Rebecca Flint Marx offers a solid selection of Bay Area gems, including obscurish places to dine in or shop at.
I’m a fan of:
Pasta Gina’s meatballs; beet salad with citrus and balsamic dressing
Roxie market: breakfast sandwich and Roxie special, but only on Dutch crunch
Haight Street market: for produce, sandwiches, etc. and Gus’s market, which is owned by the same people, in the Mission and which has a parking lot
Sun Fat Seafood: raw and live seafood
Dark Horse inn : I like their kimchi reuben, but I keep returning to their smoked chicken sandwich and fried pickles. Lots of good beers.
Marla Bakery: good brunch in their Richmond District location. They just opened a satellite location in the west-facing arcade area of the Ferry Building, and I enjoyed a chocolate and sea salt cookie and a huckleberry cake there recently. In the nearby stalls are Ft. Point Brewery and a Blue Bottle window with a minimal line!
Joe’s ice cream : their version of an It’s It (a Joe’s It) is great
Primavera : thanks to the use of fresh masa and really thick tortillas, their stall at Saturday ferry building farmers market has some of the crunchiest and delicious chilaquiles around. They come with a side of refried beans, in all their lardy splendor.
King Tsin : there was a Chowdown/HoDown listed on Chowhound and on Hungry Onion, and there are several other reports Chowhound