Ian's List: The Best of San Francisco

San Francisco has long been known for some of the best food in America. This has been because of our wonderful mix of ethnicities, our agricultural bounty, and the philosophy of pioneers like Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse), who thirty years ago, realized that the best cooking is done with fresh seasonal and very local ingredients. It is no exaggeration to say that Ms. Waters changed the way many cook and eat in America. Her acolytes now cook in many great San Francisco restaurants, and she encouraged small farmers to produce varieties that are never seen in supermarkets. This demand has greatly contributed to the astonishing number of artisan food makers here in the Bay Area. Ian's list is an attempt to note some of the very best food, food producers, and related products and services available in San Francisco today. The emphasis in this list is on takeout food and ingredients. This may change and I will attempt to keep it reasonably current. For restaurants, see Restaurant Reviews (below).

The Best of San Francisco: Dining and Food

• Farmer's Market: The Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market (Ferry Building, Embarcadero at Market St), Saturdays, 8 am to 1 pm. Without doubt, the best farmers' market in California. Expensive, but if God planted a garden, this is where he (or she) would sell the produce. Unsurpassed selection of organic fruits, vegetables, breads, pastries, seafood, meats, condiments, and flowers, all sold by the growers and producers. Many varieties of fruits, vegetables and other foods never seen in the supermarkets. A number of restaurants have set up outdoor food booths for great breakfasts. Glorious in summer and fall, and always a fun scene. See Cuesa.org and FerryPlazaFarmersMarket.com
• Chocolate: (1) XOX Truffles. Traditional hand dipped truffles. 754 Columbus (at Greenwich), 421-4814. See xoxtruffles.com
  (2) CocoaBella Chocolates, outstanding selection from small family-owned chocolatiers in Europe & America. 2102 Union St (at Webster), 931-6213. CocoaBellaChocolates.com
  (3) Michael Recchiuti, very high quality molded chocolates. Sold at the Farmer's market and a few retailers. See RecchiutiChocolates.com
• Bread: Acme Bread, sold at the Farmers' Market and many better food stores. Their levain is second only to Poilane (Paris).
• Ice Cream / Gelato / Sorbets:
  1) Bi-Rite Creamery. Artisanal ice creams made from Straus dairy products. 3692 18th St. 626-5600. See BiRiteCreamery.com
  2) Tango Gelato. Almost like Florence. 2015 Fillmore (at Pine), 346-3692. See TangoGelato.com
• Bakeries:
  (1) Citizen Cake. Spectacular desserts. Expensive but among the best in the city. 391 Grove (at Gough), 861-2228. CitizenCake.com
  (2) Tartine Bakery. American classics and inspired creations. 600 Guerrero (at 18th St), 487-2600. See TartineBakery.com
  (3) Boulangerie. Very French (I'ci tout est au beurre) with first rate pastries. Three locations: 2325 Pine (at Fillmore), 2310 Polk (at Green), 1000 Cole (at Parnassus).
  (4) Noe Valley Bakery, high quality classics. 4073 24th St (at Castro), 550-1405. See NoeValleyBakery.com
• Seafood:
  (1) Seafood Center, 831 Clement (at 9th), for live crab and lobsters.
  (2) Bryan's, 3473 California (Laurel Shopping Ctr), for fresh seafood.
  (3) Real Foods, 2140 Polk (at Vallejo), for fresh seafood.
• Fowl: Hoffman Ranch (at the Farmers' Market) raises free range chickens and game birds.
• Meat:
  (1) Harris' Restaurant, 2100 Van Ness (at Pacific), 673-1888. Fine aged beef, all cuts. HarrisRestaurant.com
  (2) Real Foods, 2140 Polk (at Vallejo.) Outstanding meat from small organic producers.
• Pizza:
  (1) Pizzeria Delfina, 3611 18th Street, 415-437-6800. Newly opened. One of the best Neapolitan pizzas in the city. PizzeriaDelfina.com
  (2) A16. 2355 Chestnut (at Scott), 771-2216. The best Neapolitan pizza in the city, from real brick ovens. A16SF.com.
  (3) Pane e Vino, 1715 Union (at Octavia), 346-2111. Great thin crust pizzas. See ViaVaiTrattoria.com
• Dim Sum: Ton Kiang, 5821 Geary (at 22nd). Outstanding dim sum for lunch. See TonKiang.net
• Soup: Greens, Fort Mason (Bldg A). Great vegetarian restaurant with superb takeout food, particularly the soups. Greens website and menu.Tel. 771-6222.
• Restaurants: My favorites, all very San Francisco, none fancy, not super-expensive, but consistently first rate, innovative food: A16SF.com, Chapeau, Citizen Cake, Clementine, Delfina, Desiree, Fringale, Greens, Hayes Street Grill, Incanto, Pesce, Piperade, & Zuni. Ethnic: Bodega, Helmand, Kiss, Limon, Mai's, Maki, Slanted Door, & Ton Kiang.
• Restaurant Reviews: Patricia Unterman's (of Hayes Street Grill) reviews have long been the best and most critical look at restaurants, food shops, and producers. No one serious about food can afford to miss her. Less comprehensive than Zagat's but far more intelligent and reliable. Subscribe to Unterman On Food. Her new book, San Francisco Food Lover's Guide, is indispensable. Available in all bookstores and at the Hayes Street Grill.

The Best of San Francisco: Movie Houses and Bookstores

• Castro Theater: 429 Castro (at Market). A great, fully restored 1925 movie palace that specializes in fine older and foreign films. See CastroTheatreSF.com
• Balboa Theater: 3630 Balboa (at 38th Ave). Restored neighborhood theater screening foreign and indie films. TheBalboaTheater.com
• Landmark Theaters: A small chain that focuses on quality first run independent and foreign films. Includes the Clay, the Bridge, the Lumiere, Embarcadero, and Opera Plaza in San Francisco plus a few others in Marin and on the Peninsula. See landmarktheatres.com in SF and landmarktheatres for the Bay Area.
• DVD/Video Rentals: Le Video, 1231 9th Avenue (at Lincoln), easily the largest selection of foreign, independent, and older films in the city. See levideo.com
• Bookstores:
  (1) William Stout Books, 804 Montgomery (at Jackson). Probably the best architectural book store in America. See stoutbooks.com
  (2) A Clean Well Lighted Place: 601 Van Ness (Opera Plaza). Large, intelligent bookstore with very knowledgeable staff. See www.bookstore.com
  (3) Get Lost Travel Books, 1825 Market (at McCoppin). Large selection of travel books with friendly staff. See getlostbooks.com

Other Links

• GreenCine: DVD movie rentals by mail, with over 10,000 titles with a focus on indie, art house, classics, foreign, anime and Asian cinema. See greencine.com. There's also andreas.com for SEO and PPC and stephaniecota.com for ecommerce