MBnancy

We're flying up to SFO this weekend and will be staying at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Is taking a taxi the best way to get there from the airport? Haven't been to the City in about 5 years and have always been picked up by someone.

Having family from Sonoma meet us at the hotel one afternoon, and we are going out to dinner. The parking rate at the hotel is $50+ and I'd like to be able to suggest a less expensive place to park. Is there any public parking a few blocks away?

Suggestions for seafood restaurants please, any price is fine.

Thanks.

FainaAgain

Either taxi, or a commercial shuttle, coming to the city, no reservation needed, just hop into the first one going to the downtown area.

There is a public garage up on that hill, no idea how much it costs or the name of it... maybe they have a website, have you tried to search?

FainaAgain

I think this is the URL for that garage

http://www.masonicauditorium.com/location.html

and there is a list of more in the area at the bottom of this page

SAB

Taking a taxi is the quickest; other less expensive options include taking a shuttle or taking BART. As far a parking, there are a couple of parking garages on California near--I either park at the Masonic Auditorium about a 1 1/2 away or another garage about 1/2 a block away.

Seafood: Aqua, Farallon, Hayes Street Grill, Pesce, anywhere but the Wharf. Also most of the top flight restaurants will have seafood.

MBnancy

LOL, anywhere but the Wharf!

I would never commit that crime.

However, we do plan to seek out the Buena Vista and have a couple of Irish Coffee's down there.

Thanks for the suggestions.

lmoneylsauce

This isn't a seafood restaurant (although they do have seafood) but one of my favorites!

http://www.fireflyrestaurant.com/index.html

MBnancy

Thanks for the suggestion! So many places to dine, so little time...

dovima

MBNancy,
Just wanted to let you know that Plouf, a much-loved seafood/French place on Belden Lane, is participating in the Dine About Town event. If you are here in San Francisco during this weekend, I suggest you check them out. I just looked up their DAT dinner menu (they are not participating in the lunch option) and it looks very enticing. I'd go for the moules marinere, personally - the simplest and to my mind the best preparation for mussels. Make a reservation because Plouf is popular, especially on a chilly winter night because it is so cozy with the little fireplace in the front.

Cheers and eat well!
dovima

kimamom

HI Nancy, I would suggest Farallon in Union Square for excellent seafood. Request a table in the main pool room, we loved our experience there. Have fun! ***kim***

ExpertTripPlanner

I second "Plouf" for mussels!

MBnancy

Thanks everyone. Had a great three days and everything went smoothly. Taxi ride from airport was quick and convenient. It was about a $40 ride.

Faina, found the parking lot at Grace Cathedral, just a couple blocks away from the Mark Hopkins.
Beautiful Cathedral to tour by the way.

SAB, made reservations at Farallon a week in advance. It was fantastic, five star quality.

Dovima, we did use the Dine about Town restaurants a couple times, but Plouf was not available for us. We tried, but another time.

We went to Scoma's at the wharf for fresh Dungeness Crab for their Luncheon 3 course special on the DAT menu the first day, then walked over to the Buena Vista for Irish Coffee's. The lunch price was only $22 a person and we could barely finish the crab salads after the bowl of Clam Chowder, and still had chocolate torte coming.

Kim, we had our choice of the pool room or upstairs in a more romantic private booth looking over the beautiful jellyfish light fixtures, and my husband choose upstairs. We had an extremely attentive waitress.

The following day, had lunch off Union Square in the Rotunda dining room of Nieman Marcus with the stained glass window ceiling. Had cup of chicken broth and the famous popovers and strawberry butter, and their signature spring rolls packed with Lobster meat, minced veggies and dipping sauce.

Walked over to Chinatown after that, and all the way back up hill to the MH, to use up some calories!

Dinner was at Rose Pistola in North Beach, again on the DAT menu. We wanted a variety in food and locations this visit. It was just $33 a person. Had the Chickpea Farinata w/ carmelized onion, olive and sage, mixed greens with Valencia Oranges. Main course was seafood sauce over spaghetti. It included the mussels, that you were all talking about, shrimp, crab, lobster, etc. For dessert we had Warm Toffee Budino and vanilla Panna Cotta.

Breakfast buffet was included at the Top of the Mark in the mornings, and it was sunny and clear there, and the view all around SF was outstanding.

We decided January is a good time to visit the city. No crowds, and the Dine About Town, which we didn't know about until the last moment from Fodor's, is truly an excellent deal. Some top notch restaurants were listed, and it would be nice to have time next year to plan in advance.

However, we will be up there again before next January.

FainaAgain

Nancy, did you see both labirinths at the cathedral? I only walked the outside, about a 1/4 of it till got dizzy

trippinkpj

MB, you did alot and dined a lot in 3 days! Thanks for reporting.

MBnancy

Faina, my son pointed the labyrinths out to us, and also the fact that they are modeled after the one at Chartres Catherdal in France. I just learned he had walked the one there and the outside one at Grace, in SF.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Chartres

I asked him if he got dizzy, but he said if one did, they were "traveling" too fast, rendering the interior prayer, (as it's called) useless. HA HA

dovima

Dear MBnancy,
We appreciate the trip report! Glad to hear you are thinking of coming back. If you do snag a reservation at Plouf next time, I think you will love its location on Belden Alley - and you will have at least three more places for "must eat there" purposes.

FainaAgain

Oh, I was just walking along, without any prayers or meditation or whatever is done on those.

Nancy, maybe next time you'll have time for a GTG? Very popular in SF

kimamom

Glad you enjoyed Farallon, we dined with our daughter and her friend last visit. When it's just the 2 of us, that romantic booth soudns nice! ***kim***

MBnancy

Dovima, yes plan to return, but have been visiting SF for years! We're in LA. My parents took me to the Top of the Mark when I was 13, and I always wanted to return and stay at the hotel and finally got around to it! One of our sons employment took him to SF for several years after college, so we went up all the time. Then he came back to LA and got married so our visits stopped. Now another son lives in Sonoma, so we will be visiting up north more often.

I saw some posts of yours on Amsterdam. We are going there in May, but I'm not ready to ask questions yet, still working on Copenhagen. : )

Faina, I was just teasing about the meditation at the labyrinth, I didn't even try it, at least you gave it a go!
A GTG might be fun sometime.

Kim, the pool room is a place to see and be seen, but the balcony up the grand staircase is quieter and more intimate for two.

Kal

MBn,
Faina gets worried when she's NOT dizzy.
Almost like ***kim*** being worried when she's hunrgy!

Scarlett

MBnancy, it all sounds lovely. The Top of the Mark brings back a lot of memories of my years in SF..I am glad you went for the romantic rather than the "showing off " room, charming