Holy Gelato Peach champagne sorbet : In the heart of the Inner Sunset District in SF is an ice cream shop called Holy Gelato, an eclectic mix of vintage toy shop and ice cream parlor. The peach champagne sorbet I ordered was surprisingly good, with a distinct but not overpowering champagne flavor and fresh, concentrated peach taste. The serving size is very generous such that their mini scoop would be a single anywhere else. Good value. 3.5/5.0
recommended sf icecream holygelato peach champagne sorbet 3.5
Smartfood Spicy Jalapeño Ranch popcorn: For last minute ingredients, I sometimes find myself at Safeway when all other options are closed. Their snack aisles are stocked with brands Berkeley Bowl would never carry, including this bag of Frito-Lay Smartfood popcorn. I still remember enjoying the white cheddar popcorn in lunch bag snack packs growing up, so I decided to give this spicy jalapeño ranch flavor a try. It was spicier than I expected, but I don’t think jalapeño and ranch are a particularly good flavor combination; on thei... (read more) 2.0/5.0
smartfood spicy jalapeño ranch popcorn 2.0
Firebrand Croissant with blackberries: Available at Asha Tea House in Berkeley, this flaky croissant has a cream-cheese spread and fresh blackberries. I found it to be surprisingly tasty, even at the end of the day after it’s likely been sitting out for a while. The cheese spread was slightly seasoned so the pastry overall wasn’t too sweet. Glad to know that Asha has quality food options on top of their teas! 4.0/5.0
recommended berkeley firebrand croissant blackberries 4.0
Acme Bread Almond Plum Pastry: Sometimes when I have a bad day, I'll stop by the Ferry Building in San Francisco and grab a small snack. On my last trip, I purchased a small almond plum pastry, priced at just a little over $2. Inside were warmed, fresh slices of plum, while the pastry itself was flaky on the outside but comfortingly soft on the inside. Dusted with just a bit of powdered sugar, the pastry was faintly sweet yet distinctly almond-flavored. One of the more perfect little bites I've had this year. 4.5/5.0
exceptional pastry bread sanfrancisco acmebread almond plum 4.5
Lesser Evil Green Elephant Salt 'n Apple Cider Vinegar Potato Chips: My one greatest snack weakness is potato chips. With their high fat content and sparse serving size, chips are kind of the worst snack you could eat, even though they tend not to be highly processed. Because of these reasons, I rarely buy a bag of potato chips. But these salt and vinegar potato chips were on sale at Berkeley Bowl, so I succumbed and found a remarkably tangy potato chip worth trying. These chips are smaller and crunchier than normal (they're kettle cooked), and they are s... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended saltandvinegar pototochips lesserevilgreenelephant salt 'n apple cider vinegar potato chips 3.5
Dinosaurs Thai Iced Tea: Dinosaurs is a bahn mi sandwich shop in San Francisco with multiple locations, but the only one I've been to is right at the edge of the Castro. The seating is cramped, but they have excellent Vietnamese sandwiches, particularly their meatball bahn mi. It's almost as good as New Silverstar Deli, but Dinosaurs has more accessible hours outside the normal lunch rush. I stopped by before seeing a show at Swedish American Hall (a few blocks away) to get a caffeinated beverage since I was feel... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks dinosaurs thai iced tea 2.5