It’s not the sweater weather or the changing leaves that gets us excited about fall, it’s the food: comforting drinks, belly-warming soups, and all things pumpkin.
Jump into the season with 15 of San Francisco’s coziest fall eats and drinks, from hot buttered cider at The Beehive to B Star’s pumpkin pork ginger stew.
Picture-Perfect Pie
(Courtesy of @threebabes)
Three Babes Bakeshop’s (2797 16th St., Mission) salty honey walnut pie is the perfect alternative to classic pecan, made with toasted organic walnuts, a whole vanilla bean, and the sweet kiss of honey.
Butterscotch is like fall’s late-afternoon sun in food form. At the Outer Richmond’s Butter Love Bakeshop (3717 Balboa St.), they take it one step further, turning the creamy, dreamy dessert into a butterscotch pudding pie.
There’s no need to choose between two fall favorites at Peasant Pies(1039 Irving St., Inner Sunset; and 50 Gene Friend Way, Mission Bay). Their pumpkin pecan pie combines the season’s best two flavors in one.
Comfort Food in Slurpable Form
Japantown Korean restaurant Daeho Kalbijjim & Beef Soup (1620 Post St.) does stick-to-your-ribs beef rib soup (kalbitang) so well, they literally named themselves after it.
At Union Square’s Bouche (603 Bush St.), they pull out all the stops for their seasonal wild mushroom soup, a silky version made with hickory-smoked lardon and cream cappuccino.
B Star (127 Clement St., Inner Richmond) proves that squash soup doesn’t have to be one dimensional. Their pumpkin pork ginger stew gives all the flavors of fall their signature Burmese twist.Seasonally Spectacular Squash
For autumn squash with a Middle Eastern pedigree, Beit Rima’s (86 Carl St.,Cole Valley) delicata with brown butter lebna and pine nut dukkah delivers the season’s savory sweetness.
To their roasted Japanese yams caramelized with soy sauce, Guamanian restaurant Prubechu (2224 Mission St., Mission) adds acorn squash, golai hagon suni, and charred scallions for a dish that’s as comforting as it is delicious.
At Kin Khao (55 Cyril Magnin St., Union Square), the roasted delicata squash—a spicy-sweet dish with chili jam, fried shallots, peanuts, and toasted coconut—delivers flavor-punching fall vibes.
Fall-Flavored Cocktails
(Courtesy of @thebeehivesf)
Nothing says fall like cider and at The Beehive (842 Valencia St., Mission), they booze up their belly-warming hot buttered cider with Cognac and sweet apple butter.
Warm up on Charmaine’s (45 McAllister St., Civic Center) atmospheric rooftop on a cool fall night with Crookshanks, a hot, chai-spiced cocktail made with bourbon, Cointreau, and Aperol.
At new low-proof cocktail bar Lilah (2336 Chestnut St., Marina), the cobbler—a cocktail made with oloroso sherry, peach shochu, apricot marmalade, blackberry, and raspberry—is about as close to pie in a glass as you can get.
Coffee (and tea) that's anything but basic B---.
Made with cinnamon-y spice, Red Bay Coffee’s (1 Ferry Bldg, Embarcadero + 220 Montgomery St., FiDi) candied yam latte perfectly complements a cool fall morning.
At Sextant Coffee (1415 Folsom St., SoMa), they spice the Ethiopian-grown beans in their golden latte with earthy turmeric and tangy ginger.
Pretty much any of the drinks at David Rio’s Chai Bar (1019 Market St., SoMa) will fill you with fall comfort lickety split, but the cub chai—made with dashes of black pepper, cardamom, and fresh ginger—is a spice-forward favorite.
