This is Part 2 in our series about Vegan Travel in San Francisco. Read more in Part 1 and in our review of Millennium.
We woke up a little late on Sunday morning. On Friday, the day we arrived, I came down with a nasty little cough. During the day, it only made an appearance here and there and they were only minor coughs. The beast had been rearing its ugly head at night, usually around 1 am. I would have coughing fits akin to that of an eighty year-old man with emphysema. I easily lost about two hours of sleep each night just from coughing so I was more than happy to sleep in and get some much needed rest.
With that said, we both woke with a strong craving for a big breakfast but at noon, we weren't really sure who would still be serving breakfast. We did a bit of research and found that Herbivore serves breakfast until 2pm every day so we got on Muni and made our way to their Divisidero location.
Herbivore (the Divisadero Location)
531 Divisadero, San Francisco, CA
When we arrived, we could tell they were very busy (vegan brunch on a Sunday morning? Busy was to be expected.), but we were seated after only waiting five minutes. We both ordered the same thing: the Combo Plate with French Toast. Chris also ordered a side of tempeh bacon and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. I ordered a glass of their green juice, made from celery, apple, spinach, parsley, mint, kale, ginger and lime. Both juices were really good.
Our meals took quite awhile to arrive but our waiter informed us that he had a party of 20 in the back and he had underestimated how long it was going to take for us to get our meals so he comped it for us! We told him it was unnecessary as we were enjoying ourselves but he insisted. Our meals came with french toast, topped with a banana, tofu scramble with vegetables (they get bonus points for bringing us sriracha sauce before we even got our plates), and house potatoes. Everything was really great and very satisfying. The tempeh bacon was a little on the sweet side but I had no problem with it. It was wonderful broken up and mixed with my tofu scramble and even better with maple syrup on my french toast.
Bi-Rite Market/Creamery
550 Divisadero St., San Francisco, CA
After breakfast, we walked across the street to the Bi-Rite Market. They have an ice cream shop in the market and they do have one vegan flavor- the chocolate coconut. We didn't try any because, well, did you see the size of our breakfast? We wandered around the market where I found squash blossoms, fiddle heads, and even fresh garbanzo beans (things I can never seem to find in stores or at farmer's markets in LA). It was pretty neat.
After that we walked. We walked for a few hours. We walked through the beautiful Alamo Square Park. We walked up Fillmore Street and found ourselves in the middle of the San Francisco Jazz Festival. We walked through Japantown and Lower Pacific Heights. We walked down California Street until we found Polk. We found a coffee shop where Chris got some coffee and I got tea. Then we walked down through Little Saignon and the Tenderloin. We walked until we got to Union Square, very near our hotel. Chris had forgotten to pack any nice clothes for dinner at Millennium that night so we stopped into Macy's so he could get himself something to wear. Then we did a little more window shopping until we needed to get ready for dinner.
Loving Hut
845 Market Street, Westfield San Francisco Centre, Food Emporium #12, San Francisco, CA
After all of this walking and with our dinner reservation two hours away, we decided to get a little snack. Yelp showed that there was a Loving Hut int he Westfield shopping center (practically next door to our hotel). Despite how much we don't care for malls, we ventured in for vegan snackage (by the way, how great is it that there is a vegan restaurant in the mall's food court?!).
I had never been to a Loving Hut before so it was neat to finally see one. Since we just wanted a snack, we decided to share one of their steamed buns. It was filled with some sort of bean mixture and it was pretty good. Not the best steamed bun I've ever had (that title would go to the Golden Era Vegetarian Restaurant, located in San Francisco. I'd had it years ago but we didn't go on this trip), but tasty and satisfying. We then headed back to the hotel to get glammed up for dinner at Millennium.
I already did a review on Millennium so I'll spare you the details. I'll just say it was nothing short of amazing.
Herbivore (Mission Location)
983 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA
The next morning, we packed up and checked out of the hotel. We had a little time to get some breakfast on the way to the airport and there just so happened to be another Herbivore in the Mission district on the way. We took BART to the 24th street exit and walked the few blocks to the restaurant. I ordered the same thing as the day before, but I have to say, it was better at the other location. Chris ordered the Savory Crepes. The crepes are filled with tofu scramble, spinach, cheese, mushrooms, onions, artichoke hearts and capers and you have a choice of sauce to top them with. Chris ordered two sauces- the basil pesto and the roasted red pepper. The crepes are also served with house potatoes. Chris really liked them, but when I tasted them, I thought they were just okay.
