San Francisco - suggestions please

patrice said:

[snip]
The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a
week. Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?
Spouse will eat most anything. I don't eat meat but will eat seafood.

Quoted message said:

While on trips we both enjoy eating at restaurants that are
frequented by locals.
[snip]

The Slanted Door, in the Ferry Building at Embarcadero, is an upscale,
modern Vietnamese restaurant that combines Vietnamese tradition with
the freshest and best local ingredients. You'll have no trouble
finding wonderful non-meat menu items. IMHO it is one of the very
restaurants that lives up to "asian-californian-fusion" hype.

Oh, and it's definitely frequented by locals. For a couple of years
after it opened the reservations waiting list was months long. Check
with your hotel concierge immediately on arrival.

And this is from someone who has been enjoying SF Chinatown since the
60's. My honorable ancestors are spinning in their graves.

-aem

aem said:

patrice said:

[snip]
The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a
week. Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?
Spouse will eat most anything. I don't eat meat but will eat seafood.

Quoted message said:

While on trips we both enjoy eating at restaurants that are
frequented by locals.
[snip]

The Slanted Door, in the Ferry Building at Embarcadero, is an upscale,
modern Vietnamese restaurant that combines Vietnamese tradition with
the freshest and best local ingredients. You'll have no trouble
finding wonderful non-meat menu items. IMHO it is one of the very
restaurants that lives up to "asian-californian-fusion" hype.

Oh, and it's definitely frequented by locals. For a couple of years
after it opened the reservations waiting list was months long. Check
with your hotel concierge immediately on arrival.

And this is from someone who has been enjoying SF Chinatown since the
60's. My honorable ancestors are spinning in their graves.

-aem

Hey that was quick - thanks!
Sounds like a terriffic place!

patrice

You should check out chowhound.com for restaurant ideas. They are more
active than ba.food and you'll see lots of reviews and suggestions.
We're not into high rent restaurants particularly, although we did have
a memorable meal at Fringale, a bistro South of Market that the French
chefs at the Culinary Academy adore. The food was delicious, the
service correct but friendly, the atmosphere relaxed.

As for what to do for a week - go to the California Historical Society
and get a book of walking tours of San Francisco. Get a bus pass and
ride cable cars and busses for a day. Take a foodie walking tour of
Chinatown (I mean to do that myself one of these days). Go to the
Saturday farmer's market at the Ferry BUilding, natch. Ride the ferry
to Tiburon or Sausalito.

I like walking around Russian Hill, North Beach, Cow Hollow, Pacific
Heights - but the neighborhoods are too numerous to name. Recently we
popped into the SF Art Institute on Russian Hill at about 9 pm on a
Saturday night, wandered around the edges of a truly fabulous rooftop
wedding, wandered through the halls to a courtyard with a Moorish
fountain, looked at art in studios and galleries, gazed at the
sparkling lights on the Bay from the roof. It's a special place, and
the cafeteria (great views) is open to the public. The whole thing is
open to the public, seemingly all night long. Don't know how they do
it.

You'll want to go to Muir Woods, and if you do rent a car for the day,
wander the Marin headlands maybe, or take a bus out there and do it on
foot or by bike (warning you, it's not for amateurs).

A tour to Sonoma would be nice (I prefer it to Napa, Sonoma town is old
and walkable and quaint, the winery scene not so vast and honky tonk as
Napa) so you don't have to do the driving, if you're tasting.

Don't forget to check out the Mission - including Valencia and other
nearby streets - active restaurant scene, including various Spanish and
South American restaurants. Mariachis wander at night, playing for
tips. I lived in NYC in the old days so I don't find the Mission
daunting but be aware that it's very urban and has lots of street
people.

Ethnic food I like: fast tandoor and curry places like Naan n Curry or
Pakwan - these are local "chains" with several branches; Vietnamese
sandwich shops and restaurants in the Tenderloin. But chowhound folks
have more knowledge than I do.

You may find it fun to visit the California Culinary Academy for lunch
or dinner - call ahead to find out their schedule, they are sometimes
closed for holidays, and rarely serve meals on weekends. The main
dining room (used to be called the Careme Room, might have changed) is
an old theater, enormous, two levels, with glassed in kitchens in the
wings and the former stage. The food is showy and can be uneven but the
setting is high energy - 700 chef students create a lot of buzz! It's a
fun thing to do, close to Civic Center, the Opera and Ballet.

These are thoughts off the top of my head, from a person who lives
across the bay and wishes I could get to SF for pleasure more often. If
you want an exhaustive list of what to do there with 5 year olds, ask
me.

Leila

Gold Spike restaurant in the North Beach district. (Italian area)

Awesome Minestrone, great sourdough bread (duh!) and cool casual atmosphere.

