chw57 and clseale (SF recs)

[taratru]

And anyone else who has input, of course!

I finally committed to a quick San Fran trip at the end of the month. So now I need some absolute must-do recs. Alcatraz is a given,even though I missed out on night tour tickets.

Any other cheap ideas to do? Reasonable places to eat? I much prefer more local places as opposed to tourist food, if that makes sense? Maybe a must do running route? I suspect we will be making a list of what to do when we go back. We are staying on Market St right near the Civic Center BART stop. We get there a Sunday mid-afternoon and leave Tuesday night.
Thanks!

[mrs.jacinthe]

ktzmoh is local ...

[joenali]

I loved Burma Superstar. Such good food!

And a must do as a tourist is to get an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista cafe.

[joenali]

Lol! I actually read your post and you don't want to do touristy things but, seriously go to Buena Vista!

[emilyinchile]

Burma Superstar is great but not super close to where you're staying/general touristy areas, so if it doesn't work in the plans I wouldn't stress about it. The Ferry Building is awesome, both tourists and locals go. Tons of local food places (both to just try things and to actually eat a meal), Blue Bottle Coffee (my fave) and there's the farmer's market on Tuesdays. Lots of good Mexican food in the Mission, plus there is plenty of free walking around to be done there with the Precita Eyes murals, Dolores Park, Mission Dolores, etc. Walking around Chinatown is free too, and riding a cable car is cheap. Coit Tower isn't expensive either, and you get some nice views.

You could run around the Presidio and Fort Mason areas, even go across the Golden Gate Bridge depending on how far you want to run, and that would combine sightseeing and some relatively flat running. Depending on where exactly you're staying, you will want to be careful walking around at night because you're going to be close to the Tenderloin (sketchy neighborhood), and it's the kind of area where one block is ok and the next is best avoided.

[chw57]

You can take Bart 1 stop to 16th mission and walk up to Valencia street which has a lot of good food (I like Dosa and Tacolicious, and Bi Rite Creamery for ice cream is a couple blocks away).

My favorite running route would be taking Bart to embarcadero and running along the water (it's about 3.5 miles from there to the Golden Gate Bridge, which you can run over). Golden Gate park is also really nice for running, and you can go down to the ocean easily from there (there's a 2 mile path along great highway south from the edge of the park).

Another restaurant I looooove is flour and water, and my husband is a fan of Schroeders in the financial district because you can get boots full of beer and they have good German food.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Also, what days will you be there? I've got a relay swim Feb 6-8th and I'd love to get together while we're both in town.

[ktzmoh]

I was going to recommend taking the cable car, and running from embarcadero up through Crissy Fields and over the GG Bridge. The Presidio and Golden Gate Park also have some really pretty runs.

In terms of things to do, I'd highly recommend the SF MOMA . There's a really nice little cafe over at Yerba Buena Gardens across the street for lunch and tea afterwards. Or the DeYoung Museum in GG Park. Really amazing art there and a gorgeous building. Take a docent tour of either museum - well worth it.

[ktzmoh]

are you interested in bar recommendations? We don't go out too often because holy shit babysitters, but the Clift hotel has a cool bar. Also the Slanted Door in the Ferry Building, and Zeitgeist in the Mission are places we've enjoyed.

[Mushe]

I love running the Golden Gate! I would definitely do either chw's Embarcadero-Golden Gate Bridge, or Emily's Presidio/Fort Mason-GG Bridge idea.

We love to visit the Ferry Building and make a picnic out of stuff from the little shops - cheese, bread, olives, that kind of thing.

We also really like the Academy of Science and SF MOMA museums.

[1confused1]

Also recommending running on the Embarcadero.

Scomas to eat after your Alcatraz tour, it's on Fisherman's Wharf.

[shauni27]

Jan 6, 2015 11:47:56 GMT -5 Mushe said:

I love running the Golden Gate! I would definitely do either chw's Embarcadero-Golden Gate Bridge, or Emily's Presidio/Fort Mason-GG Bridge idea.

We love to visit the Ferry Building and make a picnic out of stuff from the little shops - cheese, bread, olives, that kind of thing.

We also really like the Academy of Science and SF MOMA museums.

literally everything Mush said.  Ferry building is the best, and we also do the same, making little picnics and eating outside with the stuff we buy inside.

HIT UP THE MUSEUMS! 

And just have fun.  If you have time, can you go up to Napa for an afternoon?

[clseale]

You've already gotten a ton of great recs. In addition to everything mentioned, I adore Sausalito. We always make a quick visit there, stop at one of the restaurants, sit outside with a bowl of chowder & a cold beer, and look across the bay at SF. We always have a car, but I believe the ferry will take you across. With that said, with the time you have, I'd stay in the city and add this to your list of things to do when you go back...particularly if you go back sometime when it's a bit warmer.

We also love to view the Golden Gate from and walk around the Hawk Hill/Marin Headlands/Battery Spencer area. This is something else I'd mark for a return visit. If you cross the GG, you go right for Sausalito and left for the viewing area. It's gorgeous over there.

[taratru]

chw57

Sorry to resurrect this one...we leave tomorrow and I'll need to run at least Monday, maybe Tuesday. What's the weather like early early morning (like 6:00)? Wunderground says 50, but I guess I need to know if shorts are ok? Just trying to think about what to pack and if I need to wash my capris.

[Mushe]

You'll likely have a fog later at 6am, especially this week. We're north of SF, and it's been wicked foggy. It was actually warmer this morning when it was foggy, though!

So, long way to say that this will be dependent on you. I usually dress more warmly if I'm going to run on the bridge or right on the water, though.

[chw57]

I pretty much always wear capris if I'm running early, especially when it's foggy (but I'm a cold weather wimp!)