We couldn’t miss the Mission District in SF. This east-central hood is gentrifying quickly. It’s eclectic, unique, inspiring, rare, rad, uncommon, unusual and most of all just COOL (note: defining ‘cool’ and ‘cheesy’ to a 5 year old is difficult!). It has everything you could possibly need, and never need all while being in SF.
We hit the Mission (Valencia & 16th to be exact) during lunch-time with our friend Hugh. He was a patient guide as we popped in and out of eateries, shops and parks with our rambunctious kids.
I’m a fan of drippy, juicy sauce-packed pizza on a thin and chewy crust. Farina pizza delivered. We packed back both a spicy salami and porcini pizza with a pear, walnut, arugula salad. Charlie declared it was the BEST pizza yet. (**Mike argues this isn’t the best. SF argues it isn’t the best here.)
About to dive in!
Yeah. So San Fran is a cheese bomb. There are so, so many places to gorge on cow/sheep/goat dairy..too many to list. Mission Cheese is arguably one of the best.
THIS is Dandelion Chocolate – a veritable chocolate institution. Todd, Cam + team have dedicated their lives to bringing real chocolate back to the Bay Area. They ‘roast, crack, sort, winnow, grind, conch, and temper small batches of beans and then mold and package each bar by hand.’
Not only do they prepare tiny batches of mind-bending choc from high quality beans, they’re also devoted to sharing their carefully crafted knowledge by teaching workshops and taking groups on expeditions to cacao bearing countries. Charlie, Hugh, Alfie, Sophia and I dibbled and dabbled in their sample section and finally decided on the treat to eat -- handmade s’mores with real chocolate. Sophia, the chocolate lover, ate most of it.
Craftsman and Wolves – a contemporary patisserie. We’re the wolves-- ready to pounce at all the deliciousness.
What better way to follow pizza and s’mores? Happy Moose Juice! We found Hugh a few steps ahead tasting these sinfully healthy sips.
Alfie really got into his juice. Here he is, just a little man at his bar. Tip: at night, this juice bar turns into one of the Mission’s best cocktail bars and restaurants - The Range.
A quick stop into the wild, fantasy-land of Paxton’s Gate set our stomach back to equilibrium. Well, almost. This collection of curiosities, succulents, crazy artifacts filled Charlie’s appetite for odd things. Alfie and Sophia were thrilled to see that Unicorns really do exist.