Julia Chen

6 days ago | theinfatuation.com | Julia Chen |Patrick Wong |Ricky Rodriguez

Follow the scent of sizzling carnitas to Don Chuy’s, a Mexican corner store in the Excelsior that serves one of SF’s best burritos. Tucked behind the aisles of pan dulce and tortillas, you’ll find a counter where you can order the super burrito with a hefty scoop of guacamole, and pickled carrots and jalapeños. Getting it with the carnitas—some of the crispiest within a seven-mile radius—is mandatory.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Julia Chen

Staring down the steam table at Irma’s Pampanga is a great way to spend any weeknight where cooking your own dinner is an insurmountable task. The Filipino counter-service spot in the Mission does great barbecue skewers, sisig, and tocino swimming in bright red juices, and lumpia. Always go for the chicken adobo, which falls right off the bone into a puddle of sweet-salty sauce—and snag a calamansi juice to wash it all down.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Julia Chen

Former pop-up Carabao is settling into a permanent space in Napa. The Filipino restaurant will serve high-end takes on classics, like sinigang, sisig, lechon, and more. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Julia Chen

RESERVE A TABLE620 Jones is a Lower Nob Hill multi-hyphenate—part American restaurant, part bar, part drag brunch destination—but above all else, it’s the city’s go-to any time the temperature randomly spikes and you need to have a drink outside. Their lush patio is big enough to park a few R1Ts. Plenty of trees and shrubs keep things shady while you dig into perfectly fine french toast, shrimp and grits, and pitchers of sangria.

1 week ago | theinfatuation.com | Julia Chen

This sourdough pizza spot’s pop-up days are behind them—they’re set to open a brick-and-mortar in the old Iza Ramen space in the Lower Haight. In addition to the rotating list of incredible pies, they’ll also have other shareable dishes like salads and sourdough hand-cut noodles. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists.