Later in May... We'll be in the Ferry Building most of one day...I'm not worried about eating there, I'm worried about OVER-eating. Then friends want to go to Chinatown next... Where to do dinner?? The following day we'll take them up to visit the Muir Woods area and Sausalito before we return them to their hotel. I'd love restaurant suggestions! Our friends are from TX, and will have come in from a Panamanian cruise. We live 150 miles inland and what I know of SF would fit in a thimble and leave room for your thumb! She says they aren't quite as adventurous as we are...and if she doesn't know what it is, isn't likely to want to experiment. Sushi is out for them, though they don't mind if we indulge. I've done a powerful lot of research on the upper end dining... I can safely say I wouldn't have the slightest problem feeding the two of us! But I need your help...What's reliably good in Chinatown? Where's fun and not to ostentatious in Sausalito? Is there a good home-style breakfast or general restaurant anywhere in the Nob Hill area? They're at the Mark Hopkins. I'm a few blocks away at a different hotel...Any opinions on the Grubsteak?
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ISO: ISO-Recommendations for dining in SF...
- Thread starter Glennis
- Start date
In Search Of:
Just returned from two weeks in SF. Will review and send info to you shortly. What day of the
week will you be at the Ferry Building? Make it a SATURDAY, I promise you won't be disappointed! Hire Heather in SF to be your tour guide, she works for food and wine, and you will have a spectacular visit. See her post above, on the weekend "six", from post 18118.
I'll send you the additional info on our other excusions into Chinatown. SF is a very nice, friendly, place. It is not a city, like New York or Chicago, it is a collection of neighborhoods, and you will feel comfortable where ever you visit. DH and I had the most remarkable visits to the different areas, and we want to go back for a longer stay.
The seafood restaurant in Sausalito, SCOMA, is supposed to be very, very good. They have a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf, but the locals I met said that Sausalito's site is better.
I know you'll get lots of recommendations between now and your visit. Wherever you go, you will LOVE this town!
Marianne in Alabama (waiting for the oil spill to destroy our shrimp and oysters).
week will you be at the Ferry Building? Make it a SATURDAY, I promise you won't be disappointed! Hire Heather in SF to be your tour guide, she works for food and wine, and you will have a spectacular visit. See her post above, on the weekend "six", from post 18118.
I'll send you the additional info on our other excusions into Chinatown. SF is a very nice, friendly, place. It is not a city, like New York or Chicago, it is a collection of neighborhoods, and you will feel comfortable where ever you visit. DH and I had the most remarkable visits to the different areas, and we want to go back for a longer stay.
The seafood restaurant in Sausalito, SCOMA, is supposed to be very, very good. They have a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf, but the locals I met said that Sausalito's site is better.
I know you'll get lots of recommendations between now and your visit. Wherever you go, you will LOVE this town!
Marianne in Alabama (waiting for the oil spill to destroy our shrimp and oysters).
music-city-missy
Well-known member
Glennis - here are my notes, long and detailed
SAN FRANCISCO TRAVEL INFORMATION
DINING
Pergamino Café
1323 Columbus Street (Near Wharf)
We went here every morning for breakfast. LOVE the staff. Fresh squeezed orange juice served in wonderful wine goblets, homemade jam on homemade bread. Wonderful omlets. Great waffles. We loved it so much we had our picture taken with Ron – our favorite waiter, our only waiter. All the other reviewers say the same thing.
Pearl City
641 Jackson Street
We went here on a Sunday for a dim sum lunch. Four adults and one child ate all we could eat for just over $20. It’s a fun, cheap place to try dim sum. We were about the only non-Asians in the restaurant. Jeff’s cousin knew the food and the place well so he knew what he was pointing at but everything was wonderful EXCEPT the dessert one – lychees rolled in coconut – it was one of the most horrible food experiences ever. It’s a place that locals go for dim sum. Dim sum is probably not something you want to do everyday but you need to try it when in SF
Mon Kiang
683 Broadway Street
It is Hakka cuisine which is one of the oldest cuisines. It is considered to be peasant food. This is a place that Jeff has been going for years. His cousins that lived in San Francisco got him started going here. Again, we were about the only non-Asians in the place and we went two or three times during our week stay. Sizzling rice soup was one of my favorite things. Jeff loves the sweet and sour. I had the salt roasted chicken – not something typically seen on Asian-American menus so give it a try.
