Post #601173 by Mai Tai on Sat, Aug 6, 2011 4:13 AM

Tom, if you're going to be staying right in or near Fisherman's Wharf, then it doesn't get any more touristy than that - although it's a nice area, it's the equivalent of staying right next to Grauman's Chinese Theater. Boudin's makes good sourdough, but you'll find good sourdough all over San Francisco, especially in Fisherman's Wharf. Try some clam chowder in a bread bowl - yum! Other places you could try are Tommy's Joynt for sandwiches - just shoot down Van Ness Ave from the wharf, and Tommy's is at Van Ness and Geary.

If you've only got two days in San Francisco, then I'd shoot for a couple of key areas. You could do Fisherman's Wharf in an hour or two, and the Ghirardeli ice cream and chocolate shop are at the end of Fisherman's Wharf in Ghirardeli Square - you can knock those all out together quickly. The other neighborhoods that I'd recommend to hit are The Haight, the Mission, and a couple of spots in or near the Downtown/Union Square area. Besides being the center of the cultural revolution of The Summer Of Love, The Haight has tons of cool shops, tons of cool bars and restaurants, and the original Amoeba Music record store, in what was formerly a bowling alley - it's huge! Too many coffee shops and ethnic restaurants to name just one, no matter what you pick it will be good. Lots of cheap eats, too, like Escape From New York Pizza. Bars that I'd recommend in that area are Hobson's Choice for such specialties as Victorian punch, and Alembic.

The Haight is up by Golden Gate Park, but if you venture further south towards Market Street, you enter an area called Lower Haight. The area is a little seedier, but there are some really cool places as well. One bar that jumps to mind is Toronado - they have a tremendous amount of great beers on tap, it's a true locals type hangout.

Another good area to check out is The Mission, which is a little south of Market, say around 16th and Valencia or Guerrero. Formerly a working class and ethnic neighborhood known for great taquerias like Pancho Villa, El Farolito, and many many others, it is being regentrified as a hipster hangout, with lots of American Bistro restaurants and hipster bars like Zeitgeist and Elixer. The really really hot spot is a sandwich shop called Ike's Place, on 16th and Sanchez - it's actually really good, and they bake their own bread for each sandwich, so you can get your sourdough fix there as well. I highly recommend The Pizzle sandwich, which has seasoned halal chicken, bacon, ranch, cheddar, and "dirty sauce" (home made aioli garlic and herb sauce). In fact, get it with extra dirty sauce! :wink:

San Francisco is considered a heavy hitter on the bar and restaurant scene, and there are good points and bad points about it. The good points are that there is always some new or old good place to go, although the older places seem to be slipping by the way side a little these days. The bad points are that some of these places are over-rated by foodies and wine snobs, (excuse me, Bartender, can you tell me if the grapes for this particular bottle of wine were grown on the gently sloping sunny side of the hill?), the Faux Hawk douche bag factor can be a little high at times, and to me all the American Bistro style restaurants are starting to taste the same, unless they do something really bizarre with their food (which isn't always great). Some places can be pretty damn pricey, too, but with such a great selection there is always a tasty bargain to be found practically anywhere.

If you go into the Tenderloin, then I would highly recommend that you go to Bourbon & Branch. Talk about a great place that has that throwback feel to prohibition and pre-prohibition, they make amazing cocktails that aren't too pricey. You can make a reservation for the main area, or better yet, just go to the "Library" section where you don't need a reservation, but you'll need the password to get in (check your pm's), and you can get anything that the normal section carries. They are trying to regentrify the Tenderloin as well, but I don't know if they will ever succeed, because doesn't every city need a place where you can pick up crack, smack, and a transvestite prostitute in a non-stop bender? It's safe during the day, but watch yourself a little there at night. There's a pretty cool bar called Whiskey Thieves, which is on the outskirts of the Tenderloin on Geary near Van Ness, and they have a daily special whiskey and cheap beer combo. Lucky 13 is okay - they opened one here in Alameda, too, so that took some of the specialness away for me :), it's on the outskirts of The Castro, around the Duboce Triangle area, you could hit it on a trip to or from The Mission district. Other places like Whiskey Thieves or Toronado will have the same vibe.

Also, Smuggler's Cove is close to the Tenderloin/Civic Center area, and is accessible from the Fisherman's Wharf area, just shoot down Van Ness Ave a bit, then go west a couple of blocks, and you're there! The drinks are about the same price as what you would pay for at Bamboo Hut or Trad'r Sam's, but obviously of much much higher caliber. They also serve beer there too, Smuggler's Brew, and it's good.

So for Tiki bars, I would say that Tonga Room is a must, especially if you have never been before. Trust me on this. The drinks are nothing to write home about, and priced about like the Tiki Ti. You can buy their happy hour buffett, but it's basically overpriced Costco egg rolls and noodles and such - nothing to write home about for the price. You'd be much better off eating at Sam Wo's instead. Although Trad'r Sam's is historically significant, it is way out in the middle of nowhere, and not really worth the hassle of going out there, unless you have a car and extra time on your hands. The drinks are also Tiki Ti prices, and they pretty much suck - the best drink they have, that giant "volcano" drink with orange sherbet that they serve in a giant goblet, looks like a giant baby aspirin, and tastes like one too. There is a reason that we schedule that place "first" at 3:00pm on the Tiki Bar Crawl. The Bamboo Hut is going to be tremendously crowded on a Saturday, and way high on douche bag factor as well, and the drinks are also sub par, along the lines of what you'll get at the Tonga Room.

For Chinatown, I have to echo Trad'r Bill's recommendation of Sam Wo's. That's a cool place that was a favorite hang out of mine in college. And why was it such a favorite? Because not only do they have cheap tasty food, but you can also bring your own booze! No lie! I've seen frat guys carry a pony keg into that place, and set it in the middle of the table, no questions asked! My only recommendation is that you don't try to look around too much as you enter the place on the ground floor through the kitchen!

My last neighborhood recommendation is North Beach. You can hit that easily from the wharf area, just go down Columbus on your way towards downtown, and you will go right through North Beach. Lots of great Italian restaurants, such as Fior di Italia, Calzone's, the Stinking Rose, plus tons of cafes and coffee shops like Cafe Vesuvio. A couple of great bars in that area are Specs, the Saloon, and the Grant and Green Saloon (both on Grant street), for a taste of old timey Barbary Coast bars. Hiting a couple of these older saloons, plus taking a quick stroll down Broadway in the evening, where there are a ton of strip clubs and such left over from the Barbary Coast days, and hitting Bourbon and Branch or Whiskey Thieves or other places in the Tenderloin should definitely satisfy that desire to explore the seedy underside.

I could ramble on and on, but that should be more than enough to choose from, especially with your other choices in mind. Hope it helps. If you had more time, and more money, I'd have an entirely different list of recommendations. But you should be able to hit most of those places on a fairly tight budget. I'll be at Tiki Oasis that weekend, otherwise I'd meet up with ya. I'd also drag you over to Forbidden Island, because that is a MUST on your next trip to the Bay Area! Have fun! (and don't call it "Frisco", unless you want the Ghost of Herb Caen to give you a beat down!) lol Cheers,
-Bill