Mom needs roadtrip help into the city

[janeyoc]

I will be driving into the city on a Tuesday prob around 7-8 in the evening from So Cal. Driving up the 5 to the 580 toward SF. I would like a recommendation for dinner on that Tuesday evening for me and my two boys. We are staying in the Civic Center/Tenderloin area (Phoenix Hotel) which I heard isn't the best walking area.

We will have our car so a restaurant with easy parking would be great. In the city would be good or on the way is ok too. Brenda's French Soul Food is nearby the hotel but is closed for dinner on Tuesday. Maybe a fun diner with inventive food or gastropub or a Pizza Delfina (with out the wait).

We have reservations at Zero Zero on Wednesday once my husband flies into the city.

Thanks!

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Delfina Restaurant
3621 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Brenda's French Soul Food
652 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Zero Zero
826 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94107

[janeyoc]

Thanks everyone for your help. I would like to stop in my car and eat before I head to the hotel. I know the boys (7&9) would like to eat the city.

I will check out your suggestions.

[JojoSF]

There's parking at Presidio Social Club and the food is good. Look at the menu and see if your kids will like it. It's located across from Lucas Films in the Presidio. If you get into town early enough, you can take the kids down to Crissy Field which is about two blocks from the restaurant. It isn't in your hotel's neighborhood, but it's a lot closer than Oakland and the parking lot is right in front. As safe as if you were in the suburbs.

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Presidio Social Club
563 Ruger St., San Francisco, CA 94129

[Windy]

Oakland is on the way to SF from I5.

[Robert Lauriston]

Yeah, they're driving through Oakland on 580. The Presidio is 10-15 minutes past their hotel.

[JasmineG]

Maybe stop and eat on your way into the city (I think that the Pizzaiolo suggestion is a good one, or you can go with Trueburger or Luka's), and then once you check into the hotel, go back out for ice cream with the kids -- some fun and very San Francisco ice cream places are Bi-Rite and Humphrey Slocombe, and then they can have their city treat without you having to wait forever.

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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Trueburger
146 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94612

[lexdevil]

I'm not sure why folks are so worried about traffic into San Francisco at 7-8:00 PM on a TUESDAY. Friday or Saturday might be trouble, but that late on a Tuesday is unlikely to be a problem. That said, I would still stop for dinner before San Francisco. Once you hit your hotel you will want to collapse after the long drive, not figure out where dinner is. The Dublin and Oakland suggestions sound good to me.

p.s. How old are the kids?

[Windy]

Traffic on that bridge is always erratic. The issue isn't driving over it, it's hitting that last wall after 6 or 7 hours in the car, when you're tired and hungry.

[lexdevil]

Agree. Which is why I would stop in Oakland (or before) for dinner. If she's willing to make a detour into downtown Oakland (not much of a detour at all), she could do Luka's, which my son loved when he was younger (I think we might have had his 12th birthday dinner there). This might meet her "gastro pub" desire.

She could also make a pit stop in the Fruitvale and get dinner at Taco Grill. If they arrive before 7:00, the kids could have ice cream from Nieves Cinco de Mayo as an "appetizer." It might also serve as a good distraction while their food is prepared at Taco Grill.

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Nieves Cinco de Mayo
3340 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94601

Taco Grill
3340 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94601

[Robert Lauriston]

I think the food at Luka's has slipped.

[mlutsky]

In terms of kid friendly places with parking lots, there's Mel's Diner on Lombard, Joe's Cable Car on Mission and Pacific Catch on 9th Ave in the Sunset and Park Chalet out at Ocean Beach. Traffic coming into the city shouldn't faze you since your from So Cal.

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Joe's Cable Car
4320 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94112

Pacific Catch
1200 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122

[wolfe]

Joe's is not adult friendly, price-wise.

[Robert Lauriston]

I don't think anyone would go to any of those places for the food.

[trespinero]

The original gastropub, Tommy's Joynt is walking distance, hardly inventive but my kids, 1 and 5, always like it. Walking is fine during the daylight hours. Phoenix is a known as a party hotel, bring your earplugs.

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Tommy's Joynt
1101 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109

[Robert Lauriston]

Tommy's Joynt is not a gastropub, it's a hofbrau.

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Tommy's Joynt
1101 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109

[PeterL]

You'll be actually arriving around 7-8 pm? By the time you check in it'll be 9 before you get to eat. Why not eat on the way? I'd suggest you stop at Koi Garden in Dublin. Exit Santa Rita Rd. off 580. Go north to Dublin Blvd., make a left turn, and Koi Garden is on you left after 1 block. It's very good Chinese food, albeit a little on the expensive side. Or you can go to the Just Koi in the same mall for more reasonable priced Chinese.

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Just Koi
4288 Dublin Blvd, Dublin, CA 94568

Koi Garden
4288 Dublin Blvd, Dublin, CA 94568

[myst]

Or stop in Livermore. I saw a very recent post with some good Livermore recommendations. That might give you options if you are running later than expected.

But I agree with the above poster that recommend Lakeshore. There are several good restaurants just off the 580 in Lakeshore.

