I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with San Francisco, probably the same way a lot of people have a love-hate relationship with New York City. In many ways, SF is a vibrant, interesting town filled with culture, neat neighborhoods, and everything you could ever want from a big city. On the other hand, (to me), it feels incredibly grimy, has very little visual street appeal outside of a couple neighborhoods, and is incredibly hard to navigate on foot between neighborhoods. However, I have spent a considerable amount of time in SF recently, and am happy to share that it is (slowly) growing on me.

There are a couple key things to do in SF, and then as with any other city, it’s best explored by picking a neighborhood and wandering around for a bit. One of my Lyft drivers was kind enough to suggest driving me down winding Lombard street, so I checked that one off the bucket list; my office has a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge as well. Chinatown is a favorite for cheap food, and Nob Hill / Union Square have good people watching (and hills, if you want a good workout).

The Mission is also a vibrant neighborhood, with some exceptional coffee shops, restaurants, and nightlife (best enjoyed with friends). There are some amazing restaurants, ranging from Mexican to American to Italian, all of which are doing incredibly interesting and innovative things with food.

Hayes Valley, a bit of a hipster neighborhood, became a favorite of mine (and was within walking distance of the Painted Ladies).

However, my absolute favorite restaurant (I think I went about 4 times of the course of a month), is Kuma Sushi & Saki in Polk Gulch, a gritty but interesting area that seems to have a predominantly Middle Eastern population. Their rolls were creative, the saki incredibly smooth and silky, and the add ons, like fish collars, were delicious.

Of course, no trip to SF would be complete without the doing a couple “SF-only” activities, such as visiting a tiki bar in what seems like a very conservative hotel. The Tonga Room was a ton of fun for happy hour – there is a simulated thunderstorm every 30 minutes with “rain” from the ceiling, and the entire experience felt festively ridiculous.

And of course, the murals were equally as interesting as those in LA.