Re: HIT : San Francisco part three of three

[Susan Burstein <portland@CONNIX.COM>]

From: Mary...
It has been a long time, but we went to one that locals go to, vs the
tourists--I think the name was Sams, it was downtown, reasonable (for
SF) and good...Another day we ate at Seal Rock restaurant. Seal Rock Inn

was a good hotel in the past..don't know about now.
  ***************

From: Peggy

Susan,
I'm so jealous- I grew up in the bay area, so your request for info.
brought back a flood of memories. In high school we used to go over on a

Friday night and check out the hotels that used to be rich people's
mansions. My family used to go to an Armenian restaurant where they
served
rose petal jam and communion bread as an appetizer .If you love the out
of doors, the Redwood forest just 40 minutes up the road is a must.
Walking the Golden Gate is incredible. Macy's is a great place to shop.
Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli (not sp. right) Square, Japanese
Cultural Center, riding a trolley-- I could go on and on!Have fun and
eat some Fisherman's Wharf bread. The Armenian rest. is called Omar
Kayan's I think..

   ****************

From: glassmaid


    *************
From: Janjulau

I, too, am going for a visit to San Francisco. I would like to hear the
response that you get .  As for me, I am planning to visit Frace
cathedral atop Nob Hill. There are two labyrinths there, one indoor and
one outdoor. I hope to walk one of those. Pier 39 is a neat area to
visit, too. We enjoyed it when we were out last year. And we liked
Ghiradelli Square. We had a limited amount of time, same way this year.

     *************
From: Kevin/Jeri

Here's a list of favorite restaurants from a S.F. resident:
Lulu - French Provincial/Californian. Hip, loud, fun, great grilled
meats, wine list.
Fringale - French/Californian. Good food and deserts.
Hamano Sushi - Japanese, best in town.
Fire Fly - International. Excellent! I highly recommend this one! Get a
reservation.
Zuppenkuche - Excellent German food and fun atmosphere.
Slanted Door - Vietnamese/Californian. A favorite with the likes of Don
Johnson, Julia Roberts. GREAT food. You go for quality, not quantity.
But GO! It is a good idea to make reservations. Great wine list.
The Gold Spike - Best Italian family-style dinners.

Must see in the city?
The new Metreon Entertainment Centre, 4th and Mission Streets.
The Castro Theatre, a great old movie palace which shows old films and
new artsy films.  At Castro and Market Streets.
Take underground Muni.
Palace of the Legion of Honor. Great places to walk with views of Bay
and Golden gate. Nice museum, too.
Take a Ferry to Angel Island for a picnic.
Rent a car and drive to Napa Valley Wine country.
For Fringe Theatre, check out The EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street.
For Mainstream Theatre, check out Golden Gate Theatre, Orpheum, Magic
Theatre, or ACT.
Shopping, Union Square. Hip and alternative shopping, Hayes Valley
between Gough and Laguna.
Sixties and retro shopping, Haight Street around Haight & Ashbury.
North Beach, sun and Italian food. Go to The Gold Spike at Columbus and
Green for best Italian family style dinner!
-
   ***********************

From: Kathy
Subject: San Francisco,
The key factor for enjoying your trip is figuring out what most
interests you and your travel companions.

If you are traveling with children The Exploratorium is a must. Poetry
lovers should make a pilgrimage to the City Lights Bookstore in North
Beach. Art lovers should go to the Museum of Modern Art. Everyone should

walk and enjoy the wonderful architecture of (The City)
as locals call it.

Fisherman's Wharf used to be a must see - and a must in terms of dining.

Lately it has become a terrible tourist trap so try to go midweek or at
least not at peak hours.

Ghiradelli Square and the Cannery combine historical interest and
shopping.
The Harbor tour or the Alcatraz outing give you great vistas of the
city.

My personal favorite in terms of restaurants is the Stinking Rose a
wonderful Italian restaurant on North Beach devoted to garlic. Again
figure out what kind of cuisine interests you. If you are an avid
seafood eater SF is a great place but try to work in some other things
you won't get in your
hometown.

Have a wonderful vacation and don't forget to bring a jacket. It can get

quite chilly when the fog rolls in.

   ***************

From Doug:

Favorites of mine are GREENS at Fort Mason a great vegetarian restaurant

and the Pacific Cafe on Geary St.  The Pacific Cafe is a very good
Seafood place that is near the Palace of Legion of Honor. A fine art
museum in a terrific setting


   ********************
From: Gayle

Susan, plan on walking a lot. It's much easier to get around if you do,
and you'll see more. Parking is the pits. We usually stay at the Lombard

Motor Inn, which is not fancy, but not seedy, either, and you're never
in the room that much anyway. It's only a few blocks from Pier 39.
Walking on the pier is the usual touristy stuff, and the restaurants,
ditto. Most of the seafood places serve a decent meal, but often there's

more atmosphere than quality. One good way to go (if your hotel is near
enough) is to walk to the head of the Cable Car tracks (close to the
pier) early in the morning. (Have coffee on the way - you should be able

to find a billion little spots
for coffee and a snack.) Buy a day pass. Stand in line (seemingly
forever, unless you get there EARLY) and take the cable car downtown.
Walk all over downtown enjoying the shops and the atmosphere of the
city. It's not a bad walk to downtown from Chinatown, if you want to get

off the cable car there, instead. Chinatown is also very touristy. You
rarely find anything in the shops that you couldn't get at most five and

dime or tourist gift shops, but it's fun. San Francisco has a real
profusion of ethnic foods, so be sure to try some Thai or Indian or
other exotic food, along with the really great Italian. If you're up for

a great burger, Mel's Diner is a great place to go, and the servings are

HUGE.

      **********************
From Terry:

I'd love the collection of tips about San Francisco.  I've been away and

didn't see your original post, but I try to get to SF every summer and
my
favorite (free!!) activity is the annual walk across the Golden Gate
Bridge.  The beautiful natural vistas of the Marin Headlands outbound,
the
beautiful urban vistas of SF on the way back.  And if you like to walk,
get
a copy of "Stairway walks in SF" by Adah Bakalinsky (Wilderness Press,
1995) for an entree to the marvellous system of stairways around The
City.





Susan Burstein,
Portland Middle School Library
Portland, CT 06480
portland@connix.com   OR burstein@connix.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
 To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
   listserv@listserv.syr.edu          In the message write EITHER:
    1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
 4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv
 For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=