PrintFood recommendations in San Francisco... Help!
I'm off to SF this weekend and need restaurant suggestions. My only definite right now is El Farolitos, an old favorite for quesadillas.
I'm looking for a nice dinner one night... not insanely expensive but willing to spend a bit more (Slanted Door is booked, bummer). Also looking for Dim Sum in Chinatown. Any good Japantown rec's? Best Pho? Best restaurant serving locally-sourced foods?
Many thanks in advance.
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24 Comments:
There is a restaurant called Cortez that has had some good reviews, but I have not been there myself.
Kerosena at 12:59PM on 01/17/08
For Dim Sum - I would suggest Yank Sing or Ton Kiang
Alfred's does a great Rib-Eye and The House of Prime Rib is a family favorite. They do a beautiful salad, included, and the beef is the best!
There are a couple of really nice restaurants in the San Francisco Center
if you're shopping
suegsf at 1:12PM on 01/17/08
okay, this is not on the list of types of places that you mentioned, but it is certainly one that cannot be missed, if you have the chance. It's called the Stinking Rose. It's all garlic. Their motto is something like "we add food to garlic." Anyway, everything in it has garlic, even the desserts. The atmosphere is fantastic and the prices are reasonable for the quality of food, as well as the atmosphere and the kitsch of the place. I loved it! And the best part is that everyone ends up with garlic breath!
Also, for anyone travelling to another place, looking for restuarants, try going to www.yelp.com and search for the city and type of place that you like. I find that they are really helpful, because they give reviews from people, as well as links to the menus and websites and the contaact information for each place.
Traveller at 1:30PM on 01/17/08
some of my favorite san francisco spots are the front porch, for san francisco's take on southern food, blue plate, range, and dosa. All yummy nice places in the mission.
cararn at 1:59PM on 01/17/08
There are good places for crepes. There's the Crepe Vine in the Sunset District at 624 Irving St., between 7th and 8th avenues.
Every other place I've gone to that I liked, I forgot what it was called! It's unfortunate because there's a good Cuban restaurant -- somewhere! The Little Italy area has plenty of Italian restaurants (The Stinking Rose -- I've never been there but heard it was good), cafes and places for gelato.
misseditor at 2:21PM on 01/17/08
It's not dim sum, but it's a very good noodle and jook shop with fantastic dinner food. You can't go wrong ordering the seafood, either, should you want it. It does not look fancy (that's an understatement) but Hing Lung on Broadway is one of my family's favorites. Service is gruff, but not too bad. Some good things - the pork belly with mustard greens, Shanghai style pork, tofu with mushrooms and definitely the "gnau lei sou" which is sold in the front if you can get it. (That goes fast.) It's this fried bread that is sweet and addictive.
toastykitten at 2:26PM on 01/17/08
For the real SF experience, stay out of North Beach...look up these restaurants and pick one, I promise you won't be disappointed, these are true SF restaurants:
Blue Plate (Mission/Bernal)
Front Porch (same)
Universal Cafe (Mission/Potrero)
Nopa (Western Addition)
Poleng (Western Addition)
enjoy!!
ArielleSegal at 2:46PM on 01/17/08
I've never been but hear it's good: Fog City Diner.
Have been and it IS good: Zuni Cafe. Judy Roger's roast chicken & bread salad is practically an internet legend -- pricey but very good.
For local foods, the original: Chez Panisse. It's in Berkeley but it's a nice bridge :-)
For vegetarian: Greens.
and try the blogs Becks & Posh and Chow for more pointers.
kjgibson at 3:32PM on 01/17/08
And for breakfast?
lemons at 3:57PM on 01/17/08
I'm going to disagree with a few of the above recommendations: The Stinking Rose and Crepe Vine. Crepe Vine is, indeed, crepes, but there is nothing there that you can't find in pretty much any large city in the States these days. The Stinking Rose is, basically, a tourist destination that is fueled primarily by the use of garlic in everything. Not a _bad_ place, but not nearly as interesting as dozens of restaurants in SF.
