Eating-Centered Trip With Mom. Please Help Me Make It Perfect!

I am looking forward to trying Canteen for dinner and hope we enjoy it as much as you and your parents did. I made our reservation on OpenTable. I have been wanting to try Poc-Chuc for awhile now and was very disappointed to find them closed during our last trip. I will be sure to plan better this time! Thanks for your suggestions!

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Eating-Centered Trip With Mom. Please Help Me Make It Perfect!

Thanks for the advice Pei! I really want to make this trip special for my mom. Have you been to Aziza lately? If so, what are the must order dishes?

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Eating-Centered Trip With Mom. Please Help Me Make It Perfect!

Hello again fellow Chowhounders! I have been reading reviews on this wonderful site in preparation for another eating-centered weekend in San Francisco this September 10-12. My husband and I will be bringing along mom for this trip and we will be staying at the Omni Hotel in the Financial District and have our own transportation. We don't have a set budget and enjoy all types of food, so I welcome additional restaurant suggestions if you feel I have missed something extraordinary. I would love your input/advice with regards to this rough eating itinerary as you have steered me to some real gems in the past! Thanks in advance!

Friday:
Breakfast- Brenda's
Lunch- Will possibly be in Napa. Any snack/light lunch suggestions? Oxbow Market have any must try items?
Dinner- I am torn between trying something new (Kokkari, Nopa, or Aziza) or going back to Perbacco, which my husband and I loved during our last trip. I would have loved to try Frances, but the place is booked!

Saturday:
Breakfast- Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
Lunch- Poc-Chuc or Saigon Sandwich
Dinner- Reservation at Canteen (Is this a must? We have had brunch here during our last trip and found it to be very tasty.)

Sunday:
Brunch- Ella's or 2223 Market?

Thanks in advance for your help with my ever-growing itinerary!

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Saigon Sandwich Shop
560 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Nopa
560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
One Ferry Building, 200 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

First trip to San Francisco - need recommendations to fill in a few gaps

Hi Silverwing,

My husband and I received some excellent suggestions from fellow chowhounders a couple months ago for our last trip to San Francisco in February. I noticed that there are quite a few places on your list that we got to try, so I thought I would chime in. My favorites from your list are:
Tartine- Everything I have every eaten here has been wonderful, but the constant line out the door is a bummer.
Perbacco- This was our favorite dinner in San Franicisco. I can't wait to come back again.
Brenda's- This is my new favorite breakfast place in the city. I have been to Dottie's, Canteen, Mama's, Boulettes Larder, Just For You, etc. and this one takes the cake!
We didn't have the chance to try Bi-Rite Creamery as it was closed for remodeling, so we gave Humphry Slocombe a try and it was very interesting/tasty. We also tried Pizzeria Delfina and weren't that impressed. We planned on going to Poc-Chuc, but it was closed. Maybe next time. Have a great trip and don't forget to report back!

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Just For You
732 22nd St, San Francisco, CA 94107

Pizzeria Delfina
2406 California St, San Francisco, CA 94115

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Honeymoon in San Francisco - Eating Tour Suggestion, $1000 Budget for 4 days

I agree with jlfoodie. The porchetta sandwich at Roli Roti can't be missed.

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Roli Roti
, Hayward, CA

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Honeymoon in San Francisco - Eating Tour Suggestion, $1000 Budget for 4 days

I second Whiner's suggestion of Perbacco. This was by far my favorite meal in San Francisco during my last visit. The prices are unbelievably reasonable and the food was spectacularly perfect. I can't wait to go back again! I hope you have a great trip.

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

My weekend trip in review. Thanks so much for the great advice and suggestions!

Grayelf,

I really appreciated your suggestions. Our trip was terrific! Perbacco was by far the best meal of our trip. I can't wait to go back. Hopefully you have an equally pleasing experience.

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

My weekend trip in review. Thanks so much for the great advice and suggestions!

