Those Leftys and Rightys

I know I'm lucky to live in San Francisco. The amazing food, great weather (with global warming working to our favor, our summer's have gotten less and less foggy), tasty food, gorgeous views, a variety of cultural options, oh. And did I mention the food?

But seriously. What I forget is, as I'm reading up on all of the latest and greatest trends and hot spots from around the country and experiencing it all right in my own community, the rest of the world is still a world behind. I forget about the days of chain restaurants in suburbia, or the days of not knowing what ingredients were seasonal, or the fact that people in the rest of the country don't know the name of the mixologist (not bartender mind you!) that made their cocktail.

I find that it takes me leaving SF in order to really appreciate what we've got. After a day/night in Denver, I already miss my city just a little bit. In the middle of dinner with two Denver foodies, I found myself asking them questions about their food scene and comparing notes. What ingredients are they seeing now? What's the restaurant scene like here? What are the top restaurants in town?

I found myself saying "What? You don't get stone fruit fully in season until Aug?" or "You're JUST eating ramps? I'm almost ramp'ed out already!" Yes. We are lucky in San Francisco...and well, frankly, sometimes it is easy to get snobby about it! I think the folks in NYC feel the same way, and although I make fun of New Yorkers for being NYC-centric, I think you could accuse me of the same thing in SF.

Thanks to my friend Melissa for the shout-out on her blog. Some of the spots I rattled off to her as a spot worth checking out during her visit: Tartine Bakery (Whoo hoo! Congrats on the Beard award! Check out their great cookbook), Bi-Rite Ice Creamery (you MUST have the salted caramel), and to check out Mission Dolores Park (pick up some goodies from Bi-Rite market and picnic! No better way to spend a sunny weekend day!) These spots came to mind since she and her sister were talking about a day in the Mission neighborhood...maybe I'll make more neighborhood based recs in future postings.

While you all may not have my cell number for the direct line to the foodie helpline, you do have me online, so email me if you'd like a suggestion of a place to check out in SF!