Bi-Rite Creamery, San Francisco

I'd had a gift card for Bi-Rite burning a hole in my pocket since our WCC volunteer appreciation party last year. Being an East Bay kid brought up on Fenton's I had yet to experience what San Francisco had to offer ice cream wise. Bi-Rite did not disappoint.

Despite the long line, the service was impeccable. The employees were completely focused on helping me with my order instead of just rushing me out the door to get to the next. They also use metal spoons for tasting, which I really appreciated--go green! Before making my decision, I tried the honey lavender and coffee toffee. The honey lavender tasted exactly as it sounds, and I think I'm just not that into lavender. Coffee toffee was good, but the salted caramel rocked my world.

I ended up getting a banana split with salted caramel ice cream. Loved it! It came with fresh whipped cream, toasted walnuts, hot fudge and caramelized-to-order bananas. The ice cream was so good though that the sundae wasn't totally necessary. Though their hot fudge has nothing on Fenton's, the ice cream at Bi-Rite hit a home run.

A few other interesting things on their menu that I'd like to try are the toasted banana flavor, and the sundae with olive oil and sea salt (what?!).

Bi-Rite Creamery is located at 3692 18th Street in San Francisco (close to the 16th/Mission BART Station).
They are open Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m, Friday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Website: www.biritecreamery.com