Any recommendations on what to do in San Fran tomorrow?

[vulturesrow]

Hey all,

I am heading up to San Fran tomorrow to do a little shopping and Id like to check out the city a bit. I have only been there once before and really only checked out the waterfront, down near Ghiardellis(sp?). At any rate, I dont really have anything specific I am looking to do, so any suggestions would be great. One thing I would like to know is good places to eat, that are relatively cheap.

Thanks.

[David04]

Stick it in his poooper.


When in Rome...

[ijwaef]

If you're looking for shopping opportunities, the Union Square area off of Powell Street and Geary has plenty. At the end of Powell Street (at Market) there is a huge Nordstroms that has American Eagle, blah blah, whatever you're looking for, plus a food court on the bottom floor. I think the food court has a steak place, chinese, and mexican foods. There is a great Chinese place (Bamboo) 7 blocks west of Powell and 2 blocks north of Bush (3 blocks north of Geary) at Polk St. and California. Also, across the street from there is a great Indian/Pakistani place called Darbar. If you want to stay close to the Union Square area there are plenty of places you'll see while you're shopping. Hopefully the rain holds off for you--I'm flying to Orange County tonight to escape it.

[Ray Zee]

the best place for lunch is up from the waterfront about a mile is the art college. you get to see a giant diego rivera plus they have a great small cafeteria to eat at. you can get a good lunch for 5 bucks. yes thats right and stand or sit high over the hill looking out over the waterfront. best view and good atmosphere.

[sfer]

Zee, you're wrong. I guess there's a first for everything.

Get a burger and a beer at Red's Java House and walk down along the bay to the ballpark and watch the game for free in the RF walkway. Or go The Mission, find a place, and get a great burrito. Or get a great cheap sandwich at Molinari's in North Beach and walk to Washington Square Park and eat there.

[vulturesrow]

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Zee, you're wrong. I guess there's a first for everything.

Get a burger and a beer at Red's Java House and walk down along the bay to the ballpark and watch the game for free in the RF walkway. Or go The Mission, find a place, and get a great burrito. Or get a great cheap sandwich at Molinari's in North Beach and walk to Washington Square Park and eat there.

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Sfer,

How is the parking around the areas you mentioned?

[sublime]

I am heading up to San Fran tomorrow

to do a little shopping



hmmmmmmmmmm

[vulturesrow]

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I am heading up to San Fran tomorrow

to do a little shopping




hmmmmmmmmmm

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If you must know there is a kid's clothing store there that my wife wants me to pick something up from. I knew this was going to happen.
/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[sfer]

If there's a game, a disaster near Red's. In North Beach near Molinari's, a disaster, although there's a public lot (cheap) right next to the police station on a street name that escapes me but is west of Stockton, like two blocks north of Broadway. Around the Mission, parking is a disaster but there's a public lot by between Valencia and Capp like two blocks South of the Elbo Room. So generally, parking is a disaster.

EDIT: Oh yeah, if you go the Mission, it's a quick walk to Dolores Park which is one of the sunniest parts of the city and full of dogs and tennis players. That is, if you like dogs. I like dogs.

[sfer]

Which store?

[IggyWH]

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Stick it in his poooper.


When in Rome...

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I thought it was the Greeks that liked the back door?

[vulturesrow]

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Which store?

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Its a Gymboree store, but they sell all their new lines, some of which dont make it out to the rest of the chains. So the wife saw something online she wants me to buy there.

The address is 3407 California St San Francisco, CA 94118-1836. So that is the one place I have to go. The rest is my own time. Given my unfamiliarity with the city, I wonder if I wouldnt be better off just parking somewhere and then taking some other form of transportation? What are your thoughts? I basically want to get some good food, see some sights, and finding a cool bookstore would be a nice plus.

[AsiaKurosawa]

Hi, if you're going shopping you'll prolly want to hit the the Powell St mall a few posters up mentioned (it's on the Powell st BART exit.) http://www.westfield.com/sanfrancisco/index.html

At the top, top floor of the Nordstroms is a sky cafe with a nice view of the city, order & go menu. Nice place, not too expensive. Same mall has a food court as well. Cool view upwards. Powell st area is also launching pad for the trolley that tourists go to (steep street, been years since I rode it.)

