Frisco Vista

Linking fourth . . .
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” — Benjamin Franklin

San Francisco Mission district murals : Ay candela!
Portuguese influence on San Leandro : Bem-vindo
China tourism to the city could double : ??
Free San Francisco walking tours : Can’t [...]

We stopped in a Lukas taproom and lounge in Oakland on a recent weekend afternoon. It’s not a bad time to visit — it wasn’t too crowded. In the afternoon, you order from the bar. If you get the seafood platte (photo via Pieces & Bits) it comes on ice. But really the frites are [...]

Taqueria Castillo is a little hole in the wall place near where I work in Civic Center. As you can see from the sign, this is Taqueria Castillo B — there is another branch on Golden Gate, and maybe more.
The decor isn’t much, I guess — and neither is the location, on McAllister near 7th, [...]

Okay, it will be called Tavern on the Green (I guess). Okay, it will be a branch of the pretentious New York restaurant (more frequented by tourists than locals). But there’s just no way the Metreon is by any stretch of the imagination green. It’s not remotely comparable to Central Park. The New [...]

For a few years running I printed books in Belgium (today the exchange rate is too unfavorable), and I developed a taste for Belgian beer, as one will. (Above is a shop window photographed in Bruges around Christmas 2006.)
Now Belgian beer establishments are springing up around the bay, a development to be applauded.

The Trappist, [...]

If you have several hundred dollars that are eating a hole in your pocket — slowly — and you want to make a reservation to eat at the French Laundry in Yountville a couple of months down the road, here’s what you have to do.

Be a party of four. Other sizes have to rely on [...]

B in the D, the Beach Chalet at the ocean end of Golden Gate Park housed a sketchy pool hall. But the place has been restored and turned into a decent restaurant with an excellent view. There is also a visitor center devoted to the history of the chalet. The walls are decorated with [...]

Gridskipper recommends the following Dim Sum restaurants in the city. What are they forgetting? Maybe as time goes by it will be possible to add to this list.

Yank Sing (49 Stevenson St.)
Hang Ah Tea Room (1 Pagoda Place) (yelp review)
Imperial Palace (818 Washington St.) (yelp review)
Koi Palace (365 Gellert Ave., Daly City) (warning: [...]

Esquire magazine’s 2007 list of the best new restaurants in the U.S. includes two from San Francisco: LarkCreekSteak, and Cafe Majestic. I haven’t tried either of these. Does anyone have any experiences to report?

I was at the main branch of the SF Library when this dubious-looking character begins to strike up a conversation. One adopts a veneer of reserve after being accosted by street types a few too many times, but this fellow seemed to have something urgent to report. “Ya know Zrignljos?” he said. “What?” “Zringnljos! The [...]

How could Gridskipper post a feature on San Francisco’s best hole-in-the-wall restaurants and not mention Tu Lan? I mean, this place defines the term hole-in-the-wall.To begin with, it’s located in the unlikeliest place, Sixth Street between Market and Mission. But if you can step over the drunks you find yourself in a place that is [...]

According to RealTravel, this is the list:

Park Chow (Inner Sunset)
Taqueria Cancun (The Mission)
Magnolia Pub & Brewery (Upper Haight)
Shangrila Vegetarian Restaurant (Outer Sunset)
Sparky’s 24 Hour Diner (The Castro)
Seniore’s Pizza (Outer Sunset)
PJ’s Oyster Bed (Inner Sunset)
Buca di Beppo (Downtown)
Ali Baba’s Cave (Lower Haight)
All You Knead (Upper Haight)

I haven’t eaten at many of these.

The Bay Area’s culinary reputation has been taking some hits lately. “Alice Waters and sourdough bread aside,” Alan Richman wrote in GQ, “the Bay Area has contributed surprisingly little to the culinary ripening of America.” Tired lists like the one assembled by Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer probably aren’t helping, so Gridskipper made its own [...]

Here are some links to Bay Area restaurants that have been showing up lately:

Marin Dining Guide
Chowhound Late Night SF Dining Suggestions
Edible San Francisco
Menu Pages SF Restaurants Guide
Yelp San Francisco Restaurants
Savory San Francisco Restaurant Guide
TastyR SF Restaurant Reviews
Citysearch on SF Restaurants
Vegetarian Ooptions from Daveola

Does anyone use any of these sites? Are there others you would recommend?

No, not another hangtown fry item. Instead, we’re talking about items such as dessert soup made from coconut milk and pureed mung beans; finanziera of cockscombs, duck tongue, and riso; crab salad with cantaloupe, avocado, and mint; and sizzling fresh frog. Descriptions of these and more over at gridskipper.
Image source: Taipei Cultural Center

Casa Sanchez, based in San Francisco, makes some of the best chips and salsa around. They have a restaurant at 2778 24th Street (which has been getting some negative reviews). But their main business these days must be their salsa and chips for [...]

photo from www.burritoeater.com
Burritoeater.com is an incredibly thorough guide to the city’s taquerias and burrito restaurants. Through today it has reviewed 454 burritos since New Year’s Day 2003.
Top-rated? Taqueria La Castro, 4001 18th St. Runner-up? Papalote, 3409 24th St.:
Papalote’s burritos are rendered with such mechanical consistency, some have wondered if there’s a mustachioed robot assembling [...]

The Model Bakery, a fixture of St. Helena’s Main Street, continues to serve up pastries, cookies, and breads made fresh daily with organic flours and natural sourdough starters. Sandwiches, hearty soups, and wood-fired pizzas are also available. The unpretentious interior is called “vintage” by Zagat’s — appropriate for a bakery that’s been operating at [...]

Half Moon Bay is a foggy coastal community of about 17,000 people located about 30 miles south of San Francisco at the intersection of highways 1 and 92. (Since I live in the East Bay I usually get there from highway 92 across the San Mateo Bridge, but be aware that 92 is often very [...]

I had a chance to eat at Tamarindo Antojeria the other day. It’s located 468 8th Street in downtown Oakland. (The nicely restored brick-walled restaurant is in the city’s Old Town district.) Their website is www.tamarindoantojeria.com, and the phone is 510.444.1944.

Although it was a Wednesday the restaurant was very crowded. We arrived early because we [...]

Robin Slomkowski blogs about Chicago-style pizzas in San Francisco:
I actually got to have good Chicago Style Pizza in SF at Little Star. I tend to categorize Chicago style Pizza’s into Giordano’s (my favorite), Edwardo’s, Gino’s, and “Modern Chicago Uno’s” (Uno’s is generally credited as the creator of Chicago style pizza, but the chains stores [...]