San Francisco - SZ style

[Faust]

Going at the end of april. Staying at the Clift. I know we have some locals and regular visitors. Shoot your recs - restaurants, cafes, bars, galleries, chill areas to explore, and shmopping. Yes, the Archive.

[philip nod]

i'm waiting for etruscan to lay out his list before i drop recs

[cuddly]

heres some of the top..

best mexican imo:
El Farolito


Neighborhood: Mission
2779 Mission St
(between 23rd St & 24th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-7877

- try specials ,beef burrito w/shrimp
- chicken quesadilla

best peruvian:

Mi Lindo Peru 4 star rating


Neighborhood: Bernal Heights
3226 Mission St
(between 29th St & Valencia St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 642-4897

-try thier lomo saltado
-garlic mushrooms (eat it with bread and its a meal in it self!)


best chinese:

San Tung Chinese Restaurant


Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
1031 Irving St
(between 11th Ave & 12th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 242-0828

- known for thier "dry fried chicken wings"
- everything on the menu is good!

my fave soul food spots:

farmerbrown


Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
25 Mason St
(between Market St & Turk St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 409-3276 www.farmerbrownsf.com

- a more modern feeling soul food joint
- fried chicken!
-cornbread!

1300 On Fillmore


Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
1300 Fillmore St
(between Eddy St & Ellis St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 771-7100 www.1300fillmore.com

- awesome soul food spot, good food,nice interior,the bar lounge is sick!

Japanese:
Yoshi's Jazz Club & Japanese Restaurant


Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
1330 Fillmore St
(between Eddy St & Ellis St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 655-5600 www.yoshis.com

- yoshis jazz club now in s.f, modern japanese, great interior,atmosphere a few blocks from harputs right next door to 1300
- good lineup of jazz musicians come out here to play,expect to see a show on any given night you come for dinner.

my favorite new american:

Zuni Cafe


Neighborhoods: Hayes Valley, SOMA
1658 Market St
(between 12th St & Page St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 552-2522 www.zunicafe.com

- a s.f classic
- nice selection of oysters,wines
- the best roast chicken in all the land! better snack on shoestring potato fries cause it takes 1hr to roast the bird in the brick overn.
worth the wait!

bougie:

Foreign Cinema


Neighborhood: Mission
2534 Mission St
(between 21st St & 22nd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-7600 www.foreigncinema.com

- we're the hip and artsy crowd come and stare down whose the most hip and artsy, sz folks come here to stunt on peeps.
- fancy food.

shopping:
it's not as dope as nyc,but other than the archive:

Harput's Market


Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
1525 Fillmore St
(between Geary Blvd & Ofarrell St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 922-9644 www.harputsmarket.com

- local fave, carry yohji,junya,cdg,schneider, male+female shop.

Gimme Shoes


Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
416 Hayes Street
(between Gough St & Octavia St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 864-0691

- nice selection of boots,shoes.

peep the labels:

http://www.gimmeshoes.com/designers.php?osCsid=b4fba3e92a323dc792a3bfab1a9350bf

Barneys New York


Neighborhood: Union Square
77 O'Farrell St
(between Savings Union Pl & Stockton St)
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 268-3500 www.barneys.com

- yes we have a barneys , hit it up before you walk down to the archive

Levi Strauss & Company


Neighborhood: Union Square
300 Post St
(between Powell St & Stockton St)
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 501-0100 www.levi.com

- may not be sz approve,but when you come down to san fran,you have to come check out the brith place of denim. what better place than levi flagship store in the heart of union square

[black horizons]

El Farolito?! Haha. It's good, but greasy. Best to go when drunk. Obvious plentiful dive bars in neighborhood.

Go to Tartine (18th and Guerrero) for the best pastries in the city.

Aquarius Records is the best record store in the city, 21st and Valencia.

Clothing was pretty much summed up. Not bad though, many a deal can be found. I love The Archive duh.

Exploring? I'd say make it out of the city if you can. Nature is really close and can be stunning in Northern CA.

[cuddly]

^^ el farolitos,have that secret grease , that makes thier food oh so yummy!dont front!

[black horizons]

El Farolito... best public restroom in The Mission!!!

