San Francisco and what to do in it

I can't really recommend SF's fish tacos in general - that's more of a SoCal/San Diego thing

I think I heard people like SF Cyclery on Stanyon.

Sinaloa taco truck has excellent fish tacos.

And I'm from San Diego, fwiw.

I can't really recommend SF's fish tacos in general

They're far too often made with salmon, which I just cannot abide. (Not salmon, per se, but salmon in baja style tacos.)

Where's Sinaloa, polyphonic?

salmon doesn't sound like it belongs in a taco.

That's where you're wrong, Ed.

Not with baja sauce, at least, Ned.

I'll allow that.

Where's Sinaloa, polyphonic?

I don't know where this is either...?

I will defer to ned on this, although I tend to avoid salmon on environmental/sustainability grounds.

That's more than fair. I usually don't have it unless when I'm home in Carmel.

The fishmonger at my farmers' market on Sunday had sardines. I didn't think this weas sardine season but I'll find out and if they're really in season, I think I'm going to bbq some soon. (apropos of nothing but incited by talk of things icthyoid.)

Yeah, Ed, I'm not always the biggest fan of salmon (had oodles of it here as a kid) but I won't have anything to do with locally caught salmon right now and the farmed stuff tastes like fish paste, cardboard and a dab of glue all bound together.

didn't know you could even GET locally caught salmon here

I don't know where this is either...?

You have to cross the Bay bridge. ;-)

lol

altho honestly I have been going to the East Bay a lot more now that I have a kid (Fairyland!)

Well, not now, Shakey but over the last several years...

Do I need a passport for that, polyphonic?

Would happily eat sardines anywhere any time if available, A little rosemary and garlic. Where's good for fish?

also, what are good bars within spitting distance of the downtown hilton? (Not staying there but E's conference is there).

Nothing good is near downtown.

Bar-wise that is.

That's the one on Geary, right, Ed?

Lefty's on Geary is an acceptable old school/tourist bar. The Owl Tree isn't far but I haven't been in ages and I don't know what the vibe's like. Tunnel Top on Bush above the Stockton Tunnel is fun sometimes. Foley's is okay in a faux-Irish pub kind of way. I don't drink there much but I would recommend going to John's Grill for a martini.

a former friend of mine owns House of Shields.... but I don't drink downtown.

This is the impression I get, but worth a punt, what's the best direction to head?

(Is asking for what are good bars near the hilton for any city ever going to get a positive response? Best I can do is a short walk from one of the london hiltons to a really good byob burmese restaurant).

Yup the one on Geary.

Obv, Alex is more discerning than me.

House of Shields is fun (Thank god your friend saved it, Shakey) but it's not exactly spitting distance.

I'd hop on the underground or BART and either head to Lower Haight or Mission/Valencia.

yeah, bit of a hike I guess

x-post

or the Castro

John's Grill - 63 Ellis (between Powell and Stockton). Opened in 1908 and has become essentially an old fashioned toursit kind of place but they make excellent martinis. Worth a stop, if only to look at 40 years worth of cops and pols on the wall.

I had a pretty good greyhound at the orbit room not too long ago.

House of shields looks nice and close enough. I have much more walking around time but for E it will be all working and networking.

Even if people who yelp are scumbags they seem to like the orbit room.

I don't go to any of those Union Square bars, but they are all nice to look at if you can avoid the people drinking in them.

I like the Orbit Room and it's good place not to get drunk cuz they take forever to mix your drink. ;-)

haha so true

If you like wine and a kind of sleek scene, Rouge et Blanc on Grant isn't bad. Honestly, and at the toal other end of the spectrum from Rouge et Blanc, I'd suggest Lefty's as a visit to a bygone SF. Lefty was a local ballplayer who played for the Giants and opponed this place. It hasn't been entirely spruced up or priced up for the tourist crowd even though it's at ground zero, tourist wise. Hofbrau style food, long bar, always a ballgame on, zero pretense (shitty wine), even a few locals. It should be seen, at least. Kind of like Dave's on 3rd Street, it's an old, American style bar of the type that's disappearing.

Actually Lefty's is a good bar if you a) want to eat Hofbrau food and b) want to watch a ballgame. If you want to drink/be social then it's not so good.

It worked for the schefter and me..

Sorry drink/be social with complete strangers. It's got plenty of tables if you want to just do your own thing too which is nice and it's not loud at all.

Sorry drink/be social with complete strangers.

Yeah, I'll grant you it's lame for that.

don't listen to all these married shut-in NIMBYS... ;-P <3

STEVE SHASTA GUIDE TO BARS DOWNTOWN SF:
$$$$: Heaven's Dog, Rickstop (someone else paying? invite me too!)
$$$: Rye, Ettiquete (both non-weekends!)
$$: Tunnel Top, Owl Tree
$: Ha-Ra, Brown Jug

orbit room used to be THEEE best cocktail in SF but the main bartender jumped ship and does Youtube cocktail recipe shows.

ed what is your height/inseam.

"orbit room used to be THEEE best cocktail in SF but the main bartender jumped ship and does Youtube cocktail recipe shows."

The wacky lady? Really?

Owl Tree was more fun before they changed the decor.

Heaven's Dog?! Really?! My neighbor takes me there all the time and I find it awfully expensive for the quality of the food.

I have to try Etiquette.

Steve, Ha-Ra isn't really downtown.

One of my favorites, which is FiDi downtown is Cafe Claude which has largely morphed from being a French watering hole to being a biz district lunch spot/date night dinner joint. There's a bartender there named David, from Uruguay, who's a total babe, really nice, and a rather serious bartender about wines and mixed cocktails and the drinks across the street at Gitane are pretty good, too.

yeah, don't eat at Heaven's Dog... there are 2 parts to the space, the restaurant (small) and the bar (big)... the cocktails are probably the best in SF no joke... but the price is comparable to NYC, Moscow, Singapore, Tokyo, Oslo.

Oh, I'll eat there if he's paying. ;) Haven't been to the bar but every time I've been it's been 'full'.

last night in SF - at home nursing an ankle sprain after jumping off a wooden stump while drunk. :( SF's very fun though - we made it out to Taqueria Cancun in the Mission (great) and to Jay's Cheesesteak's (pretty good but I'm from Philly so I reserve the right to be bitchy). tried going to the Little Chihuahua but my friends are lol unemployed so we ended up eating at the cheaper King Foot, which was pretty good. got two dollar pints at Bean-bag Cafe and this bar on Columbus, and spent tonight drinking Belgian ales at a place on Columbus and either Lombard or Greenwich, which is where I sprained my ankle (goodbye to lol NBA career). overall SF's really great, wish I could stay longer - flying out tomorrow night from San Jose. weather was beautiful and clear during my stay, which was a little atypical according to my friend. jealous of all you guys living here!

Phat Philly kicks Jay's ass. if you ever come back and are hanging in the Mission, check it out. Course if you're from Philly why waste a meal on a SF Cheesesteak when there are so many other great places in the Mission.