SF with a teenager

[Judith]

My grand nephew, 17, is coming to visit in August. He comes from a little town in PA and has really been nowhere. We're taking him on the Alcatraz evening tour on a Saturday and we'd like to do a 4 PM dinner beforehand. I was thinking about Chinatown or North Beach but don't have the first clue. Any recommendations much appreciated.

[alanbarnes]

You'd have to make it a touch earlier, but the prix fixe lunch at Scoma's might be just the ticket. Upsides: good food for a very reasonable price (3 courses, $24); location (right there on Fisherman's Wharf); and the setting and view (guaranteed to impress a small-town kid from PA). Downsides - location (it's Fisherman's Wharf - 'nuff said); limited selection (the prix fixe menu is really the only way to go); and 4:00 won't work (lunch service stops at 3:30).

I like the place. If it doesn't look like it will work for you, check out these lists:

http://www.chow.com/lists/1072
http://www.chow.com/lists/1395

[wolfe]

Here are some suggestions for another 17 year old visitor.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/607826

[macadam]

Based on being a parent of a 16 year old boy with an appetite, Capp's Corner comes to mind (opens at 4:30). Old Sf, Italian, family style. Don't get that experience all that often. Also, recently ate at Burgermeister on Columbus with a variety of items and very casual, but good. Kid liked them both.

[ML8000]

Capp's is a good suggestion. On that note, might also consider Tadich Grill for old school charm. Maybe somewhere on Belden Lane if you want festive. A burger after the cruise might be needed. Mo's on Grant is also a good choice...SF in an 80's/early 90s sorta way.

[bbulkow]

Scoma's? Old school italian? You people are nuts. I say that with love, but you're nuts.

You need to take this person somewhere different from anyplace they've been before. Don't worry about the appetite, don't worry whether they like it or not. Even if you lose, you've tried. It's your duty.

The time constraint is weird. I hope you can consider giving them a real meal. The number of places open all afternoon is fairly small. So where I'd normally say Slanted door. Boulevard. Jardinere. Straight's, if that's still any good. But out of the 350ish restaurants listed in OpenTable, only 3 are open at 4pm on Saturday.

My pick is: Pakwan, in the Tandoorloin.

It's open all afternoon. It's kickin' spicy. It's relaxed. It's real. You can order him everything on the menu and leave with change from $100.

Has anyone tried Darbar? Is it the same owners as Darbar Palo Alto? It's open all afternoon.

Your other option is a real place in chinatown. Y and Z people have been talking up, they're open all afternoon. R & G lounge. Great eastern. I can't figure out Gold Mountain. You're best off looking up the dim sum threads and cross indexing with a site that has the afternoon openings.

[alanbarnes]

>>"You need to take this person somewhere different from anyplace they've been before."<<

Remember, this is a teenager, and one who hasn't grown up in the city. Odds that he's been anyplace like Scoma's before are pretty slim. And not to make any assumptions, but his only exposure to "old-school Italian" may be the Olive Garden.

Don't get me wrong; I like your suggestions, and so would my kids. But taking one of their friends, picked at random, to Pakwan? Potential disaster. Dim sum might be a good option, but AFAIK nobody serves it after about 2:00. And even traditional Cantonese may be pushing it, especially since it's notoriously easy to get a bad meal at R&G.

I'm all for getting kids to be adventurous eaters, but progress is made in baby steps. The best place to have dinner depends a lot on how much tolerance the OP and her nephew have for new, different, and/or intensely-flavored foods.

Now if we've got an adventurous eater on our hands, I'd throw out another suggestion in the Tenderloin: Lers Ros. Serving fantastic Thai food all afternoon...

[Judith]

You've all nailed my dilemma. We're adventuresome eaters and the whole idea of this trip is to show this kid that there's a world outside of his town of 1318 people and three restaurants, which is 30 miles from Lockhaven, the big town and county seat, which boasts a population of 9000. But one of the reasons we invited him is that he shows clear signs of understanding that there is more to be seen. I'm loving Lers Ros, it sounds great, and I'm also thinking we might have to do a big lunch and a bite after the tour. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[bbulkow]

I made my recommendations with full understanding that this is a teenager. I've done this before. Let me share a moment.

Good friends come with similar-aged kids from Wisconsin.

"Claire doesn't like oysters. Order some for yourself".
"Mom, what are those? Why are they eating them and I'm not?"
"They're oysters. You don't like them."
"Who said. They look good. Can I try one? Wow, that's great. Can we have oysters tomorrow? And please pass that huge crab thing you said I wouldn't like."
BBQ oysters at Straights.

Same deal with the rather aggressive (and wonderful) cheeses on the cheese plate at Jardinere. Turns out the parents were more timid about their kid's tastes than that particular kid.

And I expect to do it again in a few weeks, when a cousin comes to visit for a week.

I went through the same thing with my kid sister, when she was that age, although the process was slower. We had a week a year, and a lot of years, to explore. "Disaster" was defined as her not liking the looks of anything on the menu, and taking tastes of everything I ordered and describing it all as "slimy".

So? Big deal! We'd then stop for a slice of nice, safe cheese pizza on the way home. In the OP's case, the bail-option would be a burger somewhere - in n out's a little far from the alcatraz pier, fog city to-go might be a good option, or that Peir 32 bar place. They can eat it on the boat. Make sure there's a bail option, and time to execute it, so no one gets stressed. A positive and relaxed attitude by the adults goes a long, long way.

I agree, in retrospect, that Pakwan might be a little steep, but the constraints are rough too. I just looked at the menu again - chicken breast off the tandoor. The kid is male and apparently eats meat. Teens love carbs - naan for days. My first choice would actually be Slanted Door, because everyone loves Shaking Beef - and you can get a few more interesting dishes and share. Dim sum, I agree - and there's none being served at that hour. Scoma's vs Pakwan - I'll take Pakwan, hands down. That's also why I'd take pakwan over chinese anything, because it's a lot harder getting a "simple option" R & G.

I also think it's great to take kids that age/backround to someplace really nice, just so they can experience good service and the whole attitude.

Maybe it's just my style, but I think it's better to push the boundries and see what happens, than be overly timid and have a kid never get to experience the full monte. If they've been to olive garden, Scoma's is only more of the same but better.

The 4pm dinner limitation is *huge*, as stated.

[lexdevil]

I think Chinatown is a fine idea. There is nothing scary about Chinese food, unless you go out of your way to challenge him. If you were to go to, say, Great Eastern, you could order lots of tasty but un-challenging stuff. Soy sauce chicken and BBQ pork are really nice and should please anyone. He doesn't have to touch the jellyfish served alongside, but can try it if he's feeling adventurous. Order some chow mein as a non-controversial back-up, and then feel free to order whatever YOU like. Your nephew will be able to fill up on safe options, while having the option to stretch himself if he chooses to do so.