My wife and I are going there for vacation. First time. So I want to experience some good food. I'm open to anything, but we'll probably be looking to get some seafood, Chinese, maybe pizza and grilled food (diners and dive variety). Nothing expensive or fancy. Any suggestions?
dim sum: koi palace in daly city pizza: delfina's in the mission chinese (chicken wings): san tung in inner sunset french: chez papa spanish: esperanto in the mission german: suppenkuche in hayes valley californian: bar jules in hayes valley dessert: tartine in the mission seafood: fish in sausalito
Just went there in March (thanks to CHI for the hotel hook up) but we didn't make a huge deal out of where we ate. We actually ate at In 'N Out Burger twice because it was right around the corner from our hotel and well...it was damn good. Aside from that, I would suggest LaBarca for Mexican food and Little Henry for family-owned Italian (actually owned by an Asian family). Review: http://www.asianweek.com/2008/09/05/little-henrys-italian-diner/ The only downside is it's not in the best part of town, so go for lunch, not dinner. We did eat at Castagnola's, right on the wharf, but that's kinda fancy. I don't like seafood, but my girlfriend got the lobster tail and loved it, for what that's worth.
Delfina's in the mission is a favorite of all my friends there. Yang Sink for Dim Sum, though pricey I felt, but the xiaolongbao, soup dumplings, are great. I've also been to this East German joint called Walzwerk. Yeah, East German, communism lives on. http://www.walzwerk.com/ And a late night trip to In-and-Out is always a solid trip.
What is the general price range of the restaurants you want to go to? Like... per person amount? There are hundreds of great restaurants here, so it would help if you can give a per person amount.
Also, if you plan on doing touristy things, get a City Pass for $59 each. It includes the following list of attractions: <ul> <li>California Academy of Sciences</li> <li>Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise (takes you around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge...pretty cool)</li> <li>Aquarium of the Bay</li> <li>SF Museum of Modern Art</li> <li>Exploratorium (awesome science museum) OR Fine Arts Museum</li> </ul> It also includes a 7-day MUNI bus pass for getting around on public transportation. If you don't go with the City Pass, buses are $1.50 per ride, as far as you want to go on a given line. That comes with a transfer slip that's good for 90 minutes so you can hop from line to line without paying again. Cable car rides are $5 a pop, so if you plan to ride those more than a couple of times, a City Pass is the way to go for sure. If you're renting a car (which I wouldn't suggest unless you're driving out of town to Big Sur or across to Sausalito), then this is all moot. Anything else, just ask. I can probably give you some answers considering I just played the role of "tourist" there myself. Some day I hope to play the role of "resident". Love that city.
Chez Papa at Mint is one of my favorite restaurants! If you are going to be here between June 1 - June 15, you should take part in Dine About Town!! DAT is a yearly thing where all of the fanciest restaurants in the city have special prix fixe menus. Every restaurant will have a 3-course lunch for $22 or a 3-course dinner for $35 http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/taste/dineabouttown/
This. There are tons of incredible restaurants in the city at all price points. Here are some of my personal favorites: Betelnut - Asian fusion on Union St. in the Marina Dosa - south Indian food in Lower Pac Heights Roti - Indian, located in the West Portal The House - Asian fusion off Columbus and Grant Mas Sake - sushi place in the Marina with a DJ, neat atmosphere Panta Rei - touristy, but has some great, inexpensive Italian; owner is cool Mama's Cafe - great place for brunch, down the street from me in North Beach Jack Falstaff - American, located in SOMA Ramblas - tapas joint in the Mission Calibri - Spanish food near Union Square some high dollar recommendations: Slanted Door - Vietnamese, located in the ferry building -> make reservations Gary Danko - make reservations BIX - Financial District, make res Boulevard - off Embarcadero and Mission, right by the ferry building
Yank Sing is a little too much for me. it is a nice place, but def feel like it is overrated. House of Prime Rib is pretty delicious and don't forget to ask for seconds (you get it for free!....I mean, at no additional cost) If you head towards the east bay I know Texas has loads of Mexican food, but I am in love with Guadalajara... http://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-guadalajara-san-leandro I really liked Bakesale Betty's strawberry shortcake http://www.yelp.com/biz/bakesale-betty-oakland Tattoria La Siciliana was VERY delicious! http://www.yelp.com/biz/trattoria-la-siciliana-berkeley La Note is a nice place for brunch http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-note-berkeley as you can see, this is mostly east bay stuff. When I go to the city, I like to go to the chinese bakeries, eat chinese food, etc. etc. Golden Gate Bakery has very delicious egg custards http://www.yelp.com/biz/golden-gate-bakery-san-francisco Though I have never been, my girlfriend loves the ahi tuna burgers from taylor's. Unfortunately that is in napa valley, but they have a taylor's automatic refresher (I guess a mini talyor's?) in the ferry buidling. http://www.yelp.com/biz/taylors-automatic-refresher-san-francisco Use yelp... they love it there! You can find good places and reviews.
