San Francisco

[Aaron Koehl]

I thought I'd wonder to myself out loud..

"Self? What are the chances that someone on the 'Creek is going to this conference?"

That said, is anyone going to the Oracle PL/SQL programming conference (http://www.odtugopp07.com) in San Francisco?

The conference is Wed and Thurs in San Mateo, but I'll be flying in Monday morning and staying at Fisherman's Wharf-- that gives me Monday and Tuesday to consider the following very important question:

Where should I eat?

[Chuck Saunders]

Hi Aaron,
I don't get to go to SF and I only get to go to 1 a year so I go to ODTUG. When Steven is not sharing his politics or selling qxno he has got alot of knowledge. We had Steven and Tom Kyte as presenters at our training day this year in KC
Eating should not be a problem though.
Enjoy
Chuck

[Aaron Koehl]

Decided to go to OPP instead of ODTUG Kaleidoscope this year-- didn't want to wait until the summer! ;)

Tom Kyte presented at our local ODTUG this year, along with Don Burleson. Both are excellent are their craft and kept me entertained the whole time.

[Nancy Laird]

Aaron,

Try these:

Ruths Chris Steak House - San Francisco
Serious steak and fine wines. Easy online reservations.
1601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94109
http://img.superpages.com/images-yp/images/icon_website.gif (http://clicks.superpages.com/ct/clickThrough?SRC=msn&target=MSN&PN=1&FP=listings&T=San+Francisco&S=CA&C=Restaurants&CID=486757&PGID=123.8084.1168633496232&ACTION=log,red&TR=1&bidType=CLIK&relativePosition=5&position=5&MT=D&DID=DdoypA7b%2BkvEDRATseBC8Q%3D%3D&FL=url&TL=off&LOC=http://Verizon.xmlsearch.findwhat.com/actions/EventProcessor.aspx?aid=137014&method=CLK&cid=707377&bid=289333083) www.RuthsChris.com (http://www.RuthsChris.com)


21st Amendment Brewery Cafe
563 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 369-0900


Cliff House
1090 Point Lobos Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 395-9020
http://img.superpages.com/images-yp/images/icon_website.gif (http://clicks.superpages.com/ct/clickThrough?SRC=msn&target=MSN&PN=44&FP=listings&T=San+Francisco&S=CA&C=Restaurants&CID=486757&PGID=113.8084.1168633756920&ACTION=log,red&LID=2042474762&relativePosition=0&FL=url&TL=off&LOC=http://www.cliffhouse.com) http://www.cliffhouse.com (http://www.cliffhouse.com)

I've eaten at all three of these places and recommend them highly. Cliff House isn't for the food - it's for the view, but they used to have a killer crab louie that would feed three!

Have fun--wish I could be there again in the spring.

Nancy




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[chris fox]

I have been there about 5-6 times, so by far not an expert on resturants. The Slanted Door(asian) at the fairly new peir building good and the House of Prime Rib are two of my favorite places to eat in SF.

[Art Mulder]

Aaron, there are *SO* many great chinese restaurants in San Francisco. If you have lunchtime free on the weekend, find yourself a few friends and head into china town and get some Dim Sum. Or drop by any hole-in-the wall place for dinner. I was never disappointed. You know it is authentic when they put a pot a tea on the table without even asking, and all the place settings come with chopsticks. MMMmmm, Kung Pao Chicken.

I also remember going north over the golden gate into Sausolito and stopping at this great Steak House on the water. We were literally hanging over the water of the Marina. Sorry, but this was a long time ago and don't remember the name.

(If you have a car and drive even a bit further north, Muir Woods is a neat place to visit to see the giant redwoods.)

[Ken Garlock]

Have fun, Aaron. Give Scomas seafood resturant a try. It is right on the wharf. They even have a website (http://www.scomas.com/home.htm).

[Joe Pelonio]

I'm with Ken on Scoma's, there are also several good ones on the Berkeley Marina if you have a rental car and time for a drive across the bridge.
Skate's on the Bay was my favorite when I lived down there and worked in Oakland. Nice views of the water.

Also on the wharf in SF is Alioto's, pricey like Scoma's, but for more economical eating try Gino's Pizza, on Beach near Taylor as I recall.

I hope the weather is better then, they are suffering from the same cold spell we have here, I heard it was down to the 30's at night in SF (16 here in WA).

