Taishoken

Valencia Street pastry shop where a cake or a cookie buys a quiet few minutes.

All-vegan Japanese cooking inspired by Zen temple food: vegan sushi, stuffed eggplant tempura, sukiyaki, and soba and udon soups.

Mission bakery with room for strollers; a morning bun makes the line worth it.

A small gated play space just off a busy corridor, with picnic tables around a central fountain.

One of a small family of taquerias going since 1991, known for the O.M.G. burrito mojado, chorizo breakfast burritos and a vegetarian burrito.

A busy playground on the same site as the city's only outdoor pool, with tennis, basketball and a blacktop soccer pitch.