tentthumbs and easy: I live in the midwest, all we have is a Fresh Market and a Schnuck's grocery store (and a Sam's Club..... sigh......). So that's why I need to lug a huge suitcase along, to carry the comestibles that I am hoping to gather. easytraveler: yes, we have loaded many a cooler in a lot of our trips (Chicago, St. Louis, etc.). Banish the thought that we will take a road trip without the cooler.....

Since this involves a plane trip though, I may end up limiting my foraging to goodies that don't need refrigeration. Say bottles of olive oil, cornichons, sardines (oh, yes), a bottle of wine or two, etc. You had to mention "cheese"....... sigh.....now I want to bring a cooler too....

Debit: hmmm..... you see, I didn't know that. :-) Hope I'll be able to resist hailing a cab from the airport. It's just too easy to do so.... you know, what with my gargantuan suitcase and all ;-)

elnap: Farallon is less than a mile away from the hotel - and opentable says I can get a table for Sunday, if we cancel Incanto. Delightful menu featuring all the seafood we desire......

You know, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be too impressed with Sears Fine Food after I perused the menu online, and you confirmed that.

Now for the next question: can anyone recommend a fine place for breakfast, preferably close to a hotel, or a quick cab ride away? I'm thinking that since Monday morning is wide open and I'll just need to make sure I am back at the hotel by 10:15 to collect my bags for my noon flight, that will be a good time for a nice breakfast/brunch.

some places are willing to ship so you don't have to schlep it home yourself........

I understand the greed factor all too well~I, too, live where selections are pretty limited!

Instead of going to museums, you might want to make this a "foraging trip". :)

I just thought of a couple of other grocery stores you might like which are just a short taxi ride from the Westin:

1) Trader Joe's on California

http://www.traderjoes.com/

2) Whole Foods on 4th

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/soma

Whole Foods has a lot more choices, especially in non-grocery "green" products, but I prefer Trader Joe's products overall. You might want to visit the grocery stores after the museums are closed, but before dinner.


If you like Japanese sweets, there's a Minamoto Kitchoan on Market. Expensive tho. A small box of Tokoyo (candied pomelo peel) is $15. That's probably one of the least expensive boxes. Everything looks great, but the prices are quite high. Store has a variety of mochi.

http://www.kitchoan.com/

If you want Japanese food, there's a very good one just a couple of blocks from you WEST of Union Square on Post and Taylor. That's just slightly north of the Tenderloin District which you don't want to be in, especially at night. It's got some of the freshest sushi in town. A convival place, drink beer or sake and eat sushi. Sitting at the bar is best.

http://www.ryokos.com/

For more Japanese restaurant choices, take a taxi and go to Japantown. Possibly the best Japanese sushi place, Ino Sushi, is in Japantown.

You should do reservations for both of these Japanese restaurants.

tenthumbs: That explains it - we're kindred spirits (with a common denominator which we shall call the G Factor)

Easytraveler: You must be a cousin? :-)
Now that sounds like a good idea - dumping the museums in favor of foraging. ;-) TJ's and Whole Foods are two favorite stops anywhere we go.

And wow - Minamoto Kitchoan! I clicked on the link you provided and couldn't believe my eyes. Such delicate confections! I've never seen anything like this before. The high prices most likely indicate the quality of the goodies - I noticed the 20 to 30 day shelf life of most of the sweets - that's freshness right there! What's even better is that it's only 1/5 mile from the hotel.

Ino Sushi sounds like a perfect spot for a sake-and-sushi museum break. Will try to fit it on Saturday's schedule because the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

Thank you for being my enablers. I did remove the Legion of Honor from my itinerary, as suggested by easytraveler, that frees up several hours that shall now be devoted to grazing and foraging.

As long as I get to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring at the De Young and the Terra Cotta Warriors at the Asian Art Museum, with a brief stop at the SFMOMA, forage away, I shall!

Here, cousin, I raise a glass to your foraging! ((d))

(Sorry, Fodors doesn't seem to have a wine glass icon, just one for cocktails and one for beer - that I know of).

Enjoy your visit to SF! Sounds a great trip in the making! :)

PS, MK is in the safe direction of Market Street. Too much further south and you'll be running in to the Tenderloin again.

Thanks to all of you for your advice!

First of all, was very relieved to see a long line of taxis waiting at the airport - what with my late night arrival and two suitcases. Westin San Francisco on Market Street was quite a nice surprise - very clean spacious room, comfortable beds, luxury linens, plush robes, spacious and very clean bathroom with a huge counter space. Quite an ideal location too - less than a five minute walk to Union Square.

