San Francisco in One Square Mile: Exploring Cow Hollow, Russian Hill, and the Marina District

I recently made a short visit to San Francisco with Mary of Twenty Two West to assist her in her booth at West Coast Craft. I know, what a dream gig, right?

My last visit to San Francisco was with Michael in 2015, and we pretty much checked off every item on every guidebook’s list (well, maybe minus Alcatraz); before that was a trip with my grandparents as an awkward pre-teen. As such, it was quite a relief not to feel the need to see anything in particular this go-round and to have the chance to fully embrace the city more like a local than a tourist.

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Since this was a work trip, our itinerary wasn’t structured quite like past trips (and so, this travel guide won’t be structured quite like past guides either). The majority of our time in the city was spent preparing for West Coast Craft, and to maximize the remainder of our stay, we stuck close to our hostel. By only bouncing around the neighborhoods adjacent to where we stayed (Russian Hill, Cow Hollow, Marina District), we were able to get to know our tiny section in the city better than if we’d rushed around town trying to do all the things. If you’re looking to get the full tourist experience (chocolates from the Ghirardelli factory, a glimpse of the Painted Ladies, a trek across the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.) this guide isn’t the one for you. But if you’re looking to explore a pocket of the city and experience what it’s like to live in this part of San Francisco as a local for a few days, you are surely in for a treat!

SAN FRANCISCO SIGHTS + ATTRACTIONS

Iconic Vistas

Marina Green | San Francisco, CA 94123
Crissy Field | 1199 E Beach, San Francisco, CA 94129

Even though we didn’t have much time for attractions, we couldn’t leave without a Golden Gate Bridge photo opportunity. This area has some prime bridge-viewing and is just a short walk away from the Fort Mason Center, and the rest of our itinerary. If it’s high tide, you might even be able to hear the Wave Organ (we weren’t so lucky).

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West Coast Craft

West Coast Craft | 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123

West Coast Craft is a weekend craft market typically held twice a year – once in the summer and once in the winter. The 2021 markets were a little different than usual, due to Covid. The typical, large winter market was held in November with more than 275 amazing indie craft vendors (including, of course, Twenty Two West). It was such a great opportunity to browse brands I’d long admired online in person, and it felt so wonderful to be in a safe environment with lots of creatives again.

SAN FRANCISCO FOOD + DRINK

Asian Box

Asian Box | 2031 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Fast-casual mini-chains aren’t usually on my travel guides, but as they are usually reasonably priced and open all day we ended up at Asian Box after our long (and meal-less) flights at the unusual dining hour of 3:30 p.m. The portions were enormous, and if we weren’t so hungry and thus able to think clearly, we’d probably opt to share a meal. Local chains seem to lose their travel charm as they expand to more locations, but places like this are a very accurate representation of where many locals are eating daily.

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Howells

Howells | 2373 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123

I admit we were torn between Howells and its next-door neighbor, Cultivar. Howells won out, as it featured more vegan options for my vegan travel companion. We weren’t hungry for dinner, and an order of hummus and mushroom crostini was the perfect portion (along with a glass of wine, naturally). I took one of their chocolate chip cookies to go, and honestly? It’s one of the top five best cookies I’ve ever eaten. And I’ve eaten a lot of cookies.

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Twisted St. Cafe

Twisted St. Cafe | 2320 Lombard St, San Francisco, CA 94123

We gathered that this must be a newer venture, and so we were extra happy to have selected it for a coffee/breakfast/co-working stop. Prices were good, the food was better, and the coffee was great. It’s right next door to a hotel, so there are plenty of covered tables outside for eating or working.

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Tacko

Tacko | 3115 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Without time for a bus ride down to the Mission District, Tacko seemed like a great option for both meat and veggie burritos. I couldn’t finish my massive chorizo burrito, but we did manage to wipe out the über-fresh order of chips and salsa!

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Wildseed

Wildseed | 2000 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

One of the first restaurants I added to my SF wishlist was Wildseed. This fully vegan restaurant on Union feels like it would be a big splurge, but most entrees are on par with the prices at neighborhood fast-casual joints (yet the portions are quite generous). It’s a very popular spot, but we managed to eat dinner here twice without a reservation. Meat-eaters and veggies alike will find something to love on the menu; my favorites from our visits were the probiotic bowl and the warm beet and banana chocolate cake. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard…

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Saint Frank

Saint Frank | 2340 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Not only does Saint Frank serve up great coffee, but they also sell pastries from Craftsman and Wolves. I picked up an alfajores kouign amann filled with dulce de leche (is that even allowed?), and finally finished it on the plane. Safe to say it was miles above the cookies served by Delta, pun intended.

