San Francisco is a city transformed by programmers, staggering wealth and start-ups. But the Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn remains attuned to the sense of possibility that has long drawn artists, innovators and pioneering spirits to the C ity by the Bay. Ms. Crenn, the first woman in the United States to receive three Michelin stars for a restaurant, arrived in San Francisco nearly 30 years ago, after earning a degree in international business in her native France. “I was at the airport and I didn’t know anything about San Francisco. I got out of the plane and I felt something powerful. And I remember thinking, I’m home,” said Ms. Crenn, who grew up in Versailles and spent summers in Brittany.

Image The chef Dominique Crenn at the Alamo Drafthouse in the Mission District. Credit... Jason Henry for The New York Times

Atelier Crenn, her seafood-focused restaurant, opened in 2011 and has received three Michelin stars. Her other two restaurants, Petit Crenn and Bar Crenn, have each earned a Michelin star. Ms. Crenn said San Francisco still fuels her creativity. “There’s an energy in San Francisco that perhaps you don’t find anywhere else. It’s surrounded by the sea, the mountains, you have everything here.” She shares her favorite places in the city.