It’s been real, Sunset! As I say my goodbyes to this wonderful neighborhood, allow me to pay homage to the treasures that make leaving the Sunset so bittersweet.
Andytown Coffee
- What: Coffee. Really amazing coffee. They’re renowned for their Snowy Plover (now served in different flavors, too), but I stick to the classic Americano (hot or iced) whenever I come here. I love their coffee so much that I purchase a bag of ground beans every other week to brew for my everyday morning coffee. When it’s not too cold outside (so, on a good day), I highly suggest sitting down and having a savory or sweet muffin or an order of soda bread with seasonal spread. (Bookish Plug: I’ve brought many books to this location and did not feel any judgement from people as I read inside the coffee shop. Some of the books I’ve brought: What is the What? by Dave Eggers, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, The Revenge of Analog by David Sax)
- Location: Lawton and 43rd Ave in the Outer Sunset
- Website: http://www.andytownsf.com/
Outerlands
- What: Restaurant a few blocks away from the beach. They serve trendy food, and people line up for brunch as early as 10am on weekends. (There’s a public parklet on the 45th Ave side where we usually wait after listing their our names down.) I am a fan of their savory dutch pancake and eggs in jail. For a simple breakfast, their levain toast is good, too. On weekdays, I believe they (still) serve avocado toast — at least they did that one time I went on a weekday.
- Location: Judah and 45th Ave in the Outer Sunset
- Website: http://outerlandssf.com/
San Tung
- What: Asian restaurant renowned for their chicken wings. Yes, their chicken wings are worth the trek to the Sunset! The wait can get fairly long, so for those people who are amendable to eating at the second location, there’s San Tung 2 next door. There is hardly ever a line, or, if there is a wait, it’s pretty a short one. I’ve gone to both locations several times, and the food tastes the same at both locations. Order their chicken wings and green beans — they know what exactly which ones we’re talking about. I also love their black bean sauce noodles, so I just skip the rice order whenever I order that dish.
- Location: Irving between 11th Ave and 12th Ave in the Inner Sunset
Green Apple Books on the Park
- What: Green Apple Books’ second location (the OG one is in the Inner Richmond) which sells lots of amazing books and hosts awesome bookworm- and passerby- friendly events. I basically wrote a love letter to the bookstore on a previous post, My friendly neighborhood Books on the Park, so I will stop raving here. (But cannot avoid a Bookish Plug, so some monumental nonfiction discoveries and subsequent purchases at this bookstore follow: Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neill, Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez, The Revenge of Analog by David Sax)
- Location: 9th Ave between Lincoln and Irving in Inner Sunset
- Website: www.greenapplebooks.com
Black Bird Bookstore
- What: A cute and homey bookstore in the Outer Sunset. I discovered this bookstore one night when I was walking uphill from Thahn Long one weekday evening after dinner. The store was closed by then, so I made sure to visit the bookstore as my first agenda that weekend. The bookstore is still pretty new (it opened in June 2017), so I am very sad that I will not see this bookstore as it grows and thrives in the neighborhood.
- Location: Judah between 45th Ave and 46th Ave in the Outer Sunset
- Website: https://www.blackbirdbooksf.com/
Goodbye! A new neighborhood awaits.
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