Sabella & LaTorre
#3 Fisherman’s Wharf
We ate here two or three times. Calamari was excellent. Sand dabs are a local specialty. You have to try them and this is one of the best places. Reading other’s reviews of this, it’s been around over 20 years as have some of the staff. You can sit inside or our but I recommend sitting inside. It is a place that locals go.
Scoma’s
47 Pier
This is back behind the rest of the stuff on the Pier but anyone can tell you where to go. It’s a great place. Ask what fish is fresh off the boats and go with it. Order a Foglifter to finish up your meal. They also have a location in Sausalito. They started as fish wholesalers so that is one of the reasons it is a great place to go for seafood. Again – locals go here.
Tadish Grill
240 California
This is down in the financial/downtown area. It is the oldest restaurant in the city and we went for the history. A different atmosphere – some say they are rude but we found it pleasant. Food was good. The décor with the booths is nice.
Mee Mee Bakery
1328 Stockton Street
Grant is the tourist street in Chinatown and Stockton is the REAL Chinatown. This is where all the Asians are doing their shopping and Mee Mee’s is wonderful. If you want fortune cookies, this is the place – Jeff’s cousin has them custom made for him (the sayings) for his martial arts events and they have GIANT fortune cookies. The fortune cookie was supposedly born in San Francisco and first served at the Golden Gate Japanese Tea Garden in 1909. Mee Mee’s is the San Francisco manufacturer of fortune cookies, Shangri-La brand. They are still served at the Tea Garden and offer factory tours. But that is not what we went there for on more than one occasion. Jeff loved the almond cookies. I loved the chocolate cookies (only the second time I have been able to find them since the baker died that we bought them from as children), and the walnut slices became a new favorite. There is one draw back – she didn’t speak English so we held up fingers and she held up the calculator but that added to the fun of it.
Sam Wo
813 Washington
You have to go here at night – preferable a weekend night and not too early. It’s strictly a place to go for a fun experience unlike anything else. You go in ‘through’ the kitchen and go upstairs. The waitress heards you to a table in this thin, low ceiling place. It’s like community tables – if they are busy and you have an extra seat, then it will get filled. The food is cheap (about $4-6) and it’s actually pretty good and the servings are HUGE. They are known for their rudeness and take pride in it. It’s part of the fun. You really have to go just to see this place.
Pasta Pomodoro
This is a local chain that was started by the Owner/Chef of one of the top Italian restaurants as an alternative to his expensive place. It is economical and good. You will see them all around town, we ate at the one by Washington Square.
Pompeii’s Grotto
340 Jefferson St/Fisherman’s Wharf
Someone we knew recommended this place but we were somewhat disappointed.
Fisherman’s Grotto (I think) on the street by the Wharf not in the little ‘nook’. Disappointing and overpriced.
McCormick & Kuleto’s
Ghirardelli Square
We didn’t eat here because even thought it get’s a lot of top ratings, we were told it was expenseive, overpriced, service was really bad and the food was not that good. Seems to be somewhat of a tourist trap from what I understand.
North Beach Restaurant
1512 Stockton Street
This is supposed to be a really good Italian restaurant but it was so crowded we couldn’t get a table and were too hungry to wait
Washington Square Bar & Grille
1707 Powell & Union
Jeff’s cousin recommended this place particularly the panini sandwiches and we went but couldn’t find a table so we wound up at Pasta Pomodoro
SITESEEING
Chinatown
While Grant is the main street – it’s the tourist area. It’s still fun and you should walk it at night and go in the shops – the stuff is CHEAP. But for a real flavor of Chinatown, go to Stockton on Sunday afternoon when the working class are out shopping. You will see foods you have never seen before and things you don’t want to see – barrels of dried fish, dried chicken feet, durian melons (large prickly melons that smell so bad it’s hard to see how anyone can eat them – they are banned from the transit systems in Japan just in case they break open)
Coit Tower
We walked from Chinatown down to Washington Square and up a side street to Coit Tower. We then walked down through the Filbert or Greenwich Steps (hillside gardens) taking the time to see #1360 Montgomery Street – a wonderful Art Deco building with a figure of Atlas that was in the Humphrey Bogart /Lauren Bacall movie ‘Dark Passage’ – notice the bottom door within a door – it was for package delivery. Pretty neat old building.
