Dining in San Francisco

[Kibbee Nayee]

I will retract my earlier post about there being no quality food in Chinatown in San Francisco. It turns out there are a string of restaurants along Washington St. that qualify for genuine and good. At Washington Bakery & Restaurant for lunch yesterday, the clay pots and soups were genuine, and we were the only Americans in a mostly full restaurant. The beef tendon soup was a hit, as was fried rice with seafood and pickled vegetables.

The bakery in the front of the restaurant had quite a few savory and sweet pastries as well. This is a must-return kind of place, as are the restaurants up and down Washington St. with Peking ducks hanging in the windows.

At one table of what appeared to be four generations of a Chinese-American family, a Chinese feast was all over the table, but the 2-year-old daughter was tackling a club sandwich.

[Kibbee Nayee]

A few additional tidbits on San Francisco....the best brewpub I found was the Thirsty Bear on Howard, just across from the W Hotel. Very good beers and very good food.

A few doors down from the W on Howard, across from the Thirsty Bear, is a Chinese restaurant called Fang and it is spectacular. The chef will show up at your table and ask you what you want, so just say "feed me" and you'll have one of San Francisco's best Nanking-style feasts brought to you.

No need to get near Chinatown if you're in the area of the Moscone Center. The restaurant Fang will take good care of you....

[mdt]

A few additional tidbits on San Francisco....the best brewpub I found was the Thirsty Bear on Howard, just across from the W Hotel. Very good beers and very good food.

What other one's did you try? Trying to get an idea based on comparison.

[Kibbee Nayee]

I tried 21st Amendment and Magnolia as well, plus quite a few other bars. Thirsty Bear had better food and had the additional advantage of being within crawling distance of the W, where I was staying.

[edenman]

Not to start a debate, but the brewpub scene here as I've enjoyed it over the last almost-year since moving out here:

1) 21st Amendment - my favorite brewpub beers in town. wacky seasonals, excellent stuff in the main lineup...they tend toward the American craft beer style: big flavors, no punches pulled. the pub grub is overpriced and not very good. location is close to the baseball stadium, worth checking if there's a game because the bar gets packed before/after games. heck, it's crowded most of the time.

2) Magnolia - brewpub in the upper Haight doing mostly British-style beers and upscale pub grub. the food here can be pretty great but it's not super-consistent. they have 5 cask lines that are frequently rotated and well-maintained. and the mainline beers are pretty great (mild ales, kolsch, spud boy IPA, the stout)

3) Thirsty Bear - organic beers, full liquor selection, and Spanish food. the concept makes no sense, but who am i to complain. this place is also huge so if you're looking for a place for a big group, it's worth checking. the beers (perhaps due to being organic, perhaps not) have rarely escaped the "totally boring" area for me, although they've done some really cool dry-hopped casks on occasion. although maybe the point isn't to wow beer geeks like me, who knows oh and the food can be pretty good, if on the pricey side for a brewpub.

4) Beach Chalet - only visited here once since it's way on the other side of town and i don't have a car. had a pretty tasty mild on cask, but unfortunately it's not worth the trip unless you're already out at GG park or hanging out at the beach.

At any rate, it's a pretty good lineup of independent local brewpubs...there are some other great ones in the 'burbs, and the city has its fair share of great beer bars as well, but those will have to wait for another post.

[stickmoon]

At any rate, it's a pretty good lineup of independent local brewpubs...there are some other great ones in the 'burbs, and the city has its fair share of great beer bars as well, but those will have to wait for another post.

Have you been to The Tipsy Pig? We're going to SF next month and are thinking about trying it.

[edenman]

Have you been to The Tipsy Pig? We're going to SF next month and are thinking about trying it.

Haven't...I don't get to the Marina often (although I've heard good things about the beers at Delarosa too). Will report back if I get there before April.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Not to start a debate, but the brewpub scene here as I've enjoyed it over the last almost-year since moving out here:

1) 21st Amendment - my favorite brewpub beers in town. wacky seasonals, excellent stuff in the main lineup...they tend toward the American craft beer style: big flavors, no punches pulled. the pub grub is overpriced and not very good. location is close to the baseball stadium, worth checking if there's a game because the bar gets packed before/after games. heck, it's crowded most of the time.

2) Magnolia - brewpub in the upper Haight doing mostly British-style beers and upscale pub grub. the food here can be pretty great but it's not super-consistent. they have 5 cask lines that are frequently rotated and well-maintained. and the mainline beers are pretty great (mild ales, kolsch, spud boy IPA, the stout)

3) Thirsty Bear - organic beers, full liquor selection, and Spanish food. the concept makes no sense, but who am i to complain. this place is also huge so if you're looking for a place for a big group, it's worth checking. the beers (perhaps due to being organic, perhaps not) have rarely escaped the "totally boring" area for me, although they've done some really cool dry-hopped casks on occasion. although maybe the point isn't to wow beer geeks like me, who knows oh and the food can be pretty good, if on the pricey side for a brewpub.

4) Beach Chalet - only visited here once since it's way on the other side of town and i don't have a car. had a pretty tasty mild on cask, but unfortunately it's not worth the trip unless you're already out at GG park or hanging out at the beach.

At any rate, it's a pretty good lineup of independent local brewpubs...there are some other great ones in the 'burbs, and the city has its fair share of great beer bars as well, but those will have to wait for another post.

I'm not a beer geek, so I'll defer. But I have to admit, in addition to the food -- very good -- I was blown away by the Thirsty Bear's Irish Stout. It makes Guinness Stout taste like Bud Lite. The food is a real hit here, and it's right across the street from a surprisingly good Chinese place called Fang, and crawling distance to the W....hard to ask for more.

[synaesthesia]

Quick summary of SF:

Sushi Sam's (San Mateo) - My second trip here. We sat at the bar and ordered omakase. The most saucing they do is some yuzu and Japanese sea salt, or a little shoyu and wasabi. Had arctic char sushi for the first time, which was wonderful. The sardines are brought in from Japan, and don't have the intense fishiness of North American sardines. The toro is beyond amazing. It is lightly seared, which makes sense. Much like wagyu, you need some cooking to really activate the fats.

They will instruct you not to use soy sauce if you try to start. It is interesting that if you are at the bar, and they don't know you that the chefs will watch your reactions and begin to choose according to your reactions. It is worth seeing if you can get an $8 rental car (they exist) to drive the short distance from SFO to San Mateo just to eat at Sam's. 10 pieces of exquisite sushi per person, green tea, and dessert ended up only being about $65 including tip. I'll warn you now. Do not order rolls here. They're sloppily made and do not receive attention from the chef because he does not consider it real sushi, and with the quality of the fish that you're getting you should be tasting fish, and not rice vinegar and sugar.

