san francisco advice.

[chrizow]

i am going to san francisco for two days (yeah) in november, then heading up via auto to coastal mendocino county for a wedding.  any "insider" tips regarding SF or areas between SF and mendocino county (3-4 hours north) you have would be appreciated. 


i like:

coastal vistas
empty beaches 
romantic, hole in the wall restaurants with good food
interesting shopping
up and coming neighborhoods


i do not like:

tourist traps
chain-saturated commercial areas
financial/business districts that are boring after 5pm
being knifed

[ignatius]

I used to go many times a year back in late 90s.  Used to give walking tours for others I later traveled with.  Haven't been there since 2001 and much has changed.  It's one of those cities where doing some of the touristy things isn't a waste of time.

There are no particular things that stands out for me to tell someone they must do.  I found no need to plan anything out. I'd take buses around the city with no clue where I was going and would just absorb it all.

[GRID]

i do not like:

tourist traps
chain-saturated commercial areas
financial/business districts that are boring after 5pm
being knifed

Then why the hell do you live in KC?????

I would agree with ignatius, just go and soak it in, don't waste any time trying do do something that might take half a day, you don't have time.  Also, don't atempt to leave the city, even to cross the bay bridge or something, till you are ready to leave the city, it will take too much time.

Most the tourist spots are pretty cool.  Skip Pier 39 though.

I would check out the napa valley since you are heading north anyway.  It's a neat area.

[dangerboy]

Last time I stayed at the Holiday Inn on Van Ness at Pine.  It's on border between the Western Addition and Pacific Heights.  Great bus access to Downtown, Chinatown, Nob Hill, North Beach, etc.

I highly recommend Pizza Orgasmica, a brewpub out west in the Richmond or up north in the Marina District.  Most of the tourist crap is on the Embarcadero.  Most other neighborhoods are quite nice.  Just spend time wandering around.

[bahua]

It feels very much like an American city to me, but not like any within 2500 miles of it. It feels like more of a city than any other place west of the Appalachians. It's no wonder that people 150 miles away(including Sacramento) refer to it as "the city."

I agree with ignatius though, that San Francisco is best attacked with no plan. It's only about 50 square miles, but it feels vast in that every square mile is positively packed with just about anything you'd ever want to do. Just wander. The best places I've found there have been completely accidental in the finding. It's big enough that you can do that.

It matters little what you do while you're there. Your only regret will be that you couldn't spend more time there.

[moderne]

And wear comfortable broken in shoes as you will find yourself walking more than usual and wanting to walk more than usual. 

[bbqboy]

ride each streetcar line. ride the 2, 30, and 38 buses.
Hit the Asian shopping district on Clement in the Avenues. Hit Mission and Valencia between 16th and 24th. Go to the top of twin peaks.
I'll think of some more in awhile.

[Midtownkid]

The mission district is a popular area to see modern architecture and other cool stuff.  It is also the area where the 1908 earthquake did the most damage I think.  It is more of an industrial area with lots of modern lofts mixed in (at least this is the impression i get from reading about it)

[kucer]

Have a drink at Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus and then head across street and have a drink at Specs(It's in the alley)
City Light Bookstore right next door to Vesuvio
Roam North Beach
Amoeba Records on Haight
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill

[bahua]

Fantastic Dive Bars:

The Brown Jug(TL)
High Tide Cocktails(TL)
Zeitgeist(Mission)
Trad'r Sam(Richmond)
Night Cap Lounge(TL)

[chrizow]

Amoeba Records on Haight

god, i could spend my entire two days in SF at Amoeba...

[kuslamb]

i do not like:

tourist traps
chain-saturated commercial areas
financial/business districts that are boring after 5pm
being knifed

You have got to check out Ghirardelli Square.  It is the best thing in San Francisco.  It is what all the locals do...

http://www.ghirardellisq.com/ghirardell ... s.php?id=6

[kcmetro]

i do not like:

tourist traps
chain-saturated commercial areas
financial/business districts that are boring after 5pm
being knifed

Then you should visit...

The Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
The curviest road in the world
AT&T Park
Take a picture of yourself at the corner of Haight & Ashbury

[bbqboy]

You have got to check out Ghirardelli Square.  It is the best thing in San Francisco.  It is what all the locals do...

http://www.ghirardellisq.com/ghirardell ... s.php?id=6

you forgot your ampersands....

[bahua]

Take a picture of yourself at the corner of Haight & Ashbury

I wish I lived there for one reason: http://www.toronado.com/

[eclair]

Pier 39 ... not.

I love the farmers market the Ferry Building.  Great food, people watching, etc.

Last time I was in San Fran, I ate brunch at Rose's Cafe -- delicious.  It's at the corner of Union and Steiner. They have inside and outside seating (with heat lamps).  They do not take reservations on the weekend.  Christopher Elbow actually co-owns a chocolate shop down the street from there. Yum!

http://www.rosescafesf.com/directions.shtml

[bahua]

I forgot the name of the place, but Dave Eggers owns or is heavily involved in the operation of a nautically-themed shop in the Mission.

Google is awesome:

http://www.826valencia.org/

[Highlander]

i am going to san francisco for two days (yeah) in november, then heading up via auto to coastal mendocino county for a wedding.  any "insider" tips regarding SF or areas between SF and mendocino county (3-4 hours north) you have would be appreciated. 

i do not like:

tourist traps

I hear this from a lot of travellers and a lot of people miss some pretty neat things with this attitude.  While there are some tourist traps definately to avoid, places that are "tourist traps" generally become "tourist traps" because they are really worth seeing and, hence, attract a lot of tourist in the process.  Here in Europe, they do tourist traps to the extreme, but if you avoided them you would miss some real jewels like Mount St. Michel in France which is also among the world's quintessential tourists traps....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint_Michel

I suspect California has its share of such places but I would not avoid something worth seeing just because of it's reputation as being a tourist trap.

[AJoD]

It's been about 10 years for me, so I don't have anything first-hand, but I've wanted to hit Swan Oyster Depot and Slanted Door.

Here's a pretty good thread on off-the-beaten path eats:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... &sk=t&sd=a

You might post more specific queries there, or on Chowhound, which has a pretty good SF community.

[chrizow]

thanks for all the suggestions!  predictably, i am very excited for the trip.  i have never been to SF and haven't been to CA generally since i was 18.