Thanksgiving in The City
https://flic.kr/p/8UykdQ, photo by Faith Goble
Thanksgiving makes a lot of Americans think of classic East Coast stuff - fall colors and threatening snow, football and pumpkin pies, turkey decorations and colorful corn. We have some of that in San Francisco but the season feels different here. There might be rain, but never snow. The hills are green and it’s usually sunny. And our eclectic mix of global cultures each interprets this classic American holiday in their own unique way. Here are five things to check out if you’re visiting San Francisco over this season.
Get into local food. Of course you will find a lot of the old standards on Thanksgiving dinner tables like around SF - but the local food scene goes well beyond green bean casseroles and yams. Northern California has unique seasonal foods like persimmons, pomegranates, fresh walnuts in the shell, blood oranges, and wild mushrooms that all reach their peak in November. The “Heart of the City” Farmer’s market in UN plaza happens right in the shadow of our stunning City Hall, and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is especially fun.
Speaking of local food, November is also the opening of the season for our best known seafood delicacy: the Dungeness crab! The Swann Oyster Depot, Fog Harbor Fishhouse, and Scoma’s are all classic places to try Dungeness Crab in season. But San Francisco’s strong asian influence plays here too. You can check out live local crabs in the seafood markets in Chinatown, and get Cantonese inspired dishes like Salt-and-Pepper crab at restaurants like R&G Lounge and China Live.
Volunteer at a food pantry or Thanksgiving meal. The Holidays are hard for people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness, but San Francisco’s compassionate culture supports several local food drives and free Thanksgiving dinners. The most famous, at Glide Memorial Church in the Tenderloin neighborhood where 500 volunteers serve 5,000 Thanksgiving dinners. If you’re sticking around for the weekend, the world famous Glide Ensemble sings each Sunday at Glide’s services.
Visit the Alcatraz Indigenous People’s Sunrise Gathering. On Indigenous Peoples’ Day (observed federally as Columbus Day) and on Thanksgiving, indigenous people from all over the US and Canada gather at dawn to commemorate the 1969-1971 protest occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes. This isn’t an event for tourists. It’s an important cultural celebration and tickets are limited, but if you are interested in participating in something uniquely “UnThanksgiving” you might consider it.
Have a Thanksgiving feast - without doing the dishes. If you are visiting from elsewhere, there are plenty of places to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal without doing the cooking for yourself. You could enjoy dinner with spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay on a Thanksgiving dinner cruise. If you're looking for something beyond the traditional turkey and stuffing, you can try barbecue at International Smoke or Vietnamese at Lily.
Watch some football at the Kezar Stadium “Turkey Bowl”. Each year the biggest high-school football game is on Thanksgiving Day. You can also watch all the NFL action at one of our local sports bars. My favorite? Standard Deviant Brewing in the Mission District. It’s home of the “Coldest-Tasting Beer in San Francisco”, they do $2 hot dogs on every game day, and it’s run by some very cool people (even if some of them are Patriots’ fans).