All,

Re: cooking for a girl, it's pretty natural to work into conversation during a dinner date something about cooking and stuff you make that is great. At that point, if the girl wants to come over and have a date at your place, she'll start talking about you cooking dinner for her. This makes things much easier for me than trying to figure out messages and exact right date number and such.

I lived in the heart of the Tenderloin for over a year (Leavenworth and Eddy) and never had a problem (it probably helps that I'm used to homeless people from growing up in NYC). Neighborhood gets a bad rap.

c,

I'm sorta surprised you like The Ambassador.

im sure tenderloin is fine when u get used to it, i just found myself amongst droves of the homeless complemented by dingy looking buildings and more-often-than-not-police-sirens and it made me a little uncomfortable

i have a pretty good picture of the bush man in mid-action that i took today, i will try and post it later tonight if i can find an computer-connector thingy for my camera

Only on week nights when it's pretty empty and just a place to get a drink with nice booths. The weekend scene at Ambassador is revolting, though I'm sure there are some 2+2'ers who are into the whole bottle service popped collar dumb hot chick crowd.

c,

Ah, OK. I'll check it out some weeknight. I've been a couple of times to birthday parties there and the place is just ridiculous imo. Certain things that work in LA and NYC where the people are much hotter and richer just seem stupid in SF.

photo of the day

That guy used to get me like twice a year.

Must've been s low day for bums.

I lived there for 5 years, Geary and Jones (right next to the Ambasador lol). I went through phases. Its pretty exhausting, frankly, but eventually I got habituated and it didn't bother me. I've recently moved to Oakland, and TBH these posts about the TL are making me miss it, but I haven't been asked for money or a cigarette in THREE WEEKS. Can't go 3 minutes in the 'loin.

The scene at the Ambassador is gross indeed, but the chicks are actually hot (usually anyway). I keep meaning to do a TL eating-guide (there is so much good and cheap food there), but I've been "almost ready" for a year now, so who knows if it'll happen.

Just ate at pho clement street. Small TR to come...

Pho Clement:

Got in after a lengthy taxi-ride from the wharf. This location is near clement street and 3rd avenue, in a little green shop. I decided to go after checking out google.

1 thing of note: when i was getting out of the cab the driver said "where you headed?" in broken english. i told him pho, and he about fell out of his chair. "Pho!? i coulda gotten you much better pho than here!!" in the ensuing 45 seconds I deciphered that he was recommending a pho place called turtle tower near the tenderloin district. i made a mental note and headed inside.

upon coming inside i was greeted by a nice very old man who led me to my table. i dont think anyone in the place spoke good enough english beyond the standard restaurant phrases. fortunately i was able to order my standard pho meal (pho chin nac, which is with brisket and raw beef).

their speed was incredible. in the time most restaurants took to get you a drink, these guys had my pho out. No more than 45 seconds, I swear.





It was pretty damn good pho, but again its not hard to put yourself above and beyond with something like pho. its like trying to make a really good hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich in america. i give the meal a 3.5/5, discounted from a better ranking because the taxi fare was ridiculous.

but if ur in that area (west side of town) this was really good and probably the fastest meal i have even gotten.

since the lunch tho, my dad informed me via phone that egullet.org was a far better place to get food recommendations than google, so I'll go with that from now on.

tonight myself and DJ Sensei are getting sushi, so another small trip report to come. I will also try and get a Giants game in before I leave on Monday.

I have not been to Phở Clement. I have been to Turtle Tower with my Viet ex-gf. There are better places... To be honest San Jose has better Viet food than SF, I don't go out of my way to get Viet food here in the city.

Yuan Lee was on vacation this weekend.

-d

I don't think Mitchell Bros. (O'Farrell Theatre) is quite the same as it used to be. Back in the early 90's when I spent a lot of time in San Francisco the acts were outrageous with in your face girl on girl action with toys. I'm talking a girl on top of a small round drink table with dildo's in every orifice - 3" from your face and nothing between you. Or the room with the crazy dancers in the middle who used the wall with sex toys mounted on the sides. Or the flashlight room. Or the theater where you and a girl could do anything you wanted.

cruise around looking for young couples imo

im house sitting in san rafael for two weeks and this thread has been awesome/helpful.

went to afternoon tea at the slanted door this afternoon with the gf and it was excellent. last night we ate at guayama (sp?) in tiburon for drinko de mayo. it was pretty good and a fun atmosphere.

have dinner rezs for slanted door next monday and gary dankos later on in the week. super excited.

