Tartine Bakery

Zuni Café

The roast chicken for two at Zuni is the most famous dish in San Francisco, and it deserves every word ever written about it. Order it first — it takes an hour — then eat the Caesar and oysters while you wait. The copper bar is one of the great seats in American dining. Judy Rodgers built this place, and even after her passing it remains immaculate.

City Lights Booksellers

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's cathedral of independent thought has been on Columbus Avenue since 1953. The poetry room upstairs is sacred ground — a low-ceilinged space with a sign that reads 'I sit here and am content.' The curated shelves are still defiantly literary, political, and strange in the best way. This is not a bookstore. It's a manifesto with a cash register.

Golden Gate Park

Bigger than Central Park and wilder in every sense. The western end is fog and cypress and emptiness — you can walk for an hour and barely see another person. The eastern end has world-class museums, a botanical garden, and bison. Yes, bison. A city park that contains genuine wilderness, art, and large mammals. San Francisco in a nutshell.