Saturday morning: Skipped breakfast and went with my brother on the Ferry Market food tour. It was an explosion of taste! From the pickled carrots (how I longed to have a Bloody Mary after that), and an interesting fermented drink (kvass), cheese tastings, salamis, chocolates, pastries, bread, honeys, jams and conserves, a Vietnamese spring roll, to my favorite finale - a maccaron from Miette - it was a foodie's heaven. We were extremely full after the food tour that there was no need for lunch at that point.

After the tour, my brother went to his conference while I lingered for a couple more hours, going back to the places we visited on the tour and gathering more goodies. It was truly a forager's delight - lardo and more salami from Boccalone, truffle honey, cheeses from Cow Girl Creamery, Scharffen Berger chocolates, maccarons…… The time passed quickly and realized to my dismay that I was running out of time to go to the museum. Quickly found a cab and hauled all the edible goodies back to the hotel. On my way to the De Young museum, went to the Gallery of Jewels in Union Square to view Sarah Richardson's trunk show. Sarah's designs are unique, organic, one-of-a-kind and surprisingly reasonably priced. I found a couple of goodies and got into a cab to make it to the De Young Museum for my date with Vermeer's painting (pre-purchased a timed ticket).

While I've seen pictures of the painting multiple times, seeing the masterpiece from a couple of feet away was priceless. There were about twenty people in the room, but everyone was absolutely silent, as we took in this ethereal sight of the Girl with the Pearl Earring - from the texture of the dark background to her mesmerizing glance, the incredible blue of the turban, the glow of the earring, the texture of the golden fabric, the experience was quite magical. I had to tear myself away from this painting just so I could have enough time to see the Rembrandt pieces before the museum closed at 5:15 pm.

Dawdled a bit around the grounds and finally made my way to the front of the museum to wait for a cab. And waited…… and waited…… for an hour. At this point, I was getting quite anxious for the crowd in the park had considerably thinned at that point. I had called a couple of cab companies but they had no one in the area. Just when I was seriously considering walking all the way to the entrance of the park to catch a cab, a taxi suddenly appeared out of nowhere…… thank God!

Just got back to the hotel in time to freshen up for my dinner with my brother at Ame at The Regis Hotel. Thanks, sf, for the recommendation! My appetizer of Tempura Poke was exploding with umami - it didn't even have the panko breading normally associated with tempura. The tuna was wrapped in seaweed and flash fried just a bit to have the crunch, but inside was all velvety and melt-in-the-mouth goodness, with a glaze that was to die for. The waiter suggested Ame's signature sake-marinated black cod for my main course. Again, another winner. My dessert was the coconut milk panna cotta with lime froth - the perfect delicate ending for the evening.

Exhausted, after a full day of food tasting and shopping, art and more eating, I fell asleep within minutes of hitting the bed.

I had originally planned to go on Sunday to the Asian Art Museum to see the Terra Cotta warriors and have a brief stop at the SFMOMA. However, on Saturday, I received the email from Viator (where I had booked the Ferry Market food tour) that a couple of wine tours for Sunday were 50% off. I quickly signed up for the Muir Woods/Napa Valley wine tasting. The bus picked me up at the hotel at about 8 am and we made our way across town to do 4 or 5 more pickups for a total of 18 people in the bus. Our driver/Tour guide, Roman, a German, sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was a wealth of information but it was his delivery that kept us in stitches with his dry wit. We were allowed an hour and fifteen minutes to explore the woods before proceeding to our first wine tasting in Sonoma.

We were then led to the Sonoma town square to do lunch on our own. Followed Roman's recommendation and had a delightful lunch at the Sunflower Caffe with a delicious smoked duck breast sandwich.

Then back to the bus for the short trip to Napa and two more wineries. As the afternoon progressed, there was quite a change on the tour group's demeanor - getting quite perky and chattier the more tastings we've had. Roman took us to a couple of photo stops for gorgeous pictures of the bridge and the bay before bringing us back to the hotel.

I was practically worn out and tipsy from all that booze that I reluctantly had to cancel dinner at Incanto after persuading my brother to go have dinner with some friends in town. They took him to Rue Lepic, a French bistro (Nob Hill). He told me the next day that the food was quite delicious! Quickly made a mental note to try the restaurant next time I'm back in SF.

Monday morning was a rush of packing and an early morning foraging at the Ferry Market for more goodies. Then just barely had enough time for a quick stop at Minamoto Kitchoan (thanks easytraveler for the tip) for some Japanese delicacies - mochi, jellies, etc. It was quite pricey but when I got back home and made my way thru all the mochi and other delights, I realized that it was all worth it. It way superior to the usual Japanese sweets that one normally finds at Japanese groceries or oriental groceries.

