Restaurants

San Francisco Landmark Tadich Grill

Another “must see and eat at” for any San Francisco visitors or new residents, is Tadich Grill in the Financial District.  I read somewhere that Tadich was referred to once as, “It’s kind of like the Peter Luger’s of Seafood”. Having eaten at both The Palm Restaurant on Second Avenue in New York and Peter Luger in Brooklyn, I have to agree.

When you dine at Tadich Grill be prepared to be served large portions by sometimes grumpy but always no-nonsense waiters. This is not your trendy super-friendly chain restaurant, this is a piece of San Francisco history that has survived a hundred trends. If you close your eyes, the atmosphere is a little Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, especially if you hear a cable car clang its bell on the up/down California Street outside the restaurant.

Now for lunch but especially for dinner, you have got to try the Cioppino, white bib around your neck and all. Read More »

Best Burgers at Royal Exchange in San Francisco

Remember the movie Swingers, with a young and lanky Vince Vaughn? Remember how he used the phrase “you’re so money!”, whenever he complimented his friend Jon Favreau or just tried to boost his ego? In the 1990’s this phrase became the hippest way to tell your friend that they were cool or make them feel important.

Now think about the locations where you might find these guys hanging out. In downtown San Francisco, you would find them very likely at the Royal Exchange sitting in a booth after work smoking.

The Royal Exchange in the 1990s was  one of my favorite place for after work drinks. Lots of cute guys from the investment firms would start showing up at 2:00 after the stock market closed.  And though the prices are higher today, their happy hour is still a fun spot that I recommend to my single friends and to visitors staying at Le Méridien Hotel.

Though I am not in the area as often as I used to be, I still like to stop here for lunch whenever I can. Read More »

Cafe Madeleine San Francisco - Oh La La!

Haven’t we all had those days when we can’t decide what to eat? We are in an unfamiliar city or an area that we don’t normally spend much of our time, so we stand around and hope that we don’t just grab the first familiar fast food we see.

For anyone who has been in that predicament, you are in luck. Cafe Madeleine is a fabulous cafe and bakery in San Francisco with three locations in the heart of the city.

I’ve used to work across the street from one location, and to be honest, would have weeks where I would get the grilled sandwich for lunch every other day. One of my favorites is the Niman Ranch ham, cheddar cheese, sliced apples and honey mustard on ciabbata bread for $8. It is hot and tasty and oh la la good! Read More »

Pasta Moto "Quick Taste of Italy" new in SF

San Francisco Metreon Shopping Center, in the San Francisco Center has a large lower floor filled with mini versions of larger restaurants as well as your basic food stalls.   Think International Terminal at SFO more than Harrod’s Department Store’s famous Food Halls.

Westfield – Metreon is a state of the art technology and entertainment marketplace covering over 350,000 square feet on four levels. It is the new home of the old Emporium-Capwell’s for you old school shoppers and citizens like me. Remember that crazy Ferris Wheel on the roof of the store at Christmas? How was that legal?

While shopping at Bloomingdale’s and checking out the Rosetta Stone kiosk in the mall, I got really hungry all of a sudden. Maybe from thinking of my trip to Spain and all the fresh seafood I was going to consume!  Deep down inside though, my craving was for simple comfort food rather than a balanced sensible meal.  Good thing I was at a mall because the lower level produced the perfect choice, Pasta Moto! Read More »

Feel Glamorous Lunch @ Armani Cafe

Do you have a group of friends that you like to meet up with for a little retail therapy?  I am part of this great group of girlfriends who like to meet regularly downtown.  Besides hitting the stores, we also use this time together to try out cafes and restaurants.

This time after we combed the sale racks at Banana Republic, Loehmann’s and H&M we decided to hit the Armani Cafe, just inside the Armani store on Grant Avenue in San Francisco.

We may live for sales but we also need to feel glamorous.  What better way to gaze at the gorgeous Giorgio Armani clothes without feeling the guilt of not buying them, then to grab a bite at his cafe.  We could have gone for the European feel and sat outside on the sidewalk but decided to up the style quotient and get a table overlooking the beautiful displays inside.

A few of us at the table were disappointed that it wasn’t 3:00 pm yet because the cafe has a happy hour with drink specials that include a $6 Cosmo or Martini.  I was excited to see my favorite summer food, a caprese salad (heirloom tomato, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese!) on the menu for $9 as well as fried calamari for $10. Read More »

$7.50 for 2 pieces Chicken + Waffle @ Little Skillet in SOMA

After the gym today I was looking for a place to grab some food. My criteria was simple. I wanted good food and it needed to be somewhere close. My problem? I was south of market (SOMA), surrounded by a lot of downtown high-rises, industrial businesses and lofts.