The surrounding areas have small taquerias and the like, as well -- heading down the tenderloin (towards Civic Center and the peep shows in that neighborhood.)

edit: the westfield has a gymboree too; got run over by a double stroller barelling towards the store a few months back-- it was during some sell your 1st born sale they had going on there.

[sfer]

That's up in Presidio Heights so it's a trek to any of the other spots I mentioned. You can take Muni around, but it's a bit of hassle and more than a little unreliable at times. The city's best dry cleaner is by Gymboree, but that doesn't help you much.

Driving is probably your best bet, unfortunately. The public lots are good and cheap, but just a sometimes difficult for an out of towner to fine.

A very good bookstore is City Lights on Broadway and Columbus (hangout of the Beats).

[vulturesrow]

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That's up in Presidio Heights so it's a trek to any of the other spots I mentioned. You can take Muni around, but it's a bit of hassle and more than a little unreliable at times. The city's best dry cleaner is by Gymboree, but that doesn't help you much.

Driving is probably your best bet, unfortunately. The public lots are good and cheap, but just a sometimes difficult for an out of towner to fine.

A very good bookstore is City Lights on Broadway and Columbus (hangout of the Beats).

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So Im thinking I'll hit the store first thing and then park near the waterfront...is that a good base for my exploration?

[Ulysses]

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Get a burger and a beer at Red's Java House

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That's actually Red's Java Hut, at Bryant and Embarcadero. I prefer the burger (and the breakfast) at The Java House, a couple blocks down at Townsend and Embarcadero.

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and walk down along the bay to the ballpark and watch the game for free in the RF walkway.

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FYI, the game tomorrow is at 5pm for ESPN, unlike the 1pm normal daygame start (like today).

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Or go The Mission, find a place, and get a great burrito.

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I recommend La Taqueria, around 25th and Mission.

Other cheap eats in SF:

I am a big fan of Tommy's Joynt on Van Ness at Geary (I like the BBQ brisket sandwich there - corned beef and cabbage is also great, as is just about everything else). If you are cruising around Union Square, that is a couple blocks away.

Or if you're in North Beach / Chinatown, go to Yuet Lee (on Broadway, at Stockton I believe) for some awesome authentic Chinese food (sweet and sour pork and BBQ pork chow mein, two typically blah dishes, are incredibly good there as is everything - my friend said the Frog's Legs and Hams were awesome, I like the duck a lot, as well as the mango and asparagus chicken dishes).

Pakwan (16th and Mission in the Mission district, O'farrell and Jones in Tenderloin, relatively near Union Square) is the best cheap Indian food. Some people like Shalimar best, which is pretty close to Pakwan in the loin and pretty similar.

Hopefully tomorrow is as beautiful and sunny as today. Have fun.

[Ulysses]

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finding a cool bookstore would be a nice plus.

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City Lights in North Beach.

[Ulysses]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, the best cheap food in SF is Vietnamese sandwiches. These joints are all near the Civic Center, so you probably won't be near there and I don't even know if they are open on the weekends. But, just in case, Saigon Sandwiches on Larkin is the best. $2-2.50 delicious gourmet sandwiches.

[Forbin]

I suggest you skip SF, and instead take BART over to Berkeley. Get there a little before 3 and walk through the UC Berkeley campus on your way to the Greek Theatre. The Widespread Panic show is not sold out and it starts at 3 (they've been going on 10-15 minutes after the announced start time).

[renodoc]

I would get a top dog on the way to the Greek Theater.

The Berkeley Greek is one of the top venues ever.

If you stay in the City, I would second the Mission reccomendation, but would opt for a falafel at Truly Med near 16th and Valencia I think. Yummy...

[raisins]

It's been a few years since I was up in the Bay Area but I was very impressed with most of the used book stores I visited. City Lights was mediocre in my opinion compared to some of the others but if you visit it check out the Dreaming Room next door, one of the coolest stores I've been to. The Dreaming Room is a gallery of tribal and Southeast Asian artifacts and oddities, the owner is very knowledgeable and a cool guy to talk to; it's just a great collection.

