Bay Bridge - Claire-Dee Lim

San Francisco is purported to have over 7,000 restaurants, making it the highest number per capita. This means you’re either in foodie heaven or foodie hell. There’s a sublime macaron, artisanal ice creamery or roasted, cheesy, buttery something or other lurking around every corner to tempt, taunt and turn your resolve to eat healthfully into mush.

For Love Match’s Jessica Durrell, restaurants are an essential part of her matchmaking business. Putting her clients in the proper environment is most conducive to romantic success. A restaurant’s lighting, décor and especially the food all help to heighten the palate and the senses—thus setting the mood for love.

Here are a few foodie destinations that inspired Love Match’s romantic hot spots and references.

new & improved Tosca on Columbus

“Mars … was just the sort of person to book restaurants, limo pick-ups, and stylist appointments, so clients could focus on the task at hand—falling effortlessly in love.”

Financial District eatery

The Original Cold Day Restaurant, est. 1849

“… Penny grabbed her arm and tugged her inside the Mariposa Grill—a classic San Francisco restaurant of snotty career-waiters and artery-clogging steaks and chops.”

A destination for all foodies

“No, she gets this.” Hayden tossed Jessica a bag of kettle corn. “I know how you like your salty snacks.”

She plunged her hand into the bag. “It’s still warm!”

Pepper bounty

“Just got it from the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.”

Cowgirl Creamery, where Penny’s dream job awaits

“Maybe we should take this as a sign to rethink our lives and try doing something else,” Penny offered.

“Like what?”

“Run a goat farm and make cheese.”

“The Bridge was an upscale restaurant on the Embarcadero. It boasted a Michelin-starred chef and a striking view of the bay.”

South Park is not to be confused with the show about four potty-mouthed animated characters. It’s a few block area located South of Market near the entrance to the Bay Bridge. The neighborhood is designed around a grassy, oval-shaped commons with a small playground. It’s ringed by former warehouses, metal shops and renovated Victorians. The neighborhood has been through considerable changes. About twenty-five years ago, it could’ve been dubbed “Needle Park” due to the many junkies nodding out on the grass or hitting up pedestrians for change for their next score. Crime and grime were high, so consequently, rents were cheap. Entrepreneurs eventually took notice and soon descended on the area. One of the first was South Park Cafe, an acclaimed French bistro. Graphic design, architecture and multimedia companies, and Wired magazine soon followed, converting spacious warehouses into work/live loft spaces and post-modern studios.

The junkies are long gone. More wine bars, boutiques and bistros have sprouted, including The Grilled Cheese Cafe. A new modern condo is on the market for $5 M. What a difference a few decades makes.

The car turned into South Park, then pulled up in front of the Coffee Farm café, a block from the Love Match office. Some children were playing in the small playground across the way, while their mothers hovered. Jessica glared at the women in their tight yoga clothes that showcased their sinewy arms and bubble butts. Look at them. All fit and gorgeous with their stupid, happy smiles. Why can’t I be like that?