Bookworm and baking addict that I am, I went to San Francisco with a list of little shops that I had read about and absolutely wanted to see, so I thought I would share those places with you.
Omnivore books: This is a small bookshop specialized in cookbooks and other food-related books. It might be small but it is paradise, as some of the copies are true classics. They have vintage books, signed copies of books from your favorite bloggers, new releases... I could have stayed there for hours. They are at 3885a Cesar Chavez Stree (at Church Street).
Green Apple Books: This is a huge, all wooden bookshop complete with little stairs to reach the highest shelves. They sell used books, new books, signed books, first editions and they have a very very well sorted collection, including books in foreign languages. They also have little cards with a short review / recommendation of many of the books. I loved this place. Their address is 506 Clement Street (at 6th avenue).
Update: I actually found a photo of a bookshelf at Green Apple books showing the little recommendation cards I was just mentioning. The photo is by Stephen Sparks via: an article showcasing a "peek at the staff picks shelves from indie bookstores..."
Rainbow Grocery: This place is a worker operated cooperative, existing since the 70s where you can find anything your healthy cravings might be urging for. Since the beginning they are committed to giving people access to inexpensive, vegetarian, "pure" foods. I find it fascinating that it started as: "a political project using food distribution as a form of community organizing and political education." Today their goals include among others: "providing affordable vegetarian food products which have minimal negative impact ecologically and socially; supporting fair labor practices; encouraging bicycling, mass transit, and alternative transportation; composting all in-store green wastes; recycling, reducing and reusing resources whenever possible and creating a diverse, non-discriminatory multilingual environment". Given the way the food industries today monopolize our food, starting from the most basic level (the seed), this grocery stands as a shining example of where we should be aiming to and how we could do it. I found maca root powder, a product which I had been looking for without success. I really appreciated the feeling of being able to get wholesome food without the trendy / hip (and overpriced) vibe that you get here in many of this type of supermarkets. They're at 1745 Folsom Street.
Boudin Bakery: They specialize in the sourdough bread that San Francisco is famous for, originally made with wild yeasts from the city's air. They claim to make their bread with a portion of the original mother dough from 1849. For all of this I absolutely had to try the bread. I have to say, it was delicious (but not unlike other good bread from local bakeries). We got our bread from their café in Market street 619, but the original flagship store (where they have workshops and guided tours and where the bread is actually baked) is at 160 Jefferson St.
Michael's arts & crafts: Whatever your hobby is, this is like entering a supermarket filled only with craft supplies. Whether it's painting, knitting, sewing, scrapbooking.... you will find anything from paper, to paintbrushes, to needles, to ribbons. And of course there is a baking section. There are all kinds of tools, baking pans, cupcake cases, and most of the products are at a very good price (specially for certain items that are often imported to Europe). They are all over the country, so if you are crafty (or a baker) and you ever go to the US or Canada, make sure to visit them.
I also couldn't leave San Francisco without trying Bluebottle coffee as everyone seemed to love it... I just regret I did not visit their rooftop terrace at the SFMOMA . I tried their drip cofee with milk (café au lait) at the Ferry Building and I liked how light and soft it was, but yes, it was quite different from your usual Italian or Turkish coffee, which tends to be very strong.
Finally, this post would be incomplete without mentioning the charming Miette (Octavia street 449) of which I already told you all about.
I think if I ever plan a vacation, I just need to go somewhere you've already been so I can follow your "must see places" recommendations.
ReplyDeleteOh I love this comment, it made me smile so much. I am glad this is somewhat useful :) And I hope you will plan a trip soon!
DeleteOh man, Rainbow Grocery kicks ass. I want to move in around the corner from them. Any venture that cuts past the image-conscious, trendy, elitist character of much local/ethical/organic/vegetarian food supply, and makes in instead available for everyone will surely get my business! (I find it particularly frustrating that this hipster trend in good food has virtually priced it out of availability for those how often need it most; poor people in the inner city).
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I want to go to San Fran just for that now :)
It makes me so sad, to see that the acutal *good* food, simple vegetables, etc... is often so expensive that like you say the people who need it the most can not even really consider it. McDonald's food and other snack bar fried foos is cheap here, but over there it was more so.
DeleteFor all of that I really was impressed by the Rainbow Grocery, the bio/organica/vegetarian/vegan movement here is very much in vogue here but it tends to be very "chic". There are markets though, and I have found many products at Asian, Turkish of Indonesian shops.
