Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're on a supremely tight budget, the
HI Fisherman's Wharf
(p. 49)
hostel, though a touch out of the way on Fort Mason, is in an under-built park
on the waterfront with an excellent view of the Golden Gate Bridge; it even offers
a free morning yoga class. Only in San Francisco!
DINING FOR ALL TASTES
It's tough to find a chain restaurant or fast-food brand in this town—it's a place
to try cuisine put out by independent kitchens, and some of the best food in town
is ethnic in nature. To best get into the rhythm of life here, bring a good book and
a laptop, and settle into one of the countless cafes, particularly the ones in North
Beach such as
Caffé Roma
(p. 85), which roasts its own beans right in the front
window, or
Caffe Trieste
(p. 85), a longtime institution where Francis Ford
Coppola is said to have written
The Godfather
in between espressos.
When it comes to Chinese cuisine, there may be no better place to go beyond
boring old General Tso's chicken and egg rolls than the long-running Chinatown,
where eating like a local means grabbing bite-size dim sum off carts as they glide
by. Chinatown is all about this feast of small plates, and
Dol Ho
(p. 66), a side-
street dive, little-known to tourists, serves some of the best. Or queue up for one
of the addictive
banh mi
sandwiches at
Saigon Sandwiches
(p. 81)—bet you can't
eat just one. But you can't leave town without sampling one dish the city
is most famous for: a huge, overstuffed burrito from the Mission's
La Cumbre
(p. 75) or
El Farolito
(p. 75). They're big enough for three meals—so large they
ought to be served in bassinets.
San Francisco nurtures some of the brightest chefs in the country, who come
here to revel in the bounty of the Bay Area. They have turned cooking into an art
form, so no visit would be complete without a special-occasion meal prepared by
someone who cares deeply about the origin of the ingredients and the nuance of
the final flavors; options are many, but I recommend North Beach's
The House
(p. 59), an Asian-fusion delight, or the Castro's Tuscan-styled
Incanto
(p. 81).
At day's end, raise a beer at a local joint like North Beach's
Vesuvio Café
(p. 205), a longtime haunt of writers; at the tack-tastic South Seas pastiche at the
Tonga Room Restaurant and Hurricane Bar
(p. 207), where it “rains” every half-
hour; or at the tony
Maxfield's Pied Piper Bar
(p. 208), beneath a $2.5-million
mural in one of the city's swankiest and most storied hotels, the Palace.
THE BEST “OTHER” EXPERIENCES
One of the most appealing aspects of the city is that it hosts an ever-changing
world, a vibrant subculture, that only those in the know are invited to share. For
example, have you ever eaten at a
pirate restaurant
—an establishment that's only
open for a single night, designed as a showcase for experimental chefs? Join the
club at
Ghetto Gourmet
(p. 132) or
Radio Africa & Kitchen
(p. 134), and you
can toast the party while you're here. San Francisco's many vital immigrant groups
bring their own traditions to the table, too: You can experience the intricacies of
the etiquette at a classic tea ceremony, whether Chinese (
Red Blossom Tea
Company,
p. 134) or Japanese (the
Asian Art Museum,
p. 135). On Sundays,
spend your morning at the distinctive and heartwarming
Glide Memorial Church
(p. 147), one of the most inclusive and merry churches anywhere in the country.