Katana Ya (on Geary near Powell St, Union Square) - Visited for ramen on two nights. The first time I ordered the extra spicy, and enjoyed the broth a great deal and could taste the meatiness. However, I ordered a plain broth on a second late night visit. It was overly salty, and lacked the previous visit's intensity (maybe because it was late at night). However the noodles were still excellent, and the pork slice was wonderful. Other broth options such as miso are available, and you can choose rich over light broth. Ferment_everything and a friend joined me and ordered a version with fried chicken, fried gyoza and pork. It's a good place to stop if you're in the Union Square area and looking for something inexpensive.

Kyoya (SoMa, in the Palace Hotel) - The service here was terrible, and the sushi was overpriced and flavorless.

Hog Island Oyster Company (Embarcadero) - I always get a combination of oysters to try, and am always satisfied with the variety and quality. My cousin ordered their clam chowder, which was surprisingly light and came loaded with in-shell clams that were cooked on the spot. Some of the best clam chowder (in my limited experience of chowders) that I've had.

Delfina - mdt mentioned this pizza place previously. If they have the meatballs on special, they're worth ordering. They're light and flavorful. We ordered a Napoletana pizza with capers, anchovies and olives. Salty, a little spicy, and with a crisp, but chewy crust.

Bi-Rite Creamery - Had to go back and get the salted caramel ice cream, which we got alongside the brown sugar ginger. A single portion was more than enough between the two of us. The flavors are delicious, but our choices were perhaps way too sweet. Still... some really good ice cream.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Quick summary of SF:

Sushi Sam's (San Mateo) - My second trip here. We sat at the bar and ordered omakase. The most saucing they do is some yuzu and Japanese sea salt, or a little shoyu and wasabi. Had arctic char sushi for the first time, which was wonderful. The sardines are brought in from Japan, and don't have the intense fishiness of North American sardines. The toro is beyond amazing. It is lightly seared, which makes sense. Much like wagyu, you need some cooking to really activate the fats.

They will instruct you not to use soy sauce if you try to start. It is interesting that if you are at the bar, and they don't know you that the chefs will watch your reactions and begin to choose according to your reactions. It is worth seeing if you can get an $8 rental car (they exist) to drive the short distance from SFO to San Mateo just to eat at Sam's. 10 pieces of exquisite sushi per person, green tea, and dessert ended up only being about $65 including tip. I'll warn you now. Do not order rolls here. They're sloppily made and do not receive attention from the chef because he does not consider it real sushi, and with the quality of the fish that you're getting you should be tasting fish, and not rice vinegar and sugar.

I am in awe of Sam and will eat there every time I'm on the West Coast. I kind of agree about the rolls, but at the end of my huge omakase, I ordered an extra "chili dog" which is a nicely spicy special tuna roll. It was the perfect ending to an outstanding feast.

[stickmoon]

Four days and three nights in San Francisco...what a lovely city with so many great places to eat.

We arrived in SF in time for dinner. We chose 1550 Hyde St. Café because we were looking for a local place near our hotel with “California style” cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Basically, we were looking for the San Franciscan equivalent of The Liberty Tavern…and 1550 Hyde came pretty close. My appetizer was three grilled sardines that came with some bits of grapefruit, olives and greens strewn about. They tasted good but they looked a little grey on the plate. The entrée was much better. I had a big crispy risotto cake sitting atop a springtime broth chock full of ramps, fava leaves and mushrooms. The food, vibe, and affordably priced wine list were just what we were looking for after a long day of traveling.

The next morning we walked to the Ferry Building and it was Saturday so the farmers market was going strong. It was really spectacular…I was wicked jealous of all the amazing produce, even in mid-April. Lots of food and samples were readily available. Then we took the ferry over to Sausalito to take in the sites (in the rain, unfortunately!). If you head over there, I’d strongly recommend lunch at Poggio. Nearly every other restaurant we passed seemed rather ordinary and geared towards families. Poggio’s more upscale menu stood out. I must have been low on Omega 3’s because I ordered sardines again! They came out house-cured and atop a schmear of fava puree and toasted ciabatta. The sardines were much better than the ones I had the previous night. They were delicate, creamy, and the fava puree was a nice foil for the oily fish. Kim had a morrocan spiced chickpea soup which she liked.

That evening we went to the Mission for Mexican food and a few beers. We met a friend who recommended a pre-dinner drink at the Lone Palm…it’s something of a classy dive bar and was fine for a drink. Free cheese puffs on all the tables helped. Dinner at Velvet Cantina. I don’t remember what I had, but I remember it tasted good and all the dishes had much less cheese and grease and salt than the Mexican I’m used to. The salsa was warm and a lot like the one at Guajillo. Overall we enjoyed it. Then we went for beers at Latin American Club, which seemed like the place where all the cool kids hang out when they travel to the Mission.

But all this was a prelude to one of the best meals we've ever had. A few months ago I read a glowing 3 star review of Frances in the SF Chronicle. Since then Frances has been named a national finalist for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and after dining there it is not hard to see why. It is a small, sparsely decorated space (we counted 34 chairs, not counting the small, cramped bar area). We began with a “market shot”, which they describe as “whatever we find at the market gets juiced, spiced, and spiked” $3 per 3 oz. shot. A really nice way to wake up our palates. For food, we started with two “bouchees” which were like pre-appetizers; bigger than an amuse but smaller than an appetizer. The first was the “panisse frites”, four chickpea fries, served with a few wedges of meyer lemon and a meyer lemon aioli. As soon as we bit into the crispy, rightoutofthefryer exterior that encased an impossibly creamy, flavorful interior, we knew we were in for a stellar meal. We also tried the “crispy pork trotters” which were like small crab cakes, except with shredded pig feet. They was served with a mustardy and herbaceous gribiche sauce and slivers of picked veg. They tasted great, but I thought that chef Cooper’s crispy pig tail at Vidalia was a similar and even better dish. Then we moved onto appetizers. The roasted artichoke soup with black trumpet mushrooms and garlic confit came out at a perfectly hot temperature but was a little too creamy for our liking. The artichoke flavor was a little too subtle. But the ricotta gnocchi appetizer was outstanding. Probably 8-10 little ricotta pillows sat in a fava bean, green garlic and morel mushroom ragout. It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl clean. For entrees I had the Sonoma duck breast that was seared and served atop a butter bean ragout with sautéed greens and a few discs of cotechino sausage. It was even better than it sounds. The flavors were perfect. I loved it. Kim had the crepe cannelloni stuffed with wild ramps and savoy spinach. Around them were maitake mushrooms which she described as “insane” and the best mushrooms she’s ever had. They really were that good. We couldn’t eat another bite, which clearly meant that we had to order dessert. We had a buttermilk panna cotta that was served in a small jar with early season strawberries on top and a few pieces of biscotti on the side. A really nice end to a superb meal. The service was inspired. From the moment we walked in to when our server walked us out and helped us find a cab, we felt like we were the most important people in the restaurant. It is obvious that the staff is proud and excited about what they are doing. The bill for such an incredible meal? $113 (pre-tip). What really kept the cost down was the wine…although they have a small wine list, they also serve a house white and red that are blends co-created by their beverage director. Pay for what you drink, $1 per ounce and served in a sleek carafe. Truly fantastic, I will not be surprised if Frances becomes a destination restaurant.

