How to Shop for Groceries (San Francisco)

Step 2 Find Your Local Shops

Take a stroll through your neighborhood and take note of all the food shops. You might be surprised by how many small grocers, fruit stands, bodegas and specialized food stores there are. Venture inside them to see just what they offer. These places can provide a lot more than bread or beer at the last minute, particularly in climate-blessed San Francisco. (See our Food & Liquor project.)

Not only can these places provide equal (if not better) goods, they often provide more personal service, which can be a huge help when you have all of one minute to find an obscure item before you need catch the bus to make your meeting. Get to know your shop owners, or at least the regular check-out folk, since they can keep you updated on sales or new goods, and can even put in a request for things they don't normally carry. All just for you!

And keep in mind that you don't have to shop for everything in one store. The first place might do produce better than the second, while the third place has the best butcher counter and the fourth has great baked goods and the cheapest beer. Of course it's easiest if you find a group of these stores that are near each other. San Francisco has lots of "market streets": from parts of Irving Street in the Sunset to stretches of Geary Avenue in the Richmond to Church Street between Duboce and Market in Duboce Triangle, and many more.