When a friend was in town recently and we drove up to San Francisco. When we strolled around Chinatown we stopped at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Now factory may bring up the wrong picture in your head. This small business located off an alley in Chinatown is not for the claustrophobic. It has room for two fortune cookie making stations, a woman who takes the money for cookies or pictures (taking a picture costs $1) and about 6 customers. It is interesting watching the process of the cookies being made. A machine creates and backs a series of circular cookies. A worker then grabs a fortune and folds the still warm cookie over a metal bar. 
The factory is between Grant and Stockton. Grant Avenue is where most people go to in Chinatown, but the heart of the real Chinatown is a block to the west on Stockton Street. On Stockton you will find food markets selling live turtles, live fish, and vegetables that you might not normally see at your local corner grocery. So next time you are in Chinatown get off the beaten path. Try a fresh cookie or a bean pastry filled pasty from a local bakery. We all enjoyed the experience although there were some differences of opinion between my wife and I about how how good a fortune “a new pair of shoes will do you a world of good” is.
Frank Moessa
Says:March 31st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I think so many people take what the world has to offer for granted.
Although I have an upcoming trip and stay at the Maquengue resort in Costa Rica I have to make sure I make my way to San Francisco. It’s been a city I’ve wanted to visit for so long and kick myself when I read wonderful stories like these.
Frank Moessas
Vee
Says:April 16th, 2013 at 3:36 pm
San Francisco is my second favorite city; right after NYC.