Coming to Bay area next week... what NOT to miss! (San Francisco: rent, crime)

[mjb24]

I'm coming to San Francisco next week with my daughter. We will be in Berkeley for a couple of days to tour UC Berkeley and Stanford and then moving into San Francisco for a few days.... a week total. What are things that we definitely shouldn't miss? We are already scheduled for an Alcatraz tour, and have plans for Fisherman's Wharf, Haight Ashbury, and Pier 39. We have the normal tourist things covered, but we are looking for more of the local "you need to experience" things - including food..... we are definite foodies. (MSG problems for Chinatown... so any good places that are low on that are definitely good!) We would really appreciate tips on streetcars... since neither of us have experience with them. (I'm a Maryland transplant to NC - so no streetcar experience.)

We are staying at the InterContinetal, and will be relying on taxi, foot, or street car transport.

I know that this question has been asked a million times, and I appreciate your time and effort in responding.

[Ruth4Truth]

Golden Gate Park which has: a conservatory, the De Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden, lakes to go boating, a resident buffalo herd (if you can find it), and the California Academy of Sciences, housing a huge aquarium. The park ends at the beach, if you don't mind walking that far. You can also take a bus on Fulton street, which borders the north side of the park.

Forget Chinatown for good Chinese food. There's a northern Chinese restaurant on Fulton as you get closer to the beach. You'll also pass a good Chinese restaurant on your way out to the park on the 38 Geary Bus from downtown (get the 38L, meaning it makes limited stops). After you pass Japantown and get out to where the cross-streets to Geary are numbered ("The Avenues"), look to the right (north) and watch for a chinese restaurant. Anything Chinese in that neighborhood between there and the beach is good.

Get off the Geary bus at 6th Ave. (Tell the driver in advance that you want 6th. Limited stops, remember) Walk toward the park (south). At 6th and Balboa, about 3 blocks from the park, is the Cinderella Bakery, a local hangout for the Russians in that neighborhood. It has plain home-style Russian food. Great for lunch, and you can get some bakery stuff to take with you for later. Also, at around 26th and Geary, is the Russian orthodox cathedral. This is the Russian part of town. You could spend the day at the park and the beach, then try Chinese for dinner.

The Presidio (historic site: Spanish/Mexican fort, northern outpost in CA) and the Golden Gate Bridge. The Presidio is in a big park, and from there you can walk to the bridge, and walk part-way across the bridge for a thrill, and for beautiful views. This is at the NW end of town. I recommend catching a cab around the presidio to get back to your hotel. You don't want to spend all day on the bus, worry about where to transfer, and all that.

Bring warm clothes. The fog rolls in at night and it can get cold and damp. You'll need warm jackets for your walk on the GG Bridge, as well.

The Berkeley campus is beautiful. Feel free to stroll around and explore the creeks that cross through it.

NOTE: there's been a crime pattern just west of the campus. People talking on cell phones have been targeted by thieves. Don't use your cell phone while walking around town. Campus is fine.

College Avenue in Berkeley is great to walk along and explore shops and restaurants. There's a bus that runs the length of it, the 51.

[eureka1]

Good info from Ruth. The "new Chinatown"on Clement Street from about 7th Ave west will be more accommodating to special diets than the old Chinatown.

[Ruth4Truth]

The old Chinatown is Cantonese cuisine, BO-ringg! Very bland. Chinese restaurants in the Richmond District (Clement, Geary, Fulton, etc.) are northern cooking--spicier and more varied.

[California Vagabond]

You might enjoy riding the F streetcars, which run from Fisherman's Wharf to Market Street's Castro station.

Background: Historic Streetcars | SFMTA

Route map: http://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/f...ps/F-layer.pdf

One word of warning: as much as I enjoy riding these venerable streetcars, I have been nearly stranded twice when street-level problems on Market backed up the whole line. I wouldn't count on them with a deadline looming.

As you'll be visiting Fisherman's Wharf, you could check out the ships of Maritime park:
San Francisco National Maritime Park Association - Links

To gratify your inner foodie, you might try browsing the excellent eateries to be found on Valencia between the 16th and 24th Street BART stations. (The BART stops are on Mission, but Valencia is just two blocks west.) There likely are better places to restaurant shop, but Valencia was the first street to come to mind.

[aClockwork0range]

Don't miss a tour around Fort Point Under the Golden Gate Bridge. Really fascinating and just remarkable how they preserved the lifestyle the soliders lived.

[legal_eagle]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The old Chinatown is Cantonese cuisine, BO-ringg! Very bland. Chinese restaurants in the Richmond District (Clement, Geary, Fulton, etc.) are northern cooking--spicier and more varied.

There are a lot of places in "old" Chinatown that serve Hunan food. And the Richmond District is definitely not on the "must see" list for a tourist (speaking as a former resident of said district).

[mini_cute]

Rent a bicycle and ride it along the embarcadero through fisherman's wharf and across the GG Bridge.

Off the Grid at Fort Mason on Friday evenings for the local food truck scene. 30+ food trucks featuring diverse food and the latest innovative foods in SF.

Warning: Be careful about the restaurants you choose to dine at as for some reason it is easier to get food poisoning in SF than other places. Almost everyone that has visited me in SF has gotten food poisoned while eating out and I have personally been through it many times myself so I eat out less. Chinatown is almost a sure way to get sick but you also have to be careful in other places around the City. One way you can tell is if the restaurant looks unkept, don't even bother. You can use Yelp to check sanitation scores by looking up the restaurants review page.

[Caltovegas]

An Oakland A's game..

[OklaFornia]

You have to go drive up to Grizzly Peak and maybe check out Tilden Park, it's beautiful and probably the best view you can find in the Bay Area.