Jihad,

I like that you bothered to write a bunch of other stuff after "fly-over for Giants home opener."

Ha yeah the flyover was absolutely one of the highlights of my Navy life...eh, life in general. 5 years ago I would've plastered a trip report up, things are different.

But after the flyover the weekend just kept being awesome. Every time I go to SF I am reminded how much I love it. It was definitely worth mentioning that the Golden Gate Park was absolutely wonderful and really surprised me with it's size and upkeep.

Oh, like I said I got a ton of good pictures on the day, but the best was me and MC Hammer. Nice guy, new a ton about the Navy too.

No trip report, abc news took care of some of it:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8620528

I'm flying, the two guys on the ground are on the radio with me and they're pilots in my squadron.

8 days until Bay to Breakers! It is my favorite SF day of the year.

My friends and I are going as Mario Kart. So I have 8 days to make a cardboard mario kart...

Hey guys,

I'd like some input on things to do, places to eat and so forth in SF. My and two friends are coming to SF June 29th and staying until July 3rd (part of a road trip - Google Maps route if anyone's interested). Me and one of the other guys have been to SF previously. We're all 37 years old (from Norway) and staying at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental. Interests include:
- Music (covered in post #748)
- Foodie type eating and all other good foods
- Cultural stuff (we liked SF museum of modern arts e.g.)
- Theme parks (went to Great America last time)
- Cool bars (no night clubs)
- Other random cool stuff - no touristy things


Things we've looked at already:
- Going back to Kiss Seafood. Absolutely loved the food last time we were here. I could be convinced to try another place though. Price shouldn't be above $200-$250 per person including drinks.
- Alcatraz. Breaks with the "no touristy things" rule, I'm willing to make an exception in this instance though
- We're going to the Mayhem Festival on July 1st
- Going to a music place one of the nights

We'd love to get input on places to eat (preferably close by, except for foodie stuff), cool places to go and whatever else you'd deem interesting based on the above. Will also browse the thread for ideas.

Additionally, we're spending 2 days in the Sonoma/Napa Valley area. Probably gonna do the Hill Estate tour based on DF II's suggestion earlier in the thread. Been to Sonoma previously, visited 7-8 wineries (only remember the name of Kaz and Seghesio) and really loved the place. If anyone's got suggestions for wineries, places to stay and so forth I'd very much appreciate that too.

Will be making a similar thread for LA, where we'll be staying for 3 days. Thanks guys.

ETA: oh, if anyone knows good beer breweries in the Sonoma/Napa Valley area that'd be cool as well. One of the guys aren't too hot on wine, while me and another guys are pretty huge wine freaks.

^ Here are my favorite venues for music. Just check their websites for their calendars:
The Independent
Bimbos
Great American Music Hall
Bottom of the Hill
The Fillmore

My favorite museum is the California Academy of Sciences. They have a 3 story indoor rain forest with wild butteries everywhere nuff said. It is also across from the De Young, a fine arts museum...and they are both in golden gate park, which is nice. There is also a museum of modern art which is cool.

I don't really go out to fancy dinners so I'll let another handle the food rec.

oh also, this is touristy, but i'd recommend riding a bike across the golden gate bridge. You rent the bike in the wharf, ride it across to sausalito, hang out for a minute, then ride the ferry back. It is pretty cool although you will be riding your bike from one tourist area to another.

Russian River Brewery is in Santa Rosa, so it's only about 30 minutes from Sonoma. I've never been to the brewery, but I've always wanted to, and their beer is delicious. Another option is Lagunitas, close to Sonoma/Napa as well, and it's nice. Can get packed on nice weekends and such.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/russian-rive...iver%20brewery

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lagunitas-brewing-co-petaluma

Your trip sounds amazing though. I'm jealous.

Thanks for the tips guys, put much of it on the itinerary! Trip will def be amazing for sure, did something vaguely similar 3 years ago. <3 US west coast.

