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Momofuku- either of them, or Ko if you can get a reservation.

New Green Bo for Dim Sum (have to get the soup dumplings).

Koreatown for good Korean.

Best Pho is Pho Bang or Pho Grand but it's not up there with Pho you find in Falls Church, Bay Area, or what I hear is offered in Orange County and Houston.

Don't miss El Farolito's at 24th and Mission- super quesadilla suiza!

Pho. The broth intimidates me. After watching it being cooked in Vietnam, I despair that I could successfully pull it off.

Self taught with lots of tips along the way from mom, friends, websites, books, and tv shows

Thanks for your continued great reporting from Vietnam.

I used to live in Saigon and now live vicariously through your blog (and Serious Eats posts).

Speaking of veggie Viet food, have you ever tried the Pho Chay on Truong Quyen? I blogged about it back when I was living in Saigon:
http://nostarwhere.blogspot.com/2005/12/pho-chay.html

I was always skeptical of Pho Chay but the bowls served in the mornings here are truly fantastic. Give it a try.

Go to Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott St. for dumplings (especially the sesame rice ball in wine-flavor soup dessert).

Other than that, try to make it to a wood- or coal-burning pizzeria (Lombardi's, Patsy's, John's, Totono's), Corner Bistro or Florent for a burger (rare, obvs), anything at Shopsin's, and a good bagel (Murray's!). If you make it to Coney Island (try, since it won't be there much longer), have a hot dog at Nathan's and walk a few blocks up to Totono's.

The important thing to remember is that even though New York has a million famous restaurants, the best ones are the small neighborhood places that really give you a feeling for the backbone of the community.

Momofuku = 3 restaurants. The ramen at Noodle Bar is OK but get the other dishes instead. Order of cost/formality: Ko > Ssam Bar > Noodle Bar. Ssam Bar is my favorite. Go for dinner, not lunch if you do Ssam Bar.

New Green Bo is NOT a dim sum place. Go to Flushing, Queens instead. Try Perfect Team Corporation.

For French, I always turn to Balthazar. Benoit might be worth exploring, it's new, I hear they have great charcuterie going on there.

For sushi, it depends on your budget: Kanoyama ($$), Ushiwakamaru ($$), Sushi Yasuda ($$$), 15 East ($$$)?

Great seafood is available at many restaurants around town, it depends what you like: Esca (Italian seafood), Aquagrill (great oysters), Pearl's Oyster Bar (lobster roll), Mermaid Inn, Blue Ribbon Brasserie (seafood tower)...

Italian, Babbo, Babbo, Babbo. I also like A Voce.

Don't forget bagels and lox (Russ & Daughters or Barney Greengrass). Pastrami (fatty on rye) at Katz's Deli. Pizza at Di Fara (go for lunch during a weekday and beat the crowds). Or Una Pizza Napoletana. Or Patsy's in East Harlem. Artichoke is alright, if you can stand the lines. There's been other SE Talk threads on pizza.

I was just in San Francisco in January. My favorite places were:

Slanted Door - make a reservation far in advance, but the food is amaaazing!

Magnolia - brewpub in the Haight, right near Haight Ashbury - great homebrew, awesome burgers, cool atmosphere

Victorian Punch House - also right near Haight Ashbury, no food, but worth the stop (especially during happy hour!)

Fisherman's Wharf - right next to Boudin are a bunch of stalls that sell Clam Chowder in a bread bowl.

Try any of the OSHA Noodles locations - they vary from hole in the wall (near Union Square) to almost fancy. Actually, come to think of it, most of the noodle places we went to were cheap and fantastic.

Also, try to stop by the Gold Dust Lounge near Union Square during happy hour - $2.50 margaritas and some serious dive bar atmosphere. It's awesome.

The Helmand is an Afghan restaurant that has some of the best food you will ever eat. It's always on my list of stops every trip to San Francisco.

I'm so sorry. I completely misunderstood your time frame. I thought you were arriving in three days, now I see you're going to be here a total of three days.

