San Francisco

[someone]

Heading there for 4 days on Friday. I haven't been since I was a kid. I did the Alcatraz tour last time and don't plan on doing again. Wondering if there are any places to eat or places to see that aren't recommended by all the touristy websites etc but are must do / see.

 

[steve perry]

man, what isn't there to do?

a lot of it depends on what you want/have to spend. couple places to start would be:

- the mission district. there's tons of good taquerias/burrito places. not quite the same as texas mexican food, but not completely foreign either.
- honestly, you really should go to the castro. whatever you feel about gay people, it's like being in another world. there are lots of good restaurants around there as well.
- would recommend renting a bike and ride it along the embarcadero (if you want to go to the touristy stuff, you can, but it's not necessary).
- if the giants are playing, go outside of right field (right near the bay where people go to catch home run balls). they have a little open area where you can watch the game from behind the fence for free. great way to catch a bit of a game from a completely different point of view (and it's free!)
- haight ashbury is a younger part of town and while it's much more commercialized than it ever should have been, it's still got lots of good restaurants, bars and people watching.
- coit tower's not too bad either if you like city skylines and looking at the water. and how could you not in SF?

I might also recommend checking out places like chowhound.com. it's a food website, but there's always threads about where to eat in SF. that should give you a good sense of what areas are heavily trafficked (in particular by locals).

couple restaurants i'd recommend:

- dottie's true blue cafe: it's right in between the tenderloin (more unseemly area, though safe and pretty interesting place to walk around, also, lots of good bars) and union square (where a lot of the upscale shopping is. when i went, there was a line around the door, and it was worth every penny. if you can, sit at the bar. watching their cook work was worth it alone. and the food was great...make sure you're hungry though...their plates are huge.
- red's java house- just good simple burgers. i think they also had some assorted seafood, but i don't recall. it's just east of the bay bridge near pacbell park (or whatever it's called now).
- some good restaurants, trattorias, etc. along columbus street, but do some research before as this is a fairly high tourist area and some restaurants are actually good, while others are just kinda gimmicky.

i could go on and on. SF is my favorite city, and hopefully i'll be able to go back every few years.

my last piece of advice...just get a muni pass, and just take it to some neighborhood and explore. you're bound to see something interesting.

 

[someone]

steve, thanks for all the good info. Much appreciated.

 

[CalHornGal]

Rent a scooter to see the city for a day (Saturday or Sunday)! I did this with friends a few years ago and it was the best day I've ever spent in the city. No parking hassles...easy to get through traffic..and you can see EVERYTHING. The hills are only a problem on the steepest of inclines. Your rental agent will tell you areas to avoid and good shortcuts. Just make sure you rent one with plenty of power.

 

[steve perry]

yeah, i met some people that loaned me their cruiser bike for the day. it was great driving up market street and down the embarcadero, but once i got to pacific heights and wanted to go back up van ness or one of those streets, I pretty much had to push my bike up the hills since it didn't have any gears, plus it was too big to fit on the front of a bus. definitely figure out where you're going before you're stuck somewhere surrounded by really large hills.

 

[wolfman]

Go down by Fishermans Wharf and get on one of the city tour busses that look like a cable car.They will do a loop of the city and talk about interesting aspects as you go. After you finish you can hit the areas that you most interested in on your own.

 

[GHoward]

If you have wheels, and like nature and stuff, head up north into Marin. There are some state parks, and Muir Woods (but it's a little touristy)

 

[someone]

Thanks everyone. Ended up hiking through the park, eating at some great restaurants, checking out the farmers market and taking a day in Napa. Awesome time.