So CrazyCatLady and I are headed to San Francisco next weekend! I’ll be at the convention center most of the week, but I should have plenty of time to play.
First of all, the hotel we have booked is in SoMa, at 140 Seventh St. Per all reviews, it’s an awesome hotel in a kind of sketchy part of town. I don’t mind sketchy, considering that it was way cheaper than any other option we had, but how sketchy are we talking about here? Should I look for someplace else?
I’m also looking for any food/drink suggestions anyone might have. We’ve been to the Ferry Building and we definitely plan to do that again. We’ve been there before enough to get a decent overview of the city, but with six days this time we’ll be able to explore a little deeper.
It’s near the Civic Center, the heart of the city…
In other words, it’s close enough to the ghetto. Thing about SF: you can go from affluent to ghetto in a few blocks. North of you would be the worst part. I don’t know that specific hotel or what it’s like to be there. FWIW, we had a car broken into, about 2 blocks from there, and they took it joyriding. This happened before 9 pm.
Why that hotel specifically? Location? Price? How nice do you need? And do a search for similar threads, good advice for sightseeing and such in those.
Exploratorium is temporarily closed, so no dice there.
If you know someone who is a member of the Marines Memorial Club, have him/her get you a room there. Great place to stay for a variety of reasons. If you don’t know anyone, and you are a veteran, get a one year membership.
Don’t know from neighborhoods, but my favorite restaurant in San Francisco is Pesce. It’s out of some peoples’ price ranges (like, say, mine, most of the time…), but if you like seafood & Italian food, it’s worth a shot. You’d probably need a car to get there from your hotel, though.
It’s pretty sketchy, but as long as you’re not alone after dark you’ll probably be fine.
For fancy dinners in the area, there’s Boulevard, which is right across from the Ferry building, and Zuni cafe, which is toward the other direction on Market st.
It would help if you gave us some idea of your food preferences and budget. Are you interested in fine dining? Ethnic food? Cheap-but-good places? Restaurants in interesting neighborhoods?
A quick wander through Little Italy will have you walking past dozens of really excellent Italian restaurants, ranging from affordable to quite pricey. Getting a meal in Chinatown is worthwhile too, and you can really find affordable meals there. If you love garlic, don’t miss The Stinking Rose.
I’m pretty sure Little Italy is in NYC. North Beach? The only restaurant I remember there is La Felce, which I guess is gone.
Mission has cheap food stuff, for now.
But BTW: I stayed close to where you’re registered now, at Hayes Valley Inn. Pretty affordable and decent area, although rooms (or the one we paid for) are very small dormy type places. As I said, it seems super close, but is worlds away crimewise.
The hotel is The Carriage Inn. It has 4/5 on TripAdvisor despite its location. It’s <$150/night, which beats anything else I’ve been able to find in the proximity of the convention center by a lot. (This is a huge convention, and I think there are some other large events happening at the same time, so the hotel prices are all higher that week.) It was recommended by a friend who said the neighborhood didn’t bother her at all, but such things are always relative.
Food/drink budget is fairly high, but since we’re talking about six nights we can’t do the expensive blowout dinner every night. We’re very nerdy about cocktails. We definitely want to do some North Beach Italian one night, and we may do Zuni Cafe another night. We’re also fond of what we call “appetizer hopping”–wandering around a neighborhood and getting a drink and a bite at several different places. Any good neighborhoods for doing that?
If you’re going to be spending time around Moscone Center, the HRD Coffee Shop is worth a visit-- the lines get pretty long at lunchtime, so plan your trip accordingly.
The North Beach Restaurant and Sodini’s both near Washington Square are both quite good and the real deal. Don’t miss the Garden Court or Maxfield’s at The Palace Hotel. It may be that Maxfield’s is not displaying the Pied Piper, but if they are, it is behind the bar. Currently a controversy about that. Do see a Giants game at AT&T Park if it isn’t sold out. Go to Tadich’s Grill on California. Get your cable car ticket, but hop on in the middle of the route and don’t wait in the f’in line. Hang on the outside till they throw you off. Check out the Castro theater at night. Keep your eyes peeled for an old, short really, really well dressed black man, that’s Willie Brown. (Look him up, former mayor and former Speaker, once the most powerful politician in California) Introduce yourself, he is friendly. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, wear plenty of layers, it’s cold. See the murals at Coit Tower. Don’t spend a whole day at Alcatraz unless you have lots of time. It’s a prison with great views. There’s currently a Vermeer exhibit at the De Young, damnit. Terra Cotta warriors at the Asian Art Museum. Holy smokes, I wish I wasn’t so busy.
You might want to check out Belden Place - an alley with eight restaurants in a single block.
For cheaper eats, you could spend a night wandering around the Mission district in search of Mexican food. There are lots of good, cheap taquerias there, and even the more upscale sit-down Mexican places aren’t too costly. Just take BART to the 16th Street or 24th Street station.
Thanks for the input, everybody. I think we’re going to stick with our hotel choice. Any other food and drink thoughts or stuff to do in the evenings would be awesome.
If you’ve not done the night tour of Alcatraz, I can highly recommend that. You might also check to see what’s playing at the Castro Theater; it’s gorgeous, and on they occasionally do sing-alongs to old musicals (which are tons of corny fun).
Very much recommend Lark Creek Steak if you get the chance, it’s not too far from where you’ll be.
For drinks, it’s a little further, but Smuggler’s Cove is my favorite bar in SF. The Left Bank is also a pretty good bar downtown where you can drink in an old confessional booth.
Tons of other good suggestions in the thread so far, just thought I’d throw those in because they hadn’t been mentioned.
In North Beach (not Little Italy!) I think the North Beach Restaurant is overrated. Sodini’s is terrific and so is Firenze By Night. My favorite is Ideale on Grant Avenue, which is just the right combo of great food and comfortable atmosphere for me. Also, Ideale is right near the Saloon, which is supposed to be the oldest bar in San Francisco and certainly looks like it The Saloon has live music (blues) every night and some afternoons.
Outside of North Beach, I agree with seeing Tadich Grill - but if you are going to Belden Place, Sam’s on the corner is like a smaller version of Tadich. Old style - try the sand dabs! If you want to see the wharf (certainly not required), eat at Sabella & la Torre on the ground floor below Alioto’s. Food is as good as anything on the wharf, locals eat there because you don’t pay extra for fancy views.
The Saloon has live music (blues) every night and some afternoons.