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San Francisco Bay Area

Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in the SF Bay Area (including Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, and San Jose)

San Francisco Restaurant advice...

Hello everyone...

I am looking for an advice about where to eat in San Francisco I am going to stay in the Westin on Market st, but I will have a car... and I don“t mind to drive.

My personal preferences:
One good Chinese...
A good but moderate price steak house.
A good traditional homemade Italian Restaurant.
Fast food like a good cheeseburger.
If you also have any favorite place for breakfast, lunch or a most go in SF please mention it.
Mhhh also a good place to buy some desert

I am a big fan of the public markets with food...If you have any good choices please let me know.

As always I am open to suggestions by locals all the counseling and advice is welcome and truly appreciated.

Thank you all.

31 Replies

  1. Ferry Plaza Market best on Saturday Morning.
    http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.c...

    1. re: wolfe

      Nice choice thanks...

    2. I would suggest going to the upper right hand corner of this page and doing searches for each of items you have mentioned (Chinese, steak house, burger, breakfast, etc.). You will find there are hundreds of suggestions already here and available to you.

      Here is a recent thread on burgers:

      http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/776932

      Here is a thread on breakfast:

      http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/725619

      1. re: DavidT

        Here are my picks:

        1. Chinese- Yank Tsing for Dim Sum (Embarcadero location) or San Tung Chinese (dry fried chicken, honey walnut shrimp, stir fried green beans, etc...) or Bund Shanghai in Chinatown or Shanghai Soup Dumpling for Xiao Long Bao

        2. Steak- Harris restaurant.. u may not consider it moderate price but blew away orther steak dinners I've had in San Francisco (steak scene one of letdowns for me of living in SF)

        3. Don't know for homemade Italian per se? My favorite Italian places are Perbacco/Barbacco, Quince, or for more low-key local Jackson Fillmore Trattoria

        4 Cheeseburger: I like Joe's Cable Car (admittedly only person on this board that seems to like it). Also, hamburguesa at Don Pisto's in North Beach is sooo good (though more of Mexican take on a burger). For fancier burgers people seem to like Zuni or Spruce, but I haven't been, yet!

        5. Brunch: My go to is Brenda's in TL. Also read a lot of great reviews about Canteen which I want to check out.

        6. Dessert: Bakeries- Tartine or Schubert's. Truffles- XOX in NB is sooooooooo good. Ice Cream- Birite or Humphrey Slocombe.

        7. Markets- + 1 Ferry Building Sat morning

        8. If u like Crab peppercorn crab at PPQ with garlic noodles is really good. Also pizza Tony's in NB for New York Style (or any style really) or Golden Boy for Sicilian style (get the combo or clam and garlic if feel like something different. Cheap Mission Mexican food- Taqueria Vallarta on 24th (great street tacos) or La Taqueria (more fancy/expensive but good ingredients. Burritos I like Taqueria Cancun or Papolote (again more fancy/expensive, but salsa is damn good).

        -----
        Zuni Cafe
        1658 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

        Taqueria Cancun
        2288 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

        Taqueria Vallarta
        3033 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

        La Taqueria
        2889 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

        San Tung Chinese Restaurant
        1031 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

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

        Bund Shanghai
        640 Jackson St, San Francisco, CA

        Jackson Fillmore Trattoria
        2506 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115

        Don Pisto's
        510 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94133

        1. re: doubledeuce80

          Excellent post...I am taking notes and right now I am printing your advice.

          Thank again I truly appreciated...

        2. re: DavidT

          Also scroll to the bottom of this thread and there are plenty of other threads listed.

        3. I'll try to give you some local recs and suggest restaurants that aren't repeated over and over.

          Chinese - Hakka Restaurant, Kingdom of Dumpling
          Steak - I rarely eat steak, but I love HOPR. But since it's pretty pricey and it's difficult to snag a table, drive down to Broadway Prime in Burlingame.
          Italian - Da Flora.
          Cheeseburger - In n Out (mainly a West Coast chain). Broken Record makes a fine burger though. Bob's Burger, total greasy spoon kind of place.
          Breakfast/Brunch - Olea makes a custard french toast to die for. The Butler and The Chef Bistro makes the best Croque Monsieur I've ever had.
          Markets - No better one then the Ferry Bldg Farmer's Market on Saturday's. On a much smaller scale try the Stonestown Farmer's Market on Sunday's 9am-1pm. http://www.agriculturalinstitute.org/...

