I will be in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend for a conference. I will have a chance to catch a few meals in the area around the Moscone Convention Center. I’d appreciate suggestions from fellow Dopers of where to go.
Caveats - I like seafood and Oriental (things I don’t get in Montana, much) and cheap is good.
Thanks.
Whistlepig
Not south of Market but nearby and some of the d@mn best seafood in San Francisco. The Tadich Grill has been in operation since Civil War times, this is one of the premier seafood houses in the entire city.
It’s not cheap, but still less expensive than most restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf and much better quality. Don’t waste your time waiting for a booth. Play ‘vulture’ and stand along the right-hand wall waiting for someone to leave a stool (does that sound right?) at the counter. You’ll also get better service because your waiter walks by every fifteen seconds. Be sure to scoff down lots of the excellent sourdough bread while you wait for dinner.
Their Bloody Marys are legendary, they even bottle their own mix. Be sure to pick up a few of the lobster swizzle sticks. Their fresh water baby salmon was the best ever until the local tribes* that supplied them priced it out of existence. The swordfish is superb and it’s hard to go wrong with whatever is on the menu.
Known as “The Original Cold Day Restaurant,” their nickname traces back to a local politician, notorious for stuffing the ballot boxes. The Tadich was his favorite hangout and he once stated, “It’ll be a cold day in Hell when I’m not elected in this city.” Don’t miss this place, it is a local legend. One of my old girlfriend’s Uncles personally knew the Buich brothers who still own the place. Whatever you do, please stay away from Fisherman’s wharf if you’re going to eat something more elaborate than a crab cocktail. Some of the establishments there have been caught red-handed serving Stouffer’s frozen entrées.
Make sure you drop by the Musée Mechanique. It has one of the finest collections of mechanical games and amusement devices in the entire world. Also try to hit The Submarine Shop, around the corner from the Empire theater in Portola Valley. Their ‘Atomic Sub’ is simply one of the finest sandwiches a human being can ingest. I’ve been trying to come up with some sort of justification to drive up there for weeks now.
Don’t miss Sam Woh (scroll down for the listing) in Chinatown at Washington and Grant. It is the ne plus ultra of late night jook joints. You must also be sure to hit a dim sum parlor for the quintessential Chinese breakfast. Email me if you want to know more about this pinnacle of Asian cusine.
Tu Lan! Go there! It’s a little Vietnamese hole in the wall in a terrible terrible neighborhood…Mission and…6th, I think. Very cheap, very fabulous. Mmm. Go! Enjoy!
How good is the food? Maybe a couple years ago, they had a fire in the kitchen (which is a lot of the space) and the patrons took their food outside and stood around on the sidewalk (keep in mind, terrible neighborhood) eating it while the firemen put out the fire. I saw it on the local news, and the customers were all saying “We couldn’t leave it behind to burn! It’s too good!”
Please listen to Kyla. There is a Vietnamese soup called Phô. Sort of like how it would sound if you cut yourself off just before finishing the exclamation, “What the fu … !” (The last word only.) Along with an Indonesian ristaffel, it is one of the classic and defining dishes of Southeast Asia. Imagine a steaming bowl of thin pale rice noodles soaking in delicate chicken broth. Toss in all sorts of different seafood or shaved beef. Then serve it with a nice platter of bean sprouts, whole basil with flowers, thin sliced Jalapeño peppers and wedges of lime that is added to the soup at table.
Stir a dollop of infamous nuac mam fish sauce along with fiery red chili paste into your Phô and you’re one happy (if perspiring) man. To start with, get a side order of incredible cha gio (Vietnamese spring rolls). Shredded lettuce and cabbage, minced pork, the ubiquitous rice threads, chopped cilantro, grated carrot and garlic. All this is rolled up with whole, shelled cooked prawns that show through a last layer of the wrapper. You’ll want to dip these wonders into a sort of sate peanut sauce called nuoc leo. Mixed with garlic, chiles, and sesame oil, it plays an earthy counterpoint to the spring roll’s ethereal lightness.
We won’t even go into the fabulous crab soup known as Bun rieu. Some Vietnamese friends fed this to me and it was one of the single finest soups I have ever had. No matter what you do, please try some Vietnamese food while you’re visiting here. California probably has the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam itself. The Vietnamese people are wonderful and truly hospitable. They also possess a very enlightened culture. In Vietnam, women have always been able to vote, inherit or buy and own property, fight in battle plus many other things prohibited them in most cultures for a long time. The legendary Trung sisters repulsed Chinese invaders in 43 CE and remain national heroes to this day. Between the Tadich Grill, a dim sum brunch, midnight snacking at Sam Woh, Vietnamese Phô and one of those sub sandwiches, you’ll get an unparalleled insight into the cosmopolitan melange that is San Francisco.
I’ll second the vote for Tu Lan. They’re at 8 Sixth St, just south of Market. Definitely an iffy street, but the food is worth it. There’s usually a small mob waiting to get in at lunchtime. Julia Child thinks the world of it as well.