There's a donut store on Polk that has fresh hot donuts ready right after the bars close. The first time someone took me there drunk, a hot donuts was the last think I thought I wanted. But the taste was like heaven in my mouth.

suzzer,

http://bobsdonuts.com/

Bob's. Piping-hot fresh donuts from there. That is a truly amazing drunken experience. Oh, make sure you go to the right place. Right on the corner a couple doors down is a completely differnet place, Bob's Diner.

I'm also surprised nobody has mentioned cheap Bahn Mi (vietnamese sandwiches) yet. My favorite is Saigon Sandwiches. I believe the special combo pork sandwich is now $3. So, so delicious.

Grubsteak down the street is also a fun late night drunken experience. You will get food poisoning about 1 in 10 times. But hey nothing else is open, and I'm drunk and hungry dammit.

Also I'd kill for a vietnamese sandwich place near me in LA. There's one near downtown that's awesome. The best thing is the spicy meat sandwich, and dip it in that fish carcass soup they make. Also the cold spring rolls. Gluhhhhhhhh.

Just went here for lunch with another 2p2er. Got there late so we had to sit that the sushi bar.
Got the Sashami lunch. 3 pieces each of Salmon, Maguro, Yellowtail, and Halibut plus soup, salad, and rice for $12.90! It was very very good!
Friend got the sushi lunch for same price. 3 pieces of cucumber roll, tuna roll, and california roll. One piece each of Salmon, Maguro, Yellowtail, Halibut, and Ebi. It looked really good. He confirmed it was good, but could not finish since he is a little under the weather.

A couple of guys were having the Chef's Menu. I think it's 10 pcs and some hot appetitizer. Gonna get this next time I go.

thread is tl;dr since i live in Reno.

Alfreds for steak/martinis

Truly Med for Shwarma/Falafel

Top Dog (Berkeley) for, well, top dogs.

See also Help please: San Francisco Restaurants thread. I took a date to Fringale on Sat night based on the recommendation, very nice, very reasonable, nothing too fancy.

Also last Fri: Holy Cow, not as good as I remember it used to be, very quiet, ridiculously cheap drinks though and a barmaid in a tiny plaid skirt and a fine wiggle. Elbo Room, crowded but fun place, still easy to get drinks. Wanted to check out Wish to take a girl to on Sat night, unfortunately my date for Fri was a big dude in a lavendar shirt. We still couldn't get in. I wasn't too surprised.

Any suggestions for a fun place on a Sat night for a birthday group?

If you're hanging out near the museums/metreon, etc. (I believe this is SOMA), try some cream puffs over at Beard Papa's on Mission between 3rd and 4th. Good stuff!

BCF,

Fringale is very solid. I especially like the steak frites and the lamb. Right on the corner is Coco 500, one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Highly recommend it.

Wish is OK but sucks on the weekend, way too crowded.

What sort of place you looking for for the birthday, and how many people?

I saw Coco 500, and it was recommended by a friend, but I couldn't get a reservation (last minute). It's up there on my list to try out though.

My b'day is Weds but I'm getting old and mid-week shenanigans isn't as easy to deal with the next morning as it used to be...that'll be a more civilised night. Sat would need to be somewhere fun to make me forget 37 sounds significantly older than 36 Lively, pretty people to look at, clubby but not too clubby (last year we VIP'd it at Ruby Skye). Probably a dozen or so twentysomethings to thirtysomethings, small cover charge is ok (my friends are all over the chart financially, and this year I want them all around).

If I end up at anyone's recommendations, I'd be very happy to let them buy me a drink Since Bruiser left town before I could meet him, anyone else with some good stories to tell would be most welcome!

BCF,

I am not much of a club guy anymore, so can't really help you out there. I do like Mighty, but I suspect that's not the right vibe for you.

For a nice lounge type place with a bit of a club type atmosphere/music, you might want to check out Slide, right next door to Ruby Skye. It is basicaly a really nice bar with a club feel to it.

If you want to hang out w/ pretty Marina folk, you can hit The Matrix on Fillmore. It is not my style at all, but it's definitely a nice bar with pretty people.