On the other hand we are lucky that European regulations are very very strict, and *some* animals (I am thinking cows and sheep) are actually in good conditions, they are allowed in the fields, eat mostly hay... And the farmers are very comitted to their well being (not the least because they know a healthy, happy animal, yields more... but they do care for them).
(It's not the case for chicken, though you have a lot of farms where you can buy eggs directly from farmers; or for pigs, who are at the worst end of the spectrum. Holland just passed a law that gives more space and better conditions to pigs sold / consumed here, but since a very big part of the pig production of The Netherlands is exported, many farms will not have to change).
Una de las tantas cosas que extraño de mi vida en USA es la posibilidad de entrar a esos grandes bookstores y perderme durante horas buscando y mirando libros por demás de interesantes!! Me resultaba tan difícil poder elegir uno solo para comprarme! Y ahora me arrepiento mucho de no haber comprado los bellisimos libros de fotografía enormes que tenían allí! Y uno de mis sueños siempre ha sido ser dueña de una pequeña pero pintorezca bakery shop!!
ReplyDeleteSí, esas librerías son un paraíso. Recuerdo desde pequeña, bueno a los 11 años cuando íbamos a USA mi mamá me dejaba en la librería, yo me sentaba y me ponía a leer allí mismo. El sueño de la pastelería creo que lo tenemos varias... la de mis sueños tiene piso de ajedrez (como de Alicia en el pais de las maravillas) y además es una mini-librería...
DeleteMichael´s me encanta, cuando estábamos planeando la boda íbamos seguido a comprar cositas ahí. Y está buenísima la idea de Rainbow Grocery, de verdad parece que entre más saludable la comida, más cara. Pero por otro lado, el otro día platicando con Matt salió ese tema y como él creció en un rancho (sus papás tienen ganado, y también producen el alimento), me contó que para los agricultores es más caro y arriesgado producir alimentos orgánicos (porque aumenta el riesgo de que haya plagas o que se eche a perder la cosecha), además de que es difícil producir en grandes cantidades; yo no había pensado en éso, pero por ese aspecto sí tiene sentido que las cosas sean más caras (además de la moda hipster jaja). Bueno, igual debe ser distinto en cada país, es un asunto muy complicado.
ReplyDeleteEn Michael's me volvía loca... y tenía ganas de estar ahí con mi mamá porque ella es buenísima para las manualidades.
DeletePor supuesto que Matt tiene razón, en veterinaria lo estudiamos muy claramente. Es natural que los animales se enfermen, por el clima, por parásitos que hay naturalmente en el ambiente, etc. Un animal enfermo crece más lentamente / toma energía en recuperarse (etc...). Por eso la industria ha recurrido al uso de antibióticos / pesticidas de manera "preventiva" para estimular el crecimiento. Si no lo hicieran no podrían sobrevivir las grandes cantidades de animales que confinan en espacios pequeños (pienso en cerdos, sobretodo, y pollos que son las producciones más intensivas). Volver a lo "natural" implica crecimientos más lentos, implica más gasto en alimentos, implica pérdidas (animales que mueren, por causas naturales u otras). Y por todo eso es lógico que los alimentos sean más caros (la única razón por la que se logró comercializar carne barata tras la segunda guerra mundial fue por el uso de antibióticos, promotores de crecimiento, etc... pero es todo "anti natural"). Antes comer carne era algo de fin de semana, de fiestas, un lujo, no algo de todos los días, tal vez ni de todas las semanas.
Definitivamente tiene sentido que los productos orgánicos / biológicos sean más caras, cuestan más, y como Matt dice hay muchos más riesgos. Pero por aquí, al menos, siento yo que "exageran"... yo estoy dispuesta a pagar más, pero hay unos supermercados bio super bonitos, que son toda una experiencia hipster, con pizarrones anunciando los productos, y todo super decorado, y creo que eso aumenta los costos innecesariamente.
Al final creo que deberíamos volver a como se vivía antes, simplemente ir al mercado, donde el productor mismo sea el que vende sus productos (o con un número mínimo de intermediarios) y apreciar productos sin conservadores ya sería un gran cambio. Pero siento que vamos en esa dirección.
De winkeltjes klinken super intressant en leuk en yummie haha! Ik ga deze lijst met tips zeker gebruiken als ik er eindelijk eens heen ga :D
ReplyDeletexx
liquoriceandpumps.blogspot.com
Je moet echt naar San Francisco! Kleine, unieke winkeltjes zijn leuk om te wandelen. Je zou en lijst over Nederlandse winkelen doen :)
Delete(En ja, ik ven verliefd op boeken, koffie en dessert).