Room after room of new and used books built in an old two-story house, Green Apple Books is one of my favorite places to get lost for an afternoon. While they have a second store located south of the Golden Gate Park on 9th Ave, their Clement street store is the original home base.
Great local bookstores are an endangered species, and to survive, they need to be the best of the breed, and that is Green Apple. Their staff recos are legendary, with hundreds of review cards all throughout the store to help find what you didn't know you wanted. Because they sell both new and used books, they maintain a critically quirky inventory which delivers what I most need in a bookstore: discovery.
I can go in looking for a cookbook by Marcella Hazan and emerge 3 hours later with a said Italian cookery tome, plus a biography of Cardinal Richelieu, which has been out of print for 20 years, a remaindered copy of a Michael Ondaatje novel I missed, a guide to Julia Morgan homes in the Bay Area, and some note cards which I always need. Match that level of discovery Amazon - I dare you.
Find your way with 157 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
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"Sightglass Coffee" was one of the first coffee shops I visited in SF and remains one of my favorites. It's a neighborhood spot for friends to connect...
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"Fog Harbor" Fish House in San Francisco's Pier 39 is a total winner: the food is incredible, the people are friendly and it won't break your wallet!
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Whatever your favorite restaurant in San Francisco might be, it's about to become your second-favorite after Senegalese restaurant "Little Baobab"...
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Ι stumbled into the SF "Circus Center" to try a class. I didn't realise that I would soon be addicted to being up-side-down and high in the air!
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My neighborhood park is San Francisco is "Mountain Lake Park." It's one of our last remaining natural lakes,
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You'll sail completely around Alcatraz and then out to sea, pass other boats, and experience the fog rolling into the Bay—a very cool experience.
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Custom-built in Italy, it features more than 30 colorful animals and is the only bay area carousel with artistic renderings of all the SF landmarks!
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157 Insider Tips from our local Spotters
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