Calvinist's Profile
First time in San Fran
2 places I recomend if you haven't been here.
Sotto Mare for seafood in North Beach. Simple, casual, no reservations. You may have to wait in line depending on time of day. Very fresh seafood, including Cioppino, which is big enough to split. Also in Noth Beach is Capp's Corner, a fun family-style American-Italian place that's been there for years.
Yank Sing, Rincon Center branch, for Dim Sum. More expensive than some alternatives but very nice surroundings and high quality ingredients.
First time in San Fran
If you want to be a tourist -- go to Fishermans Wharf. Feel free to ride the Rocket Boats, check out the USS Pampanito submarine and the other San Francisco Maritime Museum features, and be sure to go to tour Alcatraz -- it's worth it.
Then check out the rest of the City for its excellent restaurants, dining and food. Seach this board for what you're interested in -- seafood, Chinese, Italian, etc., then you can get some more detailed recomendations here.
Family Trip to San Fran...need recs
If you like seafood, consider adding Sotto Mare in North Beach to your list for an old-school SF feel with very fresh seafood. Tachich Grill also is on this category. Capps Corner is another old-style Italian-American place in North Beach.
Dim Sum is often fun with a group. You can go up scale at Yank Sing (RIncon Center branch) or old-school Chinatown at someplace like Great Eastern.
tall order from my Japanese client: "typical" san francisco seafood restaurant, not terribly inconvenient from SFO, maybe Pacifica?
Exactly. Would have never recomended Old Clam House before. Now it's good, albiet a little corporate.
tall order from my Japanese client: "typical" san francisco seafood restaurant, not terribly inconvenient from SFO, maybe Pacifica?
Considering the requirements I would consider the Old Clam House. It's very casual (at least by the Japanese client standard), the interior has been completely remodeled recently (so it's neat and clean), but in a very "San Francsisco" style, focus is on seafood and it's 10 miles up 101 from the airport. I've eaten there once, and while I would prefer to go to Sotto Mare, every thing we had was good. Full bar, wine mark-ups were kind of high for what was on the list.
Best Clam chowder and Best Cioppino
If you go the Warf -- Boudin is fine for what it is. A tourist place. But there are many better places (see the rest of this thread).
Best Clam chowder and Best Cioppino
Yes Sotto Mare is my favorite for all these dishes. No reservations, informal, often a line out the door during busy times.
Tadich also does good renditions of the above. Search the board and you will see many reports of both.
Quick help, please? Looking for Frenchy, Bistro-ish for tonight
L'Aardoise was really good the one time I was there: http://www.ardoisesf.com/index.html
Is Pastores closed?
There is a Beer/Wine Transfer Notice in the window. We're very sad to see it going.
Best lunch place for out of town guests.....not to pricey
For something a little showy and exotic: Dim Sum @ Yank Sing, Rincon Center location.
La Lengua Chronicles - My Project for 2012
Pastores has not been open much (if at all) the last couple of weeks. It's my son's favorite place to eat so we always check when we drive by. Hopefully Irma is on vacation (which is consistent with her method of operation over the years).
Dungeness crab meat in/near the Mission
FWIW, Basa Seafood Express and Sun Fat seem to be related -- same family, maybe different family members in each. Bassa has crabs, but I believe you need to cook & crack them yourself.
Old Clam House cioppino?
Probably early is better -- but it depends and visitor and convention activity.
Need foodie advice
Sunday seems like a good Dim Sum day. If I had a group to take out I would go to Yank Sing (Rincon location). Usual caveats about Dim Sum preferences (many feel Yank Sing is very expensive) but very good food quality and surroundings. You can search the board for the many long discussions of merits of different Dim Sum places.
Old Clam House cioppino?
I've had cioppino at both Sotto Mare and Old Clam House in the last 3 months.
This was the first time I'd been to Old Clam House since their reboot. It's a different, and much better, place than before. Prices are reasonable. Cioppino (technically "Seafood in Cioppino Sauce") was @ $20. But their is a whiff of portion control to everything from the bar drinks to the high mark-ups on the ok wine list. The cioppino itself was fine, but I felt the portion was just exactly enough that I didn't feel I was getting ripped off. So all in all, it's good, I wouldn't mind going back (it's close by for me), but I won't rush. I'd rather go to the Gold Mirror on Taraval if I want that old-style SF feeling, although it is more Italian than fish place.
The Sotto Mare cioppino, OTOH, has a higher sticker price (@ $33 or so). But it is more than enough for 2, especially if you get a side salad or some oysters to start. It feels generous and everything is cooked just right (no over cooked crab or shrimp). It has some kind of small pasta in it, but not so much that it feels like they are padding out the dish with a lot of extra carbs.
So I think Sotto Mare is by far the better cioppino. Old Clam House is good, but really is not in the same league.
