I seem to have joined this conversation late, but I am so glad I found it! Firstly, for a great meal (breakfast or dinner), the Blue Plate Diner is a short walk from your hotel (maybe 6 blocks - which can seem longer if the weather is bad). To echo the above posters, you DO NOT want to to eat at or around the rink - its not a great neighborhood and prices are high (especially for the quality).
Hopefully it will be a good game - the Oilers are on a losing streak right now, so that bodes well for the Sharks when they come!
My husband I will be in San Francisco for Christmas and are catching the Sharks/Anaheim game on Boxing day. We are very excited as we've heard great things about the Shark Tank - any advice you can give is greatly appreciated!

fullojoy, thanks! Guess what, we'll be at the Anaheim game, too. Every year, we get tickets for that game for the whole family (and my son's girlfriend). I'll let you know where we're sitting, but I do have some advice.

First, the Tank is fabulous. It's just a great design. No long circular ramps, just up a flight of stairs up or down a to your seats. The food at the Tank, while fairly expensive, is actually pretty darn good.

Will you be driving to the game? If so, know that parking across the street is quite expensive (I think $20). Many people (us included) park downtown either on the street (if we get there early enough) or in the free city lot or the $5 lot (that we like because the exit heads in the direction we're going to home) -- let me know and I'll give you better directions. It's easy walking distance (with tons of fellow Sharks fans) to the Tank.

If you decide to park downtown, there are some places for dinner (casual) where there will be tons of people heading to the game. The most popular places are the Sonoma Chicken Coop (know locally as "The Coop"), Britannia Arms (known locally as "The Brit"), and Amici's Pizza. There are others, but those will be packed with fans, the first two even more than the third.

http://www.sonomachicken.com/Stores/MarketSt/Menu

http://www.britanniaarmsdowntown.com/menu.html

http://www.amicis.com/menu.asp

There are a few other places, but I'm personally less enamored of them -- Peggy Sue's Diner and a new Mexican restaurant (Agave Viejo) -- I just don't like the food at either one.

Have fun, and let's see if we can at least say "hi".

that's great sf7307 - and we will be at the Sharks game here! Where are your seats? Rexall is an old rink, but also easy to maneuver, and there's not really a bad seat in the place.
I was looking over your itinerary options, and my suggestion would be Banff on Wednesday, then take the Icefields pkwy (its a spectacular sight!) to Jasper on Thursday (I used to live in Jasper, so while its smaller than Banff, I prefer its charm), and off to Edmonton on Friday (about a 4 hour drive). Jasper Park Lodge is a great place, but out of town and quite pricey - and you don't have to be a guest to have access to all the grounds/lodge (which is the best part). I would suggest checking out the Park Place Inn - its a great boutique hotel right in the centre of town and the price is much more reasonable.
Will you be keeping the car while in Edmonton? Beacuse that will certainly expand your options for dining...although, there is no shortage of good places downtown near your hotel. If the weather is nice - I would also suggest taking in Whyte avenue (near the above mentioned Strathcona Farmers Market) - it is filled with locally owned shops and restaurants.
As for our trip, we plan on taking the Cal-train into San Jose early enough to enjoy the day - is it a "walking town" or would you suggest renting a car? We were looking at various stops along the way and there seems to be alot to see.
Thanks for the advice on eateries - they all sound great - will everything be open on Boxing day?

Re driving from Banff to Edmonton...

As Borealis suggested, you could take highway 22 through Cochrane and then cut over to the #2 (at Airdrie or any other number of spots). The 22 is a fairly scenic drive but it can be slow as it's mainly one lane each direction and there aren't many passing lanes.

However, you can take the ring road around the north of Calgary. You would take Stoney Trail north shortly after you enter the city limits. Stoney Trail joins up to Country Hills Blvd and are part of the ring road and have been open for a few years now.

Of course it always depends on traffic as to which route would be faster at any given time.

fullojoy, I'll check our tickets tonight - off-hand, I think they're in Section 204 Colonnade.

We definitely plan to do Whyte Avenue -- that's our favorite thing to do when visiting a new city -- poke around a "local" neighborhood.

As for San Jose, no, San Jose is not really a walking town. In fact, there really isn't that much to see or do in San Jose itself. I would suggest renting a car and making your way down there, maybe stop in Palo Alto (Stanford University, great town), or Half Moon Bay (ocean, charming Main Street).

In San Jose itself, the Xmas in the park will still be on (see link). There are also some good museums (art and tech).

http://www.christmasinthepark.com

And yes, everything will be open on Boxing Day (when everyone will be in line to return all the gifts they didn't really want )

That's great! Our seats are in section 203 - we will definitely have to introduce ourselves

And where are you sitting at the Tank on Dec. 26th? (We usually sit in Section 101, but that's just the two season tickets we share with a group; for December 26th, we buy 5 tickets together in the upper bowl. This year we're in Section 219).

I would have to double check, but I think that we are in section 216...I know we tried to get something comparable to our seats here

Well, like Rexall Place, there are [very few] bad seats at the Tank. And Section 216 is just about "center ice".

Hey SF - just in case you aren't checking, I thought I would give you an update on the weather here for your trip...its still warmer than usual for the time of year, but the temperatures have fallen to around freezing,and I beleive will hover there for most of the week (30 - 40F). Still acceptable weather for walking, you just have to walk a bit quicker
If you want to meet up at the game, let me know.
You can email me as well, if you like at [email protected]

fullofjoy, I have been following the weather! It's practically tropical (I'll email you).

It looks like snow is going to start Thursday and go all weekend. The only thing is 8 hours of driving is enough to wear anybody out unless you drive for a living. There is so much to see in the mountains and so many places to stoo. take some time and come back in the summer. Happy Thanksgiving

We planned to drive up the Icefields Parkway on Thursday and only made it as far as Lake Louise -- the weather "didn't permit", and the Parkway was closed. We turned around and headed for Edmonton the other way! More later.