Made in SF with ❤️
Just moved here or looking for some activities in San Francisco? Here are some great resources – newspapers, blogs, social accounts – for staying informed and entertained in San Francisco, many of which I read or follow myself to stay up to date with what’s going on the the San Francisco Bay Area! I previously wrote up this list last year but I’ve made a few updates for 2025.
Side note: I’m being featured in Storied SF by Jeff Hunt. So exciting!! Part One of two drops tomorrow, 3/4/25. Check it out wherever you enjoy listening to Podcasts (Spotify and Apple)!
Local News
- San Francisco Chronicle: The main local paper for San Francisco news, events, and food, and other features.
- The SF Standard: A relative newcomer, the San Francisco Standard has quickly gained readership for local news.
- California Today from NYTimes: Daily newsletter with collated news and features about California, including San Francisco.
- Axios SF: Originally The SF Minute, this became the local outpost of Axios.
- SFist: Provides “quick daily news” headline coverage for San Francisco and the Bay Area.
- SFGate: The free sister site of SF Chronicle, SFGate also offers “quick daily news”. I like the Home Improvement and Garden section.
Events
- 7×7: A lifestyle website featuring articles on food, arts, culture, and events in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Foopee “The List”: Offers an amazing compiled list for San Francisco concerts across multiple venues.
- FunCheap SF: A website and newsletter dedicated to finding and sharing free and affordable events happening in San Francisco
- TodayTix: This is a discounted tickets site but it’s a great way to get ideas for what to do for a little less!
- Eddie’s List: A newsletter resource for regular event listings, news, and reviews in San Francisco.
- Nudge: I’ve heard mixed reviews about this one from friends, but the idea of it is that it “nudges” you events based on your interests/dating status.
Food
- Ask Me SF top restaurants: A restaurant guide from yours truly
- Eater SF: San Francisco Bay Area subsection of Eater. This is a great resource for food and restaurant news, reviews, and recommendations.
- Tablehopper: San Francisco resident Marcia Gagliardi has been writing a detailed food and restaurants newsletter for 17+ years. She is often the first in the know about brand new openings in the bay.
- The Infatuation SF: Similar to Eater, The Infatuation also offers restaurant reviews, listicles, and guides to help you find the best noms.
Food Blogger/Influencers
- Andrew Tours SF: Andrew has a whole host of San Francisco recommendations, restaurant reviews, and more.
- Charweeezy: Charlene also has great recs for food around the Bay area and lives in my same San Francisco neighborhood!
- Adonis Eats: Adonis just has this down-to-earth feel and tends to review more mom and pop food spots
- Silicon Valley Foodies – I like this account for learning about the South Bay hot spots!
- Kalejunkie – Nicole has health-conscious recipes that are tasty too! She’s often inspired by Bay Area restaurants.
- Crazy Thick Asians: Despite the fun name, Jen and Wes aren’t thick at all! They have easy to follow mostly asian recipes.
- TiffLovesTofu: I love tofu too! You don’t? Tiff will surely change your mind with lots of fun ways to cook with the versatile ingredient.
- TiffyCooks: Another Tiff food blogger I enjoy following for simple mostly Asian food recipes. She adorably cooks bento-style lunchboxes for her hubby.
- Smelly Lunchbox: I greatly enjoy Susanna’s mostly Cantonese recipes. These are also super easy to follow and she recently introduced her followers to some great San Francisco gardening accounts!
- JustOneCookbook: Nami’s site is a long-time go-to favorite of mine for Japanese food recipes but she also has many recommendations around the San Francisco Bay area
Podcasts
- Storied SF: Jeff Hunt is an SF local that highlights artists, small businesses, and activists! Fun fact – AskMeSF is a new addition to the episodes 🙂
- Bay Curious: A podcast and newsletter by local news channel KQED that explores the quirks and questions of the Bay Area.
- Total SF by SF Chronicle: A podcast from Heather Knight and Peter Hartlaub that celebrates all things San Francisco. This has now been reborn as a newsletter by Peter Hartlaub.
- Created Here: This podcast is an ode to SF restaurants and chefs. I loved hearing Bodega SF’s story!
- Outside Lands: Outside Lands, which is a podcast and a website, is a tremendous resource for learning everything about the western side of SF!
Hyperlocal News Sites
- Mission Local: A hyperlocal news site with a focus on the Mission District but often times includes all of San Francisco as well.
- Ingleside Light: I live in the Ingleside area so this publication is a must-subscribe for me since it covers a lot of the new businesses and fun events in this neck of the woods.
- Marina Times / The Voice SF: Editor Susan Dyer Reynolds is a force to be reckoned with regardless if you agree or disagree with her political leanings. The Voice SF is a newer publication of hers.
- Richmond Review Sunset Beacon: Covering the westerly neighborhoods surrounding GGP, this is a hyperlocal online site and printed publication.
Misc
- Financial Samurai: Based out of SF and an alumnus of my high school in Taiwan, Sam Dogen has a great personal finance website and newsletter if you subscribe to the FIRE lifestyle. He also has some really helpful advice for navigating real estate investments and is a published author to boot.
- Joys of Parenting: This site and their Instagram are a great source to check out if you have little ones in San Francisco.
Hopefully this is a helpful resource for you to find more ways to learn about the local goings-on and stay connected in San Francisco. Let me know in the comments if there’s one I’ve missed!