In my post on our afternoon in Berkeley, many of you mentioned that you had tried Herbivore and had not enjoyed it as much as Chris and I had. We've only tried their breakfasts (except for the garden salad I had in Berkeley), but I can say they were pretty good. I have to admit, though, when we entered the Herbivore in the Mission District, I realized that I had been there before many years ago for a friend's birthday. I remembered being not that impressed with it then, so perhaps their lunch and dinner menu isn't as good as their breakfasts? If you've had both, I would love to hear your thoughts.
When we got to the airport and after we'd gone through security and got our coffee and tea bought and we sat to wait for our flight, we could see very clearly through the windows the plane that had crashed there just two days earlier. It was still there and there were many people there, seeming to be cleaning or investigating. It was very, very sobering. When our flight was delayed, I really didn't mind waiting a little longer to get on a plane.
The Plant
SFO, Terminal 2 (there are other locations as well)
Because our flight was delayed, we did get a little hungry. Luckily, there was restaurant called The Plant.
The Plant had many vegan options, all clearly labeled, and about 95% of their desserts were vegan. They even had vegan smoothies! We each got an acai berry smoothie (not pictured) and a chocolate chip cookie. For airport food, it was all pretty good. It made me interested to try some of their other vegan options but our flight was finally ready. And home we went.
I was bummed that we never got to try Source (I've heard such good things, especially about their desserts) and I'm sure there are plenty of other vegan options to try in San Francisco. Those will have to wait until next time.
What are your favorite places to eat at in San Francisco?
Cadry
Oh, your trip looks like so much fun! I just love San Francisco. The first time I ever went there was after David and I had been dating about 10 months. It was such a romantic weekend, and I fell even more in love with him. Now I always associate the Bay area with that weekend and those feelings, and I'm always eager to go back for another visit!
I envied all of the walking you did while you were there! There's so much sightseeing to do by foot. When we're not staying with friends, which is most of the time, Japantown is a fun place to stay. There's a boutique hotel called Hotel Tomo that is super cute and done in an anime style.
For fresh garbanzo beans the place I had the best luck finding them in LA was actually Ralph's, believe it or not! I was talking to another customer about them one time while I was there, and she said that they're also often at Mexican grocery stores. I shopped at a fair amount of Mexican grocery stores and didn't remember seeing them, but it would be worth visiting one in your area and see if you have some luck with it! And actually, you might find squash blossoms there too since a lot of Latin dishes are made with them.
I'm going to have to remember Golden Era Vegetarian Restaurant the next time I'm in SF. I love steamed buns. Whenever I find a vegan version on a menu, I absolutely have to order them. There's a recipe for them in Vegan Eats World, but since anything with dough intimidates me, I haven't geared myself up for it yet!
Ashley
So glad you had such a great time here in SF! As for Millenium, I agree, that place is AMAZING!!! One of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at.
Herbivore...it's tough because they have great ideas, but nothing is really well-executed. Their house potatoes are pretty good, their breakfast burrito would be good but they don't strain the beans so you can't hold it and your plate is filled with bean water, their bacon is too sweet so your BLT doesn't have the saltiness/tanginess you're looking for in a BLT, the list goes on. My husband and I keep trying different things there, and unfortunately, it's just "okay".
Anyway, it suffices when we don't want to make the trip to Source in SOMA. Have you been there? It's pretty incredible. Ambiance is not ideal, but the food is very very good. They have a wilted kale salad I have had dreams about!!
Finally, Loving hut is not very good unfortunately either. I was happy to see you only spent money on a bun. Millenium and Source are definitely the Vegan Stars of our city. I just wish we had a Native Foods in San Francisco, because I'd eat there every day!!
Tami @Nutmeg Notebook
Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I can't wait to try some of the restaurants you talked about. Sounds like you had a wonderful time in the city. I will be there next week and am so looking forward to it.
