Walk one block west to Ross Alley, San Francisco’s oldest alley. In the late 1800s this was called the “Street of the Gamblers.” A powerful underworld figure named Little Pete, who wore a 35-pound chain mail suit for protection, was killed in a barbershop at the corner of Washington and Ross in 1897.
Today the alley’s main attraction is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory at 56 Ross Alley. Workers fold fortune cookies by hand on motorized copper griddles, producing up to 10,000 cookies a day. You can watch for free, though there’s a small fee for photos. A bag of warm flat cookies (the “rejects” before folding) costs a few dollars and is worth it. Cash only. They also make chocolate and green tea varieties.