Currently I favor Yuzu on Fillmore. They could have a better selection, but it is a good value.
chu-toro

Orgasmica and Little Star (deep dish only) are both worth seeking out. Orgasmica has slices but Little Star is only dinner and whole pies.

...the OP is asking for suggestions-not a rehash of "boo hoo we have no bagels or pizza'.

Magnolia on Haight pours into jugs I think, it's pretty local. I second or third Speakeasy and I know they sell bottles at the brewery on Friday.
I'm loving Sierra Nevada Porter this month, but that's not local.
My favorite pale ale from the bay area is Mt. Tam pale from Marin brewing co. The other beers there I mostly do not like.
Whole foods on California has a bunch of cool tasty beers, but they're not focused on local.

Lard does not a vegetarian tamale make! And by no means do tamales have to contain lard. It may be harder to make a good tamale with vegetable shortening, but they exist. For example. Primavera at the Ferry Building Farmer's market uses no pork derived lubricants to create their relatively tasty tamales. Sorry, no east bay recommendation, just a comment.

San Francisco Soup Company makes a delicious version at the One Market food court location. I remember hearing that other locations may or may not use steel cut oats.

Camp Cupcake once gifted us some very good mini cupcakes. I have no idea what they cost. 415-407-1414

Slow Club has really good French toast.

I bought a 2.5 lb. crab out of a tank last week and it was totally worth it. It was too expensive, and not as plump and white as local in season, but great flavor, not stringy and not shriveled.

Lucca deli on Chestnut has pumpkin ravioli. Large size only. They are tasty.

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Albona Ristorante Istriano
545 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133

I like Medium toro, Shima Aji, Butterfish, Live Scallop, Baby Hamachi, Albacore toro.
Sashimi will be more impresseve here as the rice is sometimes irregular.

For steamed crab Nick's has treated me well. rdstargrl gave good marks to the clams and fried zucchini and crab cakes.

Sounds like an option to me.

Try Kyo-ya in the Palace Hotel if you want a well trained chef with a respect for tradition.

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Kyo-Ya Restaurant
2 New Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA 94105

They won't be better next time. You have to be in the mood for bland, which I happen to be in twice a month.

Fruitvale mexican maybe?
Woodhouse fish co on Market x Church for fish, or Chow around the corner on Church for a Veggie Burger.

Shiro maguro is pretty tasty, especially the toro cuts. Fans of sushi don't rate Sushi Zone very high for authenticity when it comes to the maki. If you get nigiri and sashimi you don't have to be annoyed by scary mac nuts and jalapeno. If you order sushi there you will get sushi.

If you are a fan of the weird rolls you ordered (I can't understand why you ordered them) then you like what I like to call burrito-maki and are no less a hound.

The Helmand is still red-tagged as of earlier this week.

osho forgot to mention Ino's non-traditional heavy hand applying powdered wasabi. Takara's fish may not as good, but at least you can taste it. I can't figure out if it's open sundays.

Try Abigail's Bakery and Cafe. They make a crusty on the outside, spongy on the inside with plump blueberries. They also make a cranberry muffin. I think these are the best i've had if SF. They have been warm at 9am or so. Their breakfast is also worth trying. The other baked goods were not as good. I can't vouch for the coffee.

2120 Greenwich St
San Francisco, CA 94123
Map it | Get directions

Cross Street:Between Fillmore St and Webster St

"I would like to avoid the standard Upper Fillmore haunts "
How about the Fulton x Divisadero corridor. Little Star, the Jay's Steaks for veggie Cheesesteaks, Fly, NOPA (maybe too pricey) and Kathmandu the Nepalese place.

I recommend Little Star pizza, but Fly has fine salads and both have good beer.

Uoki K, Sakai on Post near Buchannan. Usually 4-5 choices.
The ferry building fish market (the one by the mushroom store) has had live scallop and live uni lately.

Houston's makes their own. It's been a year since I had one but I remember being satisfied but not exstatic. I very much liked the Whole Earth veggie burger but I haven't seen one in nor-cal.

Lettus on Steiner at Chestnut in SF has a version that has beet in it so I can't wholeheatedly vouch for it. I'd get it again in the future though.

Both the Ananda Fuara recommendations are very tasty, but they both hurt my stomach a little - maybe too much fiber?

chemchef-
please do tell about other delicious baked goods. i like delicious ginger cookies and the like - even from snarling hipsters - so please also divulge some good baked goods but not so nice staff places if'n you know of any
thanks-
neilo

Why do people think of this in comparison to Mexican food? Or as Mexican food. Some places serve tasty food, other's don't. Tacubaya serves tasty food...

Muni pass is useless in the East Bay.

You may want to focus on being near a transportation hub. I'm sure you've already come up with your list of places to try. If you have some lodging options, choose one near Market st or BART or a 24 hour bus line. Study this map http://transit.511.org/providers/maps... for the confluence of many routes.

Not in my experience. Get some extra tahini maybe to address the moisture.

Sebo seems like a great choice if you have a high budget. You will get a lot of backround instead of just a plate of tasty fish.
Omakase seems to work best for first-timers at a sushi bar if you specify what you want and don't want. My local itame loves snapper, pencilfish, red and black grouper, flying fish and halibut. I don't like these things as much as he does, I like albacore toro, medium toro, hamachis (baby hamachi, kahala, buri), tiny crabs (sawa kani), sea trout, butterfish (sable or black cod or gindara), aji (best fish ever...), most other jacks except marinated (saba), live scallop, bluefin and big eye tuna.

So when he chooses for me without direction he gives me black grouper and golden eye snapper, which I don't care for. When I'm happiest is when I remind him, "I like hamachi and fatty albacore aji and one or two red tuna, but no halibut or snapper". If they choose everything for you without asking if you like, for example, uni or octopus, you might need to start asking for specific fish. If you are at the bar you have a much better chance of success of course. My chef hates for being asked for omakase because he wants to make you happy yet is not even slightly psychic. If all the fish is probably good like at Sebo or Zushi Puzzle it's more of a question of what you want. It would be really fun to just say $100 omakase and get the perfect flavor every time. It won't always work like you want it to but sometimes it will.

Happy birthday and good eating!

I got a box of 120 at costco SF for $20. A good deal but they have three kinds in there, milk, dark and bittersweet. I was looking for only dark but it was still a great deal.

Mmm. Great chilaquiles, just like mom's. Nice red sauce with lots of crispy pieces. Comes with eggs. Why did you not like it?

Real Foods sells a little pack of twelve 5 gram squares of various flavors for $4.50. I like the dark, 62%. Scharffenberger sells the same pack for $7. Am I getting the best price I can? I'd pefer recommendations in northern SF, but I'll trek for a deal.