          -----
          Kingdom of Dumpling
          1713 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA

          Broadway Prime
          1316 Broadway, Burlingame, CA 94010

          Da Flora
          701 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

          Olea
          1494 California Street, San Francisco, CA

          Broken Record
          1166 Geneva Ave, San Francisco, CA

          1. re: Keesey

            It's easy to get a table at House of Prime Rib, just make a reservation.

            -----
            House of Prime Rib
            1906 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94109

            1. re: Keesey

              Excellent choices...thank you very much for sharing..I am taking notes.

              1. re: Keesey

                Just a note that House of Prime Rib does not serve steak other than prime rib. It is also a bargain compared to most steak houses of its caliber since the salad and sides are included in the price. I would recommend it for someone wanting good prime rib in a San Francisco institution.

                Probably the best bang for the buck steak house in the City would be Izzy's in the marina district.

                -----
                House of Prime Rib
                1906 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94109

                Izzy's Steaks & Chops
                3345 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA 94123

                1. re: Civil Bear

                  I concur with both Civil Bear's paragraphs. Love HOPR for what it is and Izzy's is our favorite place for a reasonably priced steak. I like Izzy's creamed spinach better thatn HOPR version and Izzy's potatoes are excellent,.

                  1. re: Civil Bear

                    House of Prime Rib does not serve steak, period. The only choice other than roast beef is a fish of the day.

                    -----
                    House of Prime Rib
                    1906 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94109

                    1. re: Robert Lauriston

                      Sorry I wasn't clear enough. I was afraid if I said HOPR didn't serve steak someone would reply they serve prime rib.

                      Webster's definition of a steak:
                      http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio...
                      "1 a : a slice of meat cut from a fleshy part of a beef carcass"

                      To some that could include a slice of prime rib.

                      1. re: Civil Bear

                        If you slice a piece of raw meat off a prime rib roast, that's a prime rib steak. If you cook the roast first, it's a slice of roast beef.

                        1. re: Robert Lauriston

                          Although I believe your are technically correct, most slices of roast beef aren't cut to the size of a steak and plated to resemble one.

                          1. re: Civil Bear

                            It's quite traditional to serve prime rib roast in thick, bone-in slices, au jus, with horseradish sauce and Yorkshire pudding. HOPR can satisfy a craving for that dish.

                2. Since you have a car, drive up to Marshall on tomales bay and get some oysters at the marshall general store or the tomales bay oyster co. Bring your own wine and sit outside=awesome!

                  1. re: AdamD

                    Love your post Thanks for sharing Definitive I will try it... :)

                  2. Steak: Harris' Steak House
                    Chinese: R&G Lounge or Sam Wo's for late night
                    Pasta: Flour & Water or Delfina Restaurant
                    Brunch: Town's End or Mama's Restaurant (both in SF) or Dip Sea Cafe (Marin)

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

                    Sam Wo Restaurant
                    813 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

                    1. re: MeredithR

                      Excellent choices, thansk for taking the time to post in this thread your contribution is very useful
                      :)

                    2. One more question...Where I can eat a good salt and pepper crab?
                      :),

                      1. re: josephml1

                        Kim Thanh.
                        http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7721...

                        -----
                        Kim Thanh
                        607 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102

                        1. re: wolfe

                          Nice link...thanks.

                        2. re: josephml1

                          PPQ Dungeness - specializes in crab and especially salt & pepper crab!

                          1. re: CarrieWas218

                            PPQ serves peppercorn crab. It's probably my favorite crab dish in the City, but it is different from the salt & pepper crabs found at R&G Lounge and other Chinese restaurants.

                          2. re: josephml1

                            I think the salt and pepper crab at R&G Lounge is the best...but it isn't cheap.

                            1. re: ML8000

                              I would dearly like to know how to eat a chinese style crab without making a complete mess of myself. I'm used to eating blue crab by the dozen with my fingers, so can pick a crab, but any of the preps like garlic sauce get everywhere. Salt and Pepper isn't so bad.

                              1. re: bbulkow

                                It is an impossible dream. I've never seen anyone eat Chinese crab without needing the cleaning bowls after...

                                1. re: bbulkow

                                  S&P crab isn't bad but anything sauced and wok cooked...I avoid, unless they have hot towels as CW218 mentions (and I ask for extras). Sauced crab is not only messy but dangerous given how slippery it is...flying crab leg anyone? Heck if I could make it at home...I'd avoid or just wear a bathrobe while eating.

                            2. How is the crab in the fishermans wharf? Does anyone remember how much it cost and if it worth it.

                              1. re: josephml1

                                Local crab season is over. What you will get would be from probably Washington State. Still good though.

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