San Francisco Dining

[Barnum]

Going to San Fran in a couple weeks, looks like a Thur-Mon long weekend.  I'm staying close to the airport but also close to a BART line, so I suspect I'll sneak into the city for at least a day or so of wandering around on my own (translation:  eating too much and ending up miserable). 

Some good suggestions from Lisa and Betty, a couple of which I've done at least once.

Any other "can't miss" places?  I think it's been 6 years since I spent any time in the city...

[KoPP]

Going to San Fran in a couple weeks, looks like a Thur-Mon long weekend.  I'm staying close to the airport but also close to a BART line, so I suspect I'll sneak into the city for at least a day or so of wandering around on my own (translation:  eating too much and ending up miserable). 

Some good suggestions from Lisa and Betty, a couple of which I've done at least once.

Any other "can't miss" places?  I think it's been 6 years since I spent any time in the city...

There are a number of great restaurants, but I'd say that a 'can't miss' spot is Toronado.

http://www.toronado.com/

Go next door for a sausage bun at Roseamunde (bring it over to the bar and grab a stool - the sausages are pretty good), and check out the scene. A Belgium biker bar.

Dim sum at Ton Kiang, oysters at Hog Island in the Embarcadero (give yourself time for the building), and other spots are posted somewheres. Mike was out there a while back, but the posts are sadly gone.

[bettylouski]

Going to San Fran in a couple weeks, looks like a Thur-Mon long weekend.  I'm staying close to the airport but also close to a BART line, so I suspect I'll sneak into the city for at least a day or so of wandering around on my own (translation:  eating too much and ending up miserable). 

Some good suggestions from Lisa and Betty, a couple of which I've done at least once.

Any other "can't miss" places?  I think it's been 6 years since I spent any time in the city...

There are a number of great restaurants, but I'd say that a 'can't miss' spot is Toronado.

http://www.toronado.com/

Go next door for a sausage bun at Roseamunde (bring it over to the bar and grab a stool - the sausages are pretty good), and check out the scene. A Belgium biker bar.

Dim sum at Ton Kiang, oysters at Hog Island in the Embarcadero (give yourself time for the building), and other spots are posted somewheres. Mike was out there a while back, but the posts are sadly gone.

+1 on all 3 of these.

[mikeamor]

If you do find yourself in China Town, step into one of the little bakeries and get a big fluffy, fresh char siu bau!
Letitia's on 7th street in the SOMA area (if they are still there) has these amazing crab nachos that I have never had anywhere else.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

List #1 (some of this is from Blissful Glutton)

GG>- I have several lists, they may be out of date but you can poke at these URL's and find out which ones still work, or copy them to your smart phone..  Here is list one...

Delfina: italian in the mission--always rated the best and worth it. They have valet. Incredible ingredients..simple prep. Worth a visit. Don't be afraid of the hood. It is not that bad. You need a reservation because it is one of SF's most popular.<<http://delfinasf.com/>>

Koi Palace (in daly city near the airport) is the best in SF. If you don't have a car, Ton Kiang is a good option although Koi is 100% better. It gets packed so call ahead and they will give you a number. <<http://www.koipalace.com/>>


GG>- I could live at the Swan Oyster Depot, go in often and get to know the guys and their kids, once they know you, there are 14 or more oysters in each dozen they serve, the crab salad is truly amazing. Go early, big line at noon.

Swan Oyster Depot on Polk and California: Salty men selling great seafood. A true SF expereince. There is always a line and hours are limited. Lunch only. Great crab salad, oysters, chowder. I am getting hungry. cash only. This is the only oyster bar worth going to. trust me.

Slanted Door: Good Vietnamese...fabulous view. You need a reservation. There is a reason Charles Phan won the James Beard for best chef in N. california <www.slanteddoor.com> <<http://www.slanteddoor.com>>

GG>- I think the market is also open on Thursdays now
Ferry Building: A gourmet shopper's paradise. Every kind of store you could ever want. Try to go on saturday when the farmer's market is open. You will be amazed. <<http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/>>

Thanh Long: Out in the avenues...fabulous Vietnamese style crab and buttery noodles. Make a reservation here too. Totally worth the trip <www.anfamily.com> <<http://www.anfamily.com>>

Gary Danko: worth a trip. amazing. high-end and consistent <www.garydanko.com> <<http://www.garydanko.com>>

Masa's is very good too but a bit stuffy. The thing I always loved about SF was you caould eat at most nice places without having to dress up. This is one of the exceptions.