For a great dinner out in the Slanted Door price range, check out Range (horrible parking, great restaurant), Zuni Cafe (not all that spendy by SF counting), Delfina, A16, and Canteen. All of the above restaurants source locally, too.
Other favorites of mine include Lime Tree (Southeast Asian, tiny, small menu, cheap and very good), Pomelo (what I think of as very San Francisco insofar as I haven't seen many places like it anywhere else), Tartine (the bakery...zowie) and Bi-Rite ice cream (worth the lines and the trip). Have a great visit!
ccbweb at 4:22PM on 01/17/08
If you have time, there's a really great local micro-chain called Nation's Giant Hamburgers -- it's mostly East Bay, but there's one in Oakland, just across the Bay Bridge. Normally about a 20-25 minute drive, but up to 45 in bridge traffic (not there's EVER any of THAT!).
The burgers really are giant, and they're pretty tasty (messy), but what REALLY stands out is their pie! They have awesome pie.
One thing. They tend to put LOTS of "dressing" on the burgers, which to me tastes pretty much like Miracle Whip (not my thing). So, if you don't like that, be sure to either order it light on the dressing, or sub mayo for dressing, or whatever.
LoCo at 4:29PM on 01/17/08
BTW, you'll get my vote for Chez Panisse, Range and Tartine...
Two I haven't yet tried myself, but about which I've heard good things are Boulevard and Myth.
LoCo at 5:11PM on 01/17/08
Tadich Grill is excellent. Try their Cioppino or Louie Salad..or pan-fried sand-dabs are delicious. If you want to try a vegetarian meal, go to Millenium; unbelievable vegetarian dishes, and an outstanding wine list. If you want to try several different things, head to The Ferry Building. There's a cheese shop, Hog Island Oyster Co., a caviar bar...amongst other shops.
Tasty Morsel at 5:42PM on 01/17/08
I really like milennium. We also had nice meals at Sens and Betelnut.
jennywenny at 6:01PM on 01/17/08
Can't tell from your post if you have been to the Ferry Building on a previous visit. If not, I second the idea of heading there, particularly on Saturday while the morning market is happening. Hog Island Co would be a great stop for a quick lunch, while looking out at the bay. If it's sunny, I also like the Marketbar patio on the opposite side of the building for the combination of food and people-watching (would not necessarily go strictly for the food).
I also second the idea of Chez Panisse if you haven't been before, but would be surprised if the restaurant had any openings at this point. On the other hand, the cafe upstairs might if you are willing to early or late, and I actually like it better.
For dim sum or pho recs, I'd suggest going to chowhound.com to the SF board, and searching recent reports for places that sound appealing to your taste/ style preferences.
Hope this helps and that you have a great and tasty trip!
souvenir at 8:54PM on 01/17/08
You will have fabulous meals in SF. My favorites from when I was there:
FERRY BUILDING, Farmer's Market
Swan Oyster Depot, oysters fresh fresh fresh
Burma Superstar, Burmese/Asian
Pizza Delfina (Mission)
Chez Panisse was amazing.
and I agree with everything ccbweb said.
I didn't have the greatest dim sum experience in Chinatown itself. THe two mentioned above are supposed to be great, though. Have a wonderful trip!
Littlebluesiren at 11:46PM on 01/17/08
Oh, just as another note, I am starting to prefer the dim sum outside of SF - especially Zen Peninsula in Millbrae and Joy Luck in San Mateo. Cleaner, yummier, slightly cheaper, and great service! (Joy Luck also does wonderful seafood and I can't say enough good things about their service.) I do second the Ton Kiang recommendation, but have never been to Yank Sing. East Ocean in Emeryville is good and has a nice view of the ocean, but I haven't been there in years.
toastykitten at 2:31PM on 01/18/08
I agree with the recommendations for Pomelo and Tartine. Both are excellent.
I know German food wasn't on your list, but I love Suppenkuche on Hayes (I think 601 Hayes). Authentic German food, great sauerkraut.
Another nice place is Absinthe near the Opera House. The menu changes weekly and they always have great food. I've never been disappointed.
