Jonathan Kauffman

Arguello Market's roast turkey sandwich.

​Given the care that San Francisco cooks lavish on the humblest of vegetables, it's no surprise that sandwich-making in this town qualifies as an artisanal pursuit. Even journeyman makers hunt down the perfect bread for their masterpieces and whisk together small-batch mayonnaise. In fact, we're surprised that no one has come up with a sandwich-making certification program. Or a guild. Or at least a manifesto. Then again, that's what we love about sandwiches. You can make a sandwich fancy, you can charge $14 for it, but in the end, it's still a food meant to be eaten with your hands. Here are our 10 favorite right now:

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A Dutch pancake with bacon and maple syrup at Outerlands

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Brunch is a way of life in San Francisco. Out-of-towners marvel that
we'll wait an hour-and-a-half for a stack of pancakes, and the morning
cocktail scene is lively -- even if the drinks are made with soju
instead of vodka. On Saturday night we may share bottles of Zinfandel
and exotic preparations of Brussels sprouts, but come Sunday morning,
it's all back to the roots of eating for pleasure. Runny, cheesy eggs.
Thick bacon. Crispy hash browns. Warm, creamy grits. The staples we love
and crave, but elevated to a whole new level.

This city is home to many flavors of brunch spots, from chichi raw
bar restaurants to good old-fashioned American breakfast diners. We have
brunches based in almost every cuisine at almost every price level in
almost every neighborhood. It's tough to narrow down a meal so close to
our hearts and bellies, but SF Weekly has given it our best shot,
rounding up our favorite places to gather on foggy weekend mornings with
friends. Here are our 10 favorite current spots for brunch:

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W. Blake Gray

Pan-fried chive dumplings

​What better way to spend a weekend morning than over dim sum? Waitresses keep offering you tidbits of pork and shrimp, your endless pot of tea gets refilled without asking if you leave the lid up (there's a veteran tip), and at almost every place on this list, six people can eat until you're bored, full or both for less than $20 a person.

San Francisco ain't Hong Kong or Singapore, but for dim sum outside of Chinese-speaking metropoli, we've got it pretty good. A couple months ago SFoodie brought a wine writer from New York to one of our favorite places and he said, "Wow, we don't have dim sum like this," and not because we made him eat chicken feet. Though when you get to number 5 on this list, we strongly suggest that you do.

The best dim sum in San Francisco is not found in Chinatown. Instead, look north of Golden Gate Park, although top spots are found as far afield as Daly City. And a warning to vegetarians, as well as people persnickety about service: You'll be happiest at the places with the fewest Chinese diners. Because for the rest of us, the best way to find a new favorite dish is to not ask questions, but point at it and dig in.

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Lou Bustamante

Bar Agricole's moonraker: Now that's a beaut.

In the last few years, finding a bad drink in San Francisco has become harder than finding a good one. In nearly every neighborhood you'll find a bar filled with fresh juices, high-quality spirits, and a talented bartender conducting their craft. Having already covered the top 10 dive bars, now it's time for our picks of 10 bars that are moving the local cocktail culture forward, one drink at a time.

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Tamara Palmer

Part of the outdoor mural at Let's Cupcake.

In a fickle landscape for food businesses, many cupcake shops have opened in recent years in San Francisco -- and, happily, they continue to stick around. While not every innovation regarding the dessert has worked out in practice (cupcake and wine pairings should be banned), there's still a clear demand.

SFoodie is a tough customer when it comes to cupcakes. We are not on a diet. We are not lured or fooled by a sky-high swirl of frosting. And we're not swayed by sprinkles, though we do have an appreciation for the occasional edible glitter. Attention must be paid to the cake itself, ideally with a not-too-dense crumb (how the inside looks, not what falls off it). You'd probably not be shocked to know how many places make that an afterthought.

Here are our 10 favorite current spots for cupcakes:

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/Flickr

The assembly line at El Toro.

Within five minutes of arguing with any San Franciscan about the best burrito in town, it becomes clear that what makes a great burrito is different for all of us. For some people, greatness is impossible without girth. For others, the quality and quantity of the meat is most important, and a few stalwart taqueria regulars refuse to eat a burrito unless the tortilla has been griddled.

SFoodie doesn't really care about size or tortilla heating method. For us, the most important factor is flavor. And not just the flavor of the meat and salsa: The beans must be well cooked, and the rice can't be just filler -- seeing as how you're carbo-bombing your body, the bulk of the wrap should taste like more than starch. A great burrito stacks six or seven good components on top of one another, so that even when you get a bite without cheese, or salsa or meat, you want to keep eating the thing.

Here are our 10 favorite right now:

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​These days, what qualifies as a dive bar in San Francisco is contestable. We realized, researching this list, that diviness seems to be in the eye of the drinker. For us, a dive is a bar that has been allowed to sit and marinate in its own sticky, alcoholic beverages for years on end, untroubled by trends, unbothered about attracting a specific kind of customer and, in some cases, unconcerned with cleaning a whole heck of a lot.

Here are our 10 favorites in the city.

10. The Li Po Lounge
Home to the most gigantic Chinese lantern we've ever seen, plus more dust than we care to think about, the Lipo Lounge is the only dive in Chinatown truly worth bothering with. Whether you're in the front bar pretending to be in Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, in the stark seating area in back absorbing the bizarre, brightly-lit-canteen vibe, or in the low-ceilinged basement listening to dance DJs, there's literally nowhere else like this in the city.

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