Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th Street and 550 Divisadaro Street
Since: 2006 (Divisadero since 2013)
History: The Bi-Rite food business has roots in San Francisco going back to the opening of the Art Deco market on 18th in 1940. The Mogannam family has run the business since 1962. In 2006, pastry chefs Anne Walker and Kris Hoogerhyde opened the Creamery/Bakery across the street and an ice cream revolution was born. Although Swensen's and Mitchell's may have more years in the business, the Bi-Rite Creamery invented San Francisco designer ice cream. No real San Franciscan waited in line more than fifteen minutes for ice cream before Bi-Rite: ice cream overnight went from dessert to serious status symbol.
Ice Cream: Proudly handmade in small batches and organic. Flavors rarely have more than five ingredients, no stabilizers and nothing artificial. Get any sundae with the word "toasted" in it and you will leave happy.
Notable Flavors: Basil, Balsamic Strawberry, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Coconut (vegan), the divine and much commented on Honey Lavender, Ricanelas (cinnamon with snickerdoodles), Roasted Banana, Malted Vanilla (with peanut brittle and milk chocolate pieces).
Parlor Vibe: Who can tell? It's always so crowded, you're usually pushed out the minute you grab a scoop. Although the Creamery is in a new building, the design team kept the Art Deco feel from the market across the street: same with the new location on Divisadero.
Patrons: The Dolores Parkarazzi, Nouveau Missionites, Foodie locals and tourists, and one time I saw Cate Blanchett's stand-in during a break while shooting the new Woody Allen movie on 20th and Lexington.
What it says about the fan: Definitely an ice cream with a certain snob quotient, Bi-Riters are usually deadly serious about their devotion to the creamery. Overhearing fans talk about "notes" they detect in certain flavors and differences from batch to batch brings to mind the kind of highfalutin discussions about wine people had in movies in the 1990s.
Proud First: Bi-Rite is proud to be the first San Francisco ice cream made from Strauss Family Creamery organic dairy.

Mitchell's Ice Cream
688 San Jose Avenue
Since: 1952
History: The Mitchell Family has roots going back even further than Swensen's and Bi-Rite in San Francisco to when the family owned large swathes of land in the 1860s. When the road widening of San Jose Avenue in the late 1940s threatened to demolish the apartment building that currently houses Mitchell's, the family fought the city and had the property lifted and moved away from the widened street. When relocation was finished, the Mitchells opened their shop in 1952 in the space that had previously housed a liquor store pre-lift. Like Swensen's, this old San Francisco favorite has fans of all generations who recall it from childhood and happily pass it on.
Ice Cream: One of the creamiest ice creams in San Francisco (if not the world), all Mitchell's products are made fresh daily in the parlor with a rich 16% butterfat base from hormone free, free range dairy. In a nod to the times, the website now notes that most flavors are gluten free.
Notable Flavors: Avocado, Butterscotch Marble (personal favorite), Cantaloupe, Grasshopper Pie, Irish Coffee, Ube-Macapuno, White Pistachio.
Parlor Vibe: Classic neighborhood ice cream parlor, the decor hasn't changed much since 1952. The Mitchell's let the ice cream be the most colorful design aspects in the shop.
Patrons: People who have lived in the neighborhood their entire lives, people who moved out of the neighborhood who can't get ice cream as good anywhere else (the store sold Mitchell's is no substitution for what's in the shop), fans who want no fuss, old school ice cream and wouldn't be caught dead standing in line at one of those new fancy young people ice cream shops.
What it says about the fan: Mitchell's is the "authentic" San Francisco ice cream for natives who never liked Swensen's. Although the least pretentious crowd in the ice cream wars, Mitchell's defenders would rather go to their deaths then concede defeat or talk about "artisanal" flavors.
Dairy Dynasty: From the 1860s through the turn of the century, the Mitchells owned dairy farms going from what is now Noe Valley to their location at 29th Street and San Jose Avenue. Butterfat is in the family's blood (in a good way).

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San Francisco Ice Cream Wars: What Your Allegiance Says About You