Over President’s Day weekend, I took a solo trip back to the motherland – California. The main purpose of this trip was to visit my siblings and my adorable nephews (whom I lovingly call my birth control). But prior to meeting up with my family, I spent less than 24 hours with my friends from college.
One of my good friends from college has been living in San Francisco for the past 6 years. I’d always crash with her when I’m in town. Since I’ve been to all the touristy spots, I told her to take me to places that I wouldn’t normally go. The following day was packed full of good food, plants, and activities. Granted, it’s all a bit fuzzy to me now, since I was sleep deprived from staying up late. But here are the highlights:
Mac Daddy – $$
1453 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94107
San Francisco Hometown Creamery – $$
1290 9th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94122
I arrived at SFO around 7:30 PM (which is 10:30 PM on EST), so I was ready for bed. My friends and I visited Mac Daddy, which specializes in various mac and cheese. Although I think the real standout was the ribs. We finished the meal with ice cream at San Francisco Hometown Creamery. They make everything in small batches and on site. We arrived just shy of closing, so there weren’t a ton of flavors to choose from. I believe I had the banana flavor, which was surprisingly very delicious. But as you can tell from my bloodshot eyes, I’m ready for bed.
Neighbor Bakehouse – $$
2343 3rd St #100
San Francisco, CA 94107
My friend lives in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco, which I really like since it’s less developed for residential real estate and more for warehouses and businesses, so there’s less traffic, especially on weekends. On Sunday morning, we visited one of my favorite bakeries in San Francisco – Neighbor Bakehouse. It seems like most of their baked goods are viennoiseries, basically like croissants and puff pastries. We got a variety of their pastries. My favorites are the Guava & Cream Cheese Pastelito and the Ham & Cheese Morning Bun.
Philz Coffee – $
1258 Minnesota St
San Francisco, CA 94107
Ok. I know that Philz is expanding and apparently it’s even in the east coast now. But is any trip to SF complete without Mint Mojito?
Flora Grubb Gardens – $$
1634 Jerrold Ave
San Francisco, CA 94124
One symptom of your late 20s is without a doubt the love of plants and how a trip to a nursery can make you unbelievably happy. We spent a good hour exploring the Flora Grubb Gardens, which is a decent-sized nursery with plenty of seating (and a coffee bar).
Lands End Lookout – free
680 Point Lobos Ave
San Francisco, CA 94121
My friend told me to prepare to hike, but really it was mostly walking on a wide, muddy trail. I can’t believe in all my visits to San Francisco, I’ve never been to Lands End. In my opinion, it has some of the best views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge. Although it was so windy, so while we were on the trail, the trees blocked a significant part of the wind.
That’s wraps up my 22 hours in San Francisco! What are some non-touristy spots in SF that you love? Share in the comments below!
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