Judi

I meant to give a restaurant report when I returned from SF but just forgot!

Gary Danko did not disappoint. Everything about it was just about perfect.

We liked Cafe Claude and loved Osteria del Forno in North Beach. We enjoyed a lunch at Pinocchio in North Beach.

We ate at Scoma's in Sausilito; it may be touristy but we had a great table and the food was good.

We ate the first night at Vignette which is attached to the Hotel Orchard (a great hotel, BTW.) The food was good and nicely presented but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.

Nina, I hope you have a great time and good weather. There were only five days in March without rain and we were there for four of them!

Oldmyst

If you love dim sum, you have to try Yank Sing in the financial district. It was the best dim sum my DH and I ever had, and we go to NYC Chinatown a lot. It is more upscale and worth the trip. We had lunch there the day we arrived, and on another day we got food from their take out place next store and ate by the Bay near the Enbarcadero.

dewdrop

We had many great meals in the North Beach neighborhood. Also, the Ferry Bld. has some great places including Slanted Door and a Japanese deli I can't remember the name of. We had breakfast at Momma's across from Washington Sq. it was WONDERFUL.

offlady

Warning!!! The last time my husband went to The Stinking Rose, he smelled garlicky for 3 or 4 days after.

kimamom

We loved Farallon when we dined there last June. We are on a wait list for Gary Danko for a meal about a month away. Reservations at Boulevard are set, tho.
My son loved his meal at Scala's Bistro a few weeks ago. We will also be trying Slanted Door and possibly Cafe Jacqueline for their souffles.
The Dining Room @ the Ritz also sounds very nice. Zuni Cafe is one more we will try to check out. Have fun! ***kim***

nina

Thanks again for all the replies, I've got lots to choose from. We love all kinds of food, probably Italian and Asian (Thai) is our favorite, but we're avid cooks and know good food, so what we're looking for is food that will make us say "Yum, that is soooo good, outrageous".

My husband is also quite an oenophile, so a good wine list is a plus.

Price? I don't know, moderate, about $100-$140 is about right, but if it was the best meal I ever ate we'd splurge.

dovima

Dear Nina,

If you are wine lovers, my recommendations (in the moderate/high moderate range) would be:

Eos Restaurant and Wine Bar
In the Cole Valley area, on the corner of Carl and Cole. Both the restaurant and the wine bar are enjoyable, the bar is more casual, and the wine list is fully available at each.

Bacar
448 Brannan Street, South of Market neighborhood. Bacar is justly famous for its cellar and its seasonally-inspired food. I've always preferred sitting in the little mezzanine area rather than the first floor - just my thing, I guess, but it seemed a little quieter.

Quince
On Octavia Street at Bush. A very romantic, cozy place to have dinner, elegant without being stuffy. Nice neighborhood on the edge of both Japantown and Pacific Heights - you can stroll before and admire Victorians.

Rubicon
Sacramento Street at Sansome. A tried-and-