When you’re in the Bay Area, one of your top priorities may be doing food crawls. While ice cream sandwiches, fortune cookies, and sourdough bread are some of the must-tries, they’re only some examples of quintessential Bay Area gastronomic goodies.

In your search for the best local food in the Bay Area, you may immediately think of the dishes that were invented here. But there are also dishes that originated from other places that Bay Area residents have loved, adopted as their own, and perfected to suit their tastes.

To bring out the foodie in you, you may want to try some of the food and drinks that have made a mark on the Bay Area food map:

1) Ice cream sandwiches from It’s-It

You cannot end your visit to the Bay Area without trying one of its classics: the legendary ice cream sandwich from It’s-It. This ice cream shop opened in the 1920s at Playland at the Beach, a now-defunct amusement park that used to be located next to the Ocean Beach, San Francisco.

The founder, George Whitney, found the perfect ice cream sandwich recipe: vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies and dipped in chocolate sauce. The recipe virtually hasn’t changed, and it is still as good as it was 100 years ago.

2) Irish coffee from Buena Vista Cafe

Buena Vista Cafe was founded in 1952 and is credited with bringing Irish coffee in the United States. Don’t forget to pay a visit while you’re in the area to grab a cup of frothy, Irish whiskey-laced coffee.

3) Pho

The Bay Area is a melting pot of different cultures. Thus, you will find truly diverse cuisine here. One of the favorites here is pho. It is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and thin slices of beef (but it can also be chicken or pork). It’s nice to have a warm, comforting bowl pho in the chilly and foggy San Francisco weather.

4) Sourdough bread from Boudin Bakery

Boudin Bakery is recognized for a couple of things: it is the oldest operating business in San Francisco, and it is the place to get the best sourdough bread in town.

Boudin opened in 1849, around the same time the California Gold Rush boomed. It struck culinary gold when founder and baker Isabel Boudin perfected the recipe. The unique tang added to the traditional French bread is what makes Boudin’s sourdough bread utterly unique.

5) Fortune cookies

Perhaps the biggest misconception about fortune cookies that we know today is that they were invented somewhere in the Far East. The truth is, however, that their origins are right here – in San Francisco! Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese landscape artist at the Golden Gate Park, is widely credited to have served the first fortune cookies in the United States.

Check out San Francisco’s Chinatown for the most authentic fortune cookies. The fun part – cracking the cookie open and pulling out a little piece of paper. The paper has a message that predicts your future, bears a short and wise saying, or even displays a list of lucky numbers.

These are some of the Bay Area’s culinary classics. But the Bay’s cuisine is much more than what’s on this list. One of the great things about the food here is the diversity when it comes to flavors. From the high-end French restaurants to hole-in-the-wall sushi bars to popular street side fare, there’s something for everyone, making the Bay Area a dining destination like no other.

If you’re operating a restaurant or any type of food business in the Bay Area, you should know that your establishment’s appearance is as important as what you serve to your customers. It helps for it to look beautiful, appealing, and eye-catching. Turn to Custom Painting, Inc. to make your business look good to your patrons.

Custom Painting, Inc. is a licensed and fully insured company that has been servicing clients throughout the Bay Area since it opened its doors in 1982. We do interior and exterior painting to both homes and commercial establishments, and do other work such as moldings and other custom installations. If you need high-quality painting service for restaurants, cafes, or any other food-related establishments, call Custom Painting, Inc. at 925-294-8062 for a free estimate.