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So, suggestions for NJ were enlightening though I didn't end up being able to sample them (no rental car that trip) but onward to my next trip...

Next week I'll be in San Francisco from Sunday thru Thursday. Suggestions for lunch and dinner (especially dinner) spots in the city proper are much appreciated.

My last few trips to San Francisco were fairly disappointing, didn't live up to previous trips. Hopefully this trip will be different.

I will likely have a few meals on my own, a few meals on my client's dime so suggestions across price ranges and cuisines are welcome but nothing beyond slightly pricy (i.e. nothing more than about $40/person for dinner, preference being less). I'm not a heavy drinker so great wine lists etc aren't my prime attraction.

As many of you know I do like asian food and clearly San Francisco is a good place for that. Anything particular notable? (any Indonesian for example? Or even good Malaysian?)

thanks! I'll be sure to report back on where I end up.

Shannon

My sister was just there.I will try to find out where she dined.

Shannon,

Over and Over Again, i sing the praises of Kate's Kitchen on Haight Street for a breakfast that will carry you through lunch. The place makes its own granola which it serves in huge bowls with fresh fruit. Also on the menu are some really huge breakfasts skillets. But, my favorite has to be Kate's Big Stack of Cheddar Bacon Corncakes.

If I ever move to san Francisco, my goal will be to live within walking distance of Kate's for breakfast every morning.

Warning: Weekend lines can be long. Call for hours. They can be kind of funny.

Will -

thanks! My flight doesn't get into the airport until 10am on Sunday and between checking into my hotel etc, I don't think I'll get there for breakfast over the weekend, but it sounds like a place worth going to sometime in my trip - do you know how early in the morning they open?

Shannon

They bill themselves as a brunch place. If my recollection serves me correctly, they don't open until nine on weekends (what respectable Californian is out of bed before nine on the weekends anyway?) and eight during the week. They close at mid afternoon.

Funny you should ask about Indonesian. SF is the one place I found Indonesian food outside of Holland. I suppose they have plenty of it in Indonesia, but I've never been there.

Go to the corner of Post and Jones Sts., where you will find 2 restaurants:

Borobodur
700 Post St
San Francisco
415-775-1512

Indonesia Restaurant
698 Post St
San Francisco
415-474-4026

They're both good, and both have a $20 rijstafel special, which is a great deal considering all the food you're getting. I'm slightly partial to Indonesia Restaurant over Borobodur. Not quite as good as what I had in Amsterdam, but nice to at least find it somewhere around here.

For very tasty, creative Thai and Vietnamese dishes in a hip, trendy setting (but the food is really good), try:

Soi 4
5421 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 655-0889

just South of the Rockridge BART station
Most of the dishes are served tapas style, so you can try lots of small dishes.

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there's food, and then there's food

Rich4,

Thanks! I've been craving a good Indonesian meal for longer than I care to think about... while the best I have had was in Amsterdam, August Moon here in Chicago did once or twice do a good job (but they have been closed for going on 5+ years and had gone downhill for a few years before that.).

Not sure if I'll get out to Oakland for a dinner - depends on where I am staying and who I am eating dinner with - but Indonesian I'll make a specific effort to get to!

thanks!

Shannon

Shannon,

My two don't miss places in SF are Tong Kiang and Swan Oyster Depot.

Swan Oyster Depot for pristinely fresh oysters, crab, clams, chowder and near perfect Crab Louie salad. Also not to be missed at Swan is the in-house made/aged red wine vinegar. Swan's mother (vinegar starter) is supposedly 100+ years old and the intensity of flavor rivals all but the very best balsamic I have tasted.

I also love Tong Kiang, though not only for dim sum, which it's known for, but their regular menu as well. Tong Kiang's salt baked chicken with oily, scallion/ginger dipping sauce springs to mind. My brother who lives in Marin, but works in the city, loves Tong Kiang almost as much as I love 'Little' Three Happiness.

I also enjoy Yank Sing for dim sum, but it's a distinct second to Tong Kiang.

As an aside, my brother loves Tong Kiang so dearly that before he let his 15-year-old daughter drive across the Golden Gate Bridge the first time, she just got her learners permit, they ate at Tong Kiang. That way if they went off the bridge, in a big splash, at least their last meal would be memorable.

Enjoy,
Gary

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-673-1101

Ton Kiang Restaurant
5821 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94121
415-752-4440

http://www.yanksing.com/

Taking into consideration what (precious little) I know about you and your tastes, Shannon, I think that I can recommend Slanted Door and Delfina. Slanted Door is Vietnamese, and Delfina is Italian.

http://www.slanteddoor.com

http://www.delfinasf.com

Enjoy your trip,
Erik M.

I just returned from San Fran, Sonoma, Davis, etc last night. I have a few thoughts for you... first, I second the Slanted Door suggestion, but with reservations. I believe it might be beyond your $40 stipulation. I ate there about a year ago, and mostly enjoyed the experience, although I remember that a few dishes fell pretty flat. It was very chic and trendy, which I found slightly intimidating (for some reason chic and trendy in SF is scarier than chic and trendy in Chicago), and I seem to remember the portions being on the small side.

My favorite SF place so far is Tablespoon. I had a wonderful meal there in March, and I thought the prices were reasonable given how delicious everything was. One particular highlight was a blood orange creme brulee - not sure whether they still have it.

I went to Le Petit Robert with a friend on Friday - it had the same vibe as Tablespoon, but the food is more classic French bistro. They served us a delicious salade lyonnaise, but I also had an underwhelming pork belly and lentil starter and the room felt hot and stuffy.

Another place that we considered but didn't go to is Yabbie's, which looked very promising for seafood and had what appeared to be a gorgeous-looking selection of oysters.

Have a great trip!

This evening my client, another consultant and myself went to dinner at Indonesia restaurant.

My summary - very good, worth returning, but also not quite as good as places in Amsterdam. Similar flavors and a wide range of dishes at a very fair price, but not quite the same level of presentation or variety of flavors as I recall from past trips to Amsterdam.

For one, at least in the initial dishes, the same peanut sauce was served on the side, with what felt like 4 (or more) dishes. First time it was good, but by the third time it was getting a bit too similar, and then the salad had more of the same.

On the other hand, the barbeque chicked was extremely good, so good I plan on reordering it by istelf on my next return visit.

My verdict - definitely worth a visit if you are in San Francisco, and especially if you have not had Indonesian before (which is definitely slightly different flavors than the only slightly more common Malaysian.

More on my trip to follow.

Shannon

Gary -

Swan has been on my list for a few years now, and I finally made it over there when I was in San Francisco last weekend. Excellent place. Absolutely top shelf in terms of freshness of the seafood.

We had an assortment of oysters, the Boston Clam Chowder, and a Crabmeat Coctail - also tried the vinegar & shallot prep on the oysters, which was most excellent indeed. I thought the chowder was the only weak link - pretty ordinary, better to save room for something exceptional, of which there is much at Swan.

Logistically, Swan can be a challenge. They are primarily a retail fish operation (they have a big delivery business to private homes) w/ only about 15 stools along the main counter. We went on Saturday morning, got there at about 10:30 a.m. (they open at 8:00) & got the last three stools. By the time our first round of Anchor Steam was gone, there was a line out the door. When we finished up at 11:15 or so, the line was huge - substantial enough that it probably would have scared me off had it been that long when I arrived. A bit of advance planning here can save you a lot of waiting around.

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