Leaving San Francisco Behind - A Tour of the Mission

I can’t believe that I am leaving San Francisco in December. I remember the day that we arrived here like it was yesterday. Living in the city felt like flash-dancing through life. I know that it will be fun to live in Amsterdam and Berne and it will be great to be closer to my European friends and family. But secretly I hope that one day I will be back and Annelien and I will live in a little house in Bernal Heights, where lesbians rule the world and where I will run a little urban farm and raise heirloom chickens with feathery feet.

For now, I would like to share some tips with you for when you visit our neighborhood. I just made a list with places that are fun to stop by. Rachelle and Jeffrey, this list is for you guys. I hope you will have a blast next week. I should have made the list a while ago for our other guests but somehow it took me three years to learn how to welcome out-of-towners with the generosity that comes naturally to San Franciscans. I hope new guests will enjoy the list as well. For American readers, my comments below may seem a little understated. To be sure, my lack of superlatives doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the places I recommend. It just means that I haven’t quite internalized yet that the proper translation in American English of the word “good” is “great.”

In this blog post, I will tell you about the places in the Mission that I recommend for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. I will also make sure you know where you can find the best groceries, where you can ride on a flat - or almost flat - bike lane and where you can find my favorite Mission murals, bookstores and park. And to top it all off, I give you some earthquake readiness tips. 

Put on your super-skinny jeans, show off those tribal tattoos and hop on your fixie, we are taking a tour of the Mission. And don’t forget your Ray-Ban Wayfarers, the Mission District is the sunniest in the city. I am not making this up. The locals say that Garfield Square is the warmest place in San Francisco, where the weather changes every block and every ten minutes.

Coffee. A couple of months ago, Fiore Caffè opened its doors on Guerrero and 24th. Its baristas take their coffee very seriously, like it’s some kind of lost art. I am sure they have PhDs in coffee grinding and took Master classes in creative coffee design. They draw amazing pictures in your latte or macchiato. And though their artwork is short-lived and transient, it evokes lots of questions and isn’t that what art is all about? If you get here early in the morning or late in the evening, you will see Apple and eBay employees get on or off the corporate shuttles that make a stop at the corner. You will find many other great places for coffee throughout the neighborhood. The most trendy one is probably Four Barrel Coffee on Valencia between 14th and 15th. On the other hand, Dolores Park Café (on 18th and Dolores) has the best view. If you want to go to Haus (on 24th between Lucky St and Treat St), make sure you have a Mac. I think they don't allow anything else inside. Bernie’s on 24th (between Sanchez St and Noe St) is one of my favorites in Noe Valley.

(Haus, on 24th between Treat and Lucky St)

Breakfast. Be sure to try breakfast at Beretta on Valencia and 23rd. I would describe it as new California or Italian cuisine. Don’t go to Beretta too early on a Sunday morning though. It will be incredibly crowded and loud. It’s better to go later in the morning or around lunch time (unless you like long lines). Beretta is also a great pick for dinner. Also, it’s easy to have a gluten free breakfast at Beretta. Boogaloos on 22nd (between Valencia and Bartlett St), Blue Fig (on Valencia between Liberty and 21st) are also pretty good and more low-key breakfast places. It’s not so easy to have a gluten free breakfast at Blue Fig because of their limited menu. I can’t add Tartine (on the corner of Guerrero and 18th) to my list because it’s mainly a bakery and because I have to eat gluten free, I never stopped by. I know that it is the neighborhood’s hippest breakfast place. People wait in long lines in front of the bakery for a French croissant. I don’t want to be a sore loser but Annelien says it isn’t even all that good. I have never felt the urge to wait in line for an hour to (possibly) find out that they don’t have gluten free pastries. But it’s very hyped and you should probably check it out on a weekday morning if you have time.

Simple Lunch. I think Annelien would recommend Papalote (on 24th between Guerrero and Valencia) if you are looking for a quick lunch. Papalote serves simple and great Mexican food. Annelien is a big fan of their burritos. I like their fish tacos a lot. If you have to eat gluten free, specify that you want corn quesadillas or tacos (plain corn). Ike’s Place on 16th St (between Dehon St and Sanchez St) has reportedly the best sandwiches in town. I haven’t tried all the other sandwich places but I would highly recommend this place that was in the eye of a landlord-tenant storm last year. Ike’s even has gluten free sandwiches. For the European readers: West coasters seem to eat chips every time they have sandwiches for lunch. I still haven’t gotten used to that idea. As a kid, I was only allowed to eat chips on Sundays before lunch, when my parents had their aperitif after we got back from church.

