San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
SUMMER OF FUN
It’s time to get a cocktail with bright colors and just as bright flavors, and maybe a little paper umbrella, too. It’s time to revisit some of San Francisco’s most stunning dining rooms, the kind with cushy banquettes and handcrafted ceramic dishes that you could never recreate in your home. It’s time for a trip through Wine Country.
But most of all, it’s time to fall back in love with all that the Bay Area has to offer — the spongy pineapple bun filled with a thick slab of butter in the Outer Sunset, the sandy East Bay bar that transports drinkers to the Caribbean, the breezy waterfront dining hot spots where the view and the food harmonize. Welcome to The Chronicle Food + Wine team’s guide to your Summer of Fun.
California lifted its health restrictions this week, a move that follows low COVID19 cases and high vaccination rates that suggest it’s once again safe for us to see each other. Accordingly, restaurants and bars can reopen to their full capacity — and many are filling up with people eager to be out.
In this guide, critic Esther Mobley surveys the cool new bars that opened over the pandemic that you absolutely must check out, while writer Elena Kadvany leads you through your perfect day in the Outer Sunset, which has had a boom in exciting new food options. There’s an updated guide from critic Soleil Ho and writer Janelle Bitker on stellar picnics to try, plus a definitive list of our favorite ice creams.
And if that’s not enough, perhaps you can get some inspiration from one of your neighbors. Writer Andrew Simmons spoke to Bay Area locals to hear about their fantastical nights out, joyful evenings planned after months of isolation.
The pandemic may not be totally behind us, but we have reason to celebrate our steps forward. And celebrate, you should. Below, find many delicious ways you can cheer to seeing friends, family and neighbors once again.