I'm going to be in San Jose next week for a conference.

Sunday - Land at SFO at 8:15pm. Pick up rental car. Find dinner. Check into AC Hotel in downtown San Jose.
Monday - Mostly free day. Have a few conference calls.
Tu - Conference until ~5pm
We - Conference until ~5pm. Conference event 6:30pm–9:00pm @San Pedro Square Market. Worth checking out?
Th - Conference until 6:30pm. Grab dinner, pack, go to bed earlyish.
Fr - Get up really early, return car at SFO, fly out at like 6am.

Looking for recommendations for any of the following:

Dinner Sunday night between SFO and downtown San Jose.
Day trip somewhere Monday.
Things to do / places to eat in the evenings.

Staying at the Parc 55 tonight. Wow parking is pricey at $67 per night.

Amoeba: im not a big oyster guy so I can't say, but many people I trust say it is worth the hype - though part of that is the old school ambience. Oyster fans all also highly recommend going to one of the oyster places (farms?) and shucking them outside at the picnic area.

Guller: loooool absurd.

Oh wow, I am going to do that the next time I am in town. I hope they train you because I am a terrible shucker.

Guller, that was the same price as Valet at the Grand Hyatt when I was in town. Self park was $35. I was stressed out so didn't self park. I feel that in that situation with such a discrepancy, it's ok to not tip right?

No self park here, only valet. They should just charge $55 so the hotel name would be fitting. I'll tip a fiver on pickup anyway. I'm a huge sucker.

FWIW valet charges are same in Chicago. Who drives a car to an expensive hotel in a big city in 2017? They charge this to soak rich old people.

Amoeba suggest I x post from another thread.

Going to Napa in December and Im wondering if French laundry is worth the hype/hassle/expense. Also wondering if there are any other musts. I just started planning and holy **** is there a lot of stuff to sift through.

Hoagie,

I've been a couple times and loved it, but haven't been for a number of years. The price at all these places just keeps climbing up, and it's hard for me to justify going to hyped ultra fine dining often vs all the excellent places a notch or two down that are great and hundreds of dollars cheaper for two.

Having said that, I think going to French laundry once is very worth it for any "foodie" type person.

You gonna be in the city at all or just wine country?

Just wine country. Getting there pretty early on Wednesday and heading out pretty early on Sunday. Its a beast trying to put it together with all the driving (and drinking) As a man that spent the night in jail 15 years ago (and realized I wasn't cut out for it), I have zero tolerance policy, so thinking of doing a tour one day, hitting a few wineries around Napa via uber one day, and then hiring a DD. I'm looking at a pretty impressive transportation bill.

Hoagie,

Thumbs up to your transportation plan.

First time to SF.. anybody have any recs close to Hilton financial district.. all input appreciated...

For food, drink or activities? SF is a very compact city, and you are close to all sorts of public transit so almost anything you read in this thread will be pretty accessible.

Heading to SF in a couple of weeks. Staying at an AirBnB in Noe Valley. Any restaurant recommendations in the neighborhood would be appreciated!

Also plan to spend some time in the Mission District - anyone know a good Mexican place that's a little nicer for a sit-down meal? I know they have lots of great hole in the wall burrito places with lines out the door and limited seating, which I'm sure are great... but I'm looking for something a little more comfortable for a dinner out, but still authentic.

Rev,

Noe valley - Uma Casa is awesome (Portuguese food). I highly recommend it. I've heard good things about Saru Sushi but haven't been. La Ciccia - excellent Italian/Sardinian. Another one I'd recommend.

Firefly is solid American/Californian and Eric's, Alice's, Henry's are all solid Chinese - I haven't been to any of those in years though, they are totally fine but not worth a trip to a different neighborhood.

Mexican - not in the mission, but for modern fancy Mexican cuisine Cala in Hayes valley is excellent. For high-end Mexican in the mission, Californios is supposed to be great, but I haven't been yet. For more casual sit-down Mexican (flautas, enchiladas, tamales, margaritas) Puerto Alegre and El Metate (taqueria with good burritos, but tons of excellent dishes as well and a nice seating area). Roosevelt Tamale Parlor is a tiny dive, but they have great tamales. Also you'll find a million other solid choices for sit down casual Mexican.

