Spending A Week In San Fran, CA and Looking For Suggestions

[sighyoung]

(Avoid the Tenderloin district, though).

How do you know he isn't going there for hookers and blow?

That's true. #1 place in America for dumpster diving, according to Conde Nast Traveler.

[Freed Roger]

In Chinatown - we enjoyed a drink in a dive bar followed by excellent meal & sake bombs at R & G Lounge.

I didn't know that A Bourdain had been there until looking up the name.

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[Vidor]

what about the tenderloin district?

asking for a friend

If you've ever wanted to kill a homeless guy or visit an old-school "Asian Massage Parlor"...

[sighyoung]

Grant Avenue through Chinatown is a nice scenic walk. Somewhere nearby, there was a wonderful instrument shop--wish I could remember the name of it. It was up a hill, west of Grant, if I remember correctly.

[Jocephus]

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and unfortunately sam wo's has closed (apparently)

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[Vidor]

Grant Avenue through Chinatown is a nice scenic walk. Somewhere nearby, there was a wonderful instrument shop--wish I could remember the name of it. It was up a hill, west of Grant, if I remember correctly.

Clarion Music

[33anda3rd]

Go to Rosamunde. Get a sausage. Hell, get two. Take them next door to The Toronado where you have over 100 beers on draft to pick from--it was one of the first craft beer bars in the US if not the first.

GG Bridge is part of the Presidio. In the Presidio there are a dozen plus trails. Grab your sneakers and go for a hike. That or walk through Golden Gate Park.

Amoeba in the Haight is worth checking out, great record shop. Or if books are you thing, City Lights in North Beach.

Check out the Ferry Building Marketplace and walk the Embarcadero.

Eat lots of fish. It's remarkable out there. Sushi. Chinese. My sushi spot was Ebisu, just sit at the bar and go omakase and you'll get blown away. Chinese doesn't matter, just walk in somewhere in Chinatown and it's probably going to be good. Don't be a [expletive] [expletive]. Order something weird. Intestines. Chicken feet. Tongue. You're in Chinatown in SF. You can get that General Tso's back home from the strip-mall take-out place any time.

Fall is whale watching season in Monterey if you're down for that. Be warned: seeing a whale is not guaranteed.

Go over the GG Bridge and you can take the first exit and either go west to the ocean where people are probably surfing and/or hanging out, or go east toward the old military barracks (now the Bay Area Discovery Museum, a science museum for kids) and park, and hike around there.

SFMOMA as a Modern Art museum does not have a great permanent collection. They do have a cool building and tend to put together good touring or special event shows. Worth going to walk around the building alone.

Make the 1:20 drive down to here. Go to the tap room. Order a Pliny The Elder. Get another. Tour the brewery. Please bring some back for all us poor souls who can't get this beer. For my money, the best craft brewer on the west coast. Let's say you can't/don't want to get here. The first thing above, get a Pliny the Elder at Toronado. Be on the lookout for any Russian River beer while you're out there. Remarkable stuff.

Blue Bottle Coffee.

Tacos in the Mission.

Alcatraz is a great time. Coit Tower is worth checking out. The windy street.

If you are planning on Napa and you are a big movie fan, check out Niebaum Coppola. In the chalet, on the 2nd floor is a Coppola museum. Has all of his Oscars, his Palme d'Or. Has Vito Corleone's desk and chair from The Godfather, Robert Duvall's surfboard from Apocalypse Now, bunch more Coppola stuff.

The homeless can be aggressive. Just say one word--"sorry"--and keep walking.

You can skip Fisherman's Wharf. It is literally a tourist trap. "Hey, let's put a lot of restaurants and teeshirt shops and [expletive] right next to where all these boats are so people on vacation get confused and think these boats + these restaurants in the same place means 'fresh fish daily' and then let's sell junk to their impatient kids." If you enjoy seals or are looking to kidnap a child, by all means, Fisherman's Wharf is the place for you. If you're an adult with dignity and respect, it's probably safe to skip it.

[Vidor]

I would recommend walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, if for nothing other than to stop in the middle and enjoy the view (and take a picture). It is 1.7 miles long, though. You might also consider parking your car at the lots on either end and walking to the middle and back. The souvenir shop is on the south end.

[sighyoung]

SF Museum of Modern Art is closed for construction--otherwise, I would recommend it highly. There may be floating exhibits, though.

If you go to North Beach and the City Lights Book Store, there are some decent restaurants nearby. Francis Ford Coppola's Cafe Zoetrope is there. Didn't eat there, but ate at Tommaso's nearby, which was a decent pizza restaurant.

[go birds]

This is a goldmine.

I should note, we won't have a car. Are all these accessible via public transportation, i.e. the golden gate bridge?