Dinner. There used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken where you now have Spork on Valencia (between Hill and 22nd St). Spork is a diner with very simple but excellent new California food. My favorite is their cauliflower and squid dish. I have it almost every week. I also love their smashed potatoes (not mashed) with rosemary. Annelien loves their burgers. They have a small but excellent beer and wine selection. For example, they have the Belgian beer Rare Vos on the menu and some nice Californian wines (I like the Angeline pinot noir a lot).

More upscale (but still with a very low-key ambiance – you are in San Francisco after all) is Frances on 17th (between Sanchez and Noe St). They serve sophisticated Mediterranean food in original combinations. When you are having dinner with a party of two, I would highly recommend you sit at the bar. Frances is very small and very popular so it can get very loud. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it will be much quieter at the bar. Yes, I am that old that I like for a restaurant to be quiet enough so I can actually hear my dinner companion. And though I may be nosy, I don’t really care to be brought up-to-date on the love or sex life of the people who sit an inch away at the neighboring table. Also, I’d like to warn the European readers. The waiter hugs you when you leave the restaurant. Even though I may have cultivated an enthusiastic American outer shell, I still have the shy interior of a reserved Flemish girl so I blushed the first time the waiter hugged me on my way out. But hey, there is never enough love in this world. (Frances received a Michelin star last year.)

Bar Tartine is another one of my favorites. It’s on Valencia between 16th and 17th. We saw this block change and transform over the last couple of years. It used to be a fairly gritty block and it housed the Indian restaurant Maharaja, where I went with my friend Aaron on a regular basis for curries and Kingfisher. It went out of business because, according to Aaron, their business plan was “serve Aaron and his friends dinner.” And it’s true that I never saw any other guests there but Aaron and myself. Now that the neighborhood is attracting new and very hip eating places, like Bar Tartine and Locanda, the more authentic ones (the ones with the clammy floors and sticky menus) are disappearing. I have talked about Bar Tartine in an earlier blog post. It’s one of those inventive farm-to-table places with great wooden floors and a terrific marble bar and unconventional waiters and of course, great food. It comes highly recommended.

Two other fun and popular places are Commonwealth (on Mission between 18th and 19th) and Foreign Cinema (on Mission between 21st and 22nd). The latter is a great place for brunch and dinner. Commonwealth has a fairly sophisticated and novel menu. I am a big fan of this place. The food is excellent and I like the eccentric waiters with their very elaborate tattoos. I also like it that this place is on a grittier block; I feel like a woman of the world when I enter this part of the Mission.

Range on Valencia (between 19th and 20th) also serves new American. The interior decoration is really nicely done. I like eating here though the quality of the food may be a little unpredictable and though it’s really nice and a bit upscale, it’s not as special as Commonwealth for example.

Because Frances, Bar Tartine, Commonwealth, Foreign Cinema and Range are foodie places, it’s really easy to eat gluten free. The waiters know their job and are generally very helpful in finding dishes or combinations that work. It’s best to make reservations if you want to avoid a long wait.

If you like Indian food, Dosa on Valencia (between Liberty and 21st St) is an excellent pick. Udupi Palace on the next block is probably as good but more low-key and cheaper. Annelien is a big fan of Ethiopian food and she loved to go to Café Ethiopia on Valencia (between 20th and Cunningham Pl). If you have to eat gluten free, ask the waiter for potatoes instead of the Teff flour pancakes (which are not gluten free).

If you have small kids or a baby and you would like to go to one of the places I mentioned, my friend Luke – who has a 4-month old daughter – recommends you go early (around 5.30 pm). Basically when the French take their afternoon break and when West Coasters commute and get ready for dinner.

And there are obviously many more great eating places. You can find – sometimes hilarious – reviews at Yelp.com.