We finished our trip to SF with breakfast at Tartine Bakery. Excellent pastries. Try the morning bun.

Then we went to Napa.

[Sundae in the Park]

Brought a newbie to SF so I would finally have someone to eat with We had some tasty fun in the touristy places - Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli square - but I was most excited about finally getting the roast chicken at the Zuni Cafe. It was worth every minute of the wait! We had the parmesan polenta (I really want to try and make this - it's so simple and deceptively delicious) and some cocktails to help pass the time, as well as a great view of the remnants of Pride weekend. (The outfits, some of which only included body paint, were outstanding entertainment.) The moist, succulent, aromatic, and flavorful chicken (with skin so crispy) didn't disapoint at all, which is something when you've been drooling over a dish for years. The crunchy, chicken-drenched bread salad underneath had us groaning with delight. It was the perfect meal to welcome us back to the US after a month-long trip in Asia!

[beefnchedda]

Slightly off-topic, but does of anyone know of a donrockwell-esque website for dining in San Francisco? I have recently moved out to the West coast and cannot find any equivalent forum.

Thanks!

[stickmoon]

Slightly off-topic, but does of anyone know of a donrockwell-esque website for dining in San Francisco? I have recently moved out to the West coast and cannot find any equivalent forum.

I did not find an equivalent forum when I was researching the San Francisco restaurant scene, but I regularly followed the SF Chowhound forum and there were some very knowledgeable writers there. There were also some "pinned" posts written by the moderators that I found really helpful.

[beefnchedda]

I did not find an equivalent forum when I was researching the San Francisco restaurant scene, but I regularly followed the SF Chowhound forum and there were some very knowledgeable writers there. There were also some "pinned" posts written by the moderators that I found really helpful.

Thanks stickmoon!

I guess I will resort back to Chowhound, back to separating the knowledgeable from merely the angry or uninformed.

[Steve R.]

Thanks stickmoon!

I guess I will resort back to Chowhound, back to separating the knowledgeable from merely the angry or uninformed.

Ruth Lafler, Robt Lauriston and Melanie Wong would be a good start, in my opinion.

By the way, we really liked La Ciccia, a family run Sardinian place, & 1550 Hyde (which might have closed).

[edenman]

Ruth Lafler, Robt Lauriston and Melanie Wong would be a good start, in my opinion.

By the way, we really liked La Ciccia, a family run Sardinian place, & 1550 Hyde (which might have closed).

Yea, I haven't found anything similar to DR.com out here. Chow is the de facto standard, and it's a firehose of information, even if you just glance through the RSS feed like I do.

Lauriston has opened his own place and doesn't post much anymore. Melanie Wong has some great posts. Not familiar with Lafler.

Haven't been to La Ciccia yet, but 1550 is definitely done

[Sundae in the Park]

When in Berkeley, are there places worth visiting besides Chez Panisse? Maybe somewhere more casual? Or should I just go to the cafe?

[synaesthesia]

When in Berkeley, are there places worth visiting besides Chez Panisse? Maybe somewhere more casual? Or should I just go to the cafe?

Cheeseboard!!! Cactus Taqueria.

[qwertyy]

When in Berkeley, are there places worth visiting besides Chez Panisse? Maybe somewhere more casual? Or should I just go to the cafe?

Cesar is excellent. Great tapas and cocktails, walking distance from Chez Panisse, casual.

[Sthitch]

When in Berkeley, are there places worth visiting besides Chez Panisse? Maybe somewhere more casual? Or should I just go to the cafe?

Don't pass up a chance to stop by and see what Kermit Lynch is offering.

[Sundae in the Park]

Oooh, thanks for the Berkeley suggestions. Now, just in case we get stuck, are there good-great similar places (on the casual side, price-point, food, and dress-wise) in Oakland?

[porcupine]

So we're thinking of five or six days in San Francisco in January (unless we blow the budget surplus on Fifth Gear). What restaurants should we go to? These days I'm really off formal dining and tasting menus; if I were visiting DC I'd skip Komi, Cityzen, Citronelle, etc. in favor of places like the (old) cafe at Palena and the bar at Restaurant Eve - really good cooking without any fuss. No big-name chefs or molecular gastronomy or four-hour blowout meals. Just good, honest food.

[susanmab]

Get a sandwich at Tartine for lunch.

Head down the street To Bi-Rite Creamery (not the Bi-Rite Market) for salted caramel ice cream.

[synaesthesia]

So we're thinking of five or six days in San Francisco in January (unless we blow the budget surplus on Fifth Gear). What restaurants should we go to? These days I'm really off formal dining and tasting menus; if I were visiting DC I'd skip Komi, Cityzen, Citronelle, etc. in favor of places like the (old) cafe at Palena and the bar at Restaurant Eve - really good cooking without any fuss. No big-name chefs or molecular gastronomy or four-hour blowout meals. Just good, honest food.

Incanto. Chris Cosentino may be popular, but the offal scares most people away. Food is great, but atmosphere is pretty relaxed and casual.

[qwertyy]

So we're thinking of five or six days in San Francisco in January (unless we blow the budget surplus on Fifth Gear). What restaurants should we go to? These days I'm really off formal dining and tasting menus; if I were visiting DC I'd skip Komi, Cityzen, Citronelle, etc. in favor of places like the (old) cafe at Palena and the bar at Restaurant Eve - really good cooking without any fuss. No big-name chefs or molecular gastronomy or four-hour blowout meals. Just good, honest food.

I had a great meal at Nopa last weekend. Casual atmosphere but great food--excellent ingredients treated simply. I would mainline the carrot+rabbit soup if I could; I don't remember the last time I saw a carrot soup that wasn't pureed, and this one--with a phenomenal broth, beautiful carrots, and shreds of tasty rabbit--makes me wonder why! Also excellent: the chickory salad, and the farm egg poached in smoked tomatoes served with grilled bread. Don't miss the cocktails either. The Eucharist is a sherry+scotch concoction I drank to start the meal; I ended it with the B+T: Benedictine and TEQUILA. These things should NOT go together--but they do! They SO do!

Out the Door is the offshoot of the Slanted Door with three locations around the city. Most people just think of the takeout counter in the Ferry Building, but the other locations are just smaller versions of the Slanted Door (but quieter!), with table service and less chaos, and the food is spot on. We enjoyed the heck out of the crab cellophane noodles, green papaya salad, shrimp crepes, and broccoli. They also serve excellent wine on tap.

[DanielK]

My brother is going to be in SF for a conference at the Moscone Center, and is looking for some recommendations of good places to eat solo. He's a foodie, but has only a moderate per diem, so looking for places where dinner with a drink, tax, tip are in the $50 ballpark.