Washington Square
Heart of the Italian section of town also known as North Beach.
Pier 39
It’s a tourist trap but a fun place to walk around at night after a good meal. The sea lions are all out there and I love to get them going – wake them up. They have street performers doing some stuff in and around the Pier. Get some ice cream and just take it all in.
Alcatrez
Corny as it may be, it’s worth the trip.
Muir Woods
Not to be missed.
Scenic Route
Drive the whole route and especially go to the Twin Peaks/Sutro Tower – the view is spectacular! Jeff was really glad that we did this because even though he had been to SF five times before, he said he saw things he had never seen.
Golden Gate Park
There is so much to do here. We did the Academy of Science Museum, the Arboreatum and the Japanese garden.
Presidio/Golden Gate Bridge
It’s a nice drive and then to go to Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge
Cliff House
Worth stopping at and looking out onto the rocks and seeing the seals and the sea. It’s looks run down but they say it’s still a very nice restaurant.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Fun to go see the street performers. Grab a bite to eat. Watch the seals and boats.
Wells Fargo Museum
They have a free museum. It’s not huge – just in their lobby on the first floor and a mezzanine but it’s neat. Gold nuggets, original claims, lots of pieces from the big fire, a stagecoach, telegraph.
Cable Car Museum
This is fun and free. Take the cable car up from the wharf area and get off. Then catch it back down. YOU HAVE NOT HAD FUN until you ride the cable car back down that hill that leads straight to the bay WHILE hanging off the side of the car holding on to a pole. Forget the seats, especially the ones in the very back. THIS IS A MUST!
Ghiradella Square
There is a great professional bookstore here and if you go here and fill this in it let’s you print a coupon that you take to the information booth. They give you a bag with goodies including a discount coupon book with a coupon for this bookstore. We always go to the professional bookstore here – it’s a great store and we find some neat books on construction, architecture, design and yes, cooking! http://www.ghirardellisq.com/visitor/index.shtml
Wine Country
Sonoma
Sebastiani - has a good tour through the actual wine making process.
There was a good little chain restaurant right off the square adjacent to Sonoma Plaza that was good place for lunch or breakfast.
Ravenswood – we didn’t’ go here but I have heard rave reviews about tops here.
Viansa – beautiful winery on the top of a hill – may not be exactly in Sonoma but it’s between Sonoma and Napa. They don’t sell their wines in stores and they make some great wines. LOVE the store – a foodies delight with all sorts of jams, sauces, preserves and you can get fresh meats and cheeses and have a picnic lunch.
Yountville Area
Robert Mondavi – highly commercialized and touristy – prices too high
Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery – I had seen a documentary on Francis Ford Coppola (director or The Godfather, Bram’s Stoker Dracula, and Tucker among others) purchase and restoration of the old Inglenook Winery (one of the first wineries in CA) and that is why I insisted we visit. It was the surprise of the trip that Jeff still talks about to this day. He has meticulously restored the Victorian house. The building where the shop and wine tastings are held is a museum showing the history of the winery as well as housing memorablia from his movies including the desk from The Godfather, an original Tucker car that is barely cordoned off from visitors. The wines are great and win awards every year. The grounds are fabulous. Definitely a must see.
St. Helena Area
Sutter Home - Nice shop and the rose garden was a nice break – small but really pretty. They have an inn there also.
Beringer – this is a classic and worth the time. They have the aging and storage in the ‘caves’ cut into the hills by the Chinese. Beautiful old house where the tastings are held.
TIPS & USEFUL INFORMATION
Mark Twain said it best “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” Take clothing that can be layered.
Pick up the following free guides at hotels, etc. – they have great coupons and maps:
San Francisco Visitor’s Map – Great map including area maps and overview maps that show the Scenic route.
The Original San Francisco Guide
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
Depending on when you are going, a lot of the museums, zoo, gardens, etc. are free on certain days of the month and each venue is a different day
San Francisco Convention & Visitor’s Bureau – I always try to order information packages in advance and then try to drop by their headquarters first thing. Great place to pick up brochures, maps, discount coupons. www.sfvisitor.com
www.sfgate.com another site dedicated to San Francisco
www.dine.com and www.chowhound.com – great websites to check out and see what people have to say about the restaurants
If you are a member of AAA – don’t forget to check in and see what discounts and offers they have
Off the wall fact so you won’t do what we did - green oval ‘buildings’ sitting around are actually pay toilets (to keep the homeless out) Smaller green round buildings are news stands that fold up when not in use. (Jeff took our picture in front of one of the toilets not knowing what it was – thought it was a nice backdrop – the next day his cousin filled us in) Always nice to have your picture taken in front of public toilets.
