Food + Drink

Since opening its dedicated pop-up space in February, The French Spot has grown into a neighborhood darling that makes keto-breaking-worthy croissants. Between 2020 and 2021, over 860 restaurants closed in SF; during that same time, just 535 eateries opened. But, despite downtown’s struggles and locally headquartered tech companies conducting mass layoffs, San Francisco is rebounding — especially in regard to the city’s gastronomic scene. 2022 has seen a slew of new restaurant and bar ventures open inside spaces vacated by the pandemic. The French Spot, an artisanal bakery that puts its own modern twists and flavor profiles on traditional French pastries, has amassed a cult-like following since debuting its San Francisco bakery at 1042 Larkin Street in February of this year, taking ove...

Frankly, no one writes a more captivating, novel-like cookbook than Nigella Lawson — and the celebrity chef, as well as two other famous cooks, will be coming to SF soon. For as long as we can remember, we’ve been infatuated with cooking and baking, particularly in the realm of cookbook writing. (As an ex-boyfriend of mine, who was a nutritionist by day and private chef by night, once said to me over dinner: Writing and cooking exist in the same canon of creativity... you start with nothing and, hopefully, make something that gives someone joy.) During the pandemic, we craved those moments of pleasure more than perhaps anytime in our lives. It’s why bread making had a moment; wine-and-cheese tastings over zoom became things; 70% of Americans began making the majority of their meals at ...

After accounts of toxic workplace culture at Boba Guys rose to the surface last week, amid claims of union busting, now’s a good time as any to edit your go-to list of SF tea shops. Boba Guys is, at long last, in its “that’s not true, Ellen" era. Frankly? We’re here for it. For years, accounts of toxic workplace culture, which included episodes of outright verbal abuse, were commonly reported from behind the scenes. On Friday, we published a bombshell report of employees, past and present, who have experienced less-than-ideal working conditions at the hands of the tea shop (that’s quite rapidly falling from any semblance of grace it had prior to last week). Your spending power matters. And it counts just as much in its absence as it does in its presence. So, with the accusations agains...

Causwells knows how to put proteins in between complex carbohydrates. Admittedly, we’re not the biggest fans of the Marina; it’s, basically, home to San Francisco's proverbial frat and sorority houses that culminate into a conservative, Republican-leaning slice of the city. But we are massive stans of the neighborhood's food and drink scene. Causwells fits nicely into that fandom. Having just reopened this week on September 27th, the Chestnut Street-addressed eatery now features a completely revamped interior. The redesigned space now draws inspo from the art deco era — a popular styling in San Francisco that’s synonymous with much of the city’s historical-significance architecture. The refreshed dining and drinking spaces now include deep, rich colors, detailed wall pieces, and...

Yum Yams — "a celebration of all things ube” — will return for another year at the end of September. Ube — the pleasing, deep-purple potato originally cultivated in the Philippines — has taken the country’s culinary landscape by storm over the past decade. This bright starchy food has all the perfect makings for a viral food ingredient: It’s evidently a nutritious food with an exotic backstory, and its naturally rich purple hue comes from a hefty dose of anthocyanins, which is a purple carotenoid. It’s little wonder why ube has morphed into a quirky, au naturel way to liven up everything from donuts and ice creams, to potato chips and sushis. Now in its third iteration, SF’s foremost food festival dedicated to the vegetable is slated to be held on Saturday, September 24th, from noon to...

The best sandwiches are those hardest to consume... with any amount of composure A handful of years ago, back when Write Club SF was still kicking it at The Make-Out Room in the Mission, I won a roomful of people over by confessing that I cannot, for the life of me, eat a sandwich properly. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a comedian. I’m not even that good at telling stories under the pressure of a 7-minute time constraint. But perhaps being confronted with the image of having the entire food pyramid plummet out of my mouth during various mealtime scenarios made a kind of relatable sense to the audience. After all, whom among us has not endured such embarrassment while simply seeking nourishment and a nosh? Fast-forward to late July 2022. I’m sitting on a bench in Alamo Square wit...

Secluded… but inclusive San Francisco has no shortage of themed bars. Still crawling out from the financial pitfalls that moated the city’s gastronomic landscape, an air of levity and growth has now replaced the contracting atmosphere synonyms with restauranteering in 2020. 2022 has seen over two dozen new watering holes open in SF alone. (Among the most hype-worthy additions to the city’s bar scene continue to be Key Klub, Pie Punks, and Members Only, the latter entry taking over the once-shuttered two-story bar space in the Saratoga hotel). And there’s an unmistakable flashness — for some, even gimmicky — in how they’re attracting patrons. However, there’s a standout among the bunch. It’s a bar that transcended trends; it’s an establishment that believes in word-of-mouth above ext...

Living in the Bay Area affords you the chance to leapfrog across various touchstones in the region, many of which exist just a 90-minute drive away from downtown San Francisco. I, myself, have grown privy to partake in micro-adventures that span across the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. (Sausalito will always exist as a bastion for houseboats and calmness backdropped by the SF Bay; Mare Island has become synonymous with hyperlocal walks into Mother Nature’s reclamation of a now-defunct naval base; Guerneville… because queerness.) But a longer trip south on the 101 will see you pass sea-swept Santa Cruz, garlic-infused Gilroy, and, eventually, Monterey — where a recent summer trip to dine at the City’s only chef-guided tasting menu, served inside the historic (and breathtaking) Monterey Pl...