Hayes Valley has always been that area of San Francisco you drive through on your way to almost anywhere, but rarely stop. Through the years, driving through has made it look more and more appealing. A little cafe here, a new little playground there... definitely worth a deeper look. People have been starting to hype it up more too, like "ooh have you tried this or that place? No? Well it's in Hayes Valley" conversations.
Okay. Sunday we pulled in. And in every way we were pulled in. Cafe after boutique after cafe of appealing food and goods. I could spend a few hours perusing the shops, sampling the food, and settling in to read a good book on the grass. Obviously, this didn't happen since it was a family outing for us, but what we did do was stop at the much-loved Smitten Ice Cream. The line was forever with good reason. Visiting the website made me wish I had tried the strawberry, but my chocolate lavender shortbread didn't disappoint. I guess I just have to go back and try more flavors!
The only tricky part was the menu only really being viewable from the cash register. And perhaps not quite as clear as I would like it to be. On the other hand, a huge perk is having the sweet little climbing park across the street to occupy the little ones while my husband waited in the line.