Michael Mina: extravagant and delicious. <www.michaelmina.net> <<http://www.michaelmina.net>>

Chez Panisse in Berkeley of course...www.chezpanisse.com

The cheeseboard pizza in the berkeley gourmet ghetto is amazing. Their store has wonderful cheeses and baked goods.

GG>- It has never been open when I was there, but it is close to Toronado Biker bar.
Indian Oven in the Haight for some great Indian in a nice setting. Reservation needed because it is always packed <www.indianovensf.com> <<http://www.indianovensf.com>>

Thep Phenom in the Haight (right next to Indian Oven) for great thai. Reservation needed because it is always packed <www.thepphanom.com> <<http://www.thepphanom.com>>

GG>- We could never get over there and find a place to park and it is a bit off the path, but I hear it is amazing.
tartine Bakery in the mission next to delfina. The best country loaf and other goodies you will ever have. They only make the bread at certain times and it sells out fast. Please bring me a loaf if you go It is soooo good...esp right out of the oven. <<http://www.tartinebakery.com/>>

GG>- This is a wonderful place, Yahoo used my pictures taken there in their restaurant guide.
Kokkari Estiatorio for great up-scale greek in a fabulous setting <www.kokkari.com> <<http://www.kokkari.com>>

Stop by Maya during lunch and get some tacos. They are an upscale mex joint but do some great lunch stuff with their maya to go <www.mayasf.com> <<http://www.mayasf.com>>

Chez Papa has some great french provencal food. They have an amazing lamb daube with baby veggies that I was addicted to <www.chezpapasf.com> <<http://www.chezpapasf.com>>

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[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

GG>-  Don't get a car, parking there is as bad as Boston and as expensive.

Get a several day pass that allows you step on and off of any of the public transportation, that with a map from the hotel will put you right in the swing of things, you usually only have to walk a block or two in any direction to switch from Cable Car, to BART, to caltrain. 


Here's a link to BART info: http://bit.ly/1aflyS

Here's a link to MUNI info: http://bit.ly/16VB0M

Here's a link to caltrain info:http://www.caltrain.com/site3.aspx


Suppenkuche - German (great beer)   http://www.suppenkuche.com/

I'll add more if I find more..   

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[KoPP]

I like Delfina, but honestly I had a better meal at their Mission pizzareia.

Suppenkuche is fun, if you're into German food - don't go there just for the beer.

Slanted Door is still great (from friends in SF).

I think that you can't go wrong in what we used to call New Chinatown (California between Argulello and 9th). I lived at 7th and Lake, and there was always new Vietnamese, Thai, and other places popping up in and around that strip.

There are so many options (high, low, and mid-priced), that it''s really hard to make recommendations unless you have specific desires as far as food types, price, location. But don't let location stop you if you have some time to use the bus lines. Parking is a whole 'nother matter, esp. if you're not familiar with the city.

[Barnum]

Koi Palace (in daly city near the airport) is the best in SF. If you don't have a car, Ton Kiang is a good option although Koi is 100% better. It gets packed so call ahead and they will give you a number. <<http://www.koipalace.com/>>

taking some time to weed through this and add a bunch of these to my urbanspoon wishlist (the best way I know for longterm organization of places around the country I want to eat).

With us staying out by the airport, this looks to be a very close cab ride if all else fails.

thanks for all the input from everyone!

[Beerbitch]

My #1 pick outside of the Chez Panisse Cafe -- Coi (they have a "casual side" if you don't want to do the big deal.

Zuni Cafe -- classic and delicious

Heaven's Dog -- New place from Slanted Door in the Mission.  Open late.

Magnolia Pub in H.A. -- great beer, great food.  where the chef's go to after work.

If the weather is nice -- Food and drink at the Ferry Building, then take a ferry (surprisingly decent wine on board) to Oakland to Yoshi's for great music.

Just have fun.  Enjoy the hopefully cooler weather.  (jealous!)

[MNewman]

http://theamericansf.com/

Killer grilled cheese sandwiches...some critics say the best in U.S.  I had a mousetrap with bacon and homemade blackberry soda.  Simple, cheap and great.

Also...Chateau Montelena has a tasting room at the St. Francis off Union Square.  Cool place to spend an hour. $15 for 4 wines.

On high end...Benu is apparently a hot restaurant and Fleur de Lys was just a solid old school, somewhat garrish French restaurant.  Huber Keller was very entertaining though.  I liked it just as well as Gary Danko as respects quality...and it is quieter.

[jimmy]

Flour + Water. The basis for No. 246, if you ask me (and others).

[Larkemon]

Just got back from a conference in downtown San Francisco (Moscone Center).  I really wish I had more time to venture out, but I was stuck in meetings or conference sessions pretty much all day.  But if you ever find yourself at a conference there, I can give a brief report about the things I tried near the Moscone Center. 

