Here's something San Francisco still gets undeniably right: the food.

Forget the $300 tasting menus and the reservations you need to book six weeks out. The beating heart of SF's dining scene is the guy desperately searching for late-night Chinese delivery with good chow mein, the solo diner chasing vibes at a chef's counter, and the local who's been hitting San Tung's dry fried flounder so many times they've lost count.

Across every neighborhood, San Franciscans are obsessively cataloging their go-to spots — and the lists are revealing. The Sunset and Richmond districts alone could fill a food magazine: San Tung, Ruby's carnitas tacos, Laundromat pizza, Iggy's Place pork belly sandwiches, Kevin's for quick pho. These aren't places with PR teams. They're places that survive on consistency and word of mouth.

Chinatown remains the ultimate out-of-town litmus test. When visitors fly in, locals aren't dragging them to some downtown fusion concept — they're heading to the same spots their parents took them. North Beach still has its hole-in-the-wall gems. And the Inner Richmond? Apparently solid enough that people are planning entire date nights around what travels well in takeout containers during rush hour.

This is what a functioning food economy looks like when government gets out of the way and lets small operators cook — literally. No massive subsidies needed. No "innovation zones." Just entrepreneurs serving great food at prices people will actually pay.

Of course, not everything is perfect. Several people note the Bay Area has real gaps — cuisines that are underrepresented or underwhelming compared to other major cities. And when someone trying to impress a Manhattan contact can't get into four restaurants on a weeknight, that says something about both demand and the difficulty of opening new spots in a city infamous for its permitting nightmare.

The talent and the appetite are clearly here. The question, as always with San Francisco, is whether City Hall will make it easier or harder for the next great hole-in-the-wall to open its doors.

In the meantime, someone please help that guy find his late-night chow mein. Some things can't wait for bureaucratic reform.