If you're into Cajun food, Bayou and Alba Ray's are two places in the mission I think are excellent.

Not in the mission, but just went to Brenda's for the first time and loved it.

Awesome thanks for the recommendations!

Thread,

I have most of day (flying out at 7) to spend in SFO this Saturday. In general my mo in situations like this is to just walk many miles around the city exploring. My hotel is just west of union square. Can you all help out with recs regarding:

1) Place to get awesome eggs benedict and iced coffee
2) Burrito place
3) Opened ended input on where to walk around / areas not to miss

A good friend has lived in SF for years, so over a few visits I've seen the major tourist things (e.g. fisherman's wharf, alcatraz, golden gate bridge).

Goof,

Excellent iced coffee exists on like every block. I'm not an eggs Benedict expert, but I doubt it's worth going somewhere specific for. Just yelp eggs Benedict wherever you happen to be when you're in the mood to eat.

From union square I'd walk over to Hayes valley, and maybe grab some food/drink there. Lots of coffee and brunch options. Maybe hang out at the beer garden. Maybe some ice cream at smitten.

Then I'd cut across to Dolores park and hang out there for a bit. More coffee and brunch options. Maybe some ice cream at bi-rite.

Then wander into the mission for burritos, beers, etc. Plus more coffee and brunch options. Maybe some ice cream at Humphrey slocombe.

This event looks pretty cool: https://www.facebook.com/events/476539646026316/?ti=ia

El Diablo,

Your recommendations were outstanding! Thank you!

Wandered over to Hayes Valley from my hotel, stopped for iced coffee at a random place along the way. Got eggs Benedict and beer at stacks in Hayes valley, v good. Wandered around Hayes valley for a bit and got second iced coffee (not as good as first iced coffee). Saw SF city hall and thought it looked cool so headed over there. Some large group was in a city square aiming to set the world record for largest human flower, I think they succeeded. Went and checked out the library which was beautiful! Rested for a bit out of the sun, charged my phone etc. then it was off to the mission. Wandered around there, got some ice cream from the smitten in the mission and walked up to Dolores park to eat it. Holy cow. Huge park w a beautiful view and it was PACKED. sat quietly eating ice cream and enjoying the day and generally feeling pleased with how the day was going, then walked back to the mission to get a burrito. And a second backup burrito, before ubering back to my hotel. Burritos are next to me in the Uber to sfo as I type.

The weather today was gorgeous.

All told
Iced coffees: 2
Bowls of ice cream: 1
Photos/snaps etc. taken: lots
Steps: 16,143
Miles walked: 8.1
Beers: 1
Sprite zeroes: 3
Orders of eggs Benedict: 1
Great views, weather, etc: lots and lots

Goof,

What kind of burritos?!!???!??

Sounds like an excellent day. And you got a rare sunny and warm day!

Yea no kidding what a perfect weekend to visit and walk sf.

Thanks all for the good info in this thread. I moved to SF in November and didn't think to check 2+2 for a thread on the city since i was under the impression that a lot of the traveling/what to do threads had died down. Anyways, restaurants so far:

Gary Danko - big meh. Feels like an SF staple restaurant that got the honorary Michelin lifetime achievement star. Great service, average food
Lazy Bear - good but self-important and not great.
The Perennial - super interesting concept from the owners of Mission Chinese. Food is unique, fun, and uber seasonal, even by the nittiest standards. Plus can walk out with a clean conscience knowing you've just eaten at the most environmentally aware restaurant in the world....(by urban standards anyways)
Kronnerburger - best burger I've ever had in a restaurant
Outerlands - solid spot that I've been to for brunch and lunch only partly bc its close to my gf's house. Fairly standard but hasn't disappointed me in 2 trips
Nopa - went here 2 nights ago, was pleasantly very surprised with the overall food quality (I was also starving). Had pig's head (8/10), rigatoni w rabbit (7/10), a perfect side of grilled broccolini (10/10), and a very good burger.
8505 BBQ - I'm too lazy to look up the exact name but I think that's it; it's the BBQ spot on divis. I'm that annoying BBQ guy who's spent too much time in places with great BBQ, but it's good enough (if not overpriced) and hits the spot if you're really having a craving. Shoulder and brisket were better than the ribs which were too dry but as always could have been a sample size issue.

