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San Francisco Restaurants

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by JunkyardDwg, May 20, 2009.

  1. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    On a side note, I would skip the SF MoMA if you were thinking about checking it out. I wasn't impressed...it's not even comparable to the NY MoMA.
     
  2. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    Thanks for all the suggestions. My wife has gotten me hooked on the Food Channel and have caught some episodes of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives...so I would like to check some places out of that variety. As far as price, it's hard for me to say, cause I'd be basing it on Houston prices. I'm guessing things are gonna be a little more expensive in San Fran, or am I wrong? I kind of figured 30-40 for dinner for two and 15-20 for lunch. Like I said I don't really care too much about fancy restaurants. It might be interesting to try some mexican food that isn't tex-mex, so we might do that.

    We are renting a car cause we're gonna drive around the countryside. I wanted to check out Muir National Park, drive up the coast some and hopefully if time, take a tour of a winery. Not sure what we're gonna do in the city yet, but I know I want to check out some of the "touristy" things...Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate, Lombard Street, etc, etc. My wife wants to go to the Jelly Belly Candy Factory also.
     
  3. CHI

    CHI Member

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    Dim-Sum: Gold Mountain on Broadway & Stockton in Chinatown... one of the most popular dim sum houses for locals. Yank Sing is located in the financial district... caters to the business lunch crowd. You won't find many Asians eating there.

    Chinese: Hon's Won-Ton House on Kearny & Clay, in Chinatown. They make the best won-ton noodles in the city... lunch place though; not appropriate for dinner. Their Curry Beef is also excellent; it's #17 on the menu. I eat there all the time.

    Sam Wo on Washington & Kearny is a dive. It was featured on the Conan O'Brien show when they came to San Francisco. One of my friends owns this place... food is not too good, but unique. You will never forget it.

    Pizza: Blondies, on Powell, at the cable car turnaround downtown. It's not fancy restaurant pizza, but Blondies is a SF/Bay Area classic. $3 a slice. Delfina's is fancy pizza.

    Steaks: Harris', on Van Ness & Pacific, or House of Prime Rib, also on Van Ness - half block from Harris'

    Seafood: Bar Crudo is super popular.. kind of an hipster hangout though.. on Divisadero & Hayes. It's a live bar. Not too expensive.

    You HAVE to go to Swan Oyster Depot on Polk & California.

    Scoma's at the Wharf is good seafood.

    Farralon is really great too. It's on Post St. & Powell. Kinda pricey though.
     
  4. CHI

    CHI Member

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    Nobody rents out rods that I know of.

    There is really no fishing to do within the city limits. Usually people go fishing at reservoirs that are pre-stocked.

    I'm sure you can arrange a boat-fishing trip with the concierge at the hotel though. I know there are people who run businesses taking people out to fish in the bay, but I've never done it.
     
  5. ClutchCityReturns

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    How long will you be there for?

    Also, while this probably isn't a huge deal, there's something you should know before dining out. The city of San Francisco recently passed legislation that says restaurants (and other small businesses with less than 20 workers) must offer health insurance to their employees. In order to cover the cost of providing a plan, some restaurants put an extra tax on your meal. It's up to the restaurant to decide, so some places it's $1 per person, some places charge a %, and some places don't have it. If I remember correctly, it showed up as "SFHO" (San Francisco Health Ordinance) on the first check we noticed it on. So anyway, just be prepared for that.

    http://kerfuffle.typepad.com/kerfuf...-shrimp-scampi-and-a-side-of-health-care.html
     
  6. dsnow23

    dsnow23 Member

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    Good memory futants, but the one in the Haight is gone. Truly Mediterranean is awesome. Go to the one on Mission. You can not get a Lamb Shawarma even approaching this good in Texas. Seriously. Get it to go, and either walk a block and eat it at Kilowatt, go to Dolores park, if it's nice out, or bring it to Zeitgeist (great bar if you like beer). The Tamale lady also is here a couple of times every day. Best tamales on the planet. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-tamale-lady-san-francisco


    El Farolito and and Rosamunde are also great.

    If you make it to Sausalito just across the Golden Gate Bridge, Sushi Ran is awesome, but go for lunch so you don't spend much.

    Also, in Corte Madera about 6 miles north of the Golden Gate, is Pizzeria Picco. Mario Batali says it's the best Pizza in the US. I say, it's damn good.

    No name sushi on Church st Near 15th has good sushi at very affordable prices.

    Escape from New York Pizza has good pizza by the slice both in the financial district and on Haight.

    Ristorante Milano - on Pacific in Nob Hill is great. Food quality of fancy pants restaurants, but without the fancy pants prices and fancy pants attitude.

    Q - In the Richmond is also good. http://www.qrestaurant.com/dinner.php

    As someone else mentioned, Chow has some pretty good food at very reasonable prices. http://chowfoodbar.com/ The one on Church and Park chow are in the city.

