New cafes are popping up along Taraval, and over on Judah Street, a Japanese spot serving bento boxes and onigiri is giving the neighborhood's food scene yet another reason to exist. No ribbon-cutting ceremony with a supervisor. No small business grant with 47 pages of compliance paperwork. Just entrepreneurs betting on a neighborhood and opening their doors.

This is what organic growth looks like, and the Sunset has been on this trajectory for a while now. The avenues have long been one of SF's best-kept culinary secrets — largely because food media can't seem to look past the Mission and Hayes Valley — but the secret is getting harder to keep.

What makes the Sunset work is that it's still relatively affordable for small operators. Rents aren't Mission Street insane. Foot traffic from Muni lines on Taraval, Judah, and Irving keeps storefronts viable. And the customer base actually lives in the neighborhood — families, students, longtime residents who eat out regularly and don't need a James Beard nomination to walk through the door.

The corridor effect is real, too. One local pointed out that "Irving between 19th Ave and 20th Ave have Handy Deli and Lucca's and both have a pretty good craft soda selection" — the kind of small, independently owned spots that cluster together and make a street worth walking down.

Here's the thing City Hall should internalize but won't: the best economic development program is getting out of the way. Every new permit fee, every layer of inspection, every months-long approval process is a tax on exactly this kind of entrepreneurial energy. The Sunset is thriving despite San Francisco's regulatory apparatus, not because of it.

If you haven't made the trek out to the avenues lately, do it this weekend. Bring your appetite and your Muni pass. Leave your car — parking out there is its own special nightmare. But the food? The food is worth it.