Don't forget to ride the cable cars. The one on California street is
much easier to catch a ride on than the one that goes to Fishermans
Wharf. (Also known as tourist alley.)

Skip fishermans Wharf and put on some comfortable shoes. I'd walk from
the St. Francis hotel to North Beach each evening for dinner (I LOVE
Italian food, maybe I should find a good Italian woman.) Really cool way
to really see the city.

If you try to drive you'll just end up circling the block for what seems
hours on end to find a parking space. That sucks!

Bart D. Hull
[email hidden]
Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

Remove -nospam to reply via email.

patrice said:

Hey nice folks -

You've always given me great suggestions in the past...so I figured I'd
imposed again:

The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a week.
Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?
Spouse will eat most anything. I don't eat meat but will eat seafood.
While on trips we both enjoy eating at restaurants that are frequented
by locals.

And as long as I've got your attention....can you guys recommend things
to see and do? I was out there once 17 years ago - what I remember the
most, was just how beautiful is. Since we aren't planning on renting a
car - unless you folks suggest that maybe we should - tours might be the
way to go to see the sights. I've noticed that there are many many
tours available - but I have no clue as to which are the better ones.
They all appear to have great marketing folks working for them.

As always - thank you all very much in advance.

patrice

patrice said:

Hey nice folks -

You've always given me great suggestions in the past...so I figured

I'd

Quoted message said:

imposed again:

The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a

week.

Quoted message said:

Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?
Spouse will eat most anything. I don't eat meat but will eat seafood.

Quoted message said:

While on trips we both enjoy eating at restaurants that are

frequented

Quoted message said:

by locals. <snip>

One of the best guides for Bay Area restaurants can be found at
www.sfgate.com, the site for the SF Chronicle. There is one section
entitled "The 100 Best Restaurants" which identifies restaurants in
different price ranges, cuisine, ethnicity.

Mac

In article <[email hidden]>, patrice

Quoted message said:

The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a week.
Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?

Ask at rec.food.restaurants
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sweet Potato Follies added 2/24/05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 05:09:30 GMT, patrice <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hey nice folks -

You've always given me great suggestions in the past...so I figured I'd
imposed again:

The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a week.
Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?
Spouse will eat most anything. I don't eat meat but will eat seafood.
While on trips we both enjoy eating at restaurants that are frequented
by locals.

And as long as I've got your attention....can you guys recommend things
to see and do? I was out there once 17 years ago - what I remember the
most, was just how beautiful is. Since we aren't planning on renting a
car - unless you folks suggest that maybe we should - tours might be the
way to go to see the sights. I've noticed that there are many many
tours available - but I have no clue as to which are the better ones.
They all appear to have great marketing folks working for them.

As always - thank you all very much in advance.

patrice

It's been many years, but I thought the tour of Alcatraz island was
excellent and offers a view of the city you don't always see.

Ginny

The best Spanish (actually Catalan) restaurant I've visited in the U.S.
is in the San Francisco financial district. It has the unassuming name
"B44", perhaps to get you to remember its address, 44 Belden Place. It
has many all-seafood dishes--cod, monkfish--and an attractive interior.
My favorite was the cuttlefish-based arroz negro.
Phone: 415/986-6287

Neil

I'll second Leila's excellent list and I'll add a couple more things.
If you get tired of SF's ultra-trendy restaurants and want something a
little more traditional go to Swan's Oyster Depot for oysters, shrimp
cocktails, etc. Don't miss SF's oldest eatery, the Tadich Grill for
charcoal-broiled fish and old fashioned ambience (and that goes for
Sam's Grill). For steaks with an Italian-American accent, go to
Alfred's. If you enjoy modern art, the SF Museum of Modern Art is a
must. You should also experience the newly rehabbed Ferry Bldg., now a
food court and then ride the J line vintage street cars to the Maritme
Museum at Aquatic Park. You can grab a cable back to downtown from
there. I f you have time , take a ferry to Sausalito, Angel Island, or
Oakland. The Oakland Museum is worth the trip. And then there's the
New Deal era murals in Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill along with it's
great views. And much, much more..

Enjoy-
D.M.

Agreed on Alcatraz. Not something I would have chosen to do, but I was
escorting out of town adolescents who'd seen the movie (this was 9
years ago). Really worth the trip. I hear they have a "gardens of
Alcatraz" tour now, featuring naturalized roses and geraniums and weird
hardy perennials from the days when prison guards & wives kept gardens.

If you care about museums then of course get to the Palace of Legion of
Honor; also the Asian Art Museum in Civic Center has a world class
collection of Asian art.