[W Craig Wilson]

The Stinking Rose!
If you love garlic check it out.

http://www.thestinkingrose.com/

[Aaron Koehl]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far. I've got two dinners and a lunch to plan. ;) I think there's definitely going to be some Dim Sum in my future down Chinatown.

As far as the Stinking Rose, I recall them mentioning this restaurant several times on the Food Network, it might be worth a look-see. I've also heard good things about Ruth's Chris, but since we have one here, I can scratch that one off the list at least for now.

I'll be gone the last week of Feb-- hopefully the weather will be a little warmer by then.

As I understand it, a friend mentioned a coffee shop there that supposedly has the best beans around. Anyone know the name of it?

[Chris Padilla]

I take the family to San Francisco a couple times a year and we always find great places to eat but I NEVER, EVER remember their names. The food is usually always quite good. We've eaten at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf (everybody seems to make great clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls).

Chinatown has great food...Little Italy has its great fare as well. Seafood, overall, is quite good if you're into it.

[Helen Gee]

Hey Aaron,

what kinda food do you like? San Mateo is about a 15 minute drive to SF. There are lots of great eats around San Mateo as well but if you have a car, why not explore.

I would not recommend Ruth Chris steak house. It's just meat cooked in butter with an expensive price tag ;). But, if you like steak across the way there is House of Prime Rib and Harris, both on the same street (Van Ness).

Hmm.. Peet's is my favorite in the city, but I also like Dolores Park Cafe. It's a nice mom/pop neighborhood joint.

501 Dolores Street @18th (Cross Street: 18th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110View Map (http://maps.citysearch.com/map/view/889384)
(415) 621-2936

For dimsum, give Yank Sing a try! It is in the downtown area, but you can easily cab it if you don't have a car.

101 Spear St (One Rincon Ctr) (Cross Street: Mission Street)
San Francisco, CA 94105View Map (http://maps.citysearch.com/map/view/892466)
(415) 957-9300

Lots of great Italian eats by North Beach area, but my all time favorite is La Ciccia in Noe Valley. They are Sardinian, so not your usual spaghetti and meatballs :D .

291 30th St
San Francisco, CA 94131

If you like sushi, Sushi Bistro is one of the best ones in town. HUGE and FRESH pieces.

445 Balboa St
San Francisco, CA 94118

There are lots of great restaurants also around 3rd street in San Mateo. (downtown area, it's a small downtown of like 2 blocks haha).

We may be around, what are the dates for the conference?

I guess it really depends, what do you like to eat!!!

[Aaron Koehl]

Helen,

What kind of food do I like? I like it all! Thanks for the great suggestions, I think I might start planning this weekend.

I won't have a car, but I understand there are cable/bus lines for getting around up there. I'll be in San Francisco on Monday (Feb 26) and Tues, moving to San Mateo Tuesday night through Friday morning. The rest of Friday is up in the air until my flight from SFO.

I think a dinner get-together would be great. I know there are some folks in San Jose that might be game, too.

[Helen Gee]

hmm, we might need to swing by and pick you up then ;) Lemme know if you want to go to any of those places for dinner and we can make reservations, they usually get packed. Would love to meet any other bay area creekers who are willing to make the trek up to SF. Although we could probably drag you down to the South Bay area as well ;).

btw, Yank Sing (for dimsum) is only open for lunch :confused:.

[Dan Lyke]

I'm up in Marin, and a newbie to woodworking, but will keep watching this thread 'cause I'd love to meet some of y'all too!

[Dan Lyke]

From Fisherman's Wharf you can easily get down to the Financial District via the street cars, or up to North Beach via bus or cable car. And once you get to the Financial District you can get anywhere via BART or duck down to CalTrain to get anywhere on the peninsula.

So of the places Helen mentioned: Dolores Park Cafe would just be staying on a street car past the Financial District, as they head out Market towards Castro, and then walking a bit, La Ciccia would require a bus transfer or a cab ride, 'cause it's pretty far south on Dolores, and Yank Sing would be a bit of a haul, but it should be bus-able.

Although I haven't been there in a while, in fact I think they've moved since last time I was there, but my favorite more upscale eats in the city is Millenium (http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/). I'm not a vegetarian, but the things they do with vegetables are novel and yummy. Best way there would be to take the cable car, probably.

(Speaking of which, if you're a cool machinery sort of person, the cable car museum is worth a look.)

[Aaron Koehl]

Great piece of info!

I'll see if I can get some plans together in the next week or so.