[soultek]

Coffee: Four Barrels (Mission?) and Blue Bottle (SoMa) -- try the food here too

Dining: Nopa

Music: Gotta check out Amoeba (Haight, Berkeley) nothing like it in NYC

Pastries: Tartine +1

Tacos: I vote for La Taqueria on Mission. They fry a slice of cheese on the tortilla before making the taco. Vege is the best to me, and make sure to use the green sauce on the table.

[sam_tem]

i forget where all i ate when i went last year, but i do remember enjoying farmerbrown since it was a nice place even though i'm not big on "soul food" when i go out to eat.

the mission definitely seemed like where all the action was going on at night though i assume it's a younger crowd you'd rather not associate with.

i would say to just be sure to hit up some of the parks and take the oceanside walk along the park in the northwest side of the city (where that classical museum was). i wanted to take a trip to the other side of the bridge to see some redwood's but i was too lazy.

[ddohnggo]

Aquarius rules but I found their retail shop underwhelming compared to their mailing list/online selection.

Amoeba is also mad dope.

[AKA*NYC]

best chinese food in san francisco and possibly the world:

eric's @ 1500 church street - http://erics.ypguides.net/

eliza's @ 2877 california street @ divisadero (short distance from harput's)

both restaurants have the same menu so just go to whichever is closest.

and for dim sum:

http://www.yanksing.com/

then there is the legendary sandwich spot:

marina subs @ 2299 union street (between fillmore & steiner)

the reviews say it all: http://www.yelp.com/biz/marina-submarine-san-francisco

and the world-famous tonga room, the mother of all bars:

http://www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco/guestservices/restaurants/thetongaroomhurricanebar.htm

nightlife: don't even bother

roadtrips: pm me for suggestions

[theetruscan]

I'm out of touch, but:

For glasses, sun and otherwise, you should really check out Spectacles for Humans. It's something special. Any clothes shopping should involve a visit to M.A.C. Skip our Barney's, it's not even a pale shadow of the NYC one. Mix was amazing (Women's only), may still be but I haven't been in for quite some time: in the past they consistently had designers I'd never heard doing interesting cuts in unusual fabrics, lots of obscure japanese makers.

For food, I'd echo the El Farolito* and Tartine recommendations. I think I remember you not being a pricey food person, so I'll mostly avoid that. Pauline's Pizza is another fun one: the food is amazing, and most of it is from their garden. For moderately priced food, you can do very well. Incanto is one of my regular favorites when I make it into town: it's an offal kinda place, pig's head salad, trotters, etc. Beretta is also quite nice, kind of californiaized italian. I'll hit up some foodie friends for other mid-priced awesome.

As bars go, Zeitgeist is an institution that deserves to stay one, get a bloody mary, then switch to beer. Two of their bloody marys can be excessive. Absinthe is home to some of the best cocktails on the continent (as is, I hear, alembic). I prefer Pegu club, but not consistently. Bourbon & Branch is so far past their heyday that it's depressing: 1920's ambiance full of frat boys and businessmen, and they stopped trying with cocktails.

For coffee, Four Barrel is the current hipster/trendster mecca. It has its moments, but is not consistently amazing. When they're on ,the coffee is nearly perfect, but they miss as often as they hit.

I never tire of the japanese gardens in Golden Gate park.

AKA is largely right about nightlife. SF Is a hang out in bars with friends town. Great fun, but dead compared to NYC and the like.

* El Farolito, La Taqueria, etc is kind of holy war material. They're all good, but I'll get killed for admitting it.

[cuddly]

damn how can i forget about de young

http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/

and academy of sciences.

http://www.calacademy.org/

- bring the kids,fun for the whole family.


SF Museum of Modern Art

http://www.sfmoma.org/

[mute]

about two blocks west of the archive, the san francisco museum of craft + design is worth a visit.

also, a reasonably good feast of arabic fusion can be found at saha.

[soultek]

Faust,

Forgot three things:

The Exploratorium: Fun for little one AND you

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Burma Superstar-- try the tea leaf salad

http://www.burmasuperstar.com

Sushi-- I like Kabuto, but others swear by Sushi Zone

[black horizons]

This thread is making me really hungry... tea leaf salad...

There is a YSL exhibit at the De Young now, but will be over by the time you are here :(

+1 for Zeitgeist too.

Amoeba... maybe I am spoiled, but I feel like it is too much an indie warehouse. I like smaller stores, it's like boutique vs. department stores. I have still found some amazing deals there though.