Food + Drink

Independent cafes that serve high-quality coffee have cropped up across the country, and these days a new generation of coffee connoisseurs are raising the (espresso) bar and progressing our palates beyond the Starbucks daily brew. Sacramento visitors may be surprised to discover a thriving coffee culture in the Capitol City that rivals neighboring San Francisco. Locally roasted, small-batch coffee can be found at a handful of popular cafes in Downtown and Midtown, all conveniently located near the Sacramento Hostel.

When visitors think of iconic thoroughfares in San Francisco, the mansions, manicured gardens, and hairpin turns of Lombard Street are probably the first images that come to mind. While Lombard may be the most well known, San Francisco has several other notable streets that offer travelers a local experience and some insight into the zeitgeist of the city's distinct neighborhoods. Our new series, "Streets of San Francisco" examines the offerings of the unique arteries that define the City by the Bay.

A native of the Midwest, Mallory Goelz grew up in Danville, Illinois. She spent the last six years living in various states, slowly making her way to the West Coast, until she landed in Montara. She's been at the front desk of the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel for a year and a half now, and loves everything about Montara. Indecisive, or "all decisive" as she calls it, and a child of the "flat middle," she can never choose between coastal waters or rugged mountains. Luckily, the Northern California coast gives her both.

From the classic hot dog vendors of American cities to today's uber trendy bacon-wrapped mochi on a stick, street food has evolved into an inventive, exciting, and mobile form of fast food. Infusing traditional street foods with new culinary trends and drawing on international cuisines for inspiration, the street food scene in San Francisco has exploded with niche and nouveau food trucks.

The first words out of Will Otero's mouth are "my mother." They're in response to a question about how he started his business. They're also his most frequently used words during our visit. By the eight or ninth mention of his mama, she appears in the doorway, as he said she would.

Pinching pennies is a way of life for backpackers on the road, but visiting a world-class tourist gem like San Francisco can be a bottomless black hole of pricey drinks, hefty museum admissions, expensive excursions, and more-than-you-bargained-for meals. Fear not, dear traveler -- San Francisco can be fresh without the lettuce! Our San Francisco hostels have rounded up a whole new batch of discounts for guests, from neighborhood businesses as well as some major attractions.

I've always found a magical allure to hitting the open road. Being a city dweller, walking is pretty much all I do, so getting out of town and looking at an open stretch of road from the driver's seat is really thrilling. On my latest adventure, I explored Route 92, which runs east to west from the San Francisco Bay, over the mountains to the coast. It's a nice alternative route to get to Coastal Highway 1 and the Pigeon Point or Point Montara lighthouse hostels.

The Embarcadero, San Francisco's scenic eastern waterfront, holds some of the city's most well known attractions as well as some wonderful hidden spots in between. One Saturday afternoon, I set out on the Embarcadero's pedestrian walkway to see what I could discover on the path from the Ferry Building to the San Francisco Giant's AT&T Park.

Traveling to new countries means an opportunity to sample the authentic cuisine of that culture. But the United States, with her many urban metropolises and history of international immigration, offers more than just traditional American fare. Visitors to any big American city can wander through bustling ethnic neighborhoods where residents combine the flavors of their homelands with the ingredients at hand.

San Francisco is a city unlike any other, but snapping a few shots of that golden bridge and riding those cute cable cars is not the way to fully experience it. Enter Anthony Jones, activities coordinator for the City Center Hostel. A San Francisco native with an excess of eclectic interests, Anthony perfectly embodies the spirit of this town: diverse, interesting, unexpected, and extremely open.