Totally different ballgame. It would be helpful to know your food preferences, where you've eaten before, the # of people in your party, what your budget is etc. Not knowing those details makes a good recommendation more difficult but here we go:

If you're a frequent traveler to the S.F. Bay Area, you've probably already eaten at Aqua, Gary Danko, Boulevard, Zuni, etc.

Coi opened up not quite two years ago here & it was slow going for Daniel Patterson's restaurant at first. His Elisabeth Daniel restaurant (venture with his now ex-wife) was well-reviewed & wonderful but failed. It used to be easy to get a res. at Coi or eat at the bar but the word finally got out & now it's a tough place to get into but do try. Their winelist is strong & their sommelier used to be at George Morrone's Tartare before it closed . He is a riot but knows his tokajis from his tokays. You've probably already heard about Frank Bruni's experience in his recent review of the 10 best restaurants outside of NY. It's really a unique experience: the aromatherapy of haute cuisine. If you are food obsessed & can get past the slightly precious service, you've got to go, if you can get in. The neighborhood is in our pathetic excuse for a redlight district but don't let that deter you. Reserve now.

Michael Mina, if you haven't already been there, lives up to the hype; but don't have the tasting menu, unlike French Laundry where the tasting menu is the best experience, the a la carte dishes at Michael Mina definitely shine more & because of their intricate, mutli-tiered preparation. Each dish (except the lobster pot pie) has one protein prepared three or more ways, it becomes a de facto tasting menu. The wine list is stellar with all the usual suspects and the head sommelier & wine director, Raj, is considered by most in his field, the man with the greatest palate in the country. Gorgeous room, great service in the Westin St. Francis so you can easily get a cab afterward.

There have been a lot of new openings here. The best of the bunch are these:

Orson, Elizabeth Falkner owner & pastry chef extraordinaire of Citizen Cake new baby, has generated a lot of buzz & controversy here. The food is amazing but has embraced both the sweet & the savory (think chocolate covered foie gras truffle as a mignardise) and "molecular gastronomy" completely & unapologetically. Believe or not, people are ridiculously reactionary when it comes to their dining experiences here (which is why it too Coi so long to get popular). But go, it's in SOMA which now houses the luxury hotels like St. Regis & The Four Seasons as well as the newly-renovated Jewish Museum, SF MOMA, Yerba Buena Center, etc. Very hot neighborhood, though still full of homeless people on 5th & 6th St.
(Orson is on 4th). It's new, it's hip, the food is haute, the atmosphere is casual: crazy-good as a friend puts it.

Perbacco, Acquerello, Quince & Incanto are the four best Regional Italian in the city. All very different in style, in different neighborhoods. Can't go wrong with any of them. All four are $$$ but worth it.
SPQR, a very casual tiny Roman-style trattoria that accepts no reservations, is has good solid food, offering plenty of cicchetti & some large plates. I like it much better than A-16 which is terribly over-rated even though they share the same ownership, executive chef and wine director. The focus on the food is stronger here; probably because it's their latest greatest venture. It happens.

If you're renting a car & willing to drive to the wine country, go to Cyrus in Healdsburg (Sonoma not Napa). You can & should stay at the hotel that houses it overnight or the Healdsburg Inn.
It is worth the trip. The food is ambrosial. This time the Michelin people got it right (Two Stars). How the vibe can be so relaxed with servers that serve you synchronously like so many SF Ballet dancers is beyond me but they do. Get the tasting menu here, you won't be sorry. Now getting a reservation is really hard unless you go at 5 or 9:30, but who knows you may get lucky.

French Laundry is beyond words but unless you can start dialing their number, two months before the day you want; forget it. Open table takes reservations for them still but I have yet to get in that way. the only times I've gotten in is when a friend of the hubby who is a wine distributor has invited us there (once a year). He goes once a month. What a job! Bouchon is not worth the overnight trip. Ubuntu might be but I haven't eaten there yet.

Any way, have fun wherever you go.