We like to stay in clean, moderate places and we tried every hotel a couple of months in advance and they were all booked so we wound up at the Travelodge on Columbus down by the Wharf – avoid at all costs! After checking into our dark, damp, depressing room and then were awaked in the middle of the night by the heard of elephants above us by squeaky wood frame construction and then again by homeless & bums outside our window at daybreak, we were ready to leave after one night and come back home. Out of despiration – having been told they were booked when we tried to make reservations, we tried the Marriott and Holiday Inn across the street. Both were nice, had rooms at that point and were competitive in price. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was nice, clean, quiet and convenient. If the places you call at first are booked and you’ve settled for your second or third choice (or worse), check back with your first choice hotels within a week or two of leaving – often they have large blocks set aside so when you are calling in advance they have nothing but then it opened up. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the Wharf.
SAN FRANCISCO TRAVEL INFORMATION
DINING
Pergamino Café
1323 Columbus Street (Near Wharf)
We went here every morning for breakfast. LOVE the staff. Fresh squeezed orange juice served in wonderful wine goblets, homemade jam on homemade bread. Wonderful omlets. Great waffles. We loved it so much we had our picture taken with Ron – our favorite waiter, our only waiter. All the other reviewers say the same thing.
Pearl City
641 Jackson Street
We went here on a Sunday for a dim sum lunch. Four adults and one child ate all we could eat for just over $20. It’s a fun, cheap place to try dim sum. We were about the only non-Asians in the restaurant. Jeff’s cousin knew the food and the place well so he knew what he was pointing at but everything was wonderful EXCEPT the dessert one – lychees rolled in coconut – it was one of the most horrible food experiences ever. It’s a place that locals go for dim sum. Dim sum is probably not something you want to do everyday but you need to try it when in SF
Mon Kiang
683 Broadway Street
It is Hakka cuisine which is one of the oldest cuisines. It is considered to be peasant food. This is a place that Jeff has been going for years. His cousins that lived in San Francisco got him started going here. Again, we were about the only non-Asians in the place and we went two or three times during our week stay. Sizzling rice soup was one of my favorite things. Jeff loves the sweet and sour. I had the salt roasted chicken – not something typically seen on Asian-American menus so give it a try.
Sabella & LaTorre
#3 Fisherman’s Wharf
We ate here two or three times. Calamari was excellent. Sand dabs are a local specialty. You have to try them and this is one of the best places. Reading other’s reviews of this, it’s been around over 20 years as have some of the staff. You can sit inside or our but I recommend sitting inside. It is a place that locals go.
Scoma’s
47 Pier
This is back behind the rest of the stuff on the Pier but anyone can tell you where to go. It’s a great place. Ask what fish is fresh off the boats and go with it. Order a Foglifter to finish up your meal. They also have a location in Sausalito. They started as fish wholesalers so that is one of the reasons it is a great place to go for seafood. Again – locals go here.
Tadish Grill
240 California
This is down in the financial/downtown area. It is the oldest restaurant in the city and we went for the history. A different atmosphere – some say they are rude but we found it pleasant. Food was good. The décor with the booths is nice.
Mee Mee Bakery
1328 Stockton Street
Grant is the tourist street in Chinatown and Stockton is the REAL Chinatown. This is where all the Asians are doing their shopping and Mee Mee’s is wonderful. If you want fortune cookies, this is the place – Jeff’s cousin has them custom made for him (the sayings) for his martial arts events and they have GIANT fortune cookies. The fortune cookie was supposedly born in San Francisco and first served at the Golden Gate Japanese Tea Garden in 1909. Mee Mee’s is the San Francisco manufacturer of fortune cookies, Shangri-La brand. They are still served at the Tea Garden and offer factory tours. But that is not what we went there for on more than one occasion. Jeff loved the almond cookies. I loved the chocolate cookies (only the second time I have been able to find them since the baker died that we bought them from as children), and the walnut slices became a new favorite. There is one draw back – she didn’t speak English so we held up fingers and she held up the calculator but that added to the fun of it.
