Alamo Square

A decade ago, two Bi-Rite Market pastry chefs spied a vacant space across the street from the iconic market and moved in their small-batch baking and ice cream operation. Staying true to the Bi-Rite mission, only organic local ingredients are used, resulting in some of the hands-down best scoops (balsamic strawberry, honey lavender, mixed-berry coconut in the summer; earl grey, orange cardamom, maple walnut in winter), buffalo-milk soft serve (only available in the original shop), frozen cakes, sundaes, and popsicles in the country. The original is in the Mission (and they have soft-serve).

A decade ago, two Bi-Rite Market pastry chefs spied a vacant space across the street from the iconic market and moved in their small-batch baking and ice cream operation. Staying true to the Bi-Rite mission, only organic local ingredients are used, resulting in some of the hands-down best scoops (balsamic strawberry, honey lavender, mixed-berry coconut in the summer; earl grey, orange cardamom, maple walnut in winter), buffalo-milk soft serve (only available in the original shop), frozen cakes, sundaes, and popsicles in the country. The original is in the Mission (and they have soft-serve).

We love Four Barrel not just for excellent espressos, almond milk lattes, and Americanos, but for their very genuine commitment to community, both local and global. Putting their massive warehouse space to good use, they host regular workshops (pickling classes with Bar Tartine's Cortney Burns sounds especially fun) and make it a point to only source beans from small family farmers all over the world. In a pretty brilliant move, the café doesn't have wifi, so people are forced to converse face-to-face rather than hide behind laptops. There's also a location in Portola and the Mission.

We love Four Barrel not just for excellent espressos, almond milk lattes, and Americanos, but for their very genuine commitment to community, both local and global. Putting their massive warehouse space to good use, they host regular workshops (pickling classes with Bar Tartine's Cortney Burns sounds especially fun) and make it a point to only source beans from small family farmers all over the world. In a pretty brilliant move, the café doesn't have wifi, so people are forced to converse face-to-face rather than hide behind laptops. There's also a location in Portola and the Mission.

Josey Baker (yes, that's his real name) and his staff make the most incredible, old-world breads—crunchy crust on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside—using the highest-quality wheat, grains, and seeds. And that's not all: the house-brewed Four Barrel coffee is an excellent accompaniment to the sweet stuff in the pastry case and the small but mighty selection of home goods is great for scratching that shopping itch without spending a ton. Monday is Pizza night.

Josey Baker (yes, that's his real name) and his staff make the most incredible, old-world breads—crunchy crust on the outside, soft and mushy on the inside—using the highest-quality wheat, grains, and seeds. And that's not all: the house-brewed Four Barrel coffee is an excellent accompaniment to the sweet stuff in the pastry case and the small but mighty selection of home goods is great for scratching that shopping itch without spending a ton. Monday is Pizza night.