I don't know if you'll have a car or much time but I've heard that one of the best used and rare book stores in the country is Serendipity Books in Berkeley. I didn't get a chance to visit but it's high on my list for my next visit.

regards,

raisins

[sfer]

Yuet Lee is my favorite.

[sfer]

That works if you're near downtown. You can take BART to the Mission and walk to North Beach from there, as well as walk down around Diablo's 'hood.

[vulturesrow]

Well I will be making the store in Presidio Heights my first stop and then go look for parking so I can pretty much start from anywhere. Sounds like I'll look down by the waterfront. I'll buy lunch for anyone that wants to show me around. /images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks for all the help everyone, keep 'em coming.

[vulturesrow]

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That works if you're near downtown. You can take BART to the Mission and walk to North Beach from there, as well as walk down around Diablo's 'hood.

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Found a parking garage on 5th and Mission that looks reasonably close to a lot of stuff. Looks like I'll make that my base of operations /images/graemlins/smile.gif Thanks for all the info.

[KaneKungFu123]

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finding a cool bookstore would be a nice plus.

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City Lights in North Beach.

[/ QUOTE ]

beatnik bookstore opened by the conney island poet?

[Luv2DriveTT]

If you want to take it up a notch and have a little time to burn, I highly recommend heading north to Nappa Valley. Its possibly the most magical place in the USA for foodies, the nature is spectacular (looks just like the Italian countryside), and the wine (depending on the winery of course) is spectacular. A visit to Opus One is a must do.

If you want to drop some serious cheese, beg borrow and pleed for reservations at Mustard or French Laundry.

TT /images/graemlins/club.gif

[ChipWrecked]

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finding a cool bookstore would be a nice plus.

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City Lights in North Beach.

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beatnik bookstore opened by the conney island poet?

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Jack Kerouac's old hangout, yes.

[vulturesrow]

I parked at 5th and Mission and walked down to Embarcadero, stopping at Yerba Buena Park on the way to listen to a free concert for a few minutes. After I hit Embarcadero I headed towards SBC and stopped at the Java House and had excellent cheeseburger. After checking out the park and the neighborhoods in that area, I headed back up Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. I didnt particularly want to go there, but I did want to see those goofy sea lions again, but they werent there. /images/graemlins/mad.gif Then I headed up Stockton to Columbia to check out City Lights. I didnt stay as long as I would have liked because it was pretty crowded and sort of hot. I then headed up to Union Square, checked out some of the shops and took a breather at Borders on Post and Powell while reading a few of Mason's Poker Essays (Vol II). Then I headed on up to Tommy's Joynt and had the corned beef for dinner and a nice cold beer. Then I headed back to the garage at 5th and Mission, stopping briefly at Westfield to empty my bladder. All in all, a good day, saw a lot of cool stuff and had some good food. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, wish I wouldve had the time to check them all out.

[Ulysses]

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Java House and had excellent cheeseburger

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Tommy's Joynt and had the corned beef for dinner

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That is kickin' it old school in SF. Glad you enjoyed the suggestions.

[PokerBob]

gay sex

[vulturesrow]

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Java House and had excellent cheeseburger

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Tommy's Joynt and had the corned beef for dinner

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That is kickin' it old school in SF. Glad you enjoyed the suggestions.

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Yeah it was a lot of fun. I hope to make it back sometime soon and try out some other places. I really am not a big fan of going to all the tourist trap places, hence my aversion to Fisherman's Wharf. I got some good exercise in to boot (and a bit of a sunburn), as you can tell by my route. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Anyhow, having now had time to just walk around by myself and check things out, SF has leaped to near the top of my list of places I want to live. Again, thanks again to you, Sfer, and everyone else for the good suggestions. Next time you'll have to let me buy you a beer or two.

[Wintermute]

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Or go The Mission, find a place, and get a great burrito.

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I recommend La Taqueria, around 25th and Mission.


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La Taq is great, but I prefer El Farolito (24th & mission). I've had hours of argument about this, and some have suggested that I only prefer El Farolito because they're open late for the drunken burrito fix. I can't deny that there may be truth to that theory but El Farolito is damn good.