Welcome!
Welcome to 1181 Alabama Street! I hope you enjoy my home in San Francisco. I've compiled some information here to make your visit easier, and to encourage you to explore the neighborhood. If you have suggestions for me like these, I'd love to explore in the same way. I've hyperlinked as much as I can below, so you can access directions and menus while on-the-go.
The Important Stuff
Arriving: The cheapest route from the airport is to take BART to the 24th Street stop ($10.90 in 2025), and then walk 10 minutes down 24th street to Alabama. An Uber or Lyft rideshare is typically $35. For access to the house, I'll send you the front door code privately (plus my What's App and email.).
While Here: Please keep the entry door and the garage door locked. Linens, paper goods, soap, kitchen spices/oils/etc. are yours to use, but please replenish anything you finish. Laundry is in the back of the garage. I've arranged for a house cleaner to clean between visitors, but please treat the place as you would your own home.
Leaving: On the last day of your stay, please run the dishwasher, and put all used linens in the washing machine. I'll wash them when I get back. Put garbage downstairs in the trash cans (blue for glass, plastic and cardboard, green for compost, black for everything else, click for details), and make sure the doors are locked when you leave.
Safety: In case of fire, the window at the top of the stairs is another exit--it goes to the neighbor's porch, and another set of stairs that lead to Alabama Street.
House Details
Getting in: The entry door has a keypad. It works best if you pull it toward you when locking and unlocking. To unlock, enter the four digit code. To lock, press the center button with a padlock on it. Please always check to make sure it has locked.
Smoking: Please don't smoke (anything) in the house.
Ceiling fan: The light/fan over the bed is controlled with the pull chains (there are symbols for light and fan on the two chains). The switch is by the green couch, but you can do everything with the chains if you leave the wall switch on.
Windows: The bay window is great for solar gain in the afternoon. On warm days, I pull the curtains closed to keep the place cooler. I turn off the heater in the summer, to save energy. It's usually on December-March. The heater in the bathroom is on a timer to take the chill off every morning.
Linens/supplies: Extra linens are in the cabinet beside the bathtub. Cleaning supplies are also there, and under the kitchen sink.
Cleaning: I use a dry Swiffer to clean the floors (mop and cloths are in the bathroom). The kitchen counters are zinc, so they stain and tarnish naturally. You can use non-abrasive cleaner to wipe them (So, sponge=good, Scotchbrite=bad). Please don't let wine or acids like lemon juice dry on them.
Trash Day is Wednesday!: But you don't need to worry about it unless you are staying multiple weeks. If you are, put the bins at the curb Tuesday night. Recycling details here. Always keep the garage door locked.
Dishwasher: Use only dishwasher soap pouches (under the sink). Press Normal Wash, then Start, and close the door firmly. The water will start, and 99 will show on the display. If you don't hear the water right away, close the door more firmly than you did the first time.
Freezer: The freezer drawers are on the left under the island. Make the door closes all the way, or your ice cream will melt and you will be sad.
Stove/oven/microwave: The stove and oven are gas. The microwave is also a convection oven. The microwave also has a light and an exhaust fan--please use that fan while frying on the stovetop.
Garbage disposal: The kitchen sink has a garbage disposal (grinder). The switch nearest the sink controls it; please run the water whenever you run the disposal. It can grind up food scraps and other soft things. It will also try to grind up bones, lost forks, and bottle caps, so be careful what goes down the sink drain. Good rule: If you can't chew it, the disposal shouldn’t either.
Laundry: The laundry is in the back of the garage, and supplies are in the cabinets above. People with more delicate and perhaps lacier articles of clothing than I use the drier’s Permanent Press heat and "More Dry" on the timer dial. There is a comically small ironing board hanging in the main closet. The iron usually is in the bathroom upstairs. If you need dry cleaning or repairs or want wash-and-fold service, the laundry shop at 25th and Florida is dependable.
WiFi and entertainment—The password is on the router at the front window. The projector can be used to watch movies on the pull down screen. The HDMI connection to it is beside the bed. Please be careful pulling down the screen—don’t go too far!. Feel free to use the big monitor at the desk too.