Not sure which hotel he's in, but certainly Union Square, SOMA, Chinatown and Financial District are walkable, and he wouldn't mind a bus or short cab ride.

Thanks!

[Sundae in the Park]

A roundup of some recent experiences in the Bay Area:

Kincaid's in Burlingame is primarily there to feed the captive audiences at the Hilton and the Embassy Suites, but there's a nice water view and the portions are large. We saw another table get a fried chicken plate that could have fed 3! There were various steaks at our table, including a small plate version of the sirloin. It's a nice small plate option that they have for quite a few of their entrees. We were happy with our meat and potatoes, but it wasn't a place I'd drive out of my way to visit. The service was briskly professional.

The Baltic in Richmond is a really neat place. Housed in a hundred-year old bar (that used to be a bordello!), it has such a sense of character and history that I could hang out there every week for the atmosphere alone. The excellent German food is just another plus! I had a schnitzel sandwich and a side of beets. The meat was lightly breaded and fried, and still very tender and juicy. The sauce is thousand island-ish and was good, but I was glad I got it on the side. The large dish of beets was simple and vinegary and quickly eaten down. The other food at the table, sandwiches and sausages, all looked great and were generously apportioned. I really, really wish we had a spot like this around here.

I got a recommendation off the board to eat at Cesar in Berkeley, but we ended up in Oakland, so we ate at the Cesar Latino there instead. It's on Piedmont in a cute little neighborhood full of eclectic shops and restaurants. The restaurant is done mostly in wood and seems to be kind of trendy for a casual-looking place. The food was great, sort of a cross between what we could get at Jaleo and Oyamel, and about that same quality and price point. We especially liked the duck tacos, as well as the other assorted meat tacos (all were very good, with juicy meats and sharp sauces), the flank steak dish, and the tiny bison? burgers. The papusas were fine, but I prefer to get those at joints that specialize in them. The cinnamon-chocolate ice cream and the churros in the sundae were fantastic, so much that we actually got another order, and it was a great contrast to the perfectly tart and light key lime pie. It's a lot of fun and quite good and I'm glad we went. (Thanks for the tip, Qwertyy!)

Back for a reprise at Koi Palace in Daly City, we got the fried pork buns and the xiao long bao - almost identical ingredients, but two such different, delicious presentations! We also got the soup of the night, which was some sort of pork-based broth with meat and greens. It was very good and hard to stop eating, but we had to tackle our "beef bacon" (enoki with prime rib in spicy sichaun sauce), seafood pan-fried noodles, and a new dish, the smoked sea bass. OMG, the sea bass is the new beef bacon (which was not quite as spicy, and therefore not nearly as good as last time). It was a giant slab of ridiculously fresh sea bass, treated with the red pork coloring/flavor on the outside, and somehow broiled/steamed such that the inside is just cooked through. That fish tasted like butter, it was so sweet and rich, and to top it off, was served with...mayonnaise. A little weird and unnecessary, but elevating. It was AMAZING, and in no way could have been imagined from the spare description (we decided on it randomly). We three each had a full portion (4ish ounces) and couldn't finish the dish, it was so decadent. What a find!

[Keithstg]

So we're thinking of five or six days in San Francisco in January (unless we blow the budget surplus on Fifth Gear). What restaurants should we go to? These days I'm really off formal dining and tasting menus; if I were visiting DC I'd skip Komi, Cityzen, Citronelle, etc. in favor of places like the (old) cafe at Palena and the bar at Restaurant Eve - really good cooking without any fuss. No big-name chefs or molecular gastronomy or four-hour blowout meals. Just good, honest food.

I'm late to this, so my apologies, but Range certainly has what you are looking for....

[bettyjoan]

Currently flying home from a great trip to San Francisco - we did a lot more casual dining this time, which was rather refreshing.

Thursday lunch at the Ferry Building market (smaller than Saturday's, but therefore much more manageable) included some crazy Korean short-rib-and-bulgogi-topped french fries, some delicious carnitas tacos, and rotisserie pork with mashed parsnips (all from different vendors). Dinner was at Pizzeria Delfina, and my favorite was the special of the day, with lardo, cippolini onions, arugula, and a light tomato sauce. The chicory pizza with egg was also tasty, as was the margherita. It is a teeny tiny place, but the food and service were quite good. The trip to Bi-Rite Creamery afterward blew my mind - the salted caramel ice cream was out of this world, and the brown sugar with ginger caramel swirl wasn't far behind.

Friday lunch was In 'N Out on the way to the Lagunitas Brewery - guilty pleasures, both. Dinner was at a little Spanish place called Contigo - for some reason, I wasn't super hungry, but highlights included an anchovy and avocado toast with pickled onions, and the fabulous churros. Salads were also delicious, and they had some really nice Spanish wines by the glass.

We headed back to the Ferry Building for lunch on Saturday, and the 4505 Meats tent was crazy busy - their burger is supposed to be the best ever, and it was tasty, but it was severely undercooked and lost something in translation because of it. We also tried their duck and scallion sausage, which was fantastic. My sis had some masa cakes from a Mexican food vendor, and they were some of the best bites I had during the whole trip. That market is just awesome - though it was super crowded since it was the warmest, nicest day in a while. We wanted to watch the Falcons game on Saturday night, so we wound up grazing for dinner at the 21st Amendment brewpub. Awesome beer, decent bar food, BAD football game.

Sunday morning's brunch at Nopa was delicious. Awesome cocktails (including my non-alcoholic cardamom-grapefruit spritzer), and gosh darnit, they know how to cook eggs. Grilled bread with homemade butter and yuzu marmelade was fantastic.

We had a greasy spoon breakfast at the Pork Store Cafe on Monday morning - standard diner-type fare, but would be great for a hangover. And of course, it wouldn't be a trip to San Francisco without a big burrito on the way to the airport (sis and her husband swear by Taqueria Cancun). I also snuck in one more Bi-Rite trip. You know it's good when you're craving ice cream in January.

Whew. Back on the diet!

[porcupine]

Currently flying home from a great trip to San Francisco

Say hi next time.

Detailed report when i have a real keyboard to type on.

[porcupine]

First, a big thank you to everyone who posted or pm-ed tips. If only there were an equivalent to dr.com in every major city...

Velvet Cantina was the right choice for dinner after a yucky flight. Good, solid cantina cooking: corncakes stuffed with pork or vegetables, a delicious, brothy chile verde with pork. The place is tiny and gets very loud; fortunately jet lag let us eat at a stupidly early hour, so we were just finishing when the rowdiness was ramping up.

Sunday morning we made a pilgrimage to Greens for a fantastic brunch. Walking three miles there over Nob Hill didn't begin to compensate for the gluttony: lemon huckleberry coffee cake, scrambled eggs on tortillas with potatoes, beans, several different salsas. It sounded ridiculously complicated but tasted fantastic. You don't have to be a vegetarian to love Greens.

