Recommendations for San Francisco Trip? [Travel]

2009 Oct 28
I am travelling to San Francisco in November, and was wondering if anyone had some experience with local restaurants there? I will be staying close to Union Square, with only the BART for transportation... Whatever you do, don't recommend I visit Ghirardelli Square... that's what EVERYONE suggests.

2009 Oct 28
I highly recommend visiting Anchor Brewing Co for a tour. The tour is ok - the beer is fantasitic (take a taxi - don't make any significant plans post tour, pretty much all the free beer you care to drink). You may need a reservation, however I have squeeked in with the "I just came from Canada to visit for one day" excuse in the past.

Other wise I haven't been to SF in a number of years. There are *tonnes* of great restaurants. Chowhound is always a good place to find the hot spots. For Chinese I recommend Chef Jia, 925 Kearny St - its great! There is a super popular spot next door - also good, but I think Chef Jia is/was better, and there aren't the line ups. A long long time ago I was also impressed with Hunan Homes.

Have a great time - one of the best eating cities in the world. Very easy to get around - you can walk pretty much anywhere if you give yourself an hour. In general stay away from Pier 29 area etc for food (although I hear the market they opened up there has some good eats). SoMa (south Market) has some fine establishments - not far from where you are. South Beach is so so - my favorite place closed down.


2009 Oct 28
Chinatown is insane in SF - I wish I could remember the places I ate at while I was there... one was nearby City Lights Bookstore (which I recommend if you're a fan of beat writers, poets, etc.), Vesuvio which is right next door to City Lights has good drinks in a very... unique atmosphere. It's a legendary place for those that know about beat writers.

2009 Oct 29
I second checking Chowhound for specific restaurant destinations. They never cease to disappoint, and often point people to hidden gems that you wouldn't know of otherwise. It's been many years since I was there, but one of the things I would suggest is going down to the marina and having fish chowder out of a sour dough bowl. It's so delicious, and cheap as well. Have a great trip!

2009 Oct 29
*restaurant gary danko
*A16
*dining room at the Ritz Carlton
*Masa's
*The Slanted Door
*Cyrus
*Fleur de Lys

2009 Oct 29
Ah yeah! The chowder in the sourdough bowl! Absolutely do that!

2009 Oct 29
In-N-Out...animal style baby!

2009 Oct 30
I did some research for my husband who was there in August and concur that chowhound is a great place to start. One thing that I found which peaked my interest (he didn't end up having time) were the foodie tours of Chinatown.

2009 Oct 30
Ghirardelli Square was fun once, but too crowded!

Pete please report back on your findings, as I'll be heading that way in about a month's time :)

2009 Oct 30
i lived off mexican food there. seriously, the tacquerias are awesome. all of them. even Del Taco at ~5AM was fabulous.

avoid pretty much everything near Pier 29, except Boudin (chowder/sourdough) and In-N-Out.

SF is a great foodie city. Pete if you're in Union Square pretty much everything is within walking distance. Chinatown is a 5 minute walk.

2009 Oct 30
BART goes to Berkeley, so Chez Panisse is a possibility for lunch or dinner if that interests you.

One place I've been to a couple of times that I liked is Park Chow in the Inner Sunset (maybe not worth a special trip but if you're in the area it would be a good choice). It's pretty casual and not really expensive but good value. Still seems to get good reviews on Chowhound.

If you're into beer it's a great city and I'd second the recommendation of the tacquerias.

2009 Oct 30
EnRoute magazine just did a piece on Chez Panisse and Alice Waters if you're interested : ) It's an institution. I would definitely go just to say that I've been. This post is making me want to go back to SF. So many great restaurants!

2009 Oct 30
Try Big Nates BBQ. Nothing fancy plastic chairs but great BBQ.

2009 Oct 30
If you can get to Berkley, I highly recommend Chez Panisse and pizza at The Cheese Board.

Other recommendations in the city:
- Swan Oyster Depot for chowder, sourdough bread, and fresh seafood
- Slanted Door
- Perbacco
- Zuni Cafe
- Ozumo
- Cafe Trieste (First espresso shop on the West Coast, coffee not superb but a place you should see if you're into coffee)

2009 Nov 2
so many....a few that come to mind....plus I have their cookbooks!!

Zuni cafe.....Ricotta Gnocchi!!

A16

Michael Mina...has a couple.

Incanto, Chris consentino was on the "next Iron Chef" www.incanto.biz/ Uses every part of the animal!!


2009 Nov 4
Wow.. I'll have to see if I can somehow squeeze into Chez Panisse, but from the online reservation service they use, it says there are no available slots for the next month!

2009 Nov 4
Also recommending Chez Panisse. We got a reservation there (in the less formal upstairs part) by calling that week- maybe even the day before if I remember correctly. I had the most amazing halibut and the salads were excellent, of course. It was really interesting to go to the place that's had so much influence on how I eat. I think we ate late, but it was worth it!

I'm always excited when I go to San Francisco because I can get Coca-Cola imported from Mexico that's made with real sugar. But I'm from Atlanta and grew up on Coke so that may not be high on anyone else's list.

I found for the most part that everywhere I ate, even restaurants we just ended up in without reading reviews, was excellent and used local, in season ingredients.

2009 Nov 4
I would highly recommend restaurant Gary Danko. We were treated great from the beginning, but once they found out that we were from Ottawa (which they considered really close to Gary's home town of Massena, NY), we left the restaurant with a bag of goodies. Awesome food and service.

Another recommendation would be PlumpJack cafe. Excellent food, and they have a wonderful Wine Shop just down the street.

My dining experiences are a couple years old, so as already recommended above, I would check out chowhounds to find out current status, as the restaurant world changes requently.

2009 Nov 5
Ok so 2 people listed A16 here. I must say I've been there and have come to the conclusion that it's overpriced and over-rated. There are so many other better places to eat along Chesnut Street. I think there's a fantastic bakery around there.

2009 Nov 5
Just in San Fran or are you planning on going Napa or Sonoma County as well? I have been a few times and can share a bunch of info on restos in that area. Are you looking for a Michelin experience like the French Laundry in Nappa region? If so you should book a few weeks ahead.

Plumpjack Cafe is very good. I have been to their winery as well. Zuni Cafe is good.

Try using opentable.com

2009 Nov 10
So I'm in San Francisco right now and on my late evening arrival I was in the mood for meat. The Irish House a couple blocks from Union Square was able to satisfy. Simple but good, I had a slab of prime rib and a poetic Black & Tan. Hopefully more to come...

2009 Nov 10
Made it to E & O Trading Co Southeast Asian Grill and was nicely surprised. There are three locations int the Bay Area ( www.eotrading.com ). They were full, and we had no reservations, but were able to squeeze in at the counter overlooking the kitchen, which was quite cool. I started with Ahi Tataki Tartare, described on the menu as "balinese long pepper crust, lily bulb petals, citrus soy". Firstly, the amount of fish was amazing, with a pile of marinated cubes the size of my fist! For mains, I had the Crispy Five-Spiced Muscovy Duck Leg Confit, and apparently got the last one that the restaraunt had. It was most delicious paired with the braised cabbage and plum compote. To compliment it, I had some local microbrew beer, which I cannot remember the name of, but it worked well with the duck. Not a michelin resto, but very very good food for a decent price. I will go back if I can find time!