San Francisco restaurant recommendation

buckeyegirl

buckeyegirl

Cathlete
Hello everyone,

We are deeply entrenched in vacation planning for early June. As of now, we are flying into Vegas for a couple days including an express tour of the Grand Canyon and then renting an RV and heading to Yosemite for 6 nights. Instead of heading all the way back to Vegas, we're dropping the RV off at a San Francisco rental depot. We'll be either taking the BART or the RV company will be taking us to our hotel near the airport and we'll fly back on Sunday.

My questions:

Hotel recommendations near the airport?
We are going to try and take the BART down town to get a view of the Bay Bridge and then will want to grab dinner. We'd like a dinner recommendation. Something good but casual preferably seafood but not too expensive. Should we stay near the bridge and eat on pier 39?

Come on California girls, give the scoop :D
Thanks,
Heidi
 
buckeyegirl said:
Hello everyone,

We are deeply entrenched in vacation planning for early June. As of now, we are flying into Vegas for a couple days including an express tour of the Grand Canyon and then renting an RV and heading to Yosemite for 6 nights. Instead of heading all the way back to Vegas, we're dropping the RV off at a San Francisco rental depot. We'll be either taking the BART or the RV company will be taking us to our hotel near the airport and we'll fly back on Sunday.

My questions:

Hotel recommendations near the airport?
We are going to try and take the BART down town to get a view of the Bay Bridge and then will want to grab dinner. We'd like a dinner recommendation. Something good but casual preferably seafood but not too expensive. Should we stay near the bridge and eat on pier 39?

Come on California girls, give the scoop :D
Thanks,
Heidi
Click to expand...

Heidi

I am a little confused by your San Francisco plans. You want to see the Bay Bridge??? Are you thinking of maybe the Golden Gate Bridge?

BART does run to the Embarcadero (where the Bay Bridge is) and up Market St., but does not run to Pier 39, where you can see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pier 39 is where all the tourist go - it has that tourist trap feel. As for restaurants Scoma's is good. For better - head to North Beach/Little Italy to Sotto Mare.(small family run place)

There are some fantastic restaurants around the Embarcadero and Pier 5. Hog Island Oyster Company is good. It's in Ferry 1 building.

As for hotels near the airport, we have stayed at the Clarion, it is right at the airport and they provide a shuttle.

Yelp.com is a great resource for area restaurants.

Hope this helps.:D
 
Yuppers, its what Janis said. Also, keep in mind that the phrases "inexpensive" and "San Francisco" and "seafood" do not belong in the same sentence. Not really. :D
 
My favorite place to eat in downtown San Francisco is Anzu in the Nikko Hotel. It has great sushi and steaks.
 
I would also have to agree with Janis and the previous posters. Affordable and Peir 39 do not really go together. With this economy you may be able to get an affordable room rate in the Peir 39 area but you have to think about all the other things that go with travel to San Francisco. Parking will run you anywhere from $25-$35 depending on where you park. It is deffinitely a tourist trap and then there is the lovely forced city tax, . .which seems to change and go up every year. Oh and don't forget to tip. With all that said this is what I would reccomend. I would stay at a hotel near SFO. These are more affordable and cater more to the buisness traveler. My husband used to work for this company back in 1999
http://www.larkspurlanding.com/hotels/south-san-francisco/index.html I can't vouch for it now since I haven't stayed there recently but back then when it was brand new it was a nice and clean but very affordable place to stay. They also offer free shuttle service to and from the hotel (don't forget to tip the driver). Depending on your likes and dislikes. If you really wanted to see the Bay Bridge. I would head over to The Slanted Door. It is not so much exclusively seafood but a nice example of California fushion food. Which heck if you are in San Francisco you just have to experience.
http://slanteddoor.com/index.html
While your there you can walk to Peir 39 if you were still interested and even walk by the Ferry Building http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/ Oh so much fun and so much to see there. You can even visit my favorite tea shop.
If you wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge and get a nice veiw of the Bay, . .also if you love art. You HAVE to go to The Legion of Honor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Palace_of_the_Legion_of_Honor
an absolute hidden gem of San Francisco. Also the one place I would visit almost daily while I was a student in college at San Francisco State. If you have kids and wanted to visit Golden Gate Park here is another favorite place of mine.
http://www.calacademy.org/visit/ next door is the the De Young http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/ King Tut exhibit is there right now.
San Francisco is a wonderful place full of culture. I hope you have fun!
By the way if you stay at the hotel I reccommedned they will shuttle you for free to BART (don't forget to tip). While on BART just be street savy. Don't every leave your purse lying around, . .try not to carry a bunch of bags or obvious cameras that scream I'm a tourist rob me. Let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks for the insight, ladies!

As far as the hotel goes, we are intending to stay out by the airport so we can get shuttle service to the airport Sun am. What I'm looking for is a "quick jaunt" into the city via BART (will not have a car) - and yes, it is the Golden Gate Bridge we want to see...sorry for all the confusion.
So, since BART doesn't go to the Golden Gate bridge, any other way other than taxi to get there? You know, we only will have a few hours to burn but I thought if we could grab a meal and see the famous bridge, it would be cool. Maybe I'm expecting too much in a short period of time?
Thanks for all the recommendations - keep it comin':)

Heidi
 
The Clarion Hotel that I mentioned is very close to the Millbrae BART station, it would be 40 minutes (assuming no delays) to the Embarcadero Station.

