At the midpoint of the Filbert steps, near tourist favourite Coit Tower, The Malloch is a streamline Moderne gem built in 1937. I discovered it after watching Dark Passage, a 1947 Bogart and Bacall film noir. Lauren Bacall's character lives on the third floor and Bogey holes up there. A Deco beauty cruising towards the Bay. It has the coolest lift ever.

Very friendly neighborhood coffee shop with a tasty simple brunch menu. You can find me there Sunday morning reading.

In the Mission, now as terminally hip as it was formally poor, the St Francis is a greasy good time since 1918. Stuck beautifully in the 50's both aesthetically and menu wise it's Americana in a bun. Dig in.

Worker-owned, hole in the wall bakery worth waiting in line for.

If you can get past the bourgie factor and/or you work down the street like I do, you will come to love this place. It has some of the best food in the city, a Blue Bottle coffee, and an observation deck from which you can watch the ferries come and go, emitting their weird beeps and disgorging tourists. The people who work here are great too (whether or not I dated a baker from the Acme Bread kiosk because of a Craigslist missed connection will be left to history).