Before Sunset

Between Cole Valley, Golden Gate Park and the Avenues lies the city’s best-kept secret.

For years, San Francisco’s most devoted foodies have made their way to Irving Street for authentic multicultural fare. Despite the lines snaking down the block for such mainstays as Ebisu and Park Chow, the Inner Sunset still manages to keep a somewhat low profile. But for how long? The October opening of the new de Young Museum in nearby Golden Gate Park brought in a first wave of foot traffic, while the revamped Academy of Sciences—scheduled to open in 2008—will introduce a younger generation to the mom-and-pop neighborhood. But it’s the scheduled upgrading of UCSF’s Mount Parnassus medical facilities that will have Inner Sunset merchants shaking their moneymakers for years to come.

HUMBLE PIE
Follow the aroma of fresh-baked bialys and zampanos wafting from the worker-owned Arizmendi Bakery. Savor a tempura-dusted spicy tuna roll wrapped in soybean paper at the highly acclaimed sushi joint Ebisu. But if the line is too long, you can also get great sushi at the elegant Koo, where the omikase (chef’s choice) dinner almost always starts with a decadent spoonful of uni topped with a raw quail egg. Vanquish the fog’s chill in front of the fireplace at Park Chow with basics like spaghetti and meatballs and grilled chicken.Villa Romana has been breading and frying layers of eggplant for its melanzane alla parmigiana for 50 years. And here’s an insider secret: Sometimes they’ll throw in a garlicky pizza bianca for free. Kick it up a notch at PJ’s Oyster Bed with a helping of fiery peel-and-eat Louisiana shrimp. Boost your self-esteem at Cafe Gratitude’s second location with a wedge of “I Am Amazing” lemon meringue pie. Chinese family-style dishes like the raspberry sweet-and-sour chicken at Nan King Road Bistro keep locals coming back. Upscale Masala wins over the Naan-n-Curry set with its bindi masala, a spicy veggie curry with stir-fried okra.


WHILE YOU WAIT
Lovers of used books will find several stores to choose from, but Victorian poetry fans will delight in the antiquarian volumes at Arkadyan Books. Budget-conscious UCSF students with quirky tastes can stretch their Valentine’s dollar at Wishbone, where rainbow-bright knickknacks and gag gifts like canned geraniums make it impossible to leave empty-handed. If you’ve graduated to a bigger paycheck, browse the racks at Catherine Jane for a mix of sophisticated Italian silk blouses and tailored jackets crafted on the premises. If tonight’s vibe is more dinner-and-a-movie than fight-for-your-right-to-party, even...

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