At that point, you can stay on BART and get off at Powell St. and take the Powell Cable Car up and down Powell to Fisherman's Wharf, no guarantees about speed or expediency. You could also pick up MUNI from Embarcadero. The F line will take you as far as Jefferson. You could also take the 30 Stockton, which will take you to the Marina District. The 30 Stockton goes through Chinatown and stops. at. every. friggin. light. and is a test of one's patience. The 30x Marina (Express bus) is the only way to go, however it only runs during peak commuter hours - in the early a.m. and rush hour pm.

Another option is to take the Millbrae Bart to the Daly City BART station and then hop on the Muni #28-19th Avenue bus to the Marina. (I think I like this option the best.) One way trip- it's 20 minutes on BART and about an 45minutes on the bus.

Here are the transit links. http://www.bart.gov/index.aspx

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mhome/home50.htm

BRING A SWEATER !
 
janie1234 said:
If you wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge and get a nice veiw of the Bay, . .also if you love art. You HAVE to go to The Legion of Honor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Palace_of_the_Legion_of_Honor
an absolute hidden gem of San Francisco. Also the one place I would visit almost daily while I was a student in college at San Francisco State.
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Hey Janie!

I used to live at 34th and Balboa. I LOVE The Legion of Honor. You can find me camped out in front of Monet's Water Lilies. I love walking down that long hallway between galleries and see it from the distance, once you enter the gallery the light from the sky light illuminates it in such a magical way, it always takes my breath away.
 
Janis said:
Hey Janie!

I used to live at 34th and Balboa. I LOVE The Legion of Honor. You can find me camped out in front of Monet's Water Lilies. I love walking down that long hallway between galleries and see it from the distance, once you enter the gallery the light from the sky light illuminates it in such a magical way, it always takes my breath away.
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Oh great!! 34th and Balboa. There are many a great restaurants I used to eat at off of Clement Street, . .no to mention all the time I spent at Green Apple Books. I loved the Impressionists. I know exactly what painting you are talking about. I once got in trouble for getting to close :eek: It is truly one of my favorites. Do you remember the William-Adolphe Bouguereau painting? It is driving me nuts I can't remember the name. I haven't been to The Legion in 7 years :( since I moved away. I used to live near Lake Merced near Ocean Beach.
 
Aw, you guys have me so nostalgic for the city. I used to live in Noe. Loved Green Apple Books. I moved to the Santa Cruz mountains about four years ago and though it's not that far, I only get to the city a couple of times a year. It's a world away! :)

Enjoy your trip, buckeyegirl!
 
bitmover said:
Aw, you guys have me so nostalgic for the city. I used to live in Noe. Loved Green Apple Books. I moved to the Santa Cruz mountains about four years ago and though it's not that far, I only get to the city a couple of times a year. It's a world away! :)

Enjoy your trip, buckeyegirl!
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I never ventured around Noe Valley. What is it like? I live about 2 hours north of SF now. It does feel like a world away. We make it to The City about 4-6x a year. It is so quiet where I live, I can't believe I had once become accustomed to the sound of the bus arriving and departing every 10 minutes!

janie1234 said:
Oh great!! 34th and Balboa. There are many a great restaurants I used to eat at off of Clement Street, . .no to mention all the time I spent at Green Apple Books. I loved the Impressionists. I know exactly what painting you are talking about. I once got in trouble for getting to close :eek: It is truly one of my favorites. Do you remember the William-Adolphe Bouguereau painting? It is driving me nuts I can't remember the name. I haven't been to The Legion in 7 years :( since I moved away. I used to live near Lake Merced near Ocean Beach.
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I lived at 19th and Clement too! I have very fond memories of walking from one end of Clement to the other. My favorite Dim Sum place is on Geary - Tong Kiang. Have you eaten there? We still go whenever we can.

I remember seeing a Bouguerau - I think it was "Pieta" awhile ago, I don't think it is there any longer. "Birth of Venus" is coming to the deYoung, though, with the Musee de Orsay exhibit in May.

You lived at Ocean Beach! When I was pregnant with my first ds, he's 20 now, I collected sand dollars from Ocean Beach, I had boxes full.

Ahhh - nostaligia is right. :D
 
SLANTED DOOR!!!! Love that place. Amazing food. Make a reservation if you have a chance ahead of time, or go for lunch. It gets very crowded quickly. It's at the Ferry Building, right downtown. Great food at very good prices, and a pretty view.
 
Janis said:
I never ventured around Noe Valley. What is it like? I live about 2 hours north of SF now. It does feel like a world away. We make it to The City about 4-6x a year. It is so quiet where I live, I can't believe I had once become accustomed to the sound of the bus arriving and departing every 10 minutes!

My favorite Dim Sum place is on Geary - Tong Kiang. Have you eaten there? We still go whenever we can.

I remember seeing a Bouguerau - I think it was "Pieta" awhile ago, I don't think it is there any longer. "Birth of Venus" is coming to the deYoung, though, with the Musee de Orsay exhibit in May.

You lived at Ocean Beach! When I was pregnant with my first ds, he's 20 now, I collected sand dollars from Ocean Beach, I had boxes full.

Ahhh - nostaligia is right. :D
Click to expand...

Tong Kiang! Love that place!!!

Thanks for the heads up of the deYoung. I HAVE to go.

Our kids love going to Ocean Beach and collecting sand dollars, . . .and all the dogs to look at.

I live 1 and 1/2 hours away but that is still a drive for us. If you think about it, . .it is about 3 hours of your day. :(

But thanks ladies for the walk down memory lane!
 
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