Dinner at Nopa: salad of wilted chicories with pomegranate, bacon, and a poached egg; pappardelle with house made fennel sausage. Both dishes perfectly executed. Sopapillas with burnt orange caramel seemed more beignet-like, but so what? Fried dough, by any other name, would taste as sweet... These were too damn good to be true. Nopa was crazy busy and loud; if you like to be able to make conversation, ask for a seat upstairs. We had a great table where we could see almost everything without being seen.

A stop at the Ferry building let us get bread, cheese (Cowgirl Creamery), salami (Boccalone), olives, and assorted other goodies for a post-hike picnic in Point Reyes National Seashore. But since we were just 2 miles from Point Reyes Station, why not stop at... Bovine Bakery? [you thought it would be Cowgirl Creamery] Fantastic baked goods, including a cinnamon roll that perfectly balanced bread and spice with no gooey icing to spoil it. And a damn fine cup of coffee. Possibly the best cup of coffee I've ever had.

Met a friend for dinner at Delfina. My bowl of spaghetti with plum tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and peperoncini was so much better than the list of ingredients would have you belive. Mr P thought it was the best thing he ate the whole trip. His plate of ravioli with prosciutto and mascarpone (or maybe ricotta? can't recall) with a lemon butter sauce was pretty damn good, too. Also had side orders of roasted Brussels sprouts and braised chard. Buttermilk-cardamom panna cotta was a not-too-sweet way to finish. The only thing we didn't care for was a salad of artichoke crudo, but I don't fault the restaurant for that. It seems I just don't care for raw artichoke, no matter how it's dressed.

Blue Bottle Coffee has a decent breakfast (at the Mint location), and also damn fine coffee in the recently hip fashion (pour-overs, single-origin, etc.) And very good hot chocolate. But the Iced New Orleans Style coffee was exceptionally delicious, at least if you like chicory coffee.

Mifune in Japantown serves a decent bowl of ramen. Actually, it may be a fantastic bowl of ramen; I wouldn't know, since I've only had it once before. But it did make me want to observe the whole bowl.

Since Mr P can seldom resist the siren call of the fried potato, we just had to stop at Frjtz while on the way to Mifune (ramen is not his cup of tea). What can I say? Frites with your choice of a coupla dozen different sauces. He liked 'em. They didn't inspire me. But I suppose they're a good cure for munchies if you're in Hayes Valley.

More later. I'm getting hungry.

[porcupine]

And then there was dinner at Zuni Cafe. This was the culinary highlight of the trip. The dishes we tried were both well conceived and perfectly executed. Not to sound like Project Runway, but the dishes were well edited; they had no more or no less than they needed. For example, my appetizer: warm cannellini with shaved fennel, winter radish, olive oil, and black pepper. That's all. But the beans were perfectly cooked, the vegetables shaved thinly enough that the texture complemented the beans, the olive oil was fruity but not overwhelming, and there was just enough black pepper to make it interesting. Such a simple combination of ingredients, in just the right proportions. Genius.

Also had "mock porchetta", roasted pork shoulder with crispy corncake and kale. Again, the technique: the kale was sliced thin, and cooked to that balance point between crispy and tender. The corncake was substantial enough to absorb some of the pork broth, but the crispy parts didn't get soggy.

Dessert also showed an excellent balance of textures and flavors: thin, crispy discs of meringue were layered with lightly whipped cream, satsuma oranges, pistachios, and honey.

Mr P had, among other things, a ricotta gnocchi dish. When asked how they were, he replied "that bastard Ruta's ruined me for gnocchi", which of course doesn't denigrate the dish at Zuni, which was excellent.

After walking the length of Golden Gate Park, we had to choose between Pork Store Cafe and Magnolia Pub and Brewery. (Actually, I was all for heading to Tartine, but Mr P needed chow fast.) We chose Magnolia, which was... okay, I guess. I loved the idea of Scotch quail eggs. They would've been really great except that the sausage was just boring. But they were well fried and not too heavily battered. The BLAT (BLT w/ avocado) was a lot better than it sounds, though even the glorious state of California can't provide a good tomato in January. I also tried a mild brown cask-conditioned ale, which was lovely.

Dinner that night was at Piperade, which serves "West Coast Basque Cuisine". We had a pedestrian lentil soup, but then really good small plates: piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese, golden raisins, and pistachios; a fried terrine of serrano and warm sheep cheese served on a little salad; wild mushroom pie with crème fraiche; potato and manchego gratin. Dessert was orange blossom beignets, tender and floral and sweet. I also had a glass of tempranillo that bowled me over, with berry notes at first taste but a spicy, warm finish. Sorry, I didn't note the producer. I drink wine so rarely these days that I might be bowled over by any old thing, but this was one tasty wine.

And then there's ice cream. We went to both Humphry Slocombe and Bi Rite Creamery. Which is better? Hard to say without a direct comparison, but I think the texture and fat content of Bi Rite's product is more pleasing. But it probably depends on what flavors you like. HS has much odder combinations, like brown sugar fennel (which tasted good for about three bites), and the infamous Secret Breakfast, and Boccalone Prosciutto and so on. The orange-cardamom at BR was out of this world, but the Meyer lemon disappointingly weak (my homemade is better).

Oh, one other thing. Jason Andelman of Artisan Chocolates suggested we check out Elbow Chocolates. I just asked Mr P which was better (he's the chocolate fanatic in this house), and he replied "Andelman's" without hesitation. And then, "that bastard Jason's ruined me for chocolates".

[jparrott]

Seven of us (including ferment everything and Bourbon Steak's erstwhile Kevin Diedrich) dined at Nopa two Sundays ago. Well executed, simple stuff. I had a Portuguese-ish fish stew. Drinks were highlighted by a bunch of moderate-alcohol aperitif cocktails...and the 2002 Rolly Gassman pinot gris ($68, I think), which was in very good nick and just got better with air.

Dinner last night at Gitane was also lovely. Excellent sherry selection and bacon-wrapped, goat cheese-stuffed prunes.

We did plenty of excellent drinking, including Mr. Diedrich's estimable Burritt Room, the ne plus ultra rum bar Smugglers Cove, delightfully old-new school Comstock Saloon (a fine, moderate price lunch here as well), Rickhouse, Heaven's Dog, Alembic, Beretta, and of course Toronado and Magnolia. And picked up a passel of well-kept rieslings at Dee Vine Wines, surely the premier German wine merchant in North America.

Hell of a trip.

Oh, and ferment's underground resto is off the hizzy.

