usa :: san francisco :: general

[HelperMonkey]

Swan Oyster Depot -- One of the best lunches to be found in the US

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=365

[kiya]

Go to Zeitgeist.

It's the most important thing in the Bay Area.

[buffalocloud7]

not to be redundent but upper haight street...mission distrct is pretty...rent a bike and check out golden gate park...the warf is a tad too "touristy" for my tast but the chowder is kick ass...one of my fav places was this music performance in the complete darkness with incredible acoustics! and i can t for the life of me remember the place...:confused:

[HelperMonkey]

Be sure to check out a store in Haight called Villain's Vault. There are actually two of them across the street from one another. One's higher end than the other (I preferred the more casual of the two). Lots of nice street wear.

https://www.villainssf.com/

[Felix]

go to the university of berkeley..walk around campus a little then check the streets nearby

you could also drive up the hills of berkeley...view is amazing

twin peaks also dope!

[youreit]

jack off on people in union square from atop the cheesecake factory patio

[jours]

Yay Areaaaaaaaaaaa!

[renski]

sorry man, but you go to San Diego for the zoo.

[Larry Bird]

go see a giants game

if you like to get high on that narcotic go visit the pill block in the TL..its like a candy store for addicts...pm me for the streets.

[Bighc]

Hi there!

We are 4 guys flying in to SFO from Oslo, Norway the first weekend of June, and we unfortunally only have this one weekend before continuing south...

But we need some tips on what to fill our compact weekend with!

We would love to visit some nice DJ spots, and enjoy San Francisco clubbing at night! And during daytime we need some coffeespots and streets to wander along as well as somewhere to eat and some denim hotspots. The sights I think we´ll save until we grow older and return...

Any tip on hotels as well would be highly appreciated. They should not exceed 120USD per room per night.

Thank you so much for your responses!

[tkarwin]

Any recommendations for good local art from the area. I like to pic up art from my travels. They tend to be good conversation starters and have more meaning than random crap from pottery barn.

Nothing too expensive, just some cool, local, hip, galleries. Any specific ones that represent the San Francisco flavor well?

[misterpretender]

Hi there!

Here are my favorite RESTAURANTS:

CHEAP EATS:

*Dottie's True Blue Cafe - the best breakfast place in san francisco. if ever you swing by this place make sure that you're ready to wait in line for 30-45 mins in the tenderloin district which is not the most pleasant area in downtown. but i tell you the long wait is worth it. make sure to try their most famous cornbread...yummy!

*Park Chow - another cheap eatery in SF that is pretty good. everytime I go to this place it is always crowded. make sure to try their smiling noodles and thier thai salad.

*Squat & Gobble - if you're looking for a hearty cheap breakfast meal then I recommend that you check out this place. they have a pretty vast menu. i would defiinitely recommend their sandwiches, crepes and anything on their breakfast menu is pretty good.

*Asqew Grill - if you like bbq style food then you should try this place

*Dragon Well - the only cheap chinese place that my bf and I love. They make the best pot stickers (kind of pricey but worth it). I highly recommend their mongolian beef, lemongrass chicken, hongkong noodles and their seabass dish.

*King of Thai Noodles - if you're craving for cheap Thai food then you should try this place. Most of their dishes cost around 6-8 bucks and I think the food is pretty decent.

*Sunflower - one of my favorite cheap Vietnamese places in town

*Nirvana - this place is pretty decent. just make sure not to go here during peak hours because the service can get pretty sucky...

*Andale - reasonably priced place serving fresh Mexican food.

*Rotee - good fastfood style Indian food. make sure to try their chicken tikka masala and their delicious lamb tandoori

*Spiazzo - my favorite Italian place located in West Portal.

* Marnee Thai - the BEST Thai place in SF. everything is good in this place!!! everything on the menu is between $8-$12. my favorite here is their garlic fish...

*Manora's - my second favorite Thai place in SF. I highly recommend their seafood skewers and their panang beef...

BEST RESTAURANTS:

*Mecca - love this place. excellent food. very nice ambiance. if you're broke i suggest that you skip this place

*Betelnut - my favorite Asian fusion place in SF. if ever you want to treat yourself to a nice meal I highly recommend this place. make sure to try their mouth watering spare ribs, megorang, dumplings, lettuce cups and their excellent spicy spring beans..the spicy string beans is the BOMB...also, for the entree try ordering the sizzling beef or the sea bass...

*Slanted Door - one of the most popular french-vietnamese fusion in town. they make the best shaking beef!!!

*Firefly - excellent food and ambiance. make sure to check your bill because they don't have cash register...they just use an old school calculator to sum up the bill...lol

*Fresca - excellent Peruvian place...everything on their menu is good. they have a $10 beef salad that is yummy and very filling.