New tacqueria opened up at Page and Divis called the Little Chihuahua. Silly name but the burritos are fantastic. They use Niman Ranch steak and presumably other legit ingredients. Costs a buck or two more than most places, but I'm can't complain about a good meal for less than $10.

Apparently the brunch there is great too, but I probably won't ever wake up early enough to try it. (And if I ever do brunch it pretty much has to be Suppenkuche)

hey,
so I've got a day (Friday) to spend in SF, probably alone and exploring. I'm from the area and have done all the typical stuff, any suggestions how to spend the day? It would be nice if whatever I was going to do was close to BART, so far I have nothing planned. I'll get in around 3:00 and have the whole day. Bonus points for live music, especially if I can get a beer there without ID.

JaBlue, and anyone else who's interested,

A playwright friend of mine adapted Sweeney Todd to modern day San Francisco. Its called Sweetie Tanya and its playing right now, Thursdays through Sundays. I saw it last week, and its uproarious. (Might not be as great to out-of-towners, but locals will get all the jokes, and they don't stop.)

Its playing at the Exit Theatre, Main Stage, near the Powell cable car turn around. Here's a link for details.


Editted to add: Yes, and it has live music.

gosh this thread has so much good stuff in it.

headed out to SF this weekend, and have 3 dinners and 2 lunches free to sample the cuisine. staying in fisherman's wharf area, but would like to see the city so locations aren't a problem.

spent far too long reading this thread and so much sounds appealing... basically im interested in restaurants/cuisine unique to SF.... places im thinking about visiting in no particular order

HOPR
Sushigroove
tartine bakery
tommy's mexican

what else should i make a point to go? looking to spend $100-$125 on dinner for too (of course open to cheaper options as well).

restaurants that are in areas with nightlife are a +... sorry there is just too much info in this thread! trhanks

Personally, I'd skip House of Prime Rib. It's good, but not all that transcendent and if you want things that are representative of the City then SF is not particularly a steakhouse town. I'd look for places in the Mission which has the nightlife you want. Range is an excellent example of Californian style cooking. If you can't get in, Foreign Cinema is almost as good. I'm also fond of the food at Bar Tartine, which is owned by the same folks as the bakery. (Foreign Cinema and Bar Tartine als odo an excellent brunch). As long as you don't go OTT on the ordering, $125 should be possible for dinner for two at these places. If you need to make up a meal on a budget, go grab a meal at La Tacqueria at Mission and 25th.

If you need something near Union Square, try the brilliant Bar Crudo. Raw bar, crudo (don't miss the arctic char with wasabi, tobiko, creme fraiche and dill) and a few salads, hot dishes (the chowder is fabulous).

Dalston has good suggestions. The special food in SF is :

California Cuisine / New American - very good stuff for a lot cheaper than New York, fresh local ingredients. Range is excellent. Delfina is also in that price range. Lots of fancier semi-French options as well.

Sushi - depending on where you compare to, SF has very good sushi at a much better price point than NY. Personally I don't like the Sushi Groove vibe. IMO the most superlative sushi experience is the Omakase at Koo but that's more like $100 each. There are also some very cool divey type places with 4 tables and one old master sushi chef from japan, places like Murasaki and Okina - that's my favorite sushi experience, when you can actually talk to the sushi chef and it's the same guy every night.

Mexican - SF does not have very good Mexican. I love the Mission taquerias and it's awesome drunk food, but LA,SD, and pretty much the whole southwest of the US has better.

Vietnamese - one of the best places for "fancy" vietnamese. Orange County and San Jose have better authentic vietnamese I'm told. The viet crab places are a pretty good way to combine the local crab + local viet goodness.

my gf's cousin is the dessert chef at bar tartine... really enjoyed our meal there.

Hey guys, sorry to bump this with an off-topic post but this seems like the best thread on 2+2 to get a response:

Are the bus+taxi lanes on Market St just a total joke? I always see numerous cars driving in that lane even though the signs say "at all times."

Also, if I have a garage like what's pictured below (the white stripe = Google Maps street view), it's legal for me (or guests) to park behind the garage with the back of my car a little in the street as long as I leave space for people to walk by on the sidewalk, right?



Thanks,
A noob SF resident

*mostly* a joke. You can use them legally if you're turning, so anyone can ride in it one block. Some abuse it and ride in 'em. I wouldn't push it if a cop was around, but I wouldn't stress it too much either.

Also, AFAIK it takes a complaint to get a "blocking driveway" ticket. So if its your driveway, no one to complain = no ticket.

This is just from a SF resident. I don't know the actual laws about the sidewalks.