SF Restos: Local or quintessential? :-) + Veg-Friendly

[hillaryhillary]

Hi all!

My partner and I will be in SF staying in North Beach, without a car, from June 8-15. We're from Toronto and are looking for places to eat that are uniquely San Francisco! This can include local food of course, but more than that we'd love to find places that just really feel 110% SF to you - local or not.

We don't eat meat or fish (dairy + eggs are okay) , but are not tied to veg-only restos or even extensive veg options - a few solid dishes on a menu will be enough. Some affordable local wine or beer pairings would be a plus (i.e. typical beer price, or say $10-15 for a glass of wine). For maybe one nice meal out we could do up to $60/person but for most meals would look for under $30/ea, give or take.

I've spent some time looking through many posts before asking this, these are some posts that I've found useful so far:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/826620 Jan/12 Locally Sourced, Seasonal Tasting Menu
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/833445 Feb/12 Vegan List
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/791190 Jan/11 Creative modern veg/vegan
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/816518 Nov/8 Special veg dinner in Bay Area

As long as we can get there by public transit, anything goes!

Thanks for any help.

[Robert Lauriston]

Barbacco.

SF wine lists are generally Euro-centric, here are some topics on the exceptions:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/783770
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/602538

[hillaryhillary]

Helpful links, thanks!

[wolfe]

In North Beach, very San Francisco, best for lunch , Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store.
VEGGIE
grilled eggplant, red bell peppers, Swiss cheese, onions & marinara (served open faced)
GRILLED EGGPLANT
roasted red peppers & feta cheese
FRESH MOZZARELLA
sliced tomato & basil pesto
Across the park Liguria Bakery for foccacia.

[hillaryhillary]

I had the foccacia a few years ago - when I was buying it, I naively thought I'd be eating half then and half later ;-) Those sound like delicious sandwiches, I will definitely head over there! Thanks!

[wolfe]

If you are there early enough get some of the addictive bugia cookies.
http://www.foodspotting.com/places/43...

[hyperbowler]

Note that Liguria sells out fairly early (they were out of raisin focaccia by 10AM a few Fridays ago). But fear not if you can't get there early--- Mario's sandwiches use their focaccia!