USS Iowa will be putting to sea from Richmond Sunday May 20th in the afternoon. Last time one of the big WWII battle wagons will pass the Golden Gate. I'd like to get over to see that. She is on her way to LA to become a museum.

SF Food-Lovers - be great to hear thoughts on the below restaurants (I'm only personally wondering how delicious the food is, don't care about price/ambience, but for others sure some color would be well received):

Brenda's French Soul Food (for Brunch)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/brendas-fren...-san-francisco

SF Canteen (for Brunch)
http://www.sfcanteen.com/

Spruce
http://www.yelp.com/biz/spruce-san-francisco

Chez Papa Bistro (one in SF)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chez-papa-bistrot-san-francisco

Mission Chinese Food (heard went downhill over past year, basically not worth waiting in line anymore)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mission-chin...an-francisco-4

Flour + Water (seems incredibly overrated based on my last visit, but that was almost a year ago)
http://www.flourandwater.com/

Commonwealth
http://www.yelp.com/biz/commonwealth-san-francisco

Al,

"Brenda's French Soul Food (for Brunch)"
Worth going if you go 10 or earlier. After then is a line, and not worth the wait. Beignets are very tasty, but not like best ever or anything. Mission Beach Cafe is a better brunch IMO.

"SF Canteen (for Brunch)"
Dunno.

"Spruce"
Excellent. A little bit on the conservative/traditional side ambience-wise and a little pricy. Make sure you get a soup there. Everything I've had there has been good.

"Chez Papa Bistro (one in SF)"
It's fine. One of a million pretty solid but nothing special places in SF.

"Mission Chinese Food (heard went downhill over past year, basically not worth waiting in line anymore)"
Still worth trying imo. Stuff is very spicy and sometimes too salty, but always some real home runs in there that will surprise you w/ their uniqueness. We always get it delivered, though.

"Flour + Water (seems incredibly overrated based on my last visit, but that was almost a year ago)"
I think it's v good, but agree it's overrated, plenty of good places w/ this style pizza/pasta in SF. Check out Central Kitchen instead, their new place. Haven't been yet, but everyone is raving about it.

"Commonwealth"
Haven't been, but this is high on my list. Hear consistently good things from friends.

Thanks, Diablo - much appreciated! The plan I had hatched for a Saturday w/r/t food was Brenda's Soul Food at 10AM for brunch, and booked a table at Spruce for dinner - probably hit up Ike's for lunch. Seems not too bad based on your comments.

Commonwealth actually interested me the most (and have also heard it's great from friends), but when I checked last week looked like they are booked a couple weeks out (similar to Flour + Water). I'm assuming I can't get a table at Central Kitchen for a while, though good to know about it.

Outside of Benu (which IIRC you were a pretty big fan of) and the other well known excellent spots like Gary Danko - any other standout dinner recs off the top of your head?

Also, what do you think of Le Charm?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/le-charm-fre...-san-francisco

I've always had a soft spot for that place (I lived in SF when IIRC it opened) - really solid french bistro food at reasonable prices back in the day - been meaning to go back at some point. On a related aside, seems like a pretty solid 1st'ish/2nd date spot.

Al,

I like Le Charm fine. South Park Cafe is another similar casual french bistro nearby that I like slightly better. Fringale is also nearby and pretty good.

Benu I thought was OK but didn't live up to the price. I have heard and read that they have fine tuned their dishes a lot, so I'm gonna check it out again soon.

Atelier Crenn and Acquarello are two recent fine dining meals I've really enjoyed. Ame is always very good. Michael Mina is now in a new location and very good. Not fine dining, but I think Incanto is really great.

So, im going to be in Davis, california this summer for two weeks. Ive been in LA a few days before so dont want to visit that. What are some things to do while in california, any insider tips would be grately appreciated.

I would like to see some parcs. Only seen a little bit of the sequoia parc.

Ofc going to san fransisco, so im gonna start reading through this thread.

Thanks in advance.