*Roti - if you love Indian food then I suggest that you try this place. don't forget to try their garlic naan breads and their chicken masala

*Limon - another excellent Peruvian place

*2223 - American restaurant serving excellent food

*PJ Oyster Bed - my favorite Cajun style restaurant

*Tangerine - reasonably priced Asian fusion restaurant. make sure to try their brunch specials during weekends!!!

Suppenküche - my favorite German restaurant

*Straits Cafe - Singaporean place serving good Asian fusion food with a very nice ambiance located at the new Westfield Center.

[synj_greatest]

*Straits Cafe - Singaporean place serving good Asian fusion food with a very nice ambiance located at the new Westfield Center.

I second this.

Look for Naan and Curry that place is bomb

[Louis]

House of Naan king (spelling?) anyways i think its near chinatown but its so fucking good. chinese place.

[misterpretender]

Here are the stores in SF worth checking out:

(I'm just going to list the brands that the stores carry)

*Rolo (Market) - this place is for the fabulous metrosexual

Nice Collective, G-Star, Paul Smith, Ever, J. Lindeberg, Comme des Garcons, C.P. Company, Stone Island, Belstaff, Rogan, Fred Perry, Earnest Sewn, Nicole Farhi, Tylho, Rag & Bone, Loomstate, Adam +, Nudie, John Malkovich, Rouges Gallery, Filippa K., Brown Label, Initium, Kasil, 12LBS Inc., Hartford, Richard Kidd, Kings of Glory, Christian Audigier, Deviant Arm, Common Projects

*Rolo (SOMA) - I personally like this store than the other ROLO store. The stuff that they have has a much more urban feel than the other stuff.

Nice Collective, G-Star, Ever, A.P.C., Rogan, Earnest Sewn, Rag & Bone, Trovata, Loomstate, Umbro by Kim Jones, Uppercut, Acne, Band of Outsiders, Notify, Tongue Cut Sparrow, Guilded Age, Tsubi, Mona & Holly, Nili Lotan, Alexander Wang, Adam Kimmel, Sass & Bide, Siwy, T-Luxury, Saddelites, Ulla Johnson, Freedom is Natural Nirvana, Golden Goose, Shagg Downtown, Alex Gaines, Jean Shop

*The Archive (Downtown) - this store showcases popular designers as well as up and coming designers.

Ann Demeulemeester, NeilBarrett, Nice Collective, CP Company, Transit, J Brand, Bagutta, Puma by Alexander McQueen

*Nida (Hayes Valley) - this place has a pretty good selection of designer pieces. i just recently purchased a pair of converse by junya watanabe. love it.

Marc Jacobs, Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons, Mason's, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Paul & Joe, Raf Simmons, Neil Barrett, Costume National

*YSL (Maiden Lane/Downtown) - love this store.

*Marc by Marc Jacobs (Fillmore)- the cheaper and much hipper line of the Marc Jacobs label. I can't wait for the Marc Jacobs + Vans collab.

*Bloomingdales (Downtown)- this is the my favorite department store ever

Common Projects, Marc Jacobs, Converse + John Varvatos, Martin Margiela, Vans, PF Flyers, Y-3, Viktor & Rolf, APC, PRPS, Trovata, Lucien Pellat-Finnet, Marc by Marc Jacobs, J Lindeberg, G-Star

*Self Edge (Mission) - the best denim seleciton if SF

Flathead, Iron Heart, Skull Jeans, Nudies, Sugar Cane

*Huf (Hayes Valley) - my favorite sneaker store in SF

Limited Edition Nike, Vans, Adidas, VisVim, Alife, Y-3, Reebok, Puma, etc

*Villain's / Villain's Vault (Haight) - make sure to check out this store when you're in the Haight Ashbury area.

Nudie, G-Star, Ksubi, Cheap Monday, Vans, Obey, Converse, Puma

*American Apparel - this is where I get my everyday basic items

*American Rag (Van Ness)- cutting edge designers charging crazy money for new items. this store also carries vintage clothing that can get pretty pricey sometimes

Paul Smith, G-Star, Levi's, Steven Alan, Nudie, Ksubi, Evisu, Vans, Rogan, Edwin, Cheap Monday, PRPS, APC, J Brand

*Harput's Market (Fillmore) - the best selection of Yohji Yamamoto stuff...

Y's, Yohji Y, Bless, Martin Margiela, Costume National, Comme des Garcons, Kenzo, Hussein Chalayan

[selective beef]

^ thats a lot of writing misterpretender. i would like to add:

grubstake restaurant on pine street is really good. the owner kinda looks like Robert De Niro.

http://www.sfgrubstake.com/

[Dick Danger]

there's a wings place not far from Self Edge, good for a decent butthole burn

[garcon core]

the end up.

[misterpretender]

Clubs/Bars worth checking out...

*Ruby Sky - very nice interiors and it hosts some of the hottest DJs in the world

*Bar on Castro - the ONLY gay bar I like going to during weekends. very popular for house afficionados like me on Fridays & Saturdays

*The EndUp - if you're looking for an after hours club then I suggest that you check-out this place. this is the home of some of the most influential house djs here in SF.

