dunn.sanfrancisco's Profile
SF: Great Restaurants With Bar Dining?
And I will "third" the recommendation.
I have been eating at Tadich Grill for the past 55 years and it is not only a San Francisco landmark, but it is one of the best restaurants with bar dining anywhere in the City. If you would like to partake of some San Francisco prepared seafood, Tadich Grill is a good choice. They are respected among locals of long-standing for their Dungeness crab, sanddabs, crab, prawn or shrimp salads, cioppino and poached salmon.
Tadich Grill is a family business which has been in continuous operation since 1849, during the California Gold Rush days. If you have only one night out on the town, and want to dine at a classic 19th century bar, Tadich Grill is ... hands down ... your best choice.
Good luck and Welcome to San Francisco!
ocean beach cafes
The diner across from the zoo on Sloat Boulevard used to be one of the City's more notable diners. It was called the Doggie Diner. The original fiberglass "Doggie Diner" head is mounted on a pole in the center divider. The diner itself has not been a Doggie Diner for decades. Today it is just a fast food joint. There is nothing outstanding about it, except it, however it does offer cheap eats and is right across the street from the zoo entrance. You may want to try John's Ocean Beach Cafe. It is also right across from the zoo. You can find a review from the Sunset Beacon here: http://www.sunsetbeacon.com/archives/SunsetBeacon/2004editions/Mar04/oceanbeachcafe.html
Slanted Door report
Very good review. Well-worded and detailed. Thank you. I might add that the Slanted Door is under the direction of Executive Chef Charles Phan. The restaurant is located in the northeast corner of the restored Ferry Building across The Embarcadero from the foot of Market Street. The restaurant seats 150 people in the dining room and 20 at the bar. Additionally there is a 34-seat cocktail lounge facing the bar. Their web site is: http://slanteddoor.com/index.html
I Know the Hamburger Thing In SF Has Been Done To Death
Try Joe's Cable Car. I've been going there since I was in high school in the late sixties. It's still owned by the same guy. Joe's Cable Car starts with 100% U.S.D.A. federally inspected choice ribeye and chuck steaks. The steaks are trimmed down to as little as 6 - 8% fat and are estimated at 30 calories per ounce, about as much as fish and chicken. Then the steaks are ground fresh daily at Joe's open-view butcher corner for viewers to witness. You can choose from 4, 6, and 8 ounces TRUE SERVING WEIGHT!
If you want an original, high quality hamburger... Joe's is the place in San Francisco.
Go to: http://www.joescablecar.com
Taqueria Guadalajara on 24th st. at Shotwell
I have not been to Taqueria Guadalajara, but I do know many of the places in that area. So far I have found La Corneta to be pretty reliable for fresh food and consistent quality. The prices are reasonable as well. La Corneta is on Mission, near 23rd. They also have locations on Diamond near Glen Park and also Burlingame and Redwood City. I have only been to the Mission Street location.
Tea Houses
An interesting article on SF Bay Area teahouses was published yesterday in the Chronicle. The story can be found here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/01/24/FDG32NKUSI1.DTL
My favorite teahouse is Ray Fong's Imperial Tea House. They are on the Powell-Hyde / Powell-Mason cable car line at 1411 Powell Street. Here's their web site: http://www.imperialtea.com/
The Imperial Tea House is a great place for people visiting the City. The owner, Ray Fong, is a Daoist priest and he is attempting to bring back the ancient Chinese rite of tea. The teahouse is attractively appointed in an authentic traditional Chinese style and Ray offers tea tasting, offers classes on a variety of tea-related subjects and sells a high-end line of teas, teapots and other tea ware.
This would be a particularly fun place for people coming into town in March for the Chinese New Year Parade and it's various related festivals, fairs and other events that will run throughout February and culminate with the parade on March 3rd.
It's time we begin dusting off our list of good places to eat for the Chinese New Year events.
Dottie's True Blue--can we avoid a line?
First of all, welcome to San Francisco!
Dottie's True Blue has been a very popular spot for years. Dottie's is more popular with people visiting the City than it is with those of us who are locals. It does not mean their food is in any way second-class. Dottie's is a great little place ... but it's always crowded ... particularly on weekend mornings.
There is always a line outside and almost everyone in the line is from out of town. It makes more sense for locals to go to Dottie's during the weekdays. However, if you absolutely must have breakfast at Dottie's on a Saturday, then your only hope is to plan on having a very early breakfast.
Dinner Border of NorthBeach/Financial?
Interesting challenge! North Beach is famous around the world for its restaurants, but the clear majority of those places are Italian or Sicilian-Italian and meatless dinners are likely going to be confined to pesto pasta and such. The Financial District is famous among San Franciscans (I work in the FD and can bear witness to this) for a general lack of restaurants of just about any kind. There are exceptions, of course, and some very fine exceptions, but I personally know of no vegetarian or vegan dinner restaurants nearby. If there are any, I am confident someone will correct me very soon.
I suggest you take a look at the Friends of Animals San Francisco Vegan Restaurant Guide, which you can find here: http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/vegetarianism/restaurant-guides/san-francisco-vegan-restaurant-guide.html
restaurants around union square?
That many people for lunch at any restaurant near Union Square is going to be a problem. Not many restaurants in that area have facilities for larger groups and those that do are usually booked-up and crowded most days. For dinner the choices are even fewer.
My suggestion is Harry Denton's Starlight Room. You will find it at the top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The view of Union Square is stunning and the Starlight Room is very, very fine.
Harry's has room for your friends, serves wonderful cocktails and has an impressive menu that fits within your budget ... sort of.
Find Harry Denton's Starlight Room here: http://www.harrydenton.com/index.html
Help! I work in a culinary black hole!
