Tim wrote:
Fuzzy,
I have been doing my research and thinking about location. We are staying two blocks up the hill from Union Square and will probably want to stay fairly close to downtown.
Why? It's a small city, and we have public transportation.
If you want to stay near Union Square and Downtown, good+moderately priced is impossible. All restaurants in that area have inflated prices, and some are quite mediocre, because they can subsist on tourists who are too timid to explore the city.
BTW, when will you be here?
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Catalan Bistro at 44 Beldon Place
This is quite good, as are the other restaurants in Belden place, especially in warm weather when you can eat at an outdoor table in the alley. Note that the name of this restaurant is actually B44. Also recommended in Belden Alley: Cafe Bastille, and Sam's (for an "old San Francisco" experience).
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Canteen @ 817 Sutter
Don't know it.
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R&G lounge @ 631 Kearney
Never heard of it; from the name, I would expect a bar and not a restaurant.
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Slanted Door
Good, but hard to get into. Make reservations, and not on a Saturday; quality drops when they're very busy. The Ferry Building is quite worth visiting, but the restaurants there are mostly uninteresting. Ferry Plaza Seafood (NOT the San Francisco Fish Company) also does a good seafood lunch.
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Boulevard @ 1 Mission
Good but far more expensive than good.
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ps: Is Little Joe's on Broadway still fun?
No. Little Joe's is now a regional chain.
So, some fun recommendations. Those I've marked with a * almost certainly require reservations, although some places are quite busy and do not take reservations. Those with a $ are a bit pricey, but nothing I'm recommending is over $50/person. Also, you should browse the archives of my blog (
http://www.fuzzychef.org) for restaurant reviews.
French: Chapeau! (Richmond)*$, Ti Couz (Mission), Jacquiline's (Little Italy) *$
Beer: Magnolia's (Upper Haight), Beach Chalet (Ocean Beach), Thirsty Bear (Moscone/SOMA)
Thai: Thep Phenom (Lower Haight)*, Marnee Thai (Inner Sunset)
Italian: Bella (Richmond)*, Pizetta 211 (Richmond)
Japanese: Mifune (JapanTown) (no recommendation on sushi, sorry)
California: Spork (Mission)*, Foreign Cinema (Mission)*$ (inquire about showtimes), Farallon (Union Square) *$ (mainly for the atmosphere), Little Star Pizza (3 locations)
Moroccan: Aziza (Richmond)*$
South Indian: Dosa (Mission)*$, Udupi Palace (Mission) (cheap)
Pakistani: Pakwan (Mission)
German: Suppenkuche (Opera District)
South American: Limon (Mission) *$, Limon Rotisserie (Mission), Destino (upper Market) *
Taqueria (cheap): Taqueria Cancun (several), El Farlito (Mission), Pancho Villa (Mission)
Brunch: Q (Richmond), Ella's (Richmond) (during the week only), Sears Fine Foods (Union Square, a one-time experience only), Brenda's (Polk Street) (go very early)
Chinese: go to the real Chinatowns - Clement Street between Arguello and 12th, or Irving Street between 19th and 26th, and look for wherever the Chinese people are eating, or even lining up. If you don't have to wait, the Dim Sum will suck. Best takeout Dim Sum in old Chinatown: Golden Gate Bakery on Grant. In general, the restaurants on Grant Street suck.
That should get you started. There's lots and lots more, of course; pick a cuisine or a part of the city
other than Downtown/Union Square and I can make recommendations. Oh, also, almost nothing in Little Italy is edible anymore.
We also have lots of fantastic bakeries, ice cream parlors, coffee bars, and extreme cocktail bars. Wine, too, but don't ask me to recommend a wine bar.