Visiting San Fran
I am coming to San Fran Jan. 18-21st. Any tips for good places to eat? I know San Fran is a food lovers dream!! Please help me decide where to go! Thanks!
mdixon540
Dec 27, 2007 12:35PM
20 Replies so Far
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To get a good response, you might want to read the "new to this board" sticky topic at the top of this board and then edit your post to be more specific.
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Ok, thanks! I read that but I am not sure where we are going to be. We don't have set plans so if there is a great place we will go there, even if it is out of the way!
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Still, every thread on this board contains "tips for good places to eat" or places to go. You could answer some of the questions about food preferences, price ranges, where you're from (so we won't recommend something that you can get just as good or better at home), etc.
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Ok, thanks again! I would love to visit Chinatown...is there a good spot there? Also, I don't eat meat, only seafood:) I would also like to hit some good bakeries...any recommendations? We want to have one nice dinner but otherwise maybe some mid range places. Is there a good Italian place??? Thanks everyone!
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You would be well advised to spend 20-30 minutes looking thru the many helpful comments and posts already here. You should find many topics & discussions that answer the questions your are asking.
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If you're in Chinatown, I understand from the locals there that you should either try R&G Lounge or Great Eastern. But if you want to taste a bit of San Francisco Chinatown dining history, go to Empress of China - folks from Tinseltown (from Tony Bennett to Schwarzenegger) have been going there for decades.
Since you're a first-time visitor to San Francisco, just walk down Columbus Ave, South Beach. Lots of good Italian dining spots there. Try the Stinking Rose - it may be touristy but, what the heck, you are a tourist! Have fun.
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Actually, if you want a taste of Chinatown history, go to Kan's. It has a wonderful 1930's "mysterious Orient" feel, a nice view over Grant Ave. and surprisingly decent food. As for Stinking Rose the food, well, stinks (and not in a good way). People who are looking for recs like that should look on a different board. This board is about good food, not touting places because of their touristy atmosphere.
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Maybe KLYeoh *likes* the Stinking Rose. I used to go just for the Bagna Cauda and a bottle of wine (but not eat anything else on the menu). It is true that it is not overtly chow-worthy for us in the know, but I have to confess that The Stinking Rose was one of the very first restaurants I went to when I visited San Francisco for the first time over a dozen years ago (pre internet, chat board era). Everyone has to start somewhere!
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perhaps, but there is absolutely no need for someone who takes the time to search this board to start with a restaurant with at most only one or two worthwhile dishes on the menu!
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I've never been to Empress of China, though a colleague of mine was there recently and was disappointed...I second the Kan's recommendation. Great atmosphere, especially the wonderful bar, and very good dim sum in a perfect location for those who want to walk around Chinatown.
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Besides the inevitable suggestions that Ruth and David T have so aptly offered, we don't call it "San Fran" or "Frisco." It is San Francisco...
And the Ferry Plaza is an obvious recommendation for Saturday morning. That is our Culinary Mecca to which every visitor must go and pay homage.
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Give the guy a little break. Frisco is weird and odd but San Fran isn't so bad. I don't use either but I don't see it as a huge thing, unless you move/live here.
Also, the Ferry Plaza is great, a definite and worthy stop...but not everyone considers it a culinary Mecca.
To the OP, here's a tip, try entering "Top 5" in the search.
http://www.chow.com/search?search%5Bq...
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Sorry about the "San Fran" posting...I will call it San Francisco from now on!!
Thanks for all of the tips so far.
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hehe, I call it San Fran and Frisco all time. Sometimes I do it to irritate the denizens; other times, because I'm lazy.
I just was in Chinatown on Wednesday. I walked all around the place and ate a couple of times. If you like bakeries, you have to go to the Golden Gate Bakery on Grant. Grant is the main drag of Chinatown. You have to get the egg custard tart there because it is one of the best you can get. To assure myself of this, I personally ate a bunch of egg custard tarts from various bakeries on wed and GG is still the best (and it used to be even slightly better!). Also, I personally like that sponge cake roll thingy they always have sitting on top of the cases. Most everything is good here.
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If you're a coconut fan, the coconut tarts and the coconut macaroons at Golden Gate Bakery are a must!
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You're in SoCal right...hehe...nuff said.
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>>Grant is the main drag of Chinatown<<
I would actually expand on that to say that Grant is the main visitor street of Chinatown, but Stockton is the main local (and main food) street. Stockton has great little bakeries and food stores, which are to my mind more interesting than the souvenir stores of Grant!
And in North Beach, Columbus is the main tourist street, and Grant turns into the main local street.
Susan
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Good point, Susan! Grant is fun in its own kitschy, touristy way, and there are some worthwhile food destinations there (Golden Gate, Kan's, Bow Hun -- for a seafood lover, the fish salad there is amazing!), but Stockton is where the real action is. If you're staying in Union Square, or really anywhere near Market St., I always recommend that a visitor walk into Chinatown through the gate on Grant, walk down Grant a few blocks, and then up to Stockton once you've gone past the crest of Nob Hill and it isn't quite so steep (Clay is not too bad).
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yeah that's true. As a tourist, I always liked Grant better but as a shopper, Stockton is where it's at. that said, there are a still a lot of good shops on Grant...
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Reading the link Ruth suggested in her first post ...well,it mentions using the term "San Fran"
Anyway, hope you will report back on your trip.
Some San Francisco institutions
- Sears Fine Food for breakfast
- The Cliff House for the views
I understand Julius Castle has reopened and the view is spectacular. I'm actually seriously considering them for a Sunday brunch ... no really.
As a better help you might pick up a copy of Patrica Unterman's San Francisco Food Lover's Guide which would give you a good feeling for the restaurants in the city and might be able to narrow your query. It is the most helpful thing I can suggest given the parameters.
Don't miss the sidewalk crab stands at Fisherman's Wharf
Seriously you aren't getting wonderful suggestions in this thread. With all due respect, the suggestion for Stinking Rose is on par with the tourist traps I mentioned in this post. Most San Franciscans wouldn't be caught dead there. Please re-read the link. Even if you don't know where you will be, you do know your food likes, budget etc
You might also scroll through the Places database
http://www.chow.com/places/regions/1
You might also check out the San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant reviews
http://www.sfgate.com/food/
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