[PeterL]

Livermore downtown has several options. It's off 580 south on North Livermore Ave. Or downtown Pleasanton, off 580 going south on Santa Rita Rd. Although both downtowns are a bit off the freeway.

[Robert Lauriston]

Neither Pleasanton nor Livermore is much of a food town compared with Oakland.

[Melanie Wong]

That said, Dublin's Koi Garden is better than any Chinese restaurant I've been to in Oakland.

And I'll mention that Dublin and Pleasanton are good places to gas up the car even if the OP doesn't eat there. It can be hard to find a filling station and prices are much higher in San Francisco.

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Koi Garden
4288 Dublin Blvd, Dublin, CA 94568

[Robert Lauriston]

janeyoc said in her second post that she's trying to steer away from Asian.

Oakland is weak in Chinese, that's true.

[janeyoc]

I am Korean and we eats lots of Asian food since we live in OC near Irvine and Garden Grove. I was trying to steer away from Asian since we eat it so much. Aunt Mary's seems like a good choice but they are not open for dinner.

Any other recs similar would be great!

No kids at gastropub in SF? In OC, there are a couple that have good burgers, fried chicken & steaks that are kids friendly. None in SF that would be appropriate?

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Aunt Mary's Cafe
4307 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[Windy]

There's a separate thread on best burgers.

Gastropubs aren't really a San Francisco thing; the places that qualify are mostly bars with good food menus like the Alembic. I wouldn't take kids there.

Grubstake on Pine has burgers and a few Portuguese dishes.

Same area of Oakland has a lot of good Ethiopian, Cafe Colucci being the best. Grand Avenue/Lakeshore would also be an easy exit off 580 with a lot of good options.

[sfbing]

I agree with Windy that traffic might get really ugly if you project to get into the city around 7 or 8. A fun place to stop off that isn't Asian might be Barlata, a Spanish Tapas joint in Oakland.

Most of the good places near your hotel are Vietnamese. Exercise caution at night in that neighborhood. I'm not a fan, but Tommy's is a hofbrau type place that is nearby.

Also

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Barlata
4901 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[Calvinist]

Orange County (where I used to live) has Asian food at least as good as SF. However if you did want to walk from your hotel Lers Ros Thai is very good - equivalent to Thai Nakorn.

Parking is a challenge in SF. I was thinking you could go downtown to Tadich's, a very old school SF establishment.

But you could also go to the Embarcadero location of Perry's. It has the type of menu you described: good burgers, steaks, etc. http://www.perryssf.com/menu_embarcad.... And you can park in the Rincon Center garage or valet park.

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Rincon Center
121 Spear St # B18, San Francisco, CA

Lers Ros Thai
730 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA

[Robert Lauriston]

Commonwealth Pub, Lanesplitter, Mua, and Pizzaiolo are good and not far from 580.

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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Lanesplitter Temescal
4799 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

CommonWealth Cafe & Public House
2882 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[Ruth Lafler]

I wouldn't take kids to CommonWealth (except in a stroller) -- the seating is really inadequate. Pizzaiolo is great, but not an easy place to walk-in, and who wants to wait with tired, hungry kids? Plus, Temescal isn't really off 580 -- it's off 24, which is an admittedly short detour off 580. I think the Grand Lake area is a better choice (Sidebar, Boot and Shoe Service, Holy Land, Enssaro, etc.) and very easy on/off from 580.

[Robert Lauriston]

Boot and Shoe usually has more of a wait than Pizzaiolo.

Lakeshore is very easy from the freeway. Sidebar's another good option there.

[Ruth Lafler]

Lakeshore is very easy from the freeway. Sidebar's another good option there.
****

Isn't that what I said? :-)

[Robert Lauriston]

I missed Sidebar. Relatively easy parking down that way.

[Windy]

If you're having pizza at Zero Zero Wednesday, then you don't want Pizzeria Delfina. And gastropub would tend to rule out kids. Nearby, aside from Bodega:

Cafe Zitouna on Polk and Sutter serves very accessible Tunisian food including bastilla and couscous. Japantown is very close, on Geary and Laguna: noodles, sushi, tempura. Parking isn't hard in either location, and Japantown has a garage. Great Thai at Lers Roi; you can walk there or Bodega from the Phoenix.

But if it were me, I'd probably stop for dinner in Oakland before driving over the Bay Bridge. Traffic on 580 can be pretty unpredictable. Lots of good Korean food near 45th and Telegraph Avenue: Sura, Coriya, Sahn Maru. If that's too exotic, Aunt Mary's has Mexican and southern food, and great cake. Then you can hop back in the car for a (with luck) quick 20 minute drive into the city.

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Cafe Zitouna
1201 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Aunt Mary's Cafe
4307 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

[Ruth Lafler]

Easy parking and San Francisco tend to be mutually exclusive.

You asked about Saigon Sandwich on the other thread. One of the best Vietnamese restaurants is about three doors up Larkin St. from the Phoenix: Bodega Bistro.

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Saigon Sandwich Shop
560 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Bodega Bistro
607 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109