San Francisco and what to do in it

i appreciate the gabbinators help tho

Michael, did you recommend Uva to me btw?

"which is sound advice particularly for those of us (i.e., ME) who cannot find gloves"

Do you have enormous hands?

why yes actually!

I have made many notes re: places to eat from this and some other SF thread, but have not notated thusly any dim sum places. Suggestions?

Yank Sing or Ton Kiang are the places I go, but all the Chinese people I know claim that is dim sum for white people haha.

Yank Sing, Ton Kiang are the best places, quincie but more expensive.

I just went to Taiwan on Clement on Sunday for really excellent potstickers and Shanghai Dumpling King on Balboa has really good shanghai dumplings.

Alex, I probably did. Great wine list.

Yeah it's my new favorite dinner place. Great happy hour deals too.

more gabbneb eating notes:

i didn't eat any Italian food in North Beach, but I did a progressive brunch thing there where I had an agua fresca at the SFAI cafe (nice place, but view a little fog-muted the morning I was there and breakfast offerings limited), an espresso at Caffe Roma (very good coffee+outdoor cafe seating), and an omelet at Mama's (good, but not really worth the wait). I also had dinner at Coi, where you can order a la carte off the tasting menu (more interesting than the lounge food, but $$$$) if you sit in the fairly comfortable lounge. the service is slightly on the chilly side, but still good.

Panisse Cafe wasn't quite as good as I remembered, but it's still great to eat there, and the Berkeley campus was nice to walk around even at night, though I didn't get up to the stadium.

eating at the counter at SPQR before a Fillmore show was a lot of fun. the pasta was a little boring tho - might be better to focus on the smaller plates, which were great.

Canteen was maybe a step below other places I ate, but in price as well, and it's perfectly nice. The chefs were playing Earth on the iPod stereo.

Boulette's didn't quite meet expectations, but came pretty close, and it's a very nice place for a relaxing breakfast in the hallway

Admittedly not quite my style and I was almost too tired to eat at the time, but Slanted Door was a bad choice. The food was fine, but nothing special, and the service wasn't too helpful and not good-vibey. His cafe at the Academy of Science (which is worthwhile, but a ridiculous zoo on the weekend) sucked too.

I went to Corneta instead of La Taqueria, and it was good, but Balazo is still my favorite cheap mexican place.

Got a great cobbler from Greens to Go (I like the walk to Greens along Aquatic Park and Fort Mason from the cable car turnaround), and acme bread/cowgirl cheese/swanton jam (from the farmer's market) sustained me for nearly a week.

I kinda wanted to go to Aziza, and only realized at the last minute that I was out there on the night they;re closed.

I liked SPQR quite a bit, but Uva was more my speed.

I ate at Slanted Door a month or so and it was still very good. Could see how it could not be one's cup of tea, I guess.

I see Michael (on another thread) was non-plussed by Uva's pizzas but the ones we had were both excellent.

Aziza is great.

The fact that there is a San Francisco and what to do in it and a Things to do in San Francisco thread is kind of confusing, no?

btw, i thought the oysters, burger and espresso granita (and wine) at Zuni were very good, but the fish/veggies merely good; architecture, light, vibe, service made the experience

I almost always get their Chicken/Bread Salad thing when I go there.

I'm still getting wowed by 2 month old La Mar next to the Ferry Bldg, which is quite easily my favorite restaurant in SF of the last 2-3 years.

Is it murder getting a table?

Zuni: Caesar Salad, Bloody Mary, Roast Chicken (for 2), and deepest oyster bar in SF.

soooo excited for oysters! Are all of these places going to be impossible for getting a table w/o reservations? We'll be on east coast time so at least we'll probably be happy to do an early dinner.

La Mar and Zuni are def. reservations required. Except maybe for lunch.

At La Mar, get this:

Cebiche Crudo
Cebiche Classico
Una

and maybe a nikkei salad or causa.
and any one of the purple corn desserts.

I ate at the owner's flagship gatronomica restaurant in Lima and La Mar compares VERY favorably (although at 2-3x the price unfortunately).

All trusted accounts on Coi is that it's pure fluff. I'm afraid it will take somebody else's money to get me in there.

Slanted Door has decent milk tea. That's about all I can say.

Uva is owned and operated by a (my) former (favorite) waiter at Ritz Carlton Dining Room.

