I can't believe no other Bayistas have popped up to mention this yet, but up until about 20 years ago Hills Brothers had a roastery perched right on the edge of the Bay, and people driving into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge would roll down their windows about halfway between Treasure Island and the end of the bridge and drive straight into a dense, glorious olfactory fogbank of roasting-coffee bliss. SO. AMAZING.

That roastery and its heavenly smell are key components of the mythic San Francisco of my dreams. If all the good things of this world eventually reappear in heaven, it'll be there.

I'm not actually sure that Memphis has a distinctive smell of its own, though I'm happy to have pine trees and rose bushes immediately outside my windows.

BBQ!!!

I work above a brewery. Totally nasty. (It's a restaurant that brews their own beer in giant vats, so they only brew once every couple of weeks, fortunately.)

Is that the Northampton Brewery (I think that's what it's called)? You're in Northampton, right?

And, yeah, having spent a lot of time in brew pubs (Salem Beer Works especially) the smell of certain parts of the brewing is nas-ty.

I can't believe no other Bayistas have popped up to mention this yet, but up until about 20 years ago Hills Brothers had a roastery perched right on the edge of the Bay, and people driving into San Francisco over the Bay Bridge would roll down their windows about halfway between Treasure Island and the end of the bridge and drive straight into a dense, glorious olfactory fogbank of roasting-coffee bliss. SO. AMAZING.

In sert Homer-drool-noise here. I swear, much as I love the flavor of coffee, I don't think it tastes half as good as it smells roasting.

I work above a brewery. Totally nasty.

Really? I always liked the smell of brewing beer on a small scale. Similar to baking bread. And I associate that smell with Golden, Colorado, so I thought it scaled up.

Oh, yeah. There's a Superior Coffee in Chicago that smells nummy, too.

Is that the Northampton Brewery (I think that's what it's called)? You're in Northampton, right?

I'm in Northampton, but I work in Hartford. I do love the Northampton Brewery, though. They do excellent fried plantains, mmm...

I always liked the smell of brewing beer on a small scale. Similar to baking bread.

It's got the same yeasty undertone, I guess, but to me it just smells awful. I get kind of queasy on brewing days.

Smells from Ree: The Great Salt Lake, when the wind is right, smells like the raw sewage they process in the open on the north end. Silage beats pigshit hands down (I have experience from many country drives with my dad on veterinary calls in NZ, and was reminded on a cross-country trip when we passed through Kansas).

Of course, smells vary depending on concentration, so my choice would not to be anywhere near any lakes o' pigshit. Ever. At least silage is cultivated in the open, so theoretically the concentration factor is lessened. Or was, it's been a while. Anyway, pigshit in an enclosed space will beat cowshit in an enclosed space.

Rotting animal matter - never enjoyable.

Best outdoors smells - trees and growing things in the deep woods. Indoors - Sugar House BBQ or Indian food of any description.

A few months ago, I'd have cited jasmine as my favourite outdoor smell. But then, LA upped the scale with a blanket of jasmine near my old house that you could smell on the freeway with all your windows up. It was scary.

I'm gonna have to go with ocean. Even the Santa Monica beach smells kinda nice.

I think I've smelled too much old fish to fully appreciate ocean smells.

I don't think there are any fish in the water near here. Despite the fishing poles.

And in Jamaica, the fish never got old enough to be a problem. God, that's a fresh smell.