[edenman]

Neil and I broke down a 210lb pig yesterday and needed to get out of the house tonight for dinner. Sunday night is a notorious SF "restaurants are closed" night, so it took us several attempts (Mr Pollo, Local Mission Eatery, Heirloom) before we finally arrived at Flour & Water (menu pdf). And miraculously got two seats at the communal table (the place is always packed). It's a little too hip for its own good: the candle-holders are miniature graduated cylinders (what were they before they graduated?), the napkins are green-stripe kitchen towels, and the soundtrack tonight included the latest efforts from the Arcade Fire and the National. We had been to the restaurant back in the first week it opened, but hadn't been by since, and I was skeptical. The. Food. Was. Fantastic. Zuppa Di Pesce, with a fantastic rich broth, perfectly cooked seafood, beans, and kale. Pork and Rabbit Terrine, pistachios, dressed with arugula, pecorino, flatbread. Very mellow, perfect texture. Bone Marrow pizza. Perfect, with crispy rapini. Seriously one of the better pizzas I've ever had. Pasta: Mint Chitarra w/Dungeness. The only miss of the night for us. Well cooked, but the romanesco didn't really play with the other ingredients and there wasn't much dungeness at the party. Still, an excellent meal, and (with 2 glasses of wine for each of us) $107 pre-tip. Now, if I could just figure out a way to reliably get seats without a 45-min wait. Recommended.

[Sundae in the Park]

Neil and I broke down a 210lb pig yesterday and needed to get out of the house tonight for dinner. Sunday night is a notorious SF "restaurants are closed" night, so it took us several attempts (Mr Pollo, Local Mission Eatery, Heirloom) before we finally arrived at Flour & Water (menu pdf). And miraculously got two seats at the communal table (the place is always packed). It's a little too hip for its own good: the candle-holders are miniature graduated cylinders (what were they before they graduated?), the napkins are green-stripe kitchen towels, and the soundtrack tonight included the latest efforts from the Arcade Fire and the National. We had been to the restaurant back in the first week it opened, but hadn't been by since, and I was skeptical. The. Food. Was. Fantastic. Zuppa Di Pesce, with a fantastic rich broth, perfectly cooked seafood, beans, and kale. Pork and Rabbit Terrine, pistachios, dressed with arugula, pecorino, flatbread. Very mellow, perfect texture. Bone Marrow pizza. Perfect, with crispy rapini. Seriously one of the better pizzas I've ever had. Pasta: Mint Chitarra w/Dungeness. The only miss of the night for us. Well cooked, but the romanesco didn't really play with the other ingredients and there wasn't much dungeness at the party. Still, an excellent meal, and (with 2 glasses of wine for each of us) $107 pre-tip. Now, if I could just figure out a way to reliably get seats without a 45-min wait. Recommended.

Does Flour and Water have a good bar for the single diner to eat at? If not, is there a great place that comes to mind for fine bar dining? I'll be a singleton in town in a few weeks, and want to try something new. Thanks!

[jparrott]

We dined late (9:30ish) at the bar area at Incanto with little trouble on a weeknight. Our approach that evening was cocktails and snacks at Bar Agricole, then a plate and a glass of wine at Incanto. I'm sure you could also have a snack in Japantown or Chinatown or at Terroir, then have a few rum drinks at Smugglers Cove, then tuck into a proper Incanto dinner with no trouble.

[Sundae in the Park]

I was too tired to make my way across the Bay bridge again, so I spent my major eating of this trip mostly in Berkely, which turned out great, thanks to the suggestions upthread! Cheeseboard really is amazing - the workers will stand there and help you sample all the cheeses you could possibly be interested in. I loved the first two cheeses shown to me (a ridiculously runny brie and a gouda) and those paired with a little loaf of the city bread made for a terrific meal. I also grabbed a slice of the daily pizza offering, which was peppers, mushrooms, feta, mozz, garlic, and parsley - a lot going on but tasty though the crust, while pleasantly crunchy and chewy, wasn't anything I HAD to eat. Finished up with a double chocolate cookie with abundant cocoa and chocolate chunks. What a gem!

I also ate at Cesar on the same block (the same block as Chez Panisses - some heavy hitters indeed). Maybe I just like Spanish tapas more, but I enjoyed this experience more than our trip to Cesar Latino in Oakland, even though I got to try fewer dishes (I was by myself this time). It is a noisy, joyful place full of people eating and drinking and having a grand time. I got the patatas bravas - a huge plate of potato wedges topped with the red and aoli sauces, and the sea bass with mushrooms. The fish came drenched in fruity olive oil and was delectable - moist, golden fish over a generous bed of seasoned mushrooms. The olives weren't too salty and I had a refreshing nonalcoholic mint lemonade. Everything was fantastic, and the wait staff were very nice to me as a solo diner at the bar.

We had a significant miss down in Millbrae, at the Shaghai Dumpling Shop. It was well-Yelped, and we really wanted good xiao long bao, so we tried it out over the standby trip to Koi Palace - big mistake. The XLB were quite good, actually , a little thicker-skinned, but a lot of soup, well-seasoned meat, and none of the dumplings broke! There was a reason that there were a least one tin of XLB at each table. The rest of the food, however, was faulty in at least one dimension. Underseasoned, overcooked boy choy with gritty mushrooms, overly bready pan fried pork buns, and heavy, boring sauteed eels. Maybe worth a stop in just for the XLB on the way to the airport if you really have a craving, but otherwise not at all a place that needs a visit.

Jasmine Garden was a random stop made because we were seriously jonesing for some some warming pho after the flight in from Portland, and there weren't any other Vietnamese places open that late on our way headed up north. It was a random google find that turned out quite charmingly. Pho isn't on the dinner menu, but after seeing us fruitlessly flip through the menu, they took pity on us and brought out the lunch menus for us to order from. We had a bowl each of the beef and seafood pho bowls, which had interesting and varied meats, including fatty bits and meat/fishballs. The broth was flavorful and did NOT leave us with dry mouth or the MSG shakes. We also got some fresh rolls stuffed with two kinds of pork that weren't on the menu (we asked for their "best" roll). One was stuffed with a deeply flavored jerky-like meat, and the other was a softer strip of meat paired with something like a slice of cracklins'. Interesting and quite good.

If you're ever up in Fairfield on a Thursday, try the Hot Spot Cafe and Deli, if you can find it. It's a tiny breakfast/lunchtime place tucked away in the corner of an office building, and looks like an ordinary sandwich shop. The welcoming folks who work there, however, cook everything fresh and to order and will make up anything you like. When we got there, later in the lunch hour, they were out of the cajun potatoes, so she went back and whipped up another batch! The Thursday special (at least when we went) was the tri-tip BBQ plate or sandwich. I'm not sure what I expected to get, but it wasn't a loaded platter (for $9!) with a huge pile of almost fork-tender, deeply flavored slices of meat served with peppers, onions, and juice/gravy, over the aforementioned cajun potatoes (a little bit spicy!) with a side of pasta salad and a little slice of bread. It's more of an au jus dish than BBQ per se, but it was unexpected and wonderful. The sandwich was quite large and looked very good as well.