Drinks. Heart (on Valencia and 24th) is great for after work drinks. They have excellent Porto and sake, trendy bartenders and dangerous artwork on the wall. Then there is Lexington, the neighborhood dyke bar on 19th (between Lexington and Valencia). This old-school dive bar can smell a bit like chlorine. Don’t let it distract you too much; at least you know the place is clean. It’s a pretty authentic place where you can find girls boozing or cruising. On a nice day – usually during spring or fall – it’s great to have drinks on the Medjool rooftop (Medjool on Mission between 21st and 22nd). The rooftop is really cool, the bar downstairs is not. The bar next door, Laszlo, is pretty hip. You will find the best margaritas at Velvet Cantina (on 23rd between Bartlett and Mission). This place is loud in a good way, it’s exciting. It’s a great place if you feel like celebrating with a pitcher of margaritas and some healthy Mexican food. The Revolution Café (on 22nd and Bartlett) is an excellent wine bar (if you don’t mind the smell of weed or your nose only has a limited sense of smell). There is a fun little parklet outside. Radio Habana Social Club (on Valencia between 22nd and 23rd) can be summarized in three words: seventies miniature bar.

Groceries. My absolute favorite is Bi-Rite on 18th (between Guerrero and Dolores). Try their local and seasonal produce, their incredible white-fish salad and other deli goodies, their great chocolate and cookies and of course, their ice cream. Their slogan is “Creating Community Through Food.” There is also Bi-Rite Creamery on the corner of Dolores and 18th (in front of Dolores Park Café). On almost any given day, there is a line that curls around the block with people waiting for their favorite ice cream. My second-favorite is the worker-owned Rainbow Grocery on Folsom (between 14th and Eerie St). They have excellent gluten free pastries, granola in bulk and I love their thunder and lightning system in the produce department. They don’t sell meat or fish. If you want to go to a corporate organic store, you can go to Whole Foods on 24th between Sanchez St and Noe St. In my opinion, they completely sold out and I have been semi-boycotting them since their CEO and co-founder wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal against President Obama’s healthcare plan.

Gluten Free Bakery. Mariposa has excellent gluten free bread and pastries. You can find their products at Rainbow Grocery and at their stall in the Ferry Building (One Ferry Building). You can also order on-line. I am a huge fan of their Almond Biscotti. Bi-Rite and Rainbow Grocery also have gluten free bread, pizza crusts, cookies and other baked goods. Rainbow Grocery has excellent Earth Café cake that is gluten free, vegan, raw and, surprisingly still tastes like something pleasant.

Bike lanes. If you want to ride your bike around town while staying on bike lanes, Google Maps has an excellent feature that allows you to find the right route. It doesn’t show you yet how to avoid some thorny hills. In our neighborhood, I recommend you stay on Valencia because Valencia is as level as it gets in the city.

Culture. I don’t know any museums in the Mission, but the local bookstores (Dog Eared Books, Phoenix) are highly recommended. The Communist hard-headed Modern Times just reopened on 24th (between Alabama and Florida St). When you’re at the store, you feel like you are thrown back in time. This is the ‘70s San Francisco. When Modern Times was still on Valencia St, as Annelien and I browsed through the books on a Sunday afternoon, a small group of people was quietly but powerfully singing Communist marching songs in the back of the old store. When we first moved to the city, we were surprised to see that the store has a section that is called “Recreational Drugs.” Also, the newly opened art gallery Photobooth (on Valencia and 24th) is worth a visit. And finally, besides the typical things that your guide book will recommend, I would like to put in a good word for Clarion Alley that runs between Valencia and Mission (between 16th and 17th St). The whole alley has beautiful murals. Towards Mission St, you will see that the alley becomes a bit grittier and that is probably representative of what the whole neighborhood looked like ten years ago.

Parks. On a sunny day, Dolores Park comes highly recommended. It is not Central Park, let’s say it is even better but it is smaller.

Earthquakes – Emergency Preparedness. Annelien and all my friends know that I am very fond of my earthquake readiness kit. I keep donating to NPR because they send you such nice American Red Cross emergency flashlights when you make a donation. If you realize there is an earthquake – you don’t always know because some heavy trucks in the street make the house tremble too – make sure you are away from the windows, drop under a sturdy table or desk, make sure your head is covered and hold onto the table or desk. Don’t run outside as shattered glass may hit you and seriously injure you.

Safe travels and enjoy the Mission District!

(Note: Make sure you check Yelp.com for opening hours and phone numbers of the places I mentioned to make sure you’re not standing before closed doors.)