Summer might be over, but there’s one cold treat that San Franciscans will still be queuing in line for long after the rays are gone and it’s Bi-Rite Creamery‘s ice cream.
Considered by many locals to be the city’s best ice cream shop, Bi-Rite Creamery sits on an enviable corner, right across from Dolores Park in the Mission district. Whether they come for the original and delectable flavors or the local and mostly organic ingredients (Bi-Rite exclusively uses products from Straus Creamery just 45 miles north of SF to make its ice cream), the never-ending crowds certainly make it look worth the wait.
A giant illuminated ice cream cone shows the way to frozen nirvana while a red rope neatly contains the hungry crowd. With a neon sign outside the shop, passersby could easily mistake it for a hip night club…
Take home treats line the shelves and refrigerator, and some inside seating allows for an all-seasons comfortable enjoyment, though nothing quite beats taking your cone for a stroll in the nearby park.
Not your usual flavors…and that’s perfectly fine!
I opted for a savory and audacious selection, on the left, having skipped dinner that night for the occasion. My pick of Olive Oil, Basil, and Honey Lavender was a marriage made in heaven and possibly the closest one could get to figuratively getting a mouthful of Provence. I stopped and wonder for a second if I couldn’t get all my future meals delivered in this form, but that would be silly! Not the most colorful of trio but knowing no artificial colorant had made it into the mixture wins big points with me and probably most of the other aficionados. My friend went for a much more eye pleasing duo of Balsamic Strawberry and Fresh Cream – equally divine – missing only a glass of rosé to bring us back to a summer in France…
Bi-Rite Creamery3692 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 626-5600
