4 Awesome San Francisco Food Bloggers
By Taylor Micaela Davis
It’s your turn to pick a spot for dinner, but in this city, the sheer number of choices can make such a simple decision feel like an overwhelming task. It’s true that many SF denizens would rather spend cash on a nice dinner before cleaning their clothes, but if you’re going to make that trade-off, you may want the advice of more than a few Yelp reviews.
Enter San Francisco’s fleet of foodie bloggers, with the cameras and writing chops to make you crave those pork chops on your screen. Whether they’re taking epic shots of produce in the Ferry Building or searching for the next Californian-Asian-Mexican-fusion spot, this town’s food bloggers act as guides, sages, and inspirations for those of us city dwellers who plan our meals better than we plan our workouts, careers, and personal hygiene.
Take Cynthia from CynEats.com, for example. Spend ten minutes on her Instagram, and you’ll have enough dinner-date plans to finish off the summer. “Cyn” uses her blog to chronicle her taste buds’ journey throughout this city and others, while also offering straight and to-the-point reviews on local treasures and newly popular spots alike.
SF’s food bloggers aren’t just pointing us hungry thrill seekers in the right direction, either; they’re also integral to local conversation, which, in turn, helps local businesses — one of the keys to holding onto the SF authenticity that so many people are seeking these days.
“There have been times where I’ve blogged about a mom-and-pop shop or a brand-new restaurant, and the owners have reached out to thank me for bringing them new customers through CynEats and even my Instagram pictures! That’s such an awesome feeling to have — to know that my voice can help small businesses around the city,” Cynthia says.
Food bloggers also bring our attention to the inventive, yet often simple, ideas of local chefs using produce grown near their towns. As Ashley of HitherandThither.Net says, “Even though the farm-to-table movement got its start in California with Alice Waters, the appreciation for local foods and the recipes that let their flavors shine has really grown in the last couple of years. New American seasonal menus are everywhere, and frankly, I love it.”
While some of the city’s food disciples started out blogging about their travels and culinary experiences, others have come from totally different backgrounds, including Vero of MissCheeseMonger.com, who went from passing the California bar to becoming the official photographer of the California Artisan Cheese Guild.
“It was while studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, that I first got an inkling of how deep the cheese rabbit hole went,” says Vero. A woman who’s after our own lactose-loving hearts, Vero chose to turn her focus to the ever-complicated realm of cheese. Her blog celebrates local cheese purveyors, bringing new awareness and considerable drooling to the San Francisco artisanal-cheese scene.
These food bloggers aren’t just handy for their dinner recs; they can also educate us on the mysteries of food. They order from menus with items such as nardellos, huitlacoche, and nasturtium and then describe these foreign-sounding items to us.
“I really love that I’m always finding menu items that I’ve never heard of. I used to be embarrassed and feel like I wasn’t a foodie because I didn’t recognize something obscure, but now I find it’s a great opportunity to talk with the staff and learn more about the story behind an item and why it made it on the menu,” says Kelly of ASideOfSweet.com.
If her blog is any indication, Kelly practices what she preaches. ASideOfSweet.com showcases her latest adventures in food, which often involve trying out new places for review, shedding some light on lesser-known cuisines, and teaching her readers tips and tricks on how to navigate the food world.
Given San Francisco’s culture of entrepreneurship and innovative curiosity, the food landscape isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. While the food scene continues to truck along, we need to take the time to slow down and visit the watering holes, dining rooms, and markets recommended by those with their hands (and mouths) in this city’s many food courses. After all, food is as much about the experience as it is about the taste.
“I love how [food] brings people together. How it makes people feel. How it can turn a bad mood into a good mood. How one bite of deep-dish pizza can make all my problems go away in that moment,” says Cynthia.
Cynthia — CynEats.com
Check her blog for: drool-worthy dishes from local spots, city food guides, and restaurant reviews rivaling those on Yelp.
What she’ll eat until she dies (or becomes a vegetarian, which probably won’t happen): the lamb chops at Kokkari.
Ashley — HitherandThither.net
Check her blog for: a little bit of everything, including picnic essentials and beautiful food photography.
What she’ll eat until she dies (or until we run out of raw fish): Bar Crudo’s namesake raw fish, the soup dumplings at Yank Sing, and oysters — freshly shucked and from Tomales Bay.
Vero — MissCheeseMonger.com
Check her blog for: the best damn cheese you’ll ever eat, DIY chèvre, cheese pairings, and artisan spotlights.
What she’ll eat until she dies: Sofia (an ash-ripened goat cheese from Capriole Goat Cheese), Ameribella (a raw cow’s milk cheese from Jacobs & Brichford Cheese) and xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings, at Shanghai Dumpling King.
Kelly — ASideofSweet.com
Check her blog for: local date-night spots, city food guides, and wine notes.
What she’ll eat until she dies (or moves to a different city): ramen at Izakaya Sozai, the plow platter at Plow, Wagyu beef at Bobo’s Steak House & Seafood Restaurant, and the peas and prosciutto cavatelli pasta at Reverb.
