> the high end restaurants are great, but what's more impressive is that the average neighborhood eatery is more often than not really amazing, too.

Absolutely! I share the same.

Part of that is the fine dining though. Fine dining is its own culture, and just like other Bay Area industries, once you get some good chefs in the city, they'll train people who open their own restaurants. Then the quality expectations go up among residents... and everything ends up better, even "down market".