Since the discussion has migrated somewhat into the TL, I would be remiss if I did not mention Original Joe's.
Ante "Tony" Rodin opened Original Joe's in 1937. He retired just four or five years ago at the age of 92. His daughter, Marie Duggan, is keeping the tradition alive and the last I heard, she manages Original Joe's ... but I'm not certain that she still does.
Original Joe's is a very original San Francisco restaurant. Herb Caen wrote of it, "very retro, very fine."
I've been going to Original Joe's since the late 1950's. My father loved Original Joe's and took me with him often. I was always anxious to go along because as "everyone" in San Francisco at that time knew, that was Joe DiMaggio's favorite restaurant.
Original Joe's is open from 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM every day of the week and it is located at 142 Taylor Street. Go to: http://www.themenupage.com/originaljoes.html
Dungeness Crab Season
Although the season lasts for eight months, many crabbers stop fishing after the second or third week, because most of the legal crabs have been taken. During the first week of the season crabbers may take as much as 25-pounds of legal crab in each pot. By the third or fourth week there is often no more than 3 or 4 pounds of legal crab per pot. By the first of next month there will be likely be very few crabbers working the pots. Don't count on high-quality fresh legal crabs from San Francisco much after the end of this month.
Suggestions for a London hound in town for a week...
The Slanted Door is a Vietnamese restaurant that showcases local produce, meats, seafood and wines from around the San Francisco Bay Area and the Napa Valley area just north of here. The food is fusion and is very creative and unique.
San Francisco is renowned for its fusion dishes and The Slanted Door chefs are not only masters of fusion cuisine, but they use local fresh foods. It is a great way to experience foods grown locally and also enjoy the unique experience of fusion food at its best.
And, as luck would have it, The Slanted Door is located in the historic Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street. Ask for a table with a view of San Francisco Bay.
You can read reviews for The Slanted Door at: http://slanteddoor.com/reviews.html
In anticipation of your trip ... welcome to San Francisco. We are glad you are coming to visit us!
What foods smell better than they taste?
Waffle cones being baked. Their scent is devilish, but as an ice cream cone, they are not as good as the scent would suggest.
A16 Alternative near California and Presidio?
Tatertot had a good suggestion and I agree. Osteria is a good place and its at Sacramento and Presidio Streets. I tried gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
900 Grayson has the Best Burger in the East Bay
Wow. Thanks for the tip. Your description was mouth watering. Next time I'm over in the East Bay I will absolutely give 900 Grayson a try! Over here in SF I believe Joe's Cable Car is the best for burgers. I've been going there since I was in high school .... back in the late sixties ... well into the middle of the prior century (My God I'm old!)
Joe's Cable Car is still owned and run by the same fellow who started it and the quality is outstanding. He starts with choice-grade beef chuck and then trims it down to no more than 6 to 8% fat. That's more lean than most, that's for sure!
Then the chuck is ground fresh every day. The patties are hand-formed in 4, 6 and 8-oz sizes. You'll find Joe's at: http://joescablecar.com/
Boulevard, San Francisco
Really? I did a search under "Boulevard" and 3,832 responses were returned. Most of them are reviews.
Your favorite vanilla extract...?
Correction: You can find the Vanilla Company in Santa Cruz at vanilla-dot-com. My previous instructions were a bit confusing and I apologize.
Your favorite vanilla extract...?
Try The Vanilla Company in Santa Cruz, a coastal community here in Northern California. You can find them online at vanilla-dot.com
A 16-oz bottle of their certified organic premium-quality Bourbon vanilla flavor is a bit expensive at $35 a bottle, but it makes a real difference and is well worth the cost.
By the way, the difference between vanilla extract and vanilla flavor is the alcohol content. The alcohol content of pure vanilla extract is 35% vs. 17% in vanilla flavor.
The Vanilla Company product is a flavor, not an extract. Because the alcohol content in lower, the flavor is actually more intense and comes through with greater clarity in the finished food product you make.
East Bay/SF cheap ethnic food
Try the Punjab Restaurant on the corner of Eddy and Mason in the City.
Yes, I know. It's on the edge of the Tenderloin, but they attract a solid downtown-core lunch trade. They have a good selection of delightful weekday luncheon specials under $7.
Everything is very fresh and they do an excellent job of balancing all the delicate spice combinations used in Punjabi and Pakistani cooking.
Best food city in North America.
Well, when Conde Nast surveyed the readers of its Traveler magazine, the overwhelming response was thus: The single most popular destination in the United States is San Francisco. The second most popular destination on the planet is San Francisco. One of the principal reasons mentioned again and again by the readers (most of whom are upscale and impressively experienced in culinary diversity) was the quality of the food.
San Francisco is supreme on the planet when it comes to fine, elegant fusion cuisine.
Safeway - Rancher's Reserve - my opinion (reactions?)
I read all 27 comments and I learned a lot about buying meats in supermarkets. It's not that I am young and have no experience shopping. Quite the contrary. I'm 59 and, like most people my age, I have decades of shopping experience.
Here in San Francisco we have some delightful butcher shops in North Beach that cater to traditional Italian and Sicilian cooks. On upper Polk Street and along Union Street are some delightful shops that cater to the culinary staffs of those outrageously expensive Pacific Heights mansions. The quality of meat in those shops is absolutely superb. More butcher shops along Stockton Street cater to Chinese shoppers (who insist on everything being super-fresh) and there are many shops in the Mission catering to family cooks from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and other exciting locales.
With all these wonderful little mom and pop butcher shops in the City, I cannot think of any reason on Earth why I would want to shop at corporate mega-market.
What is it that pizza with chocolate milk so good together?
I have eaten chocolate and pizza together, but only after smoking some really good bud.