I wasn't sure how early I should leave the hotel to make it to the airport for my 12:05 pm flight, so I played it safe and took a cab at around 10:05 am. I was at the airport by 10:30.

Truly enjoyed my quick trip to San Francisco, and already looking forward to the next one in the fall.

Thanks, everyone!

We live in SF near the Ferry Building and Embarcadero Bart station. The last time I took a cab to SFO from here it was around $50.00 one way. BART is $8.10 and places you in the airport. There is always someone with a bag heading to SFO on BART. The cab drivers fought the Bart extension to SFO for 20 years until the city finally got it done. It is great. If you find the Westfield Mall on Market mentioned in another post you have also found the Powell Street Bart station below ground. Hop on there and take the train to SFO. Only way to go.

hi gelato lover, my DH & I were just in SF and we took the BART directly from the airport in South SF into the city. It is MUCH cheaper than a cab and very easy to do.

Once in the city you can take cabs, but it's just as easy to walk and take public buses. You can take a bus 9-10 blocks for less $1.50 or a cab for around $10+. Most buses stop in front of most major hotels.

You might want to take the Ferry over to Sausalito for a day - it is such a delightful town. If you do (depending on time) you might want to take the house boats on the water tour.

Opps, gelatolover, you've already been there done that! Didn't see your post. But have read it, and glad you had such a good time.

Hi, gelatolover,

What a great trip report! So glad you had such a good time in SF! Looks like you really made the best of your time and had an action-packed short visit!

You're right about The Girl With a Pearl Earring. She seems so real, so fresh - her gaze is calm but almost mesmerizing. It really makes a difference to see it in reality instead of in photos.

Welcome back in the fall! Looking forward to your trip report then!

traveldawg and nanabee: am planning on using the BART/bus when hubby and I return to SFO this October. It would be a longer trip and I would love to take the ferry to Sausalito.

easytraveler aka my foraging cousin: was truly sad when I ate the last of my precious stash from M. Kitchoan. The store will be on my list of must-dos for my next trip and we will try the sushi places that you recommended.

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone. Looking forward to more advice from you for our next trip in the fall.

What a great trip report. I can spend hours at the Ferry Building too. Just love that place.

nanabee, so glad you enjoyed the tour. I'm not going to miss it the next time! :-)

starrs
You'll love it, and thanks for recommending it!

gelatolover: something about "munching my way through the mochi from M.K." :)

Methinks you need to bring a bigger suitcase, a cooler, and a list of all the recommended restaurants next time.

Hope your next visit is really in the fall, as part of July and most of August the American's Cup yacht races will be held in SF, which will add to the usual high summer tourist visits.

Bart is indeed easy; would encourage it at least TO the hotel when the suitcase is light and there is no rush. On a Sunday morning when the trains aren't running so frequently, you may need to plan further ahead to use Bart.

Within the city, we did use the Bart to tour the mission in the Mission neighborhood. Worth a visit. Probably would recommend a San Francisco City Guides tour of Chinatown or Coit Tower more though.

I notice you did not go to Sears. It has a cute ambiance, true, but Dottie's serves a better breakfast.

Even on Sundays, BART runs every 20 minutes to the airport.

The one time we went to take it to SFO on a Sunday morning, our hotel concierge said it was not running that often compared to the weekdays, and if one train didn't show up for whatever reason, we could be waiting close to an hour. He suggested we might want to build some extra time in so we wouldn't miss our flight. It seemed like sound advice to me, but I'm cautious when it comes to airport arrival times.

easytraveler: Yes, it's late October. Hubby has a convention at the Moscone and I get to play tourist again. I'll definitely seek your help once more when it's closer to the date.

5alive: Will definitely use BART in October from SFO to the hotel since hubby will be with me. I just wonder how much luggage schlepping we will be doing as we haul our suitcases from the station to the Marriott Marquis. Incidentally, am hoping that this is a good (and safe) location since I didn't have much of a choice in picking the hotel. Hubby insisted on a hotel closest to the Moscone Center and the other one that seemed to be closest had sold out of rooms.

Hoping to include tours of the Mission District, Chinatown and Coit Tower as you suggested since I have 7 days where I can do anything while hubby is at the convention. Probably the houseboat tour that nanabee is suggesting.

Will check out Dottie's too.

Thanks!

Marriott is in a great location.

Take advantage of SF Public Library "City Guides". We have done over 2 dozen of them and they have all been great. There are several that are done in October only, so check those out. We did one in Sutro Forest in October that was amazing.

Falling in the category of tourists knowing more about the city you live in that you do, I have never heard of "Sutro Forest" :-)