Go explore!
Neighborhood: Like any urban environment, pay attention to your surroundings and stick to well-lighted streets at night. There's plenty of time to wander around mural-filled alleys during the day. When I'm walking home late at night, I stick to major streets like 24th and Valencia. If you’re walking alone and don’t feel comfortable, flag a cab or call an Uber/Lyft. The BART plazas can be chaotic, but we travel through them regularly. Keep your wits about you, don’t leave valuables in your car, and you’ll be fine.
Transit: To reach my house from the airport, take BART to the 24th Street Station, then walk east on 24th Street to Alabama Street. If you arrive at SFO after ~11:30pm, you will need to take a cab.
I recommend buying a Clipper Card at a BART station or the Walgreens at 24th and Potrero Streets (east of my house). It works for works for MUNI (bus), BART (subway), Caltrain (southern commuter trains), and other transit systems. The Google Maps app is good for mapping walking/BART/Muni (bus) combo trips. It doesn't always know if the buses are late.
The MUNI system includes street cars and buses, costs $2.75, and includes free transfers within a window of time. BART is a pay-by-distance subway system (~$3 within the city) To access Caltrain, take the 48 bus east to the 22nd Street Station.
Many folks use the Uber or Lyft ride sharing apps as a cab alternative. It can save an hour-long wait for a bus sometimes... FreeWheel is a cab calling app, but I haven't used it.
Banks/ATM--There is a Bank of America ATM at 24th and Bryant, on the Bryant side of the paint store. The nearest full service bank is the Chase at 25th and Mission.
The Fun Stuff
Coffee!
Dynamo Donuts at 24th and Hampshire: Semi-unusual donuts and a nice café with outdoor seating on the weekends.
Blue Bottle Coffee at 18th and Alabama: Coffee inside Heath Ceramics' fun designy store. The kitchen and entryway tile in my house are from Heath.
Breakfast/cafes
Eterna Primavera—Directly across 24th St. from the house. Great all-around cafe. Affordable baked goods (the guava/cheese danish is notable) and good-enough coffee. Early in the mornings, you will see a line of contractor-looking guys lined up to buy pan con todo (breakfast sandwich) to fuel their workday. They know what’s good.
Wise Sons Deli at 24th and Shotwell—Jewish deli, makes their own bagels. Get it to go and eat in Precita Park on a nice day. Sandwiches are good, but they approach my limit of what-I'll-pay-for-a-sandwich. I like it better for breakfast than for lunch, and an Everything bagel toasted w/ cream cheese is my go-to.
Atlas at 20th and Alabama: My go-to café to work and munch and caffeinate or have an afternoon beer on the back patio. Occasional live music.
Haus at 24th Street and Folsom is another good "working on your laptop" cafe with a back patio.
Tartine and Craftsman & Wolves: Higher-end bakeries on Guerrero and Valencia, respectively, that are both worth the walk, and best experienced during the week. Tartine has another location at 18th and Alabama inside the Heath Ceramics building.
Nearby lunch/casual options
La Torta Gorda at 24th and Bryant: Mexican sandwiches (the small size is not really small...) and a pretty back patio.
Gallardo’s at 18th and Van Ness: This is the real deal. Best pozole in SF. A "small" bowl with all the fixings is a great meal. I hear the menudo is good too, but menudo is weird.
Discolandia on 24th—The records are gone, but now it’s birria and tacos. It’s expensive as neighborhood taquerias go, but it’s tasty.
Burritos are everywhere! I personally like Vallarta's (24th and Balmy) al Pastor Super Burrito, and it's big enough for two meals. El Farolito is right across the street, but the only thing I order there is the carne asada tostada. It’s lunch for $5. Win.
If you want the SF taco truck experience, I recommend the one at 23rd and Shotwell for a good lunch. Family run, good portions, and a quick walk from the house.
Asian Food
Spice Jar on Bryant and 23rd--A worthy step above carryout. Asian fusion at reasonable prices.
