Three friends (one food lover) plus one SF hood plus seven food places equals way too much deliciousness and one slightly sore ankle.
Well folks, you knew it was eventually coming–my first official food tour of San Francisco. The hood in choice? The Mission, the city’s first neighborhood, home to Latin, Indian and Asian cultures, gorgeous historical murals and seriously delicious food. This diverse neighborhood means that one block can be littered with homeless people and abandoned buildings, and the very next could be gentrified into gorgeous buildings filled with independently-run, creative businesses.
If you’re ready, if you think you can handle the gluttony that is a custom-made Leena Eats food tour, then please, by all means, check it out: more food porn and fun photos than you could shake a stick at after the jump.
So it all started when a good friend came into town and wanted to go on a food tour with me. I looked into all the food tour companies in SF, and was totally willing to pay up to $75 for a food tour of a neighborhood I didn’t know very well. I love food tours and I just moved here, so there is plenty I need to learn!
Sadly, none of the companies would offer a tour for the middle of the week for myself and two friends–it was a minimum of ten people for them to even bother with me. They offered me other days, other tours that I didn’t want, and I finally thought, damn it, I have three degrees in writing and food and the Internet at home. There is no reason I can’t make my own food tour.
And for my first one in SF? Not too shabby if you ask me, and only one true dud.
Our first stop: Rosamunde's Sausage Menu in SF's Mission District.
On one side, The chicken and smoked cherry sausage with grilled onions at Rosamunde Sausage in SF's Mission District. On the other, my gals outside the restaurant. The sausage, which we ate with like, four different mustards, was awesome. Super juicy, perfectly charred and slightly crisp on the edges...really, a great sausage. I will definitely be back.
Stop #2: La Taqueria for the best damn carnitas taco on the planet (get it with cheese, avocado, and the shell crispy!) and a strawberry jugo de fresco. The best Mexican food I have had since I have come to SF!
Make sure if it’s your first time there, you tell the person at the register. The man we met was so nice, he hooked us up with free samples of all their jugo de frescas, and a free beef quesadilla, which was awesome. So crispy and soft and delicious…mmm.
La Taqueria's beef quesadilla
Our third stop for the cookies and cream cookie at Anthony's Cookie in SF. Tastes like a chocolate chip cookie and an Oreo made a baby, and man, is it one tasty baby!
After this, we took a slight break as I rolled and cut my ankle on a spark plug while illegally crossing the street. Yup.Because I’m graceful. Whose the #1 classy tour guide? THIS GAL!
Our fourth stop: Mission Pie, where we tried their peach raspberry pie. This was a good, basic pie. Nothing too fancy, nothing that made me want to come back for more. That being said, I like to support pie-only shops, so I will definitely be back to this place.
Just a small selection of the pies they have at Mission Pie.
The fifth stop on our tour, and the only dud: Arinell Pizza for a slice of NY-style cheese. He served it to us cold. Didn't even offer to heat it up for us. Cold. It was ok, but not worth the money, especially cold.
This is when we took a break to check out the murals on Clarion.
Murals on Clarion in SF. Murals cover the walls everywhere in the Mission, but this entire alley way, including garage doors, is covered in murals depicting independence, freedom, etc.
Murals on Clarion
Murals on Clarion
Murals on Clarion
Murals on Clarion
Murals on Clarion
Murals on Clarion
We found a fuzzy motorcycle that looked like a Muppet. I totally wasn't going to take a photo, but then I saw another couple doing the same thing. Hence, the Meghan shot.
Another cool building with a mural on our food tour.
Our sixth stop, Tartine Bakery in SF. So. Many. Baked. Goods!
Our goodies from Tartine: Lemon poppyseed cake, coconut passionfruit Bavarian cake, and a lemon tart.
One of bread chefs happens to work with me teaching group cooking classes, and she hooked us up with a fresh loaf of country bread, straight out of the oven.
The country bread from Tartine, straight from the oven. This was probably some of the best bread I have ever eaten. EVER!
Our seventh and final stop--Bi-Rite Creamery, for a scoop of cookies and cream (on the bottom), and a scoop of their famous salted caramel ice cream. It had a nice, burnt caramel flavor to it, but frankly, it could have used more salt. I love salt!
In the end, we were so stuffed, we couldn’t even eat most of the goodies from Tartine–we just took them home to enjoy later. Save my sore ankle, this was a fun challenge for myself to create a food tour. Of course, the actual tour contained historical tidbits and interesting facts, but to hear about those, you need to have me your tour guide (and yes, I do work freelance!).
~LTG!
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*Rosamunde Sausage Grill
2832 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 970-9015
*La Taqueria
2889 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 285-7117
*Anthony’s Cookies
1417 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 655-9834
*Mission Pie
2901 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-1500
*Arinell’s Pizza
509 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 255-1303
*Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600
*BiRite Creamery
3692 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 626-5600