RachelQ at 3:27PM on 01/18/08
One more vote for the Ferry Building. I had a fantastic lunch there (and also a really fun time trying to decide which place to have lunch...)
I also enjoyed Bar Crudo near Union Square for some great seafood.
QueenHerm at 11:48PM on 01/18/08
when i lived in berkeley, i used to adore lalime's on gilman street in albany.
cybercita at 12:44AM on 01/19/08
I loved BOUDIN sandwiches, right on Fisherman's Wharf.
The smell of the bread being baked at night is intoxicating!!!!!! And the sourdough bread was amazing. The sandwiches were huge. I ate only half and took the other half and had it for breakfast the next day... mmmmmm.
I'm getting on a plane right NOW!!!!
MadelynRodriguez at 3:18PM on 01/21/08
San Francisco is one of my favorite eating cities. Here are my personal top choices:
Isa in the marina. small plates, lots of truffles, outstanding flavor!
Yuzu in the Marina. Tasty, inventive and fresh tasting sushi.
cheap eats:
Pacific catch ( in the marina as well) try the poke bowl. It's so big you can split it, also the sweet potato fries with dips.
Taiwan restaurant on Clement st. especially the dry-braised green beans and bok choy dumplings. I was so enamored of them I spent a lot of time trying to duplicate them at home.
Sample some tea at the tea shop on 7th and Clement. It's a great experience and you'll find teas you never imagined to so good. Then check out the used books at green apple books across the street on clement.
Cafe Claude off Sutter used to be good for bistro style French food if you're downtown.
For unusual Italian bakery goods try Emporio Rulli Gran Caffe on Chestnut in Cow Hollow
Best breakfast in SF is at Mama's on Washington Square in North beach.
The location of all these places can be found on google by entering the name + SF.
happy eating
rj100 at 3:51PM on 01/21/08
In my humble opinion, Slanted Door is over priced and over rated. The Ferry Building is worth visiting and has some other restaurants, fine cheeses, chocolates ( Michael Rechiutti)sp??, etc. I had a wonderful meal at QUINCE in San Francisco and highly recommend. The chef formerly worked with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse.
Catharine56 at 2:21PM on 01/24/08
I'm really hoping the weather improves for your visit - because it is cold and rainy and windy outside!
For Dim Sum, I recommend venturing a bit out of Chinatown and trying Lychee Garden in North Beach, or heading over to the Richmond and trying Yet Wah and Ton Kiang.
If it isn't raining too hard on Saturday, go to the Ferry Building for the farmer's market experience. There are wonderful things to sample! For breakfast, head out to the part of the market that is located behind the Ferry Building and walk to the end of the stalls on the far side of the market, toward the water. Go to Primavera for awesome locally-sourced, mostly organic Mexican fare. They have tamales with very interesting, seasonal fillings, freshly griddled tortillas, perfectly scrambled eggs with green chiles, chilaquiles (sometimes), fresh seafood tacos or tostadas, agua frescas - the menu changes each Saturday. I cannot recommend it enough.
And, I also recommend that you wait in the very long line for a brewed-one-cup-at-a-time cup of blue bottle coffee. It's all the rage in SF - very tasty, and fun to try. Their mobile kiosks are located in two places - to the side of the Ferry Building (you can't miss it - you'll see the line), but there's also one in front of the building (try that one! shhh...don't tell!).
Inside the building, there's a lovely bakery called Miette. If you're into cupcakes, I'd stop by and sample one - I think they're the best in the city (followed closely by Kara's Cupcakes in the Marina and also in Ghirardelli Square).
For dinner, here are a few fun places, where the food is very good and the service is friendly (but they won't break the bank): Nopa, Coco500, Maverick
And lastly, January is SF's annual 'Dine About Town' month, where participating restaurants offer special 3 course prix-fixe dinner menus for $31.95. You can find more info here:
Open Table
Sorry - this comment grew quite lengthy! Have a great trip.
Ande at 4:48PM on 01/24/08