Punjab at 24th and Bryant—It’s an American diner-looking place that serves cuisine from most of Asia. I’ve never tried the pho, but the lunch specials make two meals for me. Happy Chicken over Fried Rice is my usual order. It’s not a special occasion restaurant, but I get it at least once a month.
Chili Cha Cha 2—Better than it appears. Rice and curry dishes are excellent. Noodle dishes… not as great.
Burma Love on Valencia: Higher end Burmese, very popular, and worth it. Burmese friends tell me it's too sweet, isn't like their mom's, blah blah blah. I do not care because it is delicious.
Yamo at 18th and Mission: The best cheap noodle bowl in the Mission. Don’t be put off by tiny size or appearance. Embrace the chaos, don't get offended if you get yelled at, order the house noodles, don’t take pictures, and if you’ve lived a good life, you’ll get what you ordered. I love Yamo.
Nice dinner—too many to list, depends what you’re looking for, and other lists will do it better than me. Heirloom on Folsom has good wine, open kitchen, and you can usually get a reservation day-of. Flour and Water makes their own pasta, and their wait list indicates they’re popular. For a nicer Mexican cuisine experience than a taqueria, try Regalito—good food, friendly service, and an intimate, heated back patio.
Food and staples
Casa Lucas (my side of the street): Groceries. Has some organic food, friendly folks. The gringo-targeted specialty items are pricey, but the rest is reasonable.
El Chico (diagonal from my house): Cheaper groceries (99 cent pineapples!) and a full meat counter (the bacon and the Salvadoran chorizo is good). Tends to be slightly less clean/fresh than Casa Lucas.
Grocery Outlet between 24th and 23rd on Van Ness. Discount/odd lot chain. Best deals are in the section by the entrance. I don’t eat too much pre-packaged food, but this is the cheapest place to get it. Good stock-up place before a road trip.
Low Cost Carcineria at 24th and Florida--no-frills meat counter.
Safeway: Large chain grocery store at 16th and Bryant. You can take buses up Bryant or Potrero to get there. It is not fast or friendly, but it is there.
Whole Foods and Trader Joes: There is are WF's in Noe Valley and in Potrero, and a Trader Joe's in SOMA--all are bus trips you can plan with Google Maps. Gus’s at 21st and Harrison is a private version of Whole Foods. Still expensive, but you can walk there and your money isn’t going to fund Bezos’s next yacht.
Rainbow Co-op at 14th and Mission--a bulk-bin wonder and accessible by bus. If you like to cook and will be staying for a while, it's worth the trip. It has a parking lot, but it's only useful on weekdays. On weekends, you will see raw food vegans fight to the death for a parking spot.
Pharmacy/bath products/batteries: Walgreens is a chain drugstore at 24th and Potrero. Many of the small grocery stores also have basics (cold meds, batteries, etc) behind the counter if you ask.
Parks
There are better guides than I can write... but to get to Golden Gate Park (and the upper Haight), take the 33 bus. GGP is bigger than NYC's Central Park and has buffalo. Precita Park is five minutes walk to the base of Alabama Street on the other side of Cesar Chavez and is a close-by, family park. Dolores Park is the cool kids' hangout at Dolores and 18thish, and is walking distance, or take Muni. Land's End and Sutro Baths are Muni accessible and are most fun on a sunny day. The Baths are ruins of an earlier recreational spot, and you can walk through tunnels and see container ships coming into the bay. Tank Hill Park near the Castro is tiny, but the views are incredible--good spot to take a picture that doesn't look the same as everybody else's. For a quick afternoon pretty view, walk south on Alabama, across Caesar Chavez, and about halfway up Bernal Hill, go left on Montcalm. When you hit the jig-jog on Montcalm, look left, and you’ll see a small overlook with stone benches—it’s a great view all the way to downtown. It’s a 30-40 minute round trip walk from the house, and the hill is steep enough to consider it as exercise.