Truly Mediterranean ("TrulyMed") - There's one on Haight and one in the Mission (I believe). El Farolito - Great tacos in the Mission. Rosamunde Sausage Grill - It's on Haight next door to the Toronado (best beer bar in the new world). You can get your links and take them next door for beers and revelry.
Dottie's True Blue Cafe - best breakfast/brunch I've ever had. the line you have to wait in totally worth it.
true. across from dottie's in the tenderloin's crack street is a pretty good pho joint if you're into that sort of thing.
Just know that most Mexican joints will be Cali-Mex and not Tex-Mex. It was hard for me to get used to at first. A lot of solid recommendations in this thread already. A sometimes fun place to go is Mum's: http://mumssf.com/shabushabu.aspx. You'll appreciate it especially if it's a cold June day in SF (which will feel downright freezing to most Houstonians). Just be sure to cook everything thoroughly -- I know people who go and wolf down half-cooked meat (because there is a 90 minute time limit IIRC, and you frankly just don't care after 30 minutes of all-you-can-drink beer and sake) and have problems later.
For such a crappy area, there's some great eats out there in the Tenderloin. There's several excellent cheap Indian joints there: Chutney, Shalimar, Pakwan. Also there's a good Banh Mi Sandwich place called Lee's I believe. I need to head over to Dottie's one of these days. Problem is I'm usually so hungover on Saturday & Sunday mornings that brunch takes a back seat.
Hey guys, I didn't want this thread to die since I had a few questions about The City (vacationing there from June 6-13). We really wanted to head to Napa valley but won't be renting a car, so I was wondering if someone could recommend a good tour that would pick us up from San Francisco. Also, I was thinking about getting a City Pass, but I wasn't really sure if we would be interested in anything other than the Exploratorium. Would I be missing out on anything awesome if i avoided the other attractions? And lastly, is there an ideal time/day of the week to go to Alcatraz? Thanks!
You might want to arrange your Alcatraz tour before you get here. They generally sell out a week in advance. Otherwise, the tours are always crowded at all times of the day, so I don't think any particular day or time is better than the other. What's great about the City Pass is that the tickets for the places they give you are normally pretty expensive. Like the Academy of Sciences, the admission is $25 per person. So, getting a $59 City Pass is a sweet deal. The Academy of Sciences just re-opened late last year after a several year 100+ million dollar renovation, so its pretty cool now. Plus, its in Golden Gate Park which is somewhere you may want to check out.
I loved this place, sorta like Esther's Follies in Austin on steroids (that's meant as a compliment!), but be sure to make reservations ASAP. http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/
Thanks CHI! I know this may seem like an odd request but my gf really wants to go fishing in sf. So i looked around and discovered that Angel Island might be a good spot. However, I can't find any places that would rent rods, etc. Any ideas?
