GREAT FINDS: FAVE DOUGHNUTS, BURGERS, AND ICE CREAM IN THE BAY AREA

No surprise that all this good food's in San Francisco's Mission. None of these three places are brand-new, but if you haven't tried them you owe yourself a visit; each has great food and focuses on sourcing ingredients locally and from organic providers.  Any faves you wanna share?

Best Doughnuts:  It's weird the Bay Area doesn't have that many great doughnuts (though the vegan doughnuts at Awaken Cafe in Oakland are yum-my). We've only tried a quarter of the varieties Dynamo Donuts carries, but they've all been amazing: spiced chocolate with cinnamon and chipotle, pistachio and lemon, coconut and coconut milk (needless to say only the person who doesn't think coconut tastes like nail clippings really savored that one), and maple-glazed bacon apple (obviously only The Omnivore devoured that one.) They're on 24th Street between York and Hampshire (why, even before PDAs, Google, and Yelp, have Bay Area papers never listed cross streets in reviews???!!!) and their storefront window is always hopping and the staff is really friendly.

Best Burger:  Urbun Burger (NOT Urban Burger) is now my fave non-restaurant burger--heads above local mini-chains Bistro Burger, Barney's, and Burger Joint--and while the food at Mission Burger may be good, the the distracted, blank stares from the greasy-haired hipster cooks kinda spoils the experience--and besides it's only to-go.  The beef and turkey burgers here are great, as are the whole-wheat buns, and the sweet-potato fries and onion rings.  The burgers are customizable, they have veggie burgers, and the staff is really helpful.  They're on Valencia near 17th Street.

Best Ice Cream: Okay, by now everybody, even friends and strangers in fa-flung places like Eugene, New York, and France know about Bi-Rite Creamery and their great flavors, combinations, cones, ice-cream sandwiches and other treats.  And you may even be hip to their recent expansion and additional seating.  But did you know that any day now, their store-front window dispensing soft-serve (or custard ) will open ???!!! Yes.  Everything Sam and his family does is wonderful from the grocery to his gallery, so I have no doubts about this new addition, at 18th Street near Dolores.  They have great sorbets and soy ice cream options, so I'm hoping against hope they've figured out a custard (as we used to call it in New York) for the lactose-intolerant...