San Francisco Travel Guide
Atypical “Mall” Food in San Francisco
Leave it to San Francisco to have a gourmet food court.
A few years ago, the famous Emporium building, which houses a beautiful dome (that may or may not have survived the 1906 quake), was reopened as the Westfield, anchored by San Francisco’s first Bloomingdale’s. It also houses the most extensive number of food options I’ve ever seen at a mall this size.
The main court is found at the bottom of the mall, and is called “The Emporium.” There, you can find Out the Door, the to-go option for the lauded …
Date: August 6th, 2008 |
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Take off with San Francisco’s Flight 001
Taking a look at their website, it seems Flight 001 is in more places than just San Francisco. Nevertheless, this cool little travel store is well worth a visit.
Nestled in Hayes Valley, this little store is full of everything you didn’t know you needed for your trip. And then some. On a recent trip to the store, my shopping companion found a very useful all-in-one converter outlet thing, as well as a pill shaped pill box that she just had to have. I personally love their little dental hygiene kits, which are small enough to fit into a …
Date: July 22nd, 2008 |
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Tour San Francisco: Anchor Brewing
Anchor Brewing is a local institution, founded in 1896. They brew seven types of beer right here in the City, the most popular (at least among locals) being Anchor Steam.
Anchor Brewery inherited a long tradition of brewing what had come to be known as steam beer, one of the quaint old nicknames for beer brewed along the West Coast under primitive conditions and without ice. Today “steam” is a trademark of Anchor Brewing. From Anchor Brewery site
Learn more about Anchor Brewing by taking a tour. Offered each weekday, the tour …
Date: July 16th, 2008 |
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Weekend Fun: Sing us a Song, Mr. Pianomen
A few weeks ago, I was with some friends in the Union Square area in the late evening. We were looking for a bar, and one of our friends kept insisting there was a piano bar right there. The rest of us had no idea what he was talking about, but went along with it, thinking, at the worst, we would top off the night with a Guinness at Foley’s Irish Bar.
Little did we know, there is a fantastic dueling piano bar right in the downtown of our fair city! It is located on O’Farrell at Geary, and apparently called …
Date: July 11th, 2008 |
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PresidiGo a Go Go
I have talked about the Presidio several times, but one of the major problems is public transit to that part of the City. The Presidio is well worth your time to visit (I hear there is a statue of Yoda in front of the new Lucas Film buildig), so I was thrilled to find out about PresidiGo Around the Park and PresidiGo Downtown Shuttle.
First, the PresidiGo Downtown Shuttle. This shuttle is available for Presidio employees & residents, but is also open to visitors. It runs from 5.45am to 8pm; during commute hours you must show a Muni …
Date: July 8th, 2008 |
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San Francisco’s Twin Peaks
Hidden behind the fog of this picture is San Francisco’s Twin Peaks, a true high point of the City.
Twin Peaks rises in the middle of the City, above the Castro, Noe Valley, and its namesake area. From afar, there seems to be a huge tower on the Peaks — Sutro Tower — an antenna built for television reception in the early 70s. (which, the tower itself is a useful landmark, as it is a dominant figure in our skyline.) This is not actually on Twin Peaks, but right nearby.
Twin Peaks itself offers …
Date: July 29th, 2008 |
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San Francisco’s Ocean Beach
When you think of San Francisco, you don’t automatically think of beaches. And, with some good reason…there are very few beach-type days here, at least not in the stereotypical sense.
But you would be remiss to not check out Ocean Beach. It is a huge strand of a beach; I’m focusing on my favorite part — north of Lincoln Drive. From this beach, even on foggy days it feels like you could see out to Hawaii.
If you approach Ocean Beach from the top, you’ll first see the historic Cliff House. This site has now housed 4 Cliff Houses, I think. A …
Date: July 18th, 2008 |
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Walking Around San Francisco
San Francisco is hilly, there is no doubt about it.
But the hills don’t cover the entire city. There are some areas that are perfectly flat, providing an easy walking path and a good rest for your calves.
So where is the walking easy, and where might you want to watch out? Designer Lee Byron recently made a block-by-block walking map of San Francisco. He shows through color mapping where you can find the most walkable areas, and where you might want to hold back a bit (or, if you’re up to it, challenge those hills!). His whole methodology …
Date: July 14th, 2008 |
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San Francisco FroYo Wars: SoGreen
No, it’s not the early 90’s all over again…but frozen yogurt (or, in local terms, froyo) is all the rage. There have been a ton of store openings in the past few months, and I am hear to bring you the news on the good, the bad, and the tarty.
SoGreen, located in the Crocker-Galleria, was the first of these new places that I tried. They offer just three flavors — original, green tea, and specialty (changes seasonally). The yogurt places of my past always had a variety of flavors, from chocolate to peanut brittle to raspberry, so I was …
Date: July 10th, 2008 |
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Weekend Fun: Fillmore Jazz Festival
The weekend is here, which must mean another festival! This time, it is the Fillmore Jazz Festival.
This festival celebrates Fillmore St.’s legacy as a Jazz Mecca (a large part of it, in fact, has been named the Jazz Preservation District). This is the largest, free Jazz festival on the West Coast, and is jam-packed with the people and entertainment to prove it. All along Fillmore Street, you’ll find music stages, food, great music, and local artisans.
Here’s what the organizers have to say about their festival:
The best talent the Bay has to offer is showcased on our stages, …
Date: July 4th, 2008 |
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