Many thanks for the great advice and recommendations you all provided in my previous post! My husband and I had a great time eating our way through San Francisco this last weekend, 02/26-02/28. Here is a brief outline of all the delectable goodies we got our hands on:

BRENDA’S FRENCH SOUL FOOD
Without your recommendations I would have missed out on one of the best breakfasts I have ever had! We had:
Beignet Flight (fresh from the fryer and absolutely delicious)
Seafood Frittata with potato hash and a cream biscuit (piping hot, well-seasoned)
Watermelon Iced Tea (interesting take on tea)

PIZZERIA DELFINA
I was surprisingly disappointed with this place, especially after I read all the wonderful reviews it had garnered. We had:
Pizza Margherita (great quality ingredients, but it didn’t knock out socks off)
Spicy Cauliflower (served lukewarm, but very tasty preparation of cauliflower that I plan on recreating at home)

HUMPHRY SLOCOMBE
A cute little shop with some odd flavor combinations. The gentleman behind the counter was very welcoming and offered us quite a few samples of his favorites. We had:
Secret Breakfast (tasty, but not as good as my choice)
Chocolate with Smoked Sea Salt (my husband was put off by the amount of salt in this, but I am currently enamored with sweet/salty combos, so this was perfect for me)

BOULEVARD
This restaurant is absolutely gorgeous and has great ambiance, but I really wasn’t as impressed with the food we were served. A bit of a disappointment when you consider how much we paid. Maybe it was just an off night for the kitchen staff? We had:
Day Boat Sea Scallops (arrived lukewarm and grit was found in two of the four scallops)
Goat Ravioli (very tasty and interesting take on the ravioli)
Lamb T-Bone (well cooked protein, but my husband couldn’t get past the very bitter spinach that was served with it)
Angus Filet Mignon (well cooked protein, tasty sauces, cold potatoes were a deal breaker)
Vanilla Crème Brulee with Tangerine Marmalade (served with assorted cookies, quite possibly the best crème brulee I have ever had)

Farmer’s Market
We tried quite a few new things on this trip. We had:
Mocha from Blue Bottle (okay)
Porchetta Sandwich from Roli Roti (pork perfection, loved it!)
Ham and Cheese Turnover from Acme (flaky, savory, very good)
Asphalt Jungle Mix from Recchiuti (burnt caramel almonds and hazelnuts, dark chocolate cherries, and peanut butter pearls, what a yummy and interesting combination)
Assorted goodies from Downtown Bakery (doughnut muffin, brownie cupcake, apricot pocket, sticky bun, oatmeal raisin cookie)

Burmese Kitchen
We were hesitant to go inside, as there wasn’t a single person eating at this place. The server came outside and invited us in and I have to say thanks for the recommendation, the food was tasty, freshly made, and affordable! I would love to try their fish and tealeaf salad next time as I have read such great reviews about these items. We had:
Fried Golden Tofu (crisp little bites served with a sweet/tangy dipping sauce)
Garlic Egg Noodles with Pork (lots of noodles and a bit of pork, filling)
Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (good, but not my favorite preparation of eggplant)
Coconut Rice (good accompaniment to the eggplant)

Perbacco
I am in love with the food at this place! My pet peeve when dining is receiving lukewarm food. Every dish arrived at our table, as it should, hot or cold, not in between. I can’t wait to come back. We had:
Raviolo with Hen Egg (I don’t know how they do it, but this tender filled pasta is genius)
Crudo (beautifully presented, my husband enjoyed it)
Sea Bass (crisp skinned, tender fish served with a delectable sauce)
Pork Shoulder (I ate every bite, loved the mushrooms)
Apple Bread Pudding
Dark Chocolate Mousse Bar (both desserts were good, but not as good as the crème brulee at Boulevard)

Canteen
What a cute little place! I would love to have dinner here on our next trip. We had:
Chupacabra (I wasn’t as impressed with this, but my husband really liked it)
French Toast with Blueberries (delicious rendition of a classic)

