BLUE BARN GOURMET
Read moreIn a pretty little barn on Chestnut Street, you'll find tasty sandwiches and salads, each more tempting than the last. You can even compose your own. The produce is fresh and the portions gargantuan. There are a few high tables if you'd like to sit down, but it's mostly take-away. The chain has two other restaurants, one in Nob Hill and the other in Corte Madera, north of San Francisco. Ideal for a healthy picnic before exploring the city.
ARIZMENDI BAKERY
Read moreA nice little bakery where you can buy pizza, focaccia or desserts to enjoy on a little bench or to take away for a picnic in Golden Gate Park. This cooperative, set up by its parent company in Oakland, produces all its breads and pastries with love: " make loaves , not war ". Prices are by weight, and if you're lucky enough to come across the roasted peach focaccia, go for it without hesitation, it's a delight. A small neighborhood address with a nice folkloric touch as we like them.
SUSHIRRITO
Read moreHere the concept is simple: it's a sushi the size of a burrito. Taken by storm by the employees at noon, the little store is always full! Prepared in front of your eyes with original recipes (tuna, lotus chips and crunchy vegetables or salmon, ginger guacamole and green banana chips) and fresh ingredients, these large makisare a delight for raw fish lovers. The must: take out and enjoy your Sushirrito on the sunny tables of Union Square Plaza right next door. Several restaurants in town.
LIGURIA BAKERY
Read moreFounded in 1911, Liguria Bakery is known throughout San Francisco. In this bakery, time has stood still for the neighborhood's Italian mammas , who have been chatting here for nearly a century. It sells focaccia, baked in the large brick oven in the back room. With mushrooms, bacon or simply tomato, they are considered the best in town. You can also opt for a good slice of pizza. Ideal for a quick, inexpensive lunchtime focaccia on a Washington Square bench.
GRUBBIN'
Read moreFamily restaurant without much charm, but with very good sandwiches with pastrami, smoked ham, salami, bacon, sprouts, cheddar cheese, aioli, pesto... Even the bread is good, you will enjoy it. And everything is prepared in front of you, a guarantee of freshness. On weekends, at lunchtime, locals flock to the place and sit in the adjacent park. The establishment is a bit far from the center, but it is located near the beaches. Perfect for a picnic on the sand, between two dives in the Pacific!
MOLINARI DELICATESSEN
Read moreThis Italian delicatessen had the good idea of offering sandwiches made from the authentic products it is overflowing with. The charcuterie, hanging from the ceiling, catches the eye, while the cheeses rest quietly in the beautiful refrigerated display case. You can choose your bread, add Italian meats, marinated vegetables, and of course some cheeses, straight fromIl Bel Paese. A treat! Not to be missed if you want to feel the American-Italian atmosphere of the neighborhood, so typical of Little Italy.
PEET'S COFFEE & TEA
Read moreWe sit around large wooden tables to share between guests in the Ferry Building, full of charm with its metal structure and its large windows overlooking the sea crossed by boats. Organic juices, excellent sandwiches, nice salads, various coffees, chocolates with all sorts of garnishes, wraps, mixed salads... The plus: free wifi. Needless to say, the laptops are all open, in addition to being a friendly meeting place, it is a popular work meeting spot for Franciscans.
EL PORTEÑO EMPANADAS
Read moreThis small stand in the Ferry Building, run by a Napa Valley-born family business, offers only empanadas from Buenos Aires. It's hard to resist the traditional recipe for these filled puff pastries from Argentina. We loved the carne made with beef, onions and green olives, as well as the champiñones with mushrooms sautéed with shallots and crème fraîche. Enjoy them sitting on a bench in the sun, hair blowing in the wind, watching the container ships sail by in San Francisco Bay.
Escape from New York Pizza
Read moreIf you're wandering around the Haight's bars, you're going to have to stop at some point and swallow something to soak up all that beer. That's where Escape from New York comes in, an institution that dates back to 1986. At the time, the Full Moon Saloon, a nearby concert hall, had a window overlooking Escape that allowed patrons to order pizza directly! The Full Moon has closed, but Escape still has a great collection of concert posters.