Sam Wo
813 Washington
You have to go here at night – preferable a weekend night and not too early. It’s strictly a place to go for a fun experience unlike anything else. You go in ‘through’ the kitchen and go upstairs. The waitress heards you to a table in this thin, low ceiling place. It’s like community tables – if they are busy and you have an extra seat, then it will get filled. The food is cheap (about $4-6) and it’s actually pretty good and the servings are HUGE. They are known for their rudeness and take pride in it. It’s part of the fun. You really have to go just to see this place.
Pasta Pomodoro
This is a local chain that was started by the Owner/Chef of one of the top Italian restaurants as an alternative to his expensive place. It is economical and good. You will see them all around town, we ate at the one by Washington Square.
Pompeii’s Grotto
340 Jefferson St/Fisherman’s Wharf
Someone we knew recommended this place but we were somewhat disappointed.
Fisherman’s Grotto (I think) on the street by the Wharf not in the little ‘nook’. Disappointing and overpriced.
McCormick & Kuleto’s
Ghirardelli Square
We didn’t eat here because even thought it get’s a lot of top ratings, we were told it was expenseive, overpriced, service was really bad and the food was not that good. Seems to be somewhat of a tourist trap from what I understand.
North Beach Restaurant
1512 Stockton Street
This is supposed to be a really good Italian restaurant but it was so crowded we couldn’t get a table and were too hungry to wait
Washington Square Bar & Grille
1707 Powell & Union
Jeff’s cousin recommended this place particularly the panini sandwiches and we went but couldn’t find a table so we wound up at Pasta Pomodoro
SITESEEING
Chinatown
While Grant is the main street – it’s the tourist area. It’s still fun and you should walk it at night and go in the shops – the stuff is CHEAP. But for a real flavor of Chinatown, go to Stockton on Sunday afternoon when the working class are out shopping. You will see foods you have never seen before and things you don’t want to see – barrels of dried fish, dried chicken feet, durian melons (large prickly melons that smell so bad it’s hard to see how anyone can eat them – they are banned from the transit systems in Japan just in case they break open)
Coit Tower
We walked from Chinatown down to Washington Square and up a side street to Coit Tower. We then walked down through the Filbert or Greenwich Steps (hillside gardens) taking the time to see #1360 Montgomery Street – a wonderful Art Deco building with a figure of Atlas that was in the Humphrey Bogart /Lauren Bacall movie ‘Dark Passage’ – notice the bottom door within a door – it was for package delivery. Pretty neat old building.
Washington Square
Heart of the Italian section of town also known as North Beach.
Pier 39
It’s a tourist trap but a fun place to walk around at night after a good meal. The sea lions are all out there and I love to get them going – wake them up. They have street performers doing some stuff in and around the Pier. Get some ice cream and just take it all in.
Alcatrez
Corny as it may be, it’s worth the trip.
Muir Woods
Not to be missed.
Scenic Route
Drive the whole route and especially go to the Twin Peaks/Sutro Tower – the view is spectacular! Jeff was really glad that we did this because even though he had been to SF five times before, he said he saw things he had never seen.
Golden Gate Park
There is so much to do here. We did the Academy of Science Museum, the Arboreatum and the Japanese garden.
Presidio/Golden Gate Bridge
It’s a nice drive and then to go to Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge
Cliff House
Worth stopping at and looking out onto the rocks and seeing the seals and the sea. It’s looks run down but they say it’s still a very nice restaurant.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Fun to go see the street performers. Grab a bite to eat. Watch the seals and boats.
Wells Fargo Museum
They have a free museum. It’s not huge – just in their lobby on the first floor and a mezzanine but it’s neat. Gold nuggets, original claims, lots of pieces from the big fire, a stagecoach, telegraph.
Cable Car Museum
This is fun and free. Take the cable car up from the wharf area and get off. Then catch it back down. YOU HAVE NOT HAD FUN until you ride the cable car back down that hill that leads straight to the bay WHILE hanging off the side of the car holding on to a pole. Forget the seats, especially the ones in the very back. THIS IS A MUST!