Bob’s Doughnut
We had:
Custard Filled Doughnut with Chocolate Glaze (very fresh and not overly sweet)
Apple Fritter (This thing stayed crisp all day long, very good snack for the road)

Eastern Bakery
We had:
Egg Custard Tart (not too sweet, nice crumbly crust)

Limon
We were very disappointed to find Poc-Chuc closed, so we headed further down and decided to try Limon. Everything was freshly prepared and very tasty! We had:
Lomo Saltado with Eggs (very tasty combination of beef, onions, and tomatoes)
Yucca Fries (I love yucca and these fries were perfect)
Chimichurri Grilled Toast (nicely charred on the edges, yet tender in the middle)

Arinell
We had:
Slice of Cheese Pizza (crisp thin crust, a fine snack)

Bi-Rite Market
The ice cream shop was closed, so we came here looking for salted caramel ice cream and they were sold out! We settled for:
Chocolate Pot de Crème (not overpoweringly sweet, but it did have a grainy texture)

On the way home we stopped by Ikea in Oakland and found ourselves to be hungry yet again, so we ate at Pasta Pomodoro. We had:
Rigatoni Bolognese (very tasty sauce)
Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken (papparadelle pasta in place of the traditional fettuccine)
Brussels Sprouts with brown butter (nice to have some vegetables)

Thanks again to my fellow Chowhounds for helping to make this trip delicious! I will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later, for another adventure in your wonderful city.

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Thanks for recommending Bob's, I'll have to try their offerings as well!

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Thanks for the update on Bi-Rite being closed during our trip. What a bummer!

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Thanks so much for all the great advice! I have adjusted our dining itinerary based on some of the suggestions you all have made. I am looking forward to this trip and will be sure to provide you with an update once I recover from my food coma!

Friday:
B- Brenda's
L- Pizzeria Delfina
D- Boulevard

Saturday:
B-Ferry Building Marketplace
L- Burmese Kitchen
D- Perbacco

Sunday:
B- Canteen
L- Poc Chuc

Treats:
-Humphrey Slocombe
-Tartine
-Dynamo Doughnut

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

We live in Bakersfield, CA which is about 5 hours south of San Francisco and definitely not a culinary wonderland! Thanks for your suggestion on trying Burmese food. I checked out Burmese Kitchen's menu and it looks great! I think this will add a little variety to our dining itinerary. I seriously doubt I will find a local Burmese restaurant in the event that I become hooked. I guess all the more reason to take more trips! Hopefully you can help me out with my Sunday brunch conundrum. I was planning on going to Absinthe, but I have gotten a lot of recs for Canteen. My husband and I aren't huge drinkers and it seems like drinks are what Absinthe is known for. I have also gotten a rec for Bar Tartine. So what will it be Absinthe, Canteen, or Bar Tartine?

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Checked out the menu and Brenda's sounds great! We have already been to Tartine and Just For You, so I think it will be good for us to try a new place for breakfast on friday. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Thanks so much for all the input. I will definitely go with Tartine over Just For You on Friday morning. I was hoping for at least one good Asian meal while we are in San Francisco and it sounds like I should avoid Katanaya. We had great ramen at Kintaro in Vancouver, B.C. a couple years ago and I was hoping for a similar experience at Katanaya. San Tung sounds like it may be decent based on your comments, but I'm looking for great. I have seen a lot of positive comments about Jai Yun. Should I consider it over San Tung? I am kind of worried about the prix-fixe lunch menu as I am slightly less adventurous than my husband. I took a look at the Pizzeria Delfina menu and it looks great! I will definitely plan on having lunch here. Thanks for the great advice!

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area

Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out Bar Tartine and they only serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Do you think this would be a better option than Absinthe for brunch on Sunday?

Hopester in San Francisco Bay Area