Explore SF Through Ice Cream
3 min readA fun way to explore SF neighborhoods
When visiting SF, sometimes people stick to the same neighborhoods they know and love. This happened even when we lived there.
So my husband and I started explore SF by picking a place to eat as a starting point, and then building our itinerary around that area.
In this 3-part series, I’ll go over a food group (pastries, coffee shops, and ice cream), and highlight nearby activities for you.
This post will focus on ice cream. After moving to LA, we really missed SF ice cream. The texture, flavors, the “not to sweet” perfection — SF really has this down. These are our favs.
1) Garden Creamery (The Mission)
My fav ice cream shop in the city is Garden Creamery in the Mission. Open late. Has the BEST Asian-inspired flavors. And you have plenty of options for going out or shopping on Valencia St. I’ve been to Wanderlust in LA (another shop with Asian flavors) but this is still my fave.
Nearby activities:
If you happen to be in the Mission on Fri or Sat, I love checking at the free improv show, Your F**ked Up Relationship at Stage Werx. They take volunteers’ names, pull a name out of a hat, then interview that person about their worst relationship. Then base the whole show on their story. It’s sooo funny and free! Not sure if this changed post-pandemmy, but people used to bring in their own beer and burritos =)
2) Humphry Slocombe (Embarcadero)
Another tried and true is Humphry Slocomb inside the Ferry Building. My usual order is a scoop of Harvey Milk and Blue Bottle Iced Coffee. Fyi, they do offer pints at grocery stores like Whole Foods but for me the texture is still the best in person.
Nearby activities:
Visit on a Saturday during lunchtime so you can enjoy the outdoor Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. My favorite things to eat there is the Porchetta Sandwich Roti Roti Gourmet Rotisserie (they’re only open there Thur and Sat). However there are plenty of stalls that look great!
3) Sunday Social (Potrero Hill)
***I just found out they closed noo! Will keep this here for now, to honor how delicious their ice cream was. Thank you Sunday Social and Mr & Mrs Miscellaneous for being the perfect complement to SF sunny days. Hope you are working on something fun, or getting some rest.
Sunday Social (formerly Mr and Mrs Miscellaneous) has great full flavor ice cream. My fav are their tea based flavors, like Earl Grey. The ownership has changed but quality is still good.
Nearby activities:
While you’re here, you could also check out Neighbor Bakehouse (a block away) or adjacent neighborhoods.
Potrero Hill has a lot of restaurants and McKinley Square Park has great views of SF.
Mission Bay has more of a business feel, but you can have brunch with a view at The Ramp or Mission Rock Resort.