Got to the Ferry Terminal building before the farmer's market closed on Sat and had a great time trying tastes of various wares. Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoked Fish is great for trying a different fish and, since they all can go up to 3 days without refrigeration, it's easy to take things home! I ate lunch at the Slanted Door and it really was great (I was expecting, for some reason, not to like it very much). The spring roll (veg) was well balanced and had a delicate crunch, and the spicy fish sauce for dipping gave it an edge. I also had a mild noodle dish. I knew it would be mild from the ingredients so that was fine, but the noodles were chewy and beautifully fried and the whole dish was also very well balanced (and livened up nicely with some siracha sauce). I'd say their line cooks know their business, as they churned out some very good dishes late at the tail end of the long lunch service. I'm glad I tried it!

[goodeats]

Man on a mission: Chinese Food Guide article in SF Chronicle. Links to the blogger's page. Neato.

[ktmoomau]

Going over the July 4th weekend. Last time we were there ate at R&G, trip to Golden Gate Bakery, ate at French Laundry, Market Bar. This time we have a couple more days.

Day one I think we are going to drive to Monterey and Caramel, where my husband decided without me that we are retiring, hopefully it is still nice in 30+ years.

Sat morn ferry market bldg for the market.

We are also doing a short trip to Muir Woods and Sausalito.

Last day we will probably eat Chinese food at some whole in the wall in Chinatown.

I am a little tired of tacos, but that's about it. Have plugged in a ton of recs from here and an old chow thread I had for my honeymoon on my google map. Anything we really need that we can get into at this point?

[Sundae in the Park]

We are also doing a short trip to Muir Woods and Sausalito.

Good god, get there EARLY. We were there mid-morning on a Friday last summer and the cars lined the road solidly over a mile and a half from the actual parking lot. We had only planned to hike a few miles, so just bagged it and wandered around Sausalito. Luckily, it's a gorgeous area for a drive and the fruit stands make good stops!

[ktmoomau]

Good god, get there EARLY. We were there mid-morning on a Friday last summer and the cars lined the road solidly over a mile and a half from the actual parking lot. We had only planned to hike a few miles, so just bagged it and wandered around Sausalito. Luckily, it's a gorgeous area for a drive and the fruit stands make good stops!

Yeah I am thinking that the jetlag will help us wake up early, if we don't get to it, will be fine. They said to be there pre 9am.

[jiveturk21]

Our time in San Francisco was limited, but I need to mention our dinner at Flour + Water.

To begin, I am not hip. I am 34 years old, married, white, don't know anything about music, I don't own $300 jeans and have no tattoos or piercings. So, when I head to a place like Flour + Water, I have to admit that I am a bit intimidated. But, after five minutes talking to the heavily tattooed and pierced wait staff, I knew that we were more than welcome.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the food was outstanding. Appetizers (pork trotter and duck confit) were creative and filling. Pastas (I think one of everything) were all different, had their strong points and showed that they really think about what they put on the plate. I have to give Pizzeria Delfina the edge on pizza, but Flour + Water's pizza was damn good, especially the Salsiccia. And the dessert, oh the dessert, was the best thing that we ate all trip other than the porchetta sandwich at El Dorado Kitchen. Basil panna cotta, chocolate budino and cornmeal almond cake were divine, simply perfect. Add a good valued wine list, and a "menu" with their playlist, and I can safely say that Flour + Water is a dining must if you are in San Francisco (and if you can get a reservation).

[giant shrimp]

Man on a mission: Chinese Food Guide article in SF Chronicle. Links to the blogger's page. Neato.

if i hadn't been on such a short leash, i would have spent considerably more time working through his favorites. there are so many restaurants in chinatown that i have always been skiddish about popping into them randomly. and many of the best of the obscure seem to be here one year and gone the next or experience major turnover in their kitchens.

Z&Y (655 Jackson) turned out some of the best szechuan cooking i have found in some time. a short list in chinese of appetizers and entrees is under the glass on eash table, and the servers are happy to translate it from top to bottom, even smiling when frog gets a reaction from the squeamish.

we ordered fried shrimp in egg batter, but it came with a surprise -- sweet fried morsels that after a bite or two were identifiable as corn. there's enough corn to last a long time if you are eating the kernels individually with your chopsticks, so eventually i started shoveling them from the plate as i held it up to my mouth. this was a really good dish, a good combination, not oily, but crisp and popping, the shrimp delicious. a bowl of tan tan (dan dan) noodles was also good, not as fiery as their pool of chili oil suggested and not much meat around, but mostly about the long satisfying strands of soft, chewy, slurpy noodles. even the egg rolls were worth ordering (not my idea), cut diagonally, and packed well with mostly vegetables.

there was a 15 minute or so wait on a weekday evening; an altar and a long-nippled buddah provide some diversion at the head of this small but bustling restaurant. if i lived in san francisco, i am sure i would have plenty more to say about this place and the many others like it scattered across the city. washington, within city bounds at least, pales by comparison.

i was also disappointed that i couldn't find the time for the new addition to quince and a hamburger for lunch at zuni cafe. i also would have loved to numb my mouth at mission chinese (2234 mission) inside lung shan, but they were just returning from a vacation back home on my day of departure.

[ktmoomau]

I think my eating on this vacation could only be topped by the amount of walking we did! It was an absolutely excellent vacation that we loved. We saw so much stuff in 3 1/2 days. FYI if you like boutique hotels with really nice staff and a nice spa, the Hotel Huntington was amazing and it is normally on jetsetter.com. The first day we grabbed an In and Out Burger on the way down to Monterey for a tide me over snack. We split a burger and fries and it was good, it isn't something I would go out of my way for, or anything, but it was good. I know I am a bad person for this- but I like the calorie count on their menu. We then headed into Monterey and Carmel which I posted in that thread.

Saturday morning we ate our way through the Ferry Building and Farmer's Market. We had two types of doughnuts, one cake, one yeast from different places. I think the strawberry jam filled yeast doughnut was from Les Elements Patisserie. We knew strawberries were in season as we saw them all over on our drive and this doughnut was great. We also had a lamb pie and that was really good too. The cake doughnut was from inside the Market at a little stand at the end by the empanada place, I wish I knew the name, as I loved those cake doughnuts. They had really interesting flavors. We got some great juice drinks outside. There were some really long lines for places that looked good by the time we got to the back section, we should have started there. We also had a hot dog from Prather Ranch Meat Co that was really good, plump juicy, with lots of meat flavor- not your normal hotdog, and I got oysters across the way. I picked up some macarons from in front at a bakery I can't now recall, they were also selling key lime caramels that were great. And I took a sandwich to go from Mariposa- an excellent gluten free bakery (that ships!) made with boccalone salami. I think that was the extent of our morning eating.

We then headed off to the SFMoma. After that we stopped at Press Club to rest the feet and drink a glass of wine. I really love the space in there and the wine selection. It is dark wood with lit empty muted color wine bottles and a pretty expansive space. Lots of little areas to sit and have conversations and multiple bar areas, as well. I then had my sandwich as we wandered Golden Gate Park. OMG yummy yummy gf bread that tasted like real, good bread. We ate at Incanto that evening. The meal was absolutely excellent. I had a country ham puree with spring root vegetables and then the pork shoulder. Both were just meatastic with very simple, but well composed plates. Hubby had the ragu which I thought was just wonderfully rich and homey. Chris Cosentino was there cooking and I got a signed menu and we headed back, got a drink at the Clock Bar, which was pretty good, but I like the Top of the Mark better so I can have the view with my old fashioned cocktail.

