I feel that having a working knowledge of the city's restaurants allows me to share a slice of the vibrant diversity of San Francisco's peoples and culture with my guests..And people seem to enjoy those little gastronomic tidbits.
I'm also what I call a phenomenological tour guide; I like to talk about the phenomena or what I can see. Coming down Market Street in a coach before taking a left onto Franklin into Hayes Valley and the Civic Center, I always mention Zuni Cafe, as there's not much else noteworthy in those few blocks and Zuni has a very interesting history
The James Beard Awards are like the Oscars of the culinary world. In 2002, Zuni partner and chef Judy Rodgers published The Zuni Café Cookbook. In 2003, the book won the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year and Zuni Café won the award for Outstanding Restaurant in the country; in 2004, Judy won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef; and in 2018 Zuni Café won the award for Outstanding Service.
Zuni also helped to pioneer the open architecture look with exposed brick and beams.
Here's a bit on the history of Zuni Cafe.
https://zunicafe.com/history/
And here's a current take on Zuni from the San Francisco Chronicle's new food critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan on March 18, 2024.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/zuni-cafe-review-sf-18707964.php
Greg