SPQR fried chicken night = pure hype. Go to Ad Hoc instead.

some of Coi was wowing, some disappointing, some in between. pricey, yes.

i guess i shoulda gone to La Mar instead of Slanted Door, but I wasn't in the mood for even trendier.

best white folx dim sum is Yank Sing = get the XLB (Shanghai Dumplings, I think it's Xiao Lum Bao). $11.90 for 5, but pure heaven. Ask for black vinegar instead of the default red.

I've heard the same thing about Coi, Steve.

I see Michael (on another thread) was non-plussed by Uva's pizzas but the ones we had were both excellent.

I think they're getting better but we're so dialed in at RNM that that's where we usually dine.

shows: Gang Gang Dance, Marnie Stern, & Growing on Friday

Re: Yank Sing

If you can get pea sprout pot stickers (you should, they're in season) definitely get them as well as the sticky rice.

i reserved for late weekday lunch at Zuni, and it was busy, but don't think it was full

i probably shoulda gone to Ame instead of Coi, but it was further away

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_long_bao

^^^^^yeah that's what we want. we want all of that

Speaking (as I was, above) of wine and Zuni (as Steve was), right next door is a great wine bar and excellent restaurant called CAV. Highly recommended. The owner, Pamela Busch is friend of ours and has an amazing palate/nose and she's turned me on to all sorts of great vino.

The best Xiao Long Bao I've had were still way out at Shanghai Dumpling King, Steve.

Hiro and Lissa at Ame also own Terra in St Helena. Both are excellent.

If you are rather serious about food and you do not go to Ritz Carlton Dining Room, then consider your trip to be misguided.

Hiro and Lissa = Shasta's wed night teatotalling buds.

Terra and Ame are like mid-tier versions of DR@TRC.

SDK's XLB = skin is way too thick to eat it properly, dough:meat ratio is way off compared to the gold standards @ DTF in Taiwan/LA/Shanghai. my Shanghainese coworker says they cheat by putting napa cabbage on the inside of the dumpling.

oh yeah, Pine Cone Diner in Pt Reyes Station - food ok, service not great, good local color

I haven't been yet but I've heard that Steve is right about the Ritz.

I meant in SF and my XLB forays haven't even been that exhaustive. City-wide, I still stand by Yank Sing being the best overall.

the tea house in yerba buena gardens looked very pleasant - is the food any good?

Gabbnebb since you liked the Hog Island at the Ferry Building, did you ever go to the funky picnic area set-up they have on Tomales Bay?

I haven't been to that tea house, but the bar at 'B', on the east side is pretty fun for a cocktail/view.

no, i would have liked that, but it wasn't an option for me this time, unfortunately. next time, maybe (whenever that is).

I'd like to eat Ron Siegel's food (a la carte - his tasting menu doesn't appeal to me) some time, but would rather not do it in a Ritz dining room. maybe if I'm there for business.

Any thoughts on any of the recent spate of neo-soul places? 1300? Front Porch? Farmer Brown's? (The fried chicken night at Magnolia brew-pub is pretty good, btw and unlike Ad Hoc, I can walk there.)

Where should I take my college-era ex-girlfriend to dinner to celbrate her GREs?

What kind of foods does she like, Jon?

Farmer Brown's fried chicken is good (was good when it was at Blue Jay too), but I haven't been in a while (service was awful twice in a row and I just gave up.)

What kind of foods does she like, Jon?

Judging from when I knew her: burritos, french fries, breaded chicken.

Also, when Siegel was at the late Charles Nob Hill, my friend worked there and his food was magical.

Alex, have you been to Front Porch? It was very fun and I had a lovely meal. 1300 is THE place to see the local black power elite, though. The first night I went, Kamala, Willy and a host of other people were there.

Where should I take my college-era ex-girlfriend to dinner to celbrate her GREs?

scuzzy hotel room

"Alex, have you been to Front Porch?"

I haven't. It's in the middle of nowhere.

Down the street from El Rio.

Also middle of nowhere but worth the trip:

La Ciccia, a really excellent little Sardinian restaurant with a great wine list.

I am lazy. If it's out of my (or my folks) neighborhoods and I'm not seeing a movie/show/play I'm probably not going to eat there.

I've been meaning to go to 1300 on Fillmore though.