The Ferry building is a must for foodies, any day but of course
Saturday includes the Farmers' Market. THere's another market on
Tuesdays *I think*. And Wednesdays in Civic Center (that one serves the
Asian community more and has interesting veggies you won't see at the
Ferry Building)

Go to any good bookstore or library branch in SF and look at Patricia
Unterman's "Food Lover's Guide to San Francisco" for more ideas once
you get there.

Then there's the whole ice cream thing. Local SF types - can you advise
on ice cream? I know there's a great place in the Mission that features
red bean and green tea and mango ice creams, home made; there's one out
in the Richmond, too, where the proprietor is an obsessive Japanese
immigrant who makes and packs amazing flavors by hand. Heck if I
remember names or locations. I do like the one at the corner of Union
and Hyde Streets, where the Union STreet bus meets the cable car line -
what's the name of that one? It's been so long...The ice cream parlor
at the top of the world.

For coffee: I like Peet's. Branches everywhere.

If you're in Golden Gate park (eastern end) and get hungry, you can
either go north to Geary and the ethnic restaurants along there (I
don't know them enough to recommend) or you can go south to Irving @
ninth and surrounding blocks, where there is a strip of restaurants and
bookstores with outposts or originators in the East Bay. As an
Oaklander I always feel at home on Irving Street - Naan-n-Curry, great
tandoori, naan and Indo-Pakistani food; Peet's coffee; Black Oak Books;
a bakery, a really good MIddle Eastern kebab-n-tabbouli place, lots of
other ethnic restaurants.

Leila

In article <[email hidden]>,

Leila said:

Agreed on Alcatraz. Not something I would have chosen to do, but
I was escorting out of town adolescents who'd seen the movie
(this was 9 years ago). Really worth the trip.

But if you want to do it, call and make reservations *NOW*.
It's likely already too late. (I tried to do the Alcatraz
thing when my parents were here; there were no slots
available until after they'd left.)

--
Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon, | Mike Van Pelt
and that's a very dubious and disappointing honor. | mvp.at.calweb.com
It's been far too long. -- Gene Cernan | KE6BVH

In article <[email hidden]>,

Leila said:

Then there's the whole ice cream thing. Local SF types - can you advise
on ice cream? I know there's a great place in the Mission that features
red bean and green tea and mango ice creams, home made;

Probably Mitchell's.

marcella

Leila said:

You should check out chowhound.com for restaurant ideas. They are more
active than ba.food and you'll see lots of reviews and suggestions.
We're not into high rent restaurants particularly, although we did have
a memorable meal at Fringale, a bistro South of Market that the French
chefs at the Culinary Academy adore. The food was delicious, the
service correct but friendly, the atmosphere relaxed.

As for what to do for a week - go to the California Historical Society
and get a book of walking tours of San Francisco. Get a bus pass and
ride cable cars and busses for a day. Take a foodie walking tour of
Chinatown (I mean to do that myself one of these days). Go to the
Saturday farmer's market at the Ferry BUilding, natch. Ride the ferry
to Tiburon or Sausalito.

I like walking around Russian Hill, North Beach, Cow Hollow, Pacific
Heights - but the neighborhoods are too numerous to name. Recently we
popped into the SF Art Institute on Russian Hill at about 9 pm on a
Saturday night, wandered around the edges of a truly fabulous rooftop
wedding, wandered through the halls to a courtyard with a Moorish
fountain, looked at art in studios and galleries, gazed at the
sparkling lights on the Bay from the roof. It's a special place, and
the cafeteria (great views) is open to the public. The whole thing is
open to the public, seemingly all night long. Don't know how they do
it.

You'll want to go to Muir Woods, and if you do rent a car for the day,
wander the Marin headlands maybe, or take a bus out there and do it on
foot or by bike (warning you, it's not for amateurs).

A tour to Sonoma would be nice (I prefer it to Napa, Sonoma town is old
and walkable and quaint, the winery scene not so vast and honky tonk as
Napa) so you don't have to do the driving, if you're tasting.

Don't forget to check out the Mission - including Valencia and other
nearby streets - active restaurant scene, including various Spanish and
South American restaurants. Mariachis wander at night, playing for
tips. I lived in NYC in the old days so I don't find the Mission
daunting but be aware that it's very urban and has lots of street
people.

Ethnic food I like: fast tandoor and curry places like Naan n Curry or
Pakwan - these are local "chains" with several branches; Vietnamese
sandwich shops and restaurants in the Tenderloin. But chowhound folks
have more knowledge than I do.

You may find it fun to visit the California Culinary Academy for lunch
or dinner - call ahead to find out their schedule, they are sometimes
closed for holidays, and rarely serve meals on weekends. The main
dining room (used to be called the Careme Room, might have changed) is
an old theater, enormous, two levels, with glassed in kitchens in the
wings and the former stage. The food is showy and can be uneven but the
setting is high energy - 700 chef students create a lot of buzz! It's a
fun thing to do, close to Civic Center, the Opera and Ballet.

