One of the great delights of living in hilly San Francisco is all of the magical, hidden stairways. Climbing these passageways, often landscaped with lush vegetation, frequently brings a surprise (and usually panoramic views) around every corner. The Vulcan Steps in the Castro offer year-round blooming wonders; the 16th Avenue tiled steps provide a boisterous mosaic mural as you ascend or descend; and the famous Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill astound with 360-degree views of the Bay, downtown, and Treasure Island.

Add to that one more: a hidden staircase off 18th Street in the Castro that leads to a magical, Calabrian dining experience—namely, Poesia. In Italian, poesia means poetry. Merriam Webster defines poetry not just as metrical writing in verse or the production of a poet, but a “concentrated imaginative awareness of experience.”