*1015 - definitely a place to check-out if you're a trance fanatic. this is where most of the big name djs play when they're in SF.

*AsiaSF - showcases the most beautiful women in San Francisco. too bad they're not REAL women.

[corporategrunt]

quick SF grub related question, last time I was there, my hosts took me to a thai or vietanmese restaurant that is famous for serving huuuuge whole crabs that comes cooked in a spicy sauce. It was the best whole crab I've ever eaten in my life. anybody from SF familiar with such an establishment? I have no idea what neighborhood it was in, I remember the surroundings being bit suburbish but still pretty densely populated.

[champagne_bubblebath]

quick SF grub related question, last time I was there, my hosts took me to a thai or vietanmese restaurant that is famous for serving huuuuge whole crabs that comes cooked in a spicy sauce. It was the best whole crab I've ever eaten in my life. anybody from SF familiar with such an establishment? I have no idea what neighborhood it was in, I remember the surroundings being bit suburbish but still pretty densely populated.

Thanh Long. 46th and Judah. This restaurant spawed the more upscale Crustacean Restaurant, who also serves similar crab, in Polk Gulch.

[cuddlysheep]

el farlitos, is top notch best mexican in the bay area.

Off the top of my head:

-El Farolito Taqueria (the one on Mission @ 24th)

-Zeitgeist Bar during the daytime (You've never seen anything like it in your entire life)

-The Ferry Building (if you're into food, this is Food Mecca)

-Self Edge if you're into denim: http://www.selfedge.com (i'm biased, it's my store)

-Pork Buns in Chinatown

-City Lights Bookstore

-The Castro Theatre (and no, it's not a gay theatre, it's a non-smut theatre and probably one of the nicest in the country)

[misterpretender]

quick SF grub related question, last time I was there, my hosts took me to a thai or vietanmese restaurant that is famous for serving huuuuge whole crabs that comes cooked in a spicy sauce. It was the best whole crab I've ever eaten in my life. anybody from SF familiar with such an establishment? I have no idea what neighborhood it was in, I remember the surroundings being bit suburbish but still pretty densely populated.

Ohhhh...I love that place. It's called Thanh Long...they have the best garlic noodles...yummy!

[azad]

We're planning a trip to sf set for the middle of october with about a week to amble about.

any suggestions on restaurants, bookstores, clothing boutiques etc?

also, are there any graffiti spots we should know about?

thanks in advance,

-az

[azad]

We're planning a trip to sf set for the middle of october with about a week to amble about.

in addition to the great recs posted, are there any graffiti spots we should know about?

EDIT. also an info on galleries, museums, and vegetarian restaurants would be much appreciated.

[Larry Bird]

^^^^^

needles and pens...best zine/magazine store in sf

for all that artsy type shit check out www.fecalface.com

as for graffiti, the city is jam packed with great writers..tons of good illegal shit all over the TL and mission.

gotta love that sf bus-hopper flow as well.

[grandnash84]

for resturants try the gold mirror on tarvael and 18th ave(best italian food in the sunset district), tommys joint on van ness and geary, scoma's on jefferson and jones, cheescake factory on geary and stockton, house of prime rib on van ness and sacaramento are some to name a few.

there are so many bookstores yur better off just looking in the phonebook for the mom and pop ones.

visit Niketalk in the norcal forum. there is a sticky with all the clothing spots. but try true on haight, turf, urban era, huf, recon.

all the graf spot have been shut down. pysco city that used to be on market was shut down a few years ago. really sad. the only one i can think of in the city is the farmers market on alemany blvd

[grandnash84]

We're planning a trip to sf set for the middle of october with about a week to amble about.

in addition to the great recs posted, are there any graffiti spots we should know about?

EDIT. also an info on galleries, museums, and vegetarian restaurants would be much appreciated.

the farmers market on alemany blvd is the only place wit good graph in sf. the graph scene in sf has really died since 2000.

[cuddlysheep]

brazilian churascaria: espetus

chinese: ton kiang - 23rd and geary

san tung -the mother lode (my personal fave is the rice noodles with black sauce,people come there for wings and everything else)

sausage+burgers =rosamunde sausage grill -lower haight (the shizzles, gourmet sausage action)

[kiya]

-El Farolito Taqueria (the one on Mission @ 24th)

-Zeitgeist Bar during the daytime (You've never seen anything like it in your entire life)

-The Ferry Building (if you're into food, this is Food Mecca)

-Self Edge if you're into denim: http://www.selfedge.com (i'm biased, it's my store)

-Pork Buns in Chinatown

-City Lights Bookstore

-Tartine (if you like baked french food, this is heaven)

-The Castro Theatre (and no, it's not a gay theatre, it's a non-smut theatre and probably one of the nicest in the country)