# San Francisco dopers... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238 "2003-06-16T16:26:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lenny\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9dc877/32.png) [@Lenny\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lenny_Carl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/1 "2003-06-16T16:26:15Z")
So, I’ve got a lot of vacation time saved up and I’ve been feeling pretty restless, so I wanna take a few weeks and drive up to San Francisco (I’m in LA). So, where should I go? What should I do? What are the quintessential “San Francisco” spots? Music clubs - I like rock, jazz, blues. Even some underground stuff. Any cool museums? What about food - what are some classic SF restaurants? Where should I stay? Hotels? Any suggestions?? Mind you, I’m not real “wild and crazy” guy, so bars don’t really interest me. ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/2 "2003-06-16T19:28:50Z")
Some places I can recommend… [Biscuits and Blues](http://www.mistersf.com/new/index.html?newbiscuits.htm). Food is good and the music is great. [The Saloon](http://www.sanfranciscoblues.net/Saloon.html) has nightly shows with some of the best of the local blues bands. It’s a dive bar, and the oldest bar in the city. It’s in North Beach, so you are also close to lots of great Italian food. My favorite local museum is the [Legion of Honor](http://www.thinker.org/legion/). It’s out at the end of town, set in one of the most beautiful parts of the city. If you want to eat at the wharf, the place I recommend is [Sabella LaTorre](http://www.bestofsanfrancisco.net/sabellalatorre.htm). It’s not fancy, but the food there is better than most others in the area, and it’s not as expensive. Out near the Legion there’s a fabulous seafood place: [Pacific Cafe](http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/907661/) More if I think of it… welcome to San Francisco 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/3 "2003-06-16T21:58:23Z")
Have one dinner at Boulevard’s on 2nd st. I think. Go to at least one Giant’s game. Drive up to the top of Twin Peaks. Have lunch at Zuni’s on Market St. Grab a cocktail at Bruno’s (if its still there) on Mission. If you like margarita’s, have one at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant on Geary. If you’re into book stores, Green Apple Books on Clement is awesome for used books. There’s tons more cool places to go. If I get some more time I’ll post them. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/4 "2003-06-16T22:02:52Z")
Sorry I forgot about your ‘no bars’ qualification. I’ll think about it some more and post some other suggestions later. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/5 "2003-06-17T00:10:19Z")
If you like Italian, go to Coppola’s on Pacific. Best linuine alla vongole anywhere this side of New York. I second **Sassy’s** recommendation for the Legion of Honor museum, my daughter & I just saw the DaVinci exhibit, and it is there (I believe) through the end of this month. The Palace of Fine Art is quite pretty, too. Go over the Golden Gate Bridge and go antiquing in Sausalito. Beautiful little town, tons of antique shops, relaxed atmosphere. Once had a madam for mayor, and you should definitely go see her house. Stay, if wallet will allow, at the Mark Hopkins. If not, the Marriot near the wharf is nice, pretty views, near just about everything. Go down Lombard Street, I think it’s required at least once. See the view from Coit Tower. I definitely recommend walking if you go to Chinatown; getting around there is quite difficult and, although you are from LA and are used to traffic, driving in the city is VERY intimidating. ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/6 "2003-06-17T03:23:08Z")
See [this](http://dlp.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mkhtml.cgi?7852312242150008&1&864&576&0&0&0&0) at The Legion of Honor. I’m somewhat prejudiced here, being a woodworker and all, but I can stare at that cabinet for hours and not get bored. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/7 "2003-06-17T04:53:35Z")
If you love garlic eat at the Stinking Rose (I think on Colombus.) Good stuff! There’s a good cheesy rotating restaurant (Equinox) at the Embarcadero Hyatt with great views but I’ve only been there for drinks and I understand the food is pretty pedestrian and not worth the money. Maybe you might try it for dessert or something. If you’d like to hang out with a group of us let us know and we can bang out some arrangements. Don’t be scared! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/8 "2003-06-17T06:26:16Z")
The best jazz club in the Bay Area is Yoshi’s in Oakland, at Jack London Square. See their web site at [http://www.yoshis.com/](http://www.yoshis.com/). The Museum of Asian Art just re-opened at a new location in San Francisco. I got to see it briefly on opening night and liked it a lot. Their web site is at [http://www.asianart.org/](http://www.asianart.org/). For the best Chinese food, stay out of Chinatown. You can find much better restaurants on Clement Street, and also on Geary. Golden Gate Park is good for outdoor activities. I really like Strybing Arboretum - a big, beautiful botanical garden. You can see some pretty big redwoods at Muir Woods, in Marin County. The place is jammed with tourists, especially during the summer, but if you hike into the park you can get away from the crowds. If you want to see Coit Tower, you can do it without waiting in a line of traffic for an hour. Park on the bay side of Telegraph Hill and walk up the Filbert Steps, which start where Filbert Street ends at the hill. The steps are long and steep, but you can take them at your own pace. You will see some great views of the bay, and also some nice gardens. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/9 "2003-06-17T14:07:28Z")
Some previous threads on the city: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59820](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59820) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=114955](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=114955) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=148207](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=148207) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=176888](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=176888) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/10 "2003-06-18T02:39:06Z")
Back in April someone asked the readers of the newsgroup ba.food to recommend “the ONE S.F. restaurant that always blows you away time and time again.” There were some good replies by several informed people. You can see the thread at: [http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=357d83aa.0304122206.bd29c7d%40posting.google.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Doff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as\_ugroup%3Dba.food%26as\_usubject%3DSan%20Francisco%20Gems%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den](http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=357d83aa.0304122206.bd29c7d%40posting.google.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Doff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as_ugroup%3Dba.food%26as_usubject%3DSan%2520Francisco%2520Gems%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den) Here is another good thread on the best Italian restaurants: [http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=badkk4%24oun%40u1.netgate.net&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Doff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as\_ugroup%3Dba.food%26as\_usubject%3DSan%20Francisco%20Italian%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den](http://www.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=badkk4%24oun%40u1.netgate.net&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Doff%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as_ugroup%3Dba.food%26as_usubject%3DSan%2520Francisco%2520Italian%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den) ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/san-francisco-dopers/182238/11 "2003-06-18T02:54:05Z")
OMG, I ALMOST FORGOT THE HOUSE OF PRIME RIB!!! HOW COULD I???!!!