Ghiradella Square
There is a great professional bookstore here and if you go here and fill this in it let’s you print a coupon that you take to the information booth. They give you a bag with goodies including a discount coupon book with a coupon for this bookstore. We always go to the professional bookstore here – it’s a great store and we find some neat books on construction, architecture, design and yes, cooking! http://www.ghirardellisq.com/visitor/index.shtml
Wine Country
Sonoma
Sebastiani - has a good tour through the actual wine making process.
There was a good little chain restaurant right off the square adjacent to Sonoma Plaza that was good place for lunch or breakfast.
Ravenswood – we didn’t’ go here but I have heard rave reviews about tops here.
Viansa – beautiful winery on the top of a hill – may not be exactly in Sonoma but it’s between Sonoma and Napa. They don’t sell their wines in stores and they make some great wines. LOVE the store – a foodies delight with all sorts of jams, sauces, preserves and you can get fresh meats and cheeses and have a picnic lunch.
Yountville Area
Robert Mondavi – highly commercialized and touristy – prices too high
Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery – I had seen a documentary on Francis Ford Coppola (director or The Godfather, Bram’s Stoker Dracula, and Tucker among others) purchase and restoration of the old Inglenook Winery (one of the first wineries in CA) and that is why I insisted we visit. It was the surprise of the trip that Jeff still talks about to this day. He has meticulously restored the Victorian house. The building where the shop and wine tastings are held is a museum showing the history of the winery as well as housing memorablia from his movies including the desk from The Godfather, an original Tucker car that is barely cordoned off from visitors. The wines are great and win awards every year. The grounds are fabulous. Definitely a must see.
St. Helena Area
Sutter Home - Nice shop and the rose garden was a nice break – small but really pretty. They have an inn there also.
Beringer – this is a classic and worth the time. They have the aging and storage in the ‘caves’ cut into the hills by the Chinese. Beautiful old house where the tastings are held.
TIPS & USEFUL INFORMATION
Mark Twain said it best “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” Take clothing that can be layered.
Pick up the following free guides at hotels, etc. – they have great coupons and maps:
San Francisco Visitor’s Map – Great map including area maps and overview maps that show the Scenic route.
The Original San Francisco Guide
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
Depending on when you are going, a lot of the museums, zoo, gardens, etc. are free on certain days of the month and each venue is a different day
San Francisco Convention & Visitor’s Bureau – I always try to order information packages in advance and then try to drop by their headquarters first thing. Great place to pick up brochures, maps, discount coupons. www.sfvisitor.com
www.sfgate.com another site dedicated to San Francisco
www.dine.com and www.chowhound.com – great websites to check out and see what people have to say about the restaurants
If you are a member of AAA – don’t forget to check in and see what discounts and offers they have
Off the wall fact so you won’t do what we did - green oval ‘buildings’ sitting around are actually pay toilets (to keep the homeless out) Smaller green round buildings are news stands that fold up when not in use. (Jeff took our picture in front of one of the toilets not knowing what it was – thought it was a nice backdrop – the next day his cousin filled us in) Always nice to have your picture taken in front of public toilets.
We like to stay in clean, moderate places and we tried every hotel a couple of months in advance and they were all booked so we wound up at the Travelodge on Columbus down by the Wharf – avoid at all costs! After checking into our dark, damp, depressing room and then were awaked in the middle of the night by the heard of elephants above us by squeaky wood frame construction and then again by homeless & bums outside our window at daybreak, we were ready to leave after one night and come back home. Out of despiration – having been told they were booked when we tried to make reservations, we tried the Marriott and Holiday Inn across the street. Both were nice, had rooms at that point and were competitive in price. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was nice, clean, quiet and convenient. If the places you call at first are booked and you’ve settled for your second or third choice (or worse), check back with your first choice hotels within a week or two of leaving – often they have large blocks set aside so when you are calling in advance they have nothing but then it opened up. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the Wharf.
florisandy
Well-known member
Been meaning to congratulate you and Heather for a wonderful visit. I
send my condolences to you and others living near the gulf oil spill (and the world in general!). So sad indeed.
I've been living 1.5 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico since 1/9/10 and live in a pristine area flourishing with wildlife.
I feel your pain.
send my condolences to you and others living near the gulf oil spill (and the world in general!). So sad indeed.
I've been living 1.5 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico since 1/9/10 and live in a pristine area flourishing with wildlife.