Using my trusty iPhone, I found that I had “an app for that” problem and soon was on my way to Farmerbrown’s Little Skillet.  It turned out to be a cool “to go” outlet of Farmerbrown’s Restaurant located in the Tenderloin district.

The Little Skillet, as it was cutely referred to by a hipster in front of me to their friend (yes, I’m a known eavesdropper) wasn’t that hard to find once I saw it on my map.  If I was new to the city or visiting, finding Ritch Alley might be difficult.  However it’s worth the hunt, if you want some really tasty southern comfort food. Read More »

Claddagh's pub feel

When I asked if I could use my husband’s vehicle to park in a  downtown garage last week, I didn’t realize the answer would take hours.

Rather than merely explaining which floors were fair game, he insisted we get into our Trail Blazer and drive there so he could demonstrate the process.

Apparently, saying “Let’s have dinner near Circle Center Mall” is grounds for revoking your man card, because food was clearly the agenda for this little jaunt.

Frankly, I think a gal deserves a nice dinner after putting up with that foolishness. So I marched into Claddagh Irish Pub because it was there, I was hungry, and I have fond memories of my visit to the Emerald Isle in 2004. Certainly that boded well for a restaurant I’d never visited before.

Read More »

Gold Dust Lounge @ Union Square

Do you love old westerns? Are you comfortable in somewhat seedy surroundings? If you answered “yes” to both, then you are in luck because situated on noisy Powell Street in Union Square, is the Gold Dust Lounge.

This old dive has been plying its customers with White Russians since the era of San Francisco ’s Barbary Coast days. If Laffing Sal or “Laughing Sal” was real, she would have been right at home in this place. Someone who probably did stop in was Sally Stanford, the famous local madam.

Built in the 1930’s, today the Gold Dust Lounge still has live music but now $3 champagne. You’ll love their happy hour or maybe just stop in for a drink some night after seeing a show at the American Conservatory Theater.

They take cash only, but considering how cheap the drinks are, I think this is a great place to experience true San Francisco color. Though I am partial to the Buena Vista for mine, I hear that their Irish Coffee is pretty good. If you are coming from out of town, all the Union Square hotels are close by and the Villa Florence is next door.

Bring the hand sanitizer and a full stomach, but if you have a taste for a creepy good time with your strong cocktail, the Gold Dust Lounge is the place for you.  Maybe the money you save on drinks will help pay for your hotel.

247 Powell Street
(between Geary and O’farrell Sts)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 397-1695

Urban Tavern in SF

Urban Tavern is a gastropub next door to the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco, California.  A gastropub is a British term that has been described as the Anglo-equivalent of the French brasserie, like Midi or the Japanese izakaya, like Nihon, all are essentially breweries or bars that serve food.

Urban Tavern opened its doors last year and has been bringing people in from the hotel next door along with locals shopping downtown or with tickets to a theater performance nearby.

I met a girlfriend there recently before an afternoon performance at A.C.T. American Conservatory Theater. Good lunch spots downtown in Union Square are difficult to find if you don’t want a slice of pizza or a very expensive salad. Read More »

Let's Be Frank in San Francisco

I may have found the best hot dogs in San Francisco, let’s be frank, they were dog gone good then GONE, because we ate them.  Our family eats hotdogs on a regular basis so we like to find tasty dogs when we are out walking the city.

Let’s Be Frank is a very cool hotdog operation with street vendor carts in San Francisco and Los Angeles.  They also have catering, a new retail shop in the Marina area and you can find their franks and pork brats (bratwurst) in groceries like Andronico’s, Bi-Rite Market here in the city.

Their recipe was carefully developed by Sue Moore, former “meat forager” for Berkeley’s famed Chez Panisse. The dogs are made from premium cuts of grass-fed beef and the brats from pure heritage pork. Both use organic spices. No nitrates, nitrates, preservatives, filler or junk.

What I love is that they often have a cart set up on a regular weekend basis at Crissy Field near the Warming Hut in San Francisco.  This part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area is very popular with families and tourists.

Yummy Hotdogs @ Crissy Field

We often head over to this area to picnic or celebrate a birthday on the weekends.  Ever since Crissy Field in the Presidio of San Francisco was rehabilitated, coming over to the Warming Hut or Fort Point is like a mini-vacation.  Discovering these delicious hotdogs with their fresh Acme bread buns and fancy condiments, like Napa Yellow Mustard is another draw, just be ready to spend $5.50.

Grass-fed Beef Hotdogs

New Shop Open Everyday!
3318 Steiner Street
San Francisco, CA
www.letsbefrankdogs.com