These are thoughts off the top of my head, from a person who lives
across the bay and wishes I could get to SF for pleasure more often. If
you want an exhaustive list of what to do there with 5 year olds, ask
me.

Leila

Wow Leila!
Thank you so much!

What terriffic suggestions!
I'm going to go play at chowhound.com (I've never visited there before).
Since I've finally become part of the digital generation (I love my
Digital Rebel), it looks like there won't be a shortage of photo ops.

Great art with a great view (the SF Art Institute) sounds like a gem.
Oh the CCA for lunch - how fun!

Since I've done zero preparation - other than the hotel and airline
tickets - this is a treat!

Um, pass on the list of what to do with 5 year olds (thanks for the
offer though!). All our kids are quite furry and have a sitter take
care of them while we're away. And no, we're not a family of
werewolves. (wink)

patrice

Bart D. Hull said:

Gold Spike restaurant in the North Beach district. (Italian area)

Awesome Minestrone, great sourdough bread (duh!) and cool casual
atmosphere.

Don't forget to ride the cable cars. The one on California street is
much easier to catch a ride on than the one that goes to Fishermans
Wharf. (Also known as tourist alley.)

Skip fishermans Wharf and put on some comfortable shoes. I'd walk from
the St. Francis hotel to North Beach each evening for dinner (I LOVE
Italian food, maybe I should find a good Italian woman.) Really cool way
to really see the city.

If you try to drive you'll just end up circling the block for what seems
hours on end to find a parking space. That sucks!

Bart D. Hull

Thank you Bart!

Gold Spike sounds great! (coming from a good, most Italian woman).

I remember Fisherman's Wharf from my one trip out there 18 years ago -
lots of bumping into other tourists. I remember the area being pretty
though.

I need to find out how far we are from the St. Francis. (just a cable
car's ride away I bet).

Looks like a rental car of a day trip north might be the way to go.

Thanks again!

patrice

<snip>

Quoted message said:

One of the best guides for Bay Area restaurants can be found at
www.sfgate.com, the site for the SF Chronicle. There is one section
entitled "The 100 Best Restaurants" which identifies restaurants in
different price ranges, cuisine, ethnicity.

Mac

Thanks for the info - I'll go look.
patrice

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>, patrice

Quoted message said:

The spouse and I are going to San Francisco on March 19th, for a week.
Could you guys suggest wonderful places to eat?

Ask at rec.food.restaurants

Thanks - I haven't looked there in years.

'preciate it.

patrice

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It's been many years, but I thought the tour of Alcatraz island was
excellent and offers a view of the city you don't always see.

Ginny

I went there on my one trip to SF, 18 or so years ago.
I really enjoyed the audio tour - kept getting turned around and
completely off track, but enjoyed it nonetheless. I'd forgotten how
much I'd enjoyed the view from island. I hope to go back there.

Thanks -

patrice

Neil said:

The best Spanish (actually Catalan) restaurant I've visited in the U.S.
is in the San Francisco financial district. It has the unassuming name
"B44", perhaps to get you to remember its address, 44 Belden Place. It
has many all-seafood dishes--cod, monkfish--and an attractive interior.
My favorite was the cuttlefish-based arroz negro.
Phone: 415/986-6287

Neil

I've never been to a Catalan restaurant - sounds great.
Spouse teaches Spanish, maybe we can use this as a tax write off (maybe
not).
Thanks for providing the address and phone # too.

patrice

D.A.Martinich said:

I'll second Leila's excellent list and I'll add a couple more things.
If you get tired of SF's ultra-trendy restaurants and want something a
little more traditional go to Swan's Oyster Depot for oysters, shrimp
cocktails, etc. Don't miss SF's oldest eatery, the Tadich Grill for
charcoal-broiled fish and old fashioned ambience (and that goes for
Sam's Grill). For steaks with an Italian-American accent, go to
Alfred's. If you enjoy modern art, the SF Museum of Modern Art is a
must. You should also experience the newly rehabbed Ferry Bldg., now a
food court and then ride the J line vintage street cars to the Maritme
Museum at Aquatic Park. You can grab a cable back to downtown from
there. I f you have time , take a ferry to Sausalito, Angel Island, or
Oakland. The Oakland Museum is worth the trip. And then there's the
New Deal era murals in Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill along with it's
great views. And much, much more..

Enjoy-
D.M.

Since I live in a land locked area, (third coast or not, Dallas is not
coastal), I just can't bring myself to order raw oysters around here.
I'm looking forward to trying out your suggestions.

All your suggestions looks great - thanks!

patrice