I'd heard this forever, and it didn't make sense to me. It often gets mentioned as a Great Thing To Do in SF That a Local Never Does. So a couple years ago I took a visitor on the tour on a spectacular summer day. And I tell ya, I still don't get it. The answer came to me in the form of a question as I stood in front of a cell and listened to the audio tour: Why visit a prison on your day off/vacation? Seems of limited historical interest. There's a small Hollywood connection easily taken in through views of the thing. Different strokes...

I didn't read all of this thread. Here's a couple I didn't see:

Angel Island (better ferry and picnic option, imo).

There's a nice trail that hugs land's end through GG National Rec Area accessible from the parking lot above the Cliff House. It goes out to painted rock and sneaks up on the GG to provide a different view of it. It spits out in Sea Cliff, giving options to head back the way you came, cut through Lincoln Park GC, take the street up to the Legion of Honor. I suppose you could carry on to China Beach or the Presidio if you wanted, as well.

One thing I like is when I'm at 22nd/Irving right next to the market there is a Mediterranean deli (Palistinian?) called "Sunrise" I think, where I get the falafel and/or mujeddara. Yeah, I know, all the great asian stuff in that neighborhood, and a great sushi place, but give it a look.

I didn't see Rose Pistola in North Beach mentioned, seems like I usually drop in when I'm in the neighborhood.

I'm gonna stop here...

Hey guys, first time posting in EDGDF, though I like reading it. I'm going up to San Fran this weekend for a nice meal with my friends and was trying to decide which restaurant to hit. We're all college students, so this isn't something that happens a lot. We're looking for a good steakhouse, most likely.

In this thread, El D recommended Harris, and in an older OOT thread he recommends Bobo's, Harris, and ACME. I was hoping you guys could go more in depth on this or provide some more suggestions (mostly steakhouses, unless something is just an AMAZING meal for ~75 bucks).

We're looking to spend between 50 and 100 each, and we're not getting alcohol (we're all 20). I'm going with surf and turf, most likely, if that changes the restaurant. I usually get filet mignon and lobster- I'm still getting the lobster this weekend since I LOVE lobster, but I was hoping to try something besides filet mignon. My friends probably won't get as much as me, and will go with some type of steak. Any suggestions on the place and the meal?

duke,

I retract my Bobo's recommendation. I've been there a few times and always had a great time, and when they are at their best, it is one of the most fun steak places to go. However, multiple people who have been their recently have had very different experiences - sometimes it's great, but other times the food is uneven and service is horrible. Too much of a risk. Also, they took their best app off the menu.

I like both Acme and Harris' a lot. Acme is a more casual fun nice restaurant vibe, whereas Harris' is more of an old school steakhouse vibe.

I don't think Acme even does lobster. Even if they do, Harris' would clearly be better for surf and turf. Overall, Harris' is just a better steakhouse with a wider range of choices. Harris' is slightly more expensive, but $50-100 without alcohol is more than enough. Steaks are probably around $40 each at both places.

The only reason I go to Acme more often than Harris' is because it is two blocks away from my house and three friends of mine bartend there.

Acme is more casual than Harris', but slacks/shirt is plenty dressed up enough for Harris'. Plenty of folks there will be wearing jeans, plenty will be wearing jackets. I like being in the middle with slacks/shirt.

Awesome, thanks El D. I guess I'll call and make a reservation for Harris for next Saturday.

Do you have any recommendations for what we should try, not only for an entree, but also for the appetizers and desserts?

duke,

I've tasted a few steaks there, all have been outstanding. I usually get the Harris bone-in NY steak. Note that they come w/ vegetables and potato, which is another thing I like about Harris' (high-end steakhouses nowadays often don't come with any sides).

I've just had the regular steaks. A friend had this: "Filet mignon Rossini - A filet mignon with grilled Sonoma foie gras and black truffle, cabernet sauce" and said it was spectacular.

I've never had the prime rib and wouldn't order that. If you guys want Prime Rib, go to House of Prime Rib down the street and have great prime rib for far cheaper than premium steakhouse prices.

Everything I've had at Harris' has been good. Some highlights...

The fried onion rings and mushrooms are f'ing great at Harris'. Definitely get those. My sister said the crab cakes were excellent. The onion soup was delicious.

Have had a few desserts there, all really good. Cheesecake I remember being especially good.