Coming in March - Lucky Strike - Eat. Drink. Bowl. Vegans welcome. Check the dress code.
Well at those prices I guess it won't replace the lumpia at Serra Bowl.
Veal Parmigiana in Huntington Beach [split from SF]
Wow I think I ate there in the late '80s, before I moved to SF. Happy to hear it's still around!
Best Veal Parmigiana In SF?
I had the Veal Parmigiana at The Gold Mirror last summer. I quite enjoyed it, as well as the old-school SF vibe of the place.
And regarding the new North Beach Originals Joe's. I would recommend trying it as reports are they have seriously improved quality in their new location. They are trying to make a big splash in the new space.
Good Eats
Tadich Grill, Sotto Mare and Swan Oyster Depot are old-school style seafood places of note. Swan is really just a counter. Search and you will find plenty written about each. I like them all a lot for what are. As of now Sotto Mare is my favorite.
Hog and Rocks is a fun restaurant /bar in the Mission with oysters, small plates and drinks. Hog Island Oyster Bar in the Ferry Building has great oysters but is not cheap.
"Nice" Mexican in SF
Tacolicious might fit the bill, although I haven't been myself. Now that they have a Mission location I mean to try it.
http://tacolicioussf.com/
Culinary Road Trip! - Bay Area Recommendations (From Vancouver)
Speakeasy Ales and Lagers has an open house/bbq at 4:00pm on Fridays that might be fun to hit. You would probably need a car as it's in a pretty industrial part of town:
http://www.goodbeer.com/SWF/index.html
Culinary Road Trip! - Bay Area Recommendations (From Vancouver)
Sotto Mare in North Beach for cioppino. No reservations, very informal, very little non-fish/shellfish on the menu. An order (@ $32) will serve 2 people.
SF restaurant featuring Cioppino
I agree about Sotto Mare. A single order (@ $32 as I recall) was plenty for 2 people. I have not been to Tadich in several years, but that has been one of the dishes they do well.
Note: Sotto Mare is very informal, does not take reservations, and does not have any entrees except fish and shellfish on their menu. I've been twice in the past few months (petrale sole the other time) and enjoyed in each time.
Need a suggestion for one dinner - some restrictions
I has a lunch at Hayes Street Grill before a holiday Nutcracker performance in December, after not being there in years. It was quite good. I had Pan Fried Drake's Estero Oysters, Tartar Sauce, Cole Slaw, French Fries.
ORIGINAL JOES..North Beach!
We ate at the Gold Mirror last July. It was full at 6:30 on a Saturday night. Fun place to get a cocktail and old school SF Italian. I had a calamari appetizer and veal parmigiana. Not cutting edge, but fine renditions. I would happily go back again. The only thing that surprised me was that the veal came with a rice pilaf type side dish, instead of pasta.
Beast and the Hare on Guerrero
We ate here this weekend. Seems like they have settled in now.
We had House Pickles (fennel was the best), Bone Marrow (very nice on toast), then Bavette Steak for my wife and Braised Rabbit and Bacon Stew for me. Steak was quite good, but the standout was the rabbit. The porcinis in the sauce made it very silky, almost like there was truffle oil in the dish. The Domaine de la Garreleire Touraine pared very well with all. Lower alcohol (12.5%) and peppery.
I'd happliy eat here again. However the menu is not large, and there is such a plethora of places to try that I can't say I'm going to be a regular there.
Foodie from Chicago needs to know what SFO Neighborhood to live in.
Because you have a dog, a child, and a job on the Peninsula, I would suggest Bernal Heights, Glenn Park or Noe Valley. All are in the south part of the city, and are more family oriented than Dogpatch (more single family homes, fewer loft condos).
I live in Bernal with family and dog and it is well suited. Has largest off leash dog park in the city (the entire top of Bernal Hill). I commute south to San Mateo daily.
Food wise the restaurants on Cortland (Bernal's main business street) range from ok to good. It has a good grocery (Good Life), a great butcher shop (Avedano's,) an enoteca (Vino Rosso) and a small food hall (331 Cortland). Just down the hill on Mission street are a number of really good restaurants and bars.
Noe Valley Tonight
Thanks all. We're regulars at Henry's Hunan & La Ciccia. Hadn't considered Contigo, Firefly or Haystack!
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La Ciccia
291 30th Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
Contigo
1320 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Noe Valley Tonight
I want to grab a bite to eat @ 8:00 tonight after an event in Noe Valley. Don't need anything too exquisite, but it seems my options are OK but somewhat limited. Any suggestions? Le Zinc? Patxi? Any other ideas?
A little help, dinner place in SF proper for business interview recommendations
One Market, Boulevard and Kokari all have a high percentage of business diners.
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One Market Restaurant
1 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
