On the way back from Hawaii at the end of January, we are staying for 3 days (2 nights) at the W in San Francisco.

Never been to San Fran so I would appreciate some help to plan a whirlwind 2 night adventure. Right now it starts off at the SFMOMA next door to the W, and tour around Chinatown.

We would like a couple of recommendations for "trendy" type clubs or bars, and 2 "must" restaurants and lunch places, preferably something in the fusion, cutting edge category.

Thanks in advance!

I would recommend Gary Danko and The Slanted Door for Dim Sum

The Fifth Floor, is a must restaurant; try Kati's one of the first fushion restaurants.

Not sure what you have in mind. Be sure to include a trip across the Golden Gate and a ferry ride--over to Sausalito is nice. Lulu is down in the MOMA area and has potential for one of your meals. Try Zagat's site for good tips. R&G on Kearny has decent chinese food and is very clean.

Try cityscape for info on trendy clubs etc. Slanted Door might be a good place for you to check out for "fusion" food(Chelsea and her Dad ate there so it's not all that cutting edge.) We have not eaten yet at Gary Danko but almost all reviews rave about it...including about its originality.

I echo the recommendations for Gary Danko. It is superb...I take all my out of town guests there and have always had a great experience. Be sure to make your reservation early though. Other favorite restaurants are Frascati on Hyde Street (right on the cable car line - great neighborhood bistro), Merenda on Union St. for Italian, and Ton Kiang in the Richmond district for dim sum (Yank Sing downtown is also good). Trendy/hip...try Foreign Cinema in the Mission or Betelnut on Union. Have fun!

I second Lulu's - you must have the skillet-roasted mussels. Great wine list. Be aware that Lulu's is quite loud when filled to capacity.

For sushi in the downtown area, try Ozumo on Steuart Street - right down the block from Boulevard, a restaurant that has been recommended to death here and on other websites.

For French food in the SoMa area, nothing beats Fringale - a place where it's always all about the food first and foremost, although the restaurant is appealing also for its understated elegance and professional service.

If you want to get out of the downtown area for one of your fusion dinner nights, try Eos on Carl Street in the upper Haight district. Have a glass of something good at their wine bar next door while you wait for a table.

Welcome, and have a fabulous time!

Thanks everyone, your hitting most of the names I was thinking of.

I will somehow create a short list, then file a report when I get back in 2 weeks.

I second Ozumo. Great happy hour in the lounge during the week. Also check out the Redwood Room. The crowd can certainly be "trendy" but the interior design is beautiful. Rosewood and 15 Romolo are good spots in North Beach.

Gary Danko was a bit "who's who" L.A. on my last visit.

My number one choice would be Jardiniere (http://www.jardiniere.com/). It's fabulous food and extraordinary atmosphere! You might even run into SF Mayor Willie Brown there - as I did on my last trip.

Quite romantic for a dinner for two.

Hi all, just got back, and unfortunately I did not have as much time as I thought I would, but did get to 2 recommendations.

Slanted Door for dinner was excellent, and Yank Sing for Dim Sum for lunch was also worth going, although I found the price for Dim Sum a lot more expensive than I usually pay...and I was kind of wondering if this was average for SF.

Found another restaurant called Scala adjacent to the Drake hotel......FANTASTIC!!!!

Stayed at the W on 3rd Street, and that was very dissapointing! Second bad service in a row at a W, so I am now officially swearing off them!

The bar was cool, so next time I will stay elsewhere and cab it to the W bar.

Hey what is up with all the bums in SF??? Now I know what O'Reilly is talking about!

Can't wait to go back and spend more time, and check out Gary Danko next visit.

Dave,

You are absolutely right about all the bums in SF. I had the exact same impression when I was thee last month. What a terrible disappointment. SF is without a doubt overhyped. It is a has been that is resting on its laurels. I hope to never have to go there on business again.

I was in S.F. recently too and think it's a terrific city--one of the few I really enjoy visiting in the U.S. As any city in this country, unfortunately there are homeless people, which is a shame and disgrace in a country as rich as ours. I travel in Europe a lot and don't see anywhere the amount of homelessness as in this country.

But I still think S.F. is a terrific city and can't understand why some people bash it so.

No kidding = SFNative.

I really can't find any redeeming qualities of SF. It is decrepit, cold in the summer, has many homeless on the streets, as well as hookers/hustlers and druggies. What a disgrace this once great city has become. There are so many other cities that have more culture, better restaurants, and are much cleaner than SF. (ie) NYC, LA, Chicago, etc.

Julie,

"As any city in this country, unfortunately there are homeless people"

You say that any city in the U.S. has homeless people. Yes, most large cities do, but not nearly on the same scale as in SF.

Here are some statistics:

SF Homeless population = 12,000
source:http://www.gavinnewsom.com/issues/homeless.htm


New York City Homeless pop: = 37,000
source: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg99506.html


New York City has a population of about 8 million versus SF's population of about 750,000. If NYC had a homeless population in proportion to that in SF, there would be over 370,000 homeless in New York City. Now that should give you an idea of just how bad the homeless problem is here in SF. I live here in SF and see it first hand everyday and it's not a pretty site( the nasty smells, the trash, people using public fountains for bathing and as toilets, etc.) I challenge you to find another U.S. city with as large a homeless population in terms of the proportion of total city residents as there is here in SF.

Julie,

Oops, got my figures wrong. I should have said that if NYC had the same proportion of homeless people that Sf does, NYC's homeless population would be a little over 120,000 which is over 3x' NYC's current population of homeless people. Just think that NYC's current homeless pop. is the highest level ever recorded, and that it still alot less proportioanlly than SF's homeless numbers. That says alot.