood lover’s paradise that reflects its multicultural history and where most restaurants source their fish and crab from the boats of local fisherman. Cioppino, an Italian-American seafood stew, was invented to use up leftover seafood and is a widely popular dish. San Francisco is also famous for Dungeness Crab when it’s in season each winter, as well as oysters.
For more information check out: 12 Restaurants Serving Up Fresh Seafood in San Francisco | San Francisco, CA (sftravel.com)
Martini in North Beach
The martini was actually invented at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. However, the hotel was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire, so the next best place to have a martini is in North Beach, a bastion for Italian food with a lively bar scene. This northern neighbourhood overlooks the birthplace of the Martinez cocktail, the eponymous city just visible far across the bay. Eventually, the Martinez — a combination of gin, vermouth and maraschino liqueur — dropped the liqueur, and the modern martini was born.
Espresso at Caffe Trieste
While we’re on the topic of North Beach, you can’t miss a quintessential beatnik experience. North Beach was a hub for the Beat movement in the 1950s, and Caffe Trieste on Vallejo St. was a favourite gathering place of figures like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. The coffee shop walls are also lined with photographs of its Hollywood connections. A number of actors have been known to frequent Caffe Trieste, and Francis Ford Coppola supposedly wrote much of The Godfather script there.
Chocolate at Ghirardelli Square
In the 1850s, Italian immigrant Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli started his chocolate-making company at the old Pioneer Woolen Mills. After the factory was moved to San Leandro in the 1960s, a group of San Franciscans purchased the property, where visitors today can still view the original chocolate manufacturing equipment while sampling gooey hot fudge sundaes and delicious squares of Ghirardelli milk chocolate.