Sarojini
Interesting and mouthwatering reading! you are so lucky in the States that vegans are catered for so well- I'm feeling really hungry for a tofu scramble and a green juice now 🙂
Emma
I've loved hearing about your SF trip! Wow does there look to be a great selection of eateries for vegans. That breakfast looks so amazing and I adore Chinese steamed buns.
Andrea
You two really had a wonderful, food-filled weekend. I think I would have had to go to Macy's to get bigger clothes! My favorite places to eat are probably Gracias Madre and Dosa (in Japantown). I think the problem with Herbavore is inconsistency — one dish might be delicious and the next is just OK. Last time I was there (in the Mission) I wished I had gotten what my husband had because it was really good, while my dish was barely OK. And maybe one location is better than the other.
vegan miam
Dear Kristy,
How have you been?
That looks like a lovely weekend filled with magical vegan foods! The steamed bao-zi (buns) look so tasty, I remembered munching on them as a kid. I'm so sorry to hear about your bad experience with these bao-zi. Are they dry? Do they taste frozen? I hate when they serve frozen buns, it's a huge turn-off for me. There was this Chinese vegan restaurant in Sydney, Oz, and we walked about 10 miles there to get some good vegan food, apparently all of their foods are frozen and taste like something you would microwave at home! But we discovered a lot of vegan-friendly eateries in the same area where the restaurant was...which was really worth the long walk!
My mother makes bao-zi (buns, sorry for the Mandarin lingo, I always consider buns as hot dog buns like something between) very often, and I used to make them in the past but never bothered to photograph them (that was years ago before I was into fashion editorial photography). I've been told to go visit San Francisco, including my cousins who are just going to have their weddings there (but I am going to be in Buenos Aires/Paris at that time).
And after seeing your vegan eats, it makes me realize how vegan-friendly SF is now compared to few years ago. A friend of mine (also vegan) said it isn't VEGAN FRIENDLY at all after living there for several years and there's absolutely nothing to eat in the evenings...and I wasn't tempted to go...but looking at this post allows me to look at SF differently.
The Herbivore (the Divisadero Location) looks like a great eatery to try. Maybe if I ever drop by SF as a stopover (it's amazing how it is a popular stopover for international flights), I will stop there. I will definitely order the Green Juice! I had a yummy green juice in Bend, and it was pretty tasty without the use of dairy-free milk. And how lovely that they brought the sriracha sauce for your dishes. Every restaurant needs a lovely hot sauce! I love the way they style the tempeh on your plate, that is sick!
And wow, the fresh garbanzo beans look so beautiful! I have never seen them in person, but will they change colors quickly or ready to eat? They look quite green though!
The savory crepes look so scrumptious, the more sauce, the better!
And thanks for the advice about vegan snacks at SFO. I always thought dining at SFO was limited, except for Subway and a bit of hummus. SFO wasn't one of my favorite domestic airports (didn't like the whole layout and the gates). My flights are always delayed at SFO, especially international flights. I should check out The Plant for sure! Maybe I've seen it before...I'm not sure yet.
Anyway, have a great weekend and thank you for sharing.
Rika
rika@veganmiam.com
did my comment go through?
rika@veganmiam.com
I think I wrote a long letter in this post. Hopefully it's there.
Solene
I love reading your posts about San Francisco. We were there 8 weeks ago for 2 weeks and I still can't get over it. I'm originally French but has been living in the UK for almost 9 years and it was so refreshing to be able to go and eat at so many vegan-friendly restaurants.
I actually had the Plant Burger at The Plant at their Pier 3 location and I thought it was lovely. It was our first meal straight from an 11-hour flight and I definitely thought I had landed in heaven!
We also went to Herbivore in Berkeley where I had the Indonesian salad and thought it was ok. If I had to rank all the places we ate, Herbivore would have to be at the bottom but this doesn't mean that it was horrible, just that the quality of vegan food in San Francisco is just out of this world!
I cannot wait to go back and try the coconut chocolate ice-cream from Bi-Rite. When we walked past the shop in Mission, there was a gigantic queue of people waiting and we were just too tired to wait.
I also discovered fresh garbanzo beans while over there, I had to ask the vendor what they were as over here I'd only ever seen them in cans or dried! You learn something new everyday.
Thanks again for sharing!