This issue is an invitation. To walk slower. To look around. To wander outside your own commute and into someone else’s world.

It’s especially fun to explore SD when you’ve got the inside track on what’s good. So, we went in search of the inside track. We spent weeks talking with the people who know their corners best. We walked, we listened, we ate. In this issue, we focus on five neighborhoods and bring you countless hot tips. Plus, we’ve got design ideas inspired by SD’s funkier homes, a dispatch from Belmont Park’s 100th birthday, a review of Golden Hill’s beloved neighborhood gem Juan Jasper, and the winning essay from our $1,000 contest (it might just make you cry).

We hope you enjoy. Consider this your field guide—or your excuse to go for a long, aimless walk.