You can also visit both Mt. Davidson and Mt. Sutro parks via bus. Mt. Davidson is the highest point in the city and has a 270 degree view of ocean, city, and East Bay on a clear day, as well as a giant concrete cross. The best views are only a 10 minute walk from a bus stop. Sutro is probably the most forest-like hike within the city. Trails are good, views are limited. Nice, shady walk on a hot day, and also kinda spooky in the fog. The 36 bus picks up at Cesar Chavez and Mission Street and travels to both parks. Google Maps sometimes suggests a route with the 44 and 48 buses, which happens to pass near the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, which a previous guest said was her favorite sight in SF!
Close-by Neighborhood Bars
Pop’s on 24th and York: My go-to, neighborhood bar. Diverse crowd, different styles of music each night.
Ruth’s at 24th and Treat: Divey, local crowd. It’s one of those bars that opens and closes under different names, but always smells the same (not great).
Phone Booth on 25th and Van Ness—another good corner bar with a pool table. Very chill.
Napper Tandy at 24th and Van Ness. Irish Pub, lots of TV’s. Don’t stray too far from the burgers and wings… but the French Dip special is good.
Cocktails:
Trick Dog on 20th between Alabama and Florida makes every Best-Of list. Crowded on weekend nights. Food is better than you'd expect for a cocktail bar.
Asciento at Bryant and 21st: More low key than TD, and lower priced, but not as novel. Good on warm afternoons when they have the windows open. It’s the kind of bar where you can drink nice cocktails and play board games (and eat queso) all afternoon.
Doc’s Clock on Mission and 20th—Cheap, friendly. No food. Great central-ish spot to meet people. Bonus points for shuffleboard and pinball.
BEER!
Best tap list in the ‘hood is at Rosamunde at 24th and Mission. Cellarmaker House of Pizza is south on Mission, and most would say it’s the best brewery in the city, heavy on the IPA’s. Their Detroit-style pizza is legit.
Venturing further in the Mission, Zeitgeist has a big tap list, rude staff, greasy burgers, and a big outside area. Mostly an under-30 crowd. Great place to meet a group on a sunny day, and I hear the Bloody Mary is pretty good too. Hop Oast is a nano-brewery at Bryant and Cesar Chavez. It’s a one man operation, and he makes a wide variety of styles. CC is a little sketchy at night, so don’t go wandering off. The beer isn’t standout, but it’s the most-chill place to drink a beer with the brewmaster and watch sports on the single TV. Crafty Fox has a good Cali-centric list. Barebottle is in Bernal Hill—the 67 Muni will get you there. It’s warehouse-sized with arcade games and a patio, dog friendly, almost always a food truck. Cerveceria de Matevesa by Dolores Park makes some… unusual beers. Worth checking out if you go to the park. Yerba Mate beer?
Cellarmaker is in a bit of the Mission known as La Lengua. I recommend a bus or Uber if it’s late at night to get to that neighborhood. We usually walk there, but there’s a bit of sketchiness between here and there. That area has other worthy destinations—a barbecue joint that’s decent, The Knock Out (bar with live music), Blue Plate (nicer restaurant), The Porch (fried chicken at brunch!), Pizza Hacker, and Zanti’s (the name is longer than that, but you’ll see it), which has weird/wonderful Indian pizza. The El Rio bar is there too—pretty popular, pretty gay. Their weekend themed parties are famous and attract lines down the street.
For bottles of beer and wine, the best selection is at the market at 24th and Hampshire. There's another market at Florida and 23rd that has fancier stock, including a wider liquor selection. The corner store at 24th and Alabama is a typical corner store: if you need cheap wine, toilet paper, and ice cream, go there.
Culture and Entertainment
Again, other lists can do this better than me, and tastes vary. Do415 and Funcheap are good websites to check out local happenings.
Staying close to my house, Brava Theater and Red Poppy Art Gallery have some unique programming, but it's good to check out what's playing/happening online first. The Mission Theater/Alamo Drafthouse on Mission has first-run movies. It often sells out, so buy in advance online. The Roxie on 16th is your spot for indie movies. And if you want to rock, The Chapel (on Mission), Thee Parkside and Bottom of the Hill (both in Potrero) and The Hotel Utah (SOMA) have shows most nights of the week, and are bus-able or an affordable cab ride.