I feel your pain.
Thanks so VERY much!!
Their ship arrives early Saturday morning. They'll be staying at the Mark Hopkins; I'll drive in from lowly Oroville while they're docking. We should get there about the time they're all squared away to be back in the USA.
Our plans (extremely tentative)are to enjoy the Ferry Building and Farmers' Market at our leisure. None of us are Spring Chickens, and she has mobility issues. I'm not sure how severe...this will be our first meeting. So...I figure the Ferry Building will either carry us the majority of the day, or it will be overwhelming and we'll need some kind of sit-down activity... They've explored Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf on a previous trip, as well as most of the Golden Gate Park options. As this is also MY trip to the Ferry Building...I'm going to need to be a little stubborn about getting to visit a few vendors. I'm not driving all the way to SF and NOT 1) buy oysters if they're available (will pre-order in fact); 2) acquire veal bones for stock if that is available (again, calling in advance to pre-order)! There are some things I simply cannot acquire here no matter what I do! LOL! From the Ferry Building, I planned to drive the rest of the Embarcadero over to Stockton or Powell and start working our way into Chinatown, mostly to provide some serious sitting time and general sight seeing. If my frustration level with surface street driving gets too high, we'll cut that out! LOL! But it's a nice people-watching venue, and chance for anyone to scream out if they can't live without a tourista fix. Anyway...tour Chinatown, first by car, then park where they want to browse and either dine in Chinatown, or wherever suits them, so those recs are great!! Dim sum...I'm in heaven!! Not so sure they would be though...afraid of the unknown. But...I think we can work around some of that! The next day...Muir Woods and Sausalito...poke around a couple wineries as we run across them... Then it's a 3-4 hour drive back to the far side of the Sacramento Valley for me.
I really appreciate the dining opinions! OMGosh! There are so many places to eat! I've run a search on Chowhounds...but it's so good to be able to interact with that opinion! LOL! I'm going to send her your list...the only cuts I'll make are the ones we won't be able to get to because of time constraints. Oh how wonderful!! Thank you so much!! I'm excited...I haven't been to SF since I've gotten so into cooking, and I've been drooling over making a trip!! Thank you so much!!
Their ship arrives early Saturday morning. They'll be staying at the Mark Hopkins; I'll drive in from lowly Oroville while they're docking. We should get there about the time they're all squared away to be back in the USA.
Our plans (extremely tentative)are to enjoy the Ferry Building and Farmers' Market at our leisure. None of us are Spring Chickens, and she has mobility issues. I'm not sure how severe...this will be our first meeting. So...I figure the Ferry Building will either carry us the majority of the day, or it will be overwhelming and we'll need some kind of sit-down activity... They've explored Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf on a previous trip, as well as most of the Golden Gate Park options. As this is also MY trip to the Ferry Building...I'm going to need to be a little stubborn about getting to visit a few vendors. I'm not driving all the way to SF and NOT 1) buy oysters if they're available (will pre-order in fact); 2) acquire veal bones for stock if that is available (again, calling in advance to pre-order)! There are some things I simply cannot acquire here no matter what I do! LOL! From the Ferry Building, I planned to drive the rest of the Embarcadero over to Stockton or Powell and start working our way into Chinatown, mostly to provide some serious sitting time and general sight seeing. If my frustration level with surface street driving gets too high, we'll cut that out! LOL! But it's a nice people-watching venue, and chance for anyone to scream out if they can't live without a tourista fix. Anyway...tour Chinatown, first by car, then park where they want to browse and either dine in Chinatown, or wherever suits them, so those recs are great!! Dim sum...I'm in heaven!! Not so sure they would be though...afraid of the unknown. But...I think we can work around some of that! The next day...Muir Woods and Sausalito...poke around a couple wineries as we run across them... Then it's a 3-4 hour drive back to the far side of the Sacramento Valley for me.
I really appreciate the dining opinions! OMGosh! There are so many places to eat! I've run a search on Chowhounds...but it's so good to be able to interact with that opinion! LOL! I'm going to send her your list...the only cuts I'll make are the ones we won't be able to get to because of time constraints. Oh how wonderful!! Thank you so much!! I'm excited...I haven't been to SF since I've gotten so into cooking, and I've been drooling over making a trip!! Thank you so much!!