First observation is their food courts are way better than anything we have in Atlanta   The two readily accessible places were the Westfiled Shopping Center and Metreon. Both had Thai food (Coriander Gourmet Thai), Korean BBQ (Sorabol Korean BBQ and Asian Noodles), Pizza, nice burger joint, etc and a really really good (IMO) tri-tip steak place (Buckhorn Grill).  The Thai and Korean places were set up like the typical Panda Express/mall Chinese food court, only their respective cuisines.  Having sampled both, I would not say they tasted better than a full service Korean BBQ, but for being in a food court they were far better than some orange chicken glop I was expecting.  The tri-tip sandwich I got at Buckhorn Grill was so good... tender, smokey with great seasoning blend.  The only tri-tip I've ever had was the pre-marinaded stuff from Trader Joe's and it was rather disappointing.  I only tried the sandwich because the tooth pick sample I got was like the perfect little cube of prime rib.  Service was fast and relatively speaking not too expensive at all the options.

Directly across the street from one of the Moscone center buildings was a place called Fresh Roll.  Best description for it would be a Vietnamese Chipotle.  You pick your starch (rice, bun noodles, 3 sheets of rice paper or baguette), pick your protein (pork, shrimp, chicken, tofu) and then pick your veggies and sauce.  I ended up with a Banh Mi with Pork.  While a bit on the expensive side ($6.95 from what I recall), it was an above average to very good banh mi.  Bread was run though a toaster before assembling, pork had a good lemongrass, sweet charred flavor and the veggies were all fresh and crisp.  They did not skimp at all on the pork.  I wouldn't hesitate to go there again.

I was able to walk down to Chinatown from the convention center.  Very safe walk (SF is such a walking city) and only took maybe 10 minutes.  It was late in the evening and most of the places were pretty dead.  I came across a small Ramen shop called Ramen Underground (http://ramenunderground.org).  It was maybe 8 feet from one wall to the other.  I ordered a bowl of Spicy Soy Ramen with Pork Belly.  Perhaps it's my Vietnamese background, but while the soup was very good and the noodles were a good al dente, I thought a vietnamese herb plate would have put it over the top.  For my taste buds, I wanted a little bit of acidity from lime and "herbiness" from some cilantro and basil.  Still, a very good bowl of soup.

I did find a Vietnamese restaurant nearby called Tin (http://www.tinsf.com).  I ordered a plate of Cha Gio and a bowl of Pho.  I like it when you order Cha Gio at a Vietnamese restaurant and they bring it out like a deconstructed bowl of Bun.  They gave some bun vermicelli noodles, a couple lettuce leaves, several types of herbs and nuoc cham sauce.  The cha gio were wrapped in traditional rice paper instead of the flaky stuff you more commonly see at restaurants.  I could have made a meal out of just that appetizer and maybe I should have.  The pho was just okay.  It kinda tasted just like plain beef broth.  I really wish I could have made it over to Little Saigon in the Tenderloin district, but it was just a bit too far for me to walk and I was told it's not the safest by foot.  I did end up at one more Vietnamese restaurant near my hotel in South San Francisco the last day.  Pho was a bit better, but I'd still prefer Pho Dai Loi, Pho Bac or HK Supermarket Food court Pho any day.  I'm guessing I would have better luck in Littel Saigon and definitely San Jose where I'm told the real Vietnamese action is

The last noteworthy place I ate at was Boudin.  As much as I tried to allocate time to get to Fisherman's Wharf, it just never happened.  My sister who used lived there told me I should really get the sourdough bowl and clam chowder.  I did manage to find a Boudin Cafe at Union Square (5-10 min walk from convention center).  Sure enough the clam chowder was creamy, thick, full of clams and potatoes and very good.  The sourdough bread was hard as heck but I guess it has to be to maintain the integrity of the soup bowl.

All in all, it was a very good convention for me and there definitely is not a lack of good, moderately priced food options.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Here is a take on 9 overated restaurants in the bay area, it is a good read, which ones do you agree with?

http://sf.eater.com/archives/2012/10/12/the_bay_areas_x_most_overrated_restaurants.php

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[GabrielsDad]

Eat here (but get someone else to pay). Mind-blowingly awesome.

http://www.saisonsf.com/splash.html

[shoeshine boy]

any updates for this thread? I just found out that I'm headed to Oakland next month and I plan to eat well! Incanto just happens to be having their annual nose to tail dinner the night we arrive so I'm working on getting into that but any other suggestions (of any kind of food) is welcome.