Next day was Muir Woods which was lovely, but the state park around it had a ton of closed trails, so were limited really in the scope of what we could walk. Sausalito was packed so we kept driving back in (should have gone back to Mill Valley) and had a great brunch at Nopa. I had Butter Basted Farm Eggs – Roasted Spring Onions, Romesco and Crispy Polenta, with a side of bacon, it was decadent, crunchy, but not overly filling or heavy. MMMMMM. But Hubby really beat me, he got the Chili Braised Pork –Purple Runner Beans, Chard and Buttermilk Biscuit and that was killer good, rich in flavor, but nicely balanced with the beans and greens that weren't done in a heavy way. I want to try to make this at home. That night we had reservations for Boulevard, but neither of us felt like fancy, so we went and had spring rolls at the Slanted Door, which were killer good (we should have just eaten dinner here) and then we had tacos another hot dog and fries at Gott's Roadside, which was good, it was, but not anything as good as the rolls at Slanted Door and the amazing smells emanating from that place. (I had really wanted fries though...)

The next morning we wandered Chinatown and I bought some jewelry. We had a chinese pastry and ate an early lunch before the airport at San Sun, which I highly highly recommend. They have some amazing noodle dishes, and that's what I would order here. The broth, noodles and meat choices were great. You pick the broth-meat, then you pick your noodle type and you can do a combo. They have a huge menu so there is other stuff, but most people around us were also slurping up different noodles. I wish we had a place EXACTLY like this here. If anyone knows of something even remotely similar please let me know, as I am not up on all the ethnic places around here, like some of you and if there is a place like this I need to know.

Anyway I could type sooo much more detail, but I just don't have time, I will try to do that on my blog.

Oh I also got some macarons from Miette, which is just super cute. Their chocolate lavender, rose and hazelnut were all excellent.

[weinoo]

We were recently in San Francisco for a week. A couple of standouts were Commonwealth and Sons & Daughters. Great cocktails were had at Comstock Saloon and Bar Agricole. Beretta was rockin', and both the cocktails and food were great.Plum, on Potrero Hill, was a great breakfast spot.

[clayrae]

Vacation in San Francisco for a week in September:

I have never been. I scored a reservation at the French Laundry, so our fine dining budget is already busted. (Woot!)

I want a list to tuck in my pocket of favorite not to be missed when you are in SF cheap/neighborhood/drop-in/breakfast-lunch/beer and a snack/dim sum/ethnic/street food places.

We are staying near Union Square and have the Ferry Building and Rainbow Grocery on the list already, but will be wandering widely.

Thanks for any help!

rachel

[beefnchedda]

I want a list to tuck in my pocket of favorite not to be missed when you are in SF cheap/neighborhood/drop-in/breakfast-lunch/beer and a snack/dim sum/ethnic/street food places.

I would say:

Tartine for some breakfast pastries and a coffee

Swan Oyster Depot for a beer and some seafood (not necessarily cheap)

Koi Palace for dim sum (if you have a car or a willing to Bart out to Daly City)

Lers Ros for Thai food in the Tenderloin (last time I had a spicy boar dish that was amazing)

Turtle Tower for Chicken pho in the tenderloin OR Hai Ky Mi Gia for duck noodle soup, also in the TL (http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2011/02/hai_ky_mi_gia_duck_noodle_soup_sfoodies_92.php)

Roli Rotti for chicken or porchetta sandwiches at the Ferry Building farmers market

Rosamunde for a sausage in the Mission, or Rosamunde+Toronado (beer) in Hayes Valley/Haight

For just beer, without food, definitely check out City Beer in SOMA

Quick street food, go for a crispy bacon wrapped hot dog in the Mission OR check out some of the Off the Grid food truck locations (http://offthegridsf.com/weekly-markets)

Lahore Karahi for Pakistani

Hope that helps, if I think of more, I will check back in.

Also, time for me to ask a question:

Does anyone have any good recommendations for wine tastings in Sonoma/Healdsburg? I am trying to head up there with 3 friends in a few weeks. 2 of us are above average in wine knowledge, 2 of us below average, and we are ideally trying to keep costs down. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[ktmoomau]

Vacation in San Francisco for a week in September:

I have never been. I scored a reservation at the French Laundry, so our fine dining budget is already busted. (Woot!)

I want a list to tuck in my pocket of favorite not to be missed when you are in SF cheap/neighborhood/drop-in/breakfast-lunch/beer and a snack/dim sum/ethnic/street food places.

We are staying near Union Square and have the Ferry Building and Rainbow Grocery on the list already, but will be wandering widely.

Thanks for any help!

rachel

San Sun for fantastic noodle dishes, as I mentioned in my post above. It is cheap and wonderful, has very long hours and is right in Chinatown on Washington St. Check Yelp for the address. I have also liked R&G for Chinese, it can be busy and is not a secret by any means at this point, but still good. But I think San Sun is better in terms of something I wish we had here.

[bettyjoan]

Just got back from San Francisco/wine country -

Nothing makes you forget sitting on a plane for 6 hours quite like a burrito in the Mission. My sister's fave is Taqueria Cancun - yum. Lengua and carne asada were particularly good. This is one of my must-haves on any SF trip. As is Bi-Rite Creamery, which we also enjoyed - salted caramel goodness, hooray!

We hit the Ferry Building on Saturday morning as usual, and while I truly don't get the fascination with 4505 Meats, other than their sausages (burger AND chicken sandwich were average at best), the Mexican tent (cannot remember the name right now) is stellar. Chilaquiles and masa cakes were the perfect breakfast before hitting the road and heading north. Hint: unless you want to stand in line FOREVER, bring your own coffee.

Best "new" restaurant of the trip - Mission Chinese Food. My brother-in-law is a chef in SF, so he knows the folks who opened it (they also had affiliation with Mission Street Food and Commonwealth), and our very high expectations were met. It's a small place, and there was a wait on a Monday night, but you can BYOB. We had: cold sesame noodles (the only really average dish of the night - just bland), szechuan pickles, salt cod fried rice, broccoli beef cheek, ma po tofu, king pao pastrami, bok choy with mushrooms and garlic, xi'an lamb, lamb cheek biang biang mien, and the "chinese" BBQ platter. It. Was. AMAZING. If you don't like spicy food, it may not be the place for you, but if you do? Damn. I really can't pick a favorite, because the dishes were all ridiculous, but I lean toward the lamb cheek noodles and the broccoli beef cheek. Though, I will also say, the BBQ brisket may have been the absolute best example I've eaten since I was in San Antonio in 2008. Go. Go now.