    Toronado = best beer bar in America. Go there if you like beer. Order from the menu on the wall or from the beer list. Don't ask for something they don't have.

    Don't try to order Tex-Mex at any restaurant here. You will be disappointed.

    Don't order seafood at any restaurant near Pier 39. You will be disappointed.
    Don't order seafood at any restaurant near Pier 39. You will be disappointed.
    Don't order seafood at any restaurant near Pier 39. You will be disappointed.


    Just realized y'all are going to Muir woods. The Pelican Inn on Muir Beach has great fish & chips and great sheperds Pie. Also, Piazza de Angelo' in Mill Valley has very good, authentic italian food at reasonable prices.
     
  7. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    We'll be there from June 3-7...arriving around noon, so we'll have 3 full days.
     
  8. shastarocket

    shastarocket Member

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  9. ClutchCityReturns

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    Hmm...with all the driving you plan to do, you will want to make sure you have things mapped out so you can maximize your time and get everything done. I was there for 3 full days myself, and without even leaving the city we still felt like our days were pretty full.
     
  10. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    Good to know.

    I'm usually good about planning things out so I'm sure we'll be set by the time we leave.
     
  11. pradaxpimp

    pradaxpimp Member

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    I've ate there and didn't really enjoy it. It seems like a tourist trap.
     
  12. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    This is so true. There's just so much to do in the city that it's rediculous, and then the millions of things everywhere else. One bit of advice if your driving is that the traffic can be, probably will be, TERRIBLE!!! I remember getting stuck in absurd traffic trying to get back to the city after a trip down to Carmel (which is awesome!). Worse getting into and out of the city than in the city itself. At least that was my experience. Good luck!
     
  13. CHI

    CHI Member

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    Oh yeah, you can use this to preview the places you wanna go to... so you know what they look like, etc. and don't get lost.

    http://www.mapjack.com/

    it's like google streetview, but crazy
     
  14. dsnow23

    dsnow23 Member

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    If you don't have pretty deep pockets, I highly recommend going to Sonoma and/or Mendocino instead of Napa. Way less uptight and better wine for the dollar.
     
  15. basso

    basso Member
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    Went to Chez Papa Mint Plaza on Wednesday night- quite good, with a reasonable wine list.

    i recommend the blood orange margarita, btw.
     
  16. JunkyardDwg

    JunkyardDwg Member

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    Just thought I'd share my thoughts on the restaurants we ended up going to...but first I must say San Francisco and the whole Bay Area is pretty damn beautiful. And man walking those hills really worked out my calves!

    So Yelp became my best friend as I was trying to find restaurants, especially for dinner, within walking distance of our hotel, which was in Japantown.

    So in order of goodness...

    Little Star Pizza: OMG what have we been missing!

    Ike's Place: See above...I don't think I can ever eat at Subway or Quiznos again.



    Parkside Cafe in Stinson Beach: Had the Baja fish tacos. Really good stuff.

    Woodhouse Fish Co: Great location, nice for people watching. My wife had the Clam Chowder and she loved it. I had the crab cakes and some garlic bread. The crab cakes were a little burnt on the bottom but otherwise everything was good.


    In N Out: Of course it doesn't compare to the places listed above since it's Fast Food. But compared to other similar places, I honestly don't get what the fuss is about. I'd take a Whopper any day.





    Pizza Inferno: We went here because it wasn't crowded (that was our first clue) and it was right there close to our hotel. The dough tasted like Pillsbury roll out pizza crust. The sauce tasted like Ragu. And the pepperoni and sausage tasted store bought as well. I don't exaggerate. It wasn't terrible but it was way overpriced for what it was. Which is probably why it wasn't crowded. Not worth it.



    We didn't get to try some Chinese. I had staked out a place in Chinatown, Snow Garden, but we just weren't hungry when we were there.


    We actually never used public transit the whole time. I think growing up in Houston has made me a little apprehensive to use it. It just confused the hell out of me to be honest. And I'm one of those persons that has to be in my comfort zone. So we drove everywhere. We got early starts which helped, and got a little lucky, but managed to find free parking just about every where we went. The only place we used a meter or garage was at Golden Gate and Chinatown.
     
  17. tinman

    tinman 999999999
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    I went to this italian place near the mission district. they were know for the spaghetti and meatballs. it was great!
     
  18. Rockets1616

    Rockets1616 Member

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    the franciscan has the most amazing crab and seafood. Its in the fishermans wharf
     
  19. the futants

    the futants Member

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    Correct. You'll likely have a much better experience in Sonoma or Mendo.
     
  20. ClutchCityReturns

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    I'm glad you liked it. I'm a Houstonian since birth, but I absolutely love San Francisco and I enjoy it whenever someone else gets to experience it and have a great time. I would love to live there (if I can ever afford to).

    What were some of your favorite sites, aside from restaurants?
     

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