That's all I can think of food-wise for now. I would go over my touristy experiences but posters with much more escritorial talent than I have already covered it from what I've read. Only other thing thing I can offer up is that the Ralph Gracie gym is the best BJJ gym I've trained at yet.


I know this is the most annoying question to ask, but I looked thru the thread and haven't found a solid answer to it yet. Can someone link me to a good up to date rundown of the best casinos for a low/midstakes grinder? Or in lieu of that just give me a name of a good room? I try to squeeze in 10-13 hrs/wk either online or live. Ty in advance and thanks again for all the good info

Igot,

I liked lazy bear a lot more than you, but in general pretty much agree with your post.

Love that kronnerburger!

4505 BBQ. About as good as you'll find here. This isn't a great BBQ area. Cathead's is pretty solid as well. Smokestack has some good high-end overpriced BBQ.

For poker rooms, go to the live poker forum and there's a regional subforum with an SF Bay Area thread, as well as a subforum with threads for individual rooms.

Should probably admit to having a personal reason for not liking LB. Thanks for the reply, you give outstanding recs/advice all across the board. I'm in Tahoe til Sunday but will check out the rooms when I get back!

Amoeba,


Went to In Situ specifically to try that cheesecake based on your raves.

We had:
Tomato Velvet and Shrimp
Carme Ruscalleda, Sant Pau
Sant Pol de Mar, Spain, 2001

This was great, the highlight being the really amazing tomato broth. Small portion, but rich and wonderful.

Cebiche del Amor
halibut, scallop, shrimp, crab, leche de tigre, rocoto pepper, cancha, purple potato
Gastón Acurio, La Mar
Lima, Peru, 2010

This looked beautiful and nice portion size, but taste was just fine. Nothing special about this.



Wasabi Lobster
mango jelly, Thai vinaigrette, wasabi marshmallow
Tim Raue, Restaurant Tim Raue
Berlin, Germany, 2013

Even though you didn't like this, I had to try it. Lots of reviews agreed with you, so I kept searching reviews til I found one that raved about it lol. I love sharp wasabi flavor, so I figured I might enjoy it more than you. Totally understand where your review was coming from, but I really enjoyed the dish. I think a key is eating it pretty quickly while the batter is still crispy and light. And yeah, the wasabi def leans towards overpowering, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

Glazed Chicken Thigh
onsen egg, lettuce, sansho, teriyaki
Hiroshi Sasaki, Gion Sasaki
Kyoto, Japan, 2015

Got this because I was worried about being hungry. Simple and very tasty. Very straightforward and basic compared to other stuff on the menu.

And finally the cheesecake!

Jasper Hill Farm Cheesecake
hazelnut, white chocolate, cookie
Albert Adrià, Tickets
Barcelona, Spain, 2015

I agree with you that it was AMAZING and definitely the highlight of the meal.

And it looked just like yours when it arrived:


But that's where the comparison ends. It's like we had a completely different dessert.

Your picture looks like what you described, airy cheesecake. Ours looked like melted Brie, which the server said the chef recommends spreading on the cookies.



And ours had that funky aged cheese flavor in the filling, while the outside was mainly a sweet graham cracker type taste, no funk at all.

Very curious that it was so different. I'm gonna stop by sometime and ask them which way it's supposed to be.

Edit: ok image searching "tickets Cheesecake Barcelona" and "in Situ cheesecake" first off about 99% of pics are just of the beautiful presentation, but from the few cut pics, it looks like it's supposed to be set a little more.