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Avotoasty

Avotoasty | 1796 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Avocado toast is one of the few vegan dishes available on most breakfast menus, and Avotoasty serves them until the afternoon! At $8.95, the Naked Toasty is probably the best value, but there are some other fun ones on the menu, like the Unicorn Toasty, which has sprinkles and colored cream cheese (but isn’t vegan).

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GIO Gelati

GIO Gelati | 1998 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

True story – I had a dream about GIO Gelati a few nights ago. Mary and I split a passionfruit and strawberry vegan gelato while we were in San Francisco, but in my dream, I ordered a pistachio gelato all to myself. Pistachio gelato is the litmus test to which I determine whether or not a gelato place is any good or not. Fear not, because I sampled the pistachio in-store (in real life), and it took me right back to Rome.

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MIXT

MIXT | 3130 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Another fast-casual mini-chain that came in clutch – this time after a day of eating heavy food. We were both ready for a big, green salad after eating heavy (but delicious) Mexican food. Like Sweetgreen and similar concepts, MIXT gives patrons the option to build their own mixed salad with various fresh toppings. The portions are quite large, and we really could have shared a meal here as well. But I think we were both so ready for greens that we needed all the salad we could get.

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Cochinita

Cochinita | Mobile Food Truck

The line at the Cochinita food truck at West Coast Craft was long, but the wait was worth it. I’ll never turn down the chance to have cochinita pibil, a Yucatan specialty. Since Mary and I needed to have our hands ready at the vendor booth, I opted for the quesadilla rather than the tacos. It was greasy and heavy and absolute perfection.

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QUIK DOG

QUIK DOG | 3010 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

I could have eaten Cochinita again, but I was in the mood for something a little smaller on our second day at WCC. QUIK DOG’s veggie dog fit the bill. Was it a great value? No, $13 for a hot dog is a pretty steep price, anywhere in the world. But it was just the right amount of food and flavor for me that day.

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Müesi Cafe

Müesi Cafe | 2055 Union St Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94123

This cute, European-style coffee shop was pretty busy on the afternoon of our visit. We were only there for the (excellent) caffeine, but I think we would have returned for breakfast one morning if we had more time.

SAN FRANCISCO SHOPPING

Many of the stores around us were chains (albeit typically smaller chains), but a few were places we aren’t lucky enough to have back home in Charlotte. Shopping wasn’t high on our list, but we found time to poke around a couple of places. Here’s where we did some (mostly window-) shopping:

American Giant

American Giant | 2076 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123

After a recent partnership with the American-made brand, it was great to stop in and see their full range of products in person (psst… don’t forget you can save 20% on your first order with code WAYWARD).

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The Sill

The Sill | 2181A Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

We were lucky to have a The Sill location in the neighborhood, as we needed to purchase some plants for the booth at West Coast Craft. We picked up a couple of small green plant babies to display these sweet Plant Butterflies, and were happy to pass them along to another plant parent when it was time to fly home.

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The Epicurean Trader

The Epicurean Trader | 1909 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123

I’m placing this under the shopping section, even though we ate breakfast here one morning, as it’s a great one-stop shop for all the San Francisco edible souvenirs. TET carries cookies from Tartine Bakery, ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery and Humphry Slocombe, and bagels from Wise Sons.

SAN FRANCISCO LODGING

Samesun Hostel

Samesun Hostel | 1475 Lombard St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Surprisingly, this was my first time staying in a hostel, and it might not be my last. As we were traveling with merchandise, we booked a private room instead of a shared dorm. It was clean, safe, and had just the essentials. San Francisco can be a very expensive city to stay in, and having economical options is important for making travel more accessible. Besides, who wants to just hang out in their room? You can do that at home for free!

SAN FRANCISCO MAP

MY THOUGHTS ON STICKING TO JUST ONE NEIGHBORHOOD OF SAN FRANCISCO

I promise my feelings won’t be hurt if you choose to think of setting a physical boundary at your travel destination as limiting yourself – but I still encourage you to give it a try sometime. You just may find, as I have, that setting a boundary frees your time and energy to explore a location more deeply. With less time spent in transit, you’ll have more time to get a little lost (in the best way!).

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Have you ever visited a city and purposely skipped the must-dos? What hidden gem(s) did you discover?

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