San Francisco
Where to go— mostly where to eat— from perspective
of local residents, circa 2009-2015
Tips For Travelers
The poor man’s scenic tour
via #30 bus (not to be confused
with the very different route of
30x– note the ‘x’ for
EXPRESS)
The 30 goes between the baseball stadium (AT&T Park), downtown near major
museums, through Chinatown, North Beach (historic Italian neighborhood),
near waterfont tourist attractions, Aquatic area, is convenient for Fort Mason, continues through main shopping area of Chestnut Street in the Marina District, and loops around for convenient destination of beach with excellent view and walking distance to Golden Gate Bridge.
Fishermans’ Wharf –
If going to the Waterfront (northeast corner of city), maybe skip the Pier
39 tourist-trap shops, and instead go see
Museé Méchanique
for early Twentieth Century carnival games on the actual Fishermans’ Wharf
of Pier 45 near the western end of Embarcadero at Taylor Street
(behind Boudin bakery cafe).
Fine Art
Exploring
Restaurants, Bistros & Coffee
Downtown
Within short walking distance of Union Square, there’s
a beautiful building for those who appreciate fine architecture:
Mechanics' Institute Library 57 Post St. -
a Carnegie-style lending library and Chess Room that requires membership but
offers tours open to the public.
- Caffe Bianco, 39 Sutter St,
near Sansome St (just off Market St across from 2nd St)
- best coffee, virtually tied with what is served at Mario’s
- Tlaloc Sabor Mexicano,
525 Commercial St, between Sansome & Montgomery
- Only open for lunch
- Note that Commercial St can easily be mistaken for an alley (very narrow)
- From Sansome St, it’s directly across from old Federal Reserve Building
and around corner from Fugazi Building
Ferry Building (where Market Street begins)
- Out The Door, Ferry Building
- Vietnamese (no MSG)
- shares kitchen with Slanted Door
- take-away only but plenty of tables throughout the Ferry Building
- start your meal here,
then grab pastry at Acme Bread
and coffee from Blue Bottle
- Acme Bread
- best Challah bread and pastries
- “Since we began operation all of our whole-grain flours have been
organic but since the nineties, Acme has been incorporating as many
organic and locally sourced ingredients as possible.”
North Beach
- Mario’s,
Columbus & Union Street overlooking Washington Square and Peter & Paul Church
- BEST COFFEE
- best tiramisu
- best chocolate cake (baked by Mario’s widow)
- best focaccia sandwiches (focaccia from Liguria’s)
- Tommaso’s Pizza
- Tony’s Pizza, 1570 Stockton @ Union St
- Won lots of awards, but there’s usually a long wait for tables during
tourist season, so just grab a couple of slices from their take-out
store two doors away
- Liguria Bakery,
Stockton & Filbert St
- only Focaccia but the best focaccia
- tip: Focaccia sand witches at Mario’s use Liguria’s
- Mama’s, 1701 Stockton St,
overlooking Washington Square park, east of Peter & Paul Church
- Very good, but there’s usually a very long line year-round
- Get there before opening time, and you might have a seat without much wait
- Cavalli,
Stockton St, just off Columbus Av
- BEST CANOLI
- very good tiramisu, too
- Miyabi Sushi/Japanese, across from Trader Joe’s
Chinatown
Grant Street is for tourists, and Stockton Street is the community marketplace.
- City View Restaurant,
662 Commerce St, between Kearny St & Montgomery St
- best Dim Sum and then some
- Z&Y, 655 Jackson St, off Grant St
Tenderloin & City Hall area
- A La Turca, 869 Geary St near Hyde St
- everything on the menu is excellent, especially Pide
- great Turkish coffee and tea
Hayes Valley
Walking distance from City Hall:
- Souvla (Greek), 517 Hayes St, between Octavia St & Laguna St
North of Panhandle (NoPa)
Near the “panhandle” of Golden Gate Park and “Painted Ladies” houses of Alamo Square Park:
Polk Street / Russian Hill
- Miller’s East Coast Deli,
on Polk between Jackson & Clay
- excellent pastrami
- challah bread french toast
- Thai Spice
on Polk between Jackson & Clay (across from Miller’s)
- Shalimar, on Polk just below California
- South Indian & Pakistan
- Excellent, authentic food
- Don’t be scared, and don’t judge from the sidewalk…
Marina District / Chestnut Street
- Gamine (casual french), 2223 Union St, between Fillmore & Steiner
- Atami Sushi,
on Lombard between Gough & Octavia (north side)
- Brazen Head (gastropub), 3166 Buchanan St, between Pixley St & Greenwich St
- Note: there is no sign
- building is painted bright yellow with green awnings
- Le Marais Bakery, 2066 Chestnut St, between Steiner St & Mallorca Way
- Toma (Mexican), 3318 Steiner St, between Chestnut & Lombard St
- Lucca Delicatessen (Italian sandwiches, cheese shop), 2120 Chestnut St,
between Pierce St & Steiner St
- Viva Goa (Indian), 2420 Lombard St, between Divisadero St & Scott St
- Dragon Well, Chestnut St
- Judy’s on Chestnut
- good neighborhood breakfast place
- Jake’s Stakes,
3301 Buchannan St, off Chestnut near Marina Public Library branch
- Philly cheesestakes
- so authentic, they have Amoroso’s bread delivered from Philadelphia!
- Plant Cafe Organic, at Fort Mason Center
Cow Hollow / Union Street
Be sure to see the stange but beautiful Vedanta Society Old Temple
house, which was constructed across different architectural eras:
Edwardian & Victorian.
2963 Webster St at Filbert St, just off Fillmore St
- Hunan Empire, 2001 Union St
- say hello to Michelle & Jimmy for us!
- Helmand Palace, 2424 Van Ness
- Roam Burgers, Union & Octavia
- Rose’s Cafe, 2298 Union St,
at end of Union St shopping/business district
- breakfast, brunch, wine bar – popular with locals
Lower Pacific Heights / Fillmore St
- DOSA on Filmore,
(Indian) 1700 Fillmore St, between Post St & Sutter St
- Out The Door, (Vietnamese, no MSG)
2232 Bush St, between Steiner St & Fillmore St
- Delfina’s (Italian, pizza), 2406 California St off Filmore St
South of Market (SoMa)
- Ayola, 118 New Montgomery St or 327 Kearny St
- excellent Greek gyros from their all locations
- Sunrise Deli, 54 2nd St
- South Beach Cafe, 800 Embarcadaro at Townsend St
- across from Pier 40, which may be easier to find on a map
- Excellent pizza
- favorite lunch place when working in the neighborhood!
- Mexico Au Parc, 245 South Park St
near Jack London Alley
- Caffe Centro, 102 South Park St at Jack London Alley
- coffee shop on little park as nice escape from busy streets
Mission District
- Tartine Bakery & Cafe,
600 Guerrero, between 19th ST & 18th St
- banana tart is a must!
- just about everything is excellent
- eat there or take to Mission Dolores Park around the corner
(Dolores St & 19th St)
- Limon Rotisserie (Latin American, Peruvian), 1001 S Van Ness Ave,
between 21st & 22nd St
- Ritual Coffee & Tea, 1026 Valencia St, between 21st & Hill St
- Bi-Rite Creamery, 3692 18th St, between Dolores St & Oakwood St
- Wise Sons Jewish Deli, 3150 24th St between South Van Ness Ave & Shockwell St
- classic deli sandwiches
- Then get coffee at Haus, one block eastward
- Haus Coffee, 3086 24th between Fulsom St & Treat Ave
- Serves Ritual Coffee on relatively quiet street
Grocery Stores
- Trader Joe’s
- 401 Bay St - near Fisherman’s Wharf
- 10 4th St - south of Mascone Convention Center
- 555 9th St
- 1095 Hyde St & California St
- 3 Masonic Ave
- Safeway - mainstream grocery store
- Jackson St & Davis St, near Ferry Terminal
- Marina Blvd & Laguna St, across from Fort Mason Center entrance
- (where they filmed many scenes of Armistead Maupin’s
Tales of the City and more significantly, where it actually happened)
- King St & 4th St, near Baseball Stadium & CalTrain station
- Real Food Company - neighborhood
grovery with slightly higher prices and limited selection
- 2140 Polk St, between Broadway & Vallejo St
- Filmore St & Filbert St
- both locations are licensed to sell fresh/raw milk, cream and cheese
- Golden Gate Meat Company
in Ferry Terminal Building, beyond end of Market St on Embarcadaro
- butcher and small groceries
Bicycling
The car, truck and bus drivers were very respectful and accommodated safe urban bicycling.
But beware of other bicyclists jumping lights and causing havoc.
(Pro Tip: if you can’t stop abruptly for traffic lights or pedestrians due
to a trendy fixed gear bike lacking hand brake, you shouldn’t be riding a
velodrome configuration on city streets.)
Safety First:
Bicycle Map:
Bike Shops:
Events:
Other:
Internet Service Provider
Sonic.net provides excellent DSL service, proven to be
extremely reliable even in old (1920’s) buildings with ancient copper
wires and at extreme end of the run from telco central hookup.
They continue to champion for rights (not just for their customers)
regarding privacy and other aspects, challenging “spooky” agencies, etc.