SF’s Multicultural Heritage Ensures Dining Options for Every Palate
Abstract
This is the first of a two-part series to introduce you to the wide variety of cuisine that awaits you in the City by the Bay.
Steven Chan, M.D., M.B.A., practices at Palo Alto VA Health’s Addiction Treatment Services, specializing in psychiatry, clinical informatics, and health care technology. He serves as a co-investigator on UC Davis telepsychiatry projects, a co-investigator on a UCSF-Stanford CERSI regulatory sciences research on health system technology integration, and co-investigates restaurants and cafés on the weekends. Uyen-Khanh Quang-Dang, M.D., M.S., is a geriatric psychiatrist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. She is the vice chair of the APA Council on International Psychiatry and a member of the APA Foundation Board of Directors. She is also a co-founder and member of the education nonprofit VietHope Inc.’s Board of Directors.
The abundance of fresh fruit, crisp vegetables, and creative foods permeates the San Francisco culinary culture. One huge draw for foodies is the variety: from independent, streetside food trucks to high-end table-service dining. And, with all the networking you surely must do at APA’s Annual Meeting, coffee roasters are available at seemingly every corner. By night, relax and chat with new friends over SF’s famous locally brewed beer or crafted cocktails.
Here are some of our top eatery recommendations that you must check out while you’re attending the Annual Meeting:
Want to Help Out a Good Cause?
Crossroads Cafe, South Beach neighborhood: With over 920 reviews and 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp, this bookstore and counter-service cafe serves delicious breakfast and lunch, along with wine, beer, and hand-crafted smoothies and coffee drinks. It has an outdoor patio overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Delancey Street Foundation residents run this as part of the “leading residential self-help organization for substance abusers, ex-convicts, homeless, and others who have hit bottom.”
Delancey Street Cafe, South Beach neighborhood: Want Zagat-rated table service with great views of the Embarcadero? Look no further than this restaurant, which serves seafood entrées, vegetarian dishes, and its signature sweet potato pie. The restaurant, featured in Food Network’s “Best of” series, is staffed with Delancey Street Foundation residents recovering from substance use disorders and homelessness. It is adjacent to Crossroads Cafe. It’s been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ada’s Cafe, South Beach neighborhood: Though this small café is open only on weekday mornings and afternoons, this nonprofit organization will meet your American-style quick-service food cravings. Ada’s Cafe serves chai tea lattes, espresso beverages, and a variety of breakfast options, from to-go pastries to breakfast burritos. Try its Wonderful Wendy sandwich, filled with chipotle aioli, Havarti cheese, and applewood-smoked bacon. Feel good that your dollars support employment for people with disabilities: this nonprofit organization provides vocational options and got its start with special needs students in Palo Alto.
Uniquely SF
POPOS: “POPOS,” which stands for Privately Owned Public Open Spaces, dot much of downtown and urban San Francisco. These plazas, terraces, atriums, and small parks provide open space as mandated by San Francisco planning, and they provide some of the best rooftop views of San Francisco at no cost. Subtle, brass placards outside of buildings mark POPOS. The SF government maintains a website listing POPOS with food, restrooms, tables, and seating.
Chinatown: This area is busy and bustling, filled with both locals and tourists. Check out the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, which makes homemade fortune cookies of unique chocolate, green tea, and strawberry flavors; some are even stuffed with saucy, sarcastic messages. Good Mong Kok Bakery—with many other dim sum bakeries—serves freshly baked barbecue pork buns, meat dumplings, and egg custard pastries.
The Ferry Building: This unique waterfront building provides a “feast for the senses,” with freshly baked goods, empanadas, fine California wine, Vietnamese sandwiches, and sit-down seafood. Take in the views of the San Francisco Bay, especially at night, where the Bay Bridge’s Bay Lights sculpture and generative art light show give you a visual feast for your eyes. Long lines make their way up to the popular local Blue Bottle Coffee shop, but bypass the crowds via a secret line tucked on the side. On Saturday mornings, enjoy new cuisine at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.
SF Tried and True Spots
These restaurants never fail to impress the senses with their uniquely SF style and mouth-watering food in gorgeous surroundings. Be sure to make reservations well in advance.
Boulevard: American, 1 Mission Street
Farallon: Seafood, 450 Post Street
Foreign Cinema: Californian-Mediterranean, 2534 Mission Street
Gracias Madre: Vegan-Mexican, 2211 Mission Street
Hashiri: Sushi, 4 Mint Plaza
Jardiniere: Californian-French, 300 Grove Street
La Folie: French, 2316 Polk Street
Omakase: Sushi, 665 Townsend Street
Rich Table: Californian, 199 Gough Street
Slanted Door: Vietnamese, One Ferry Building #3
Starbelly: Pizza/Californian, 3583 16th Street
State Bird Provisions: American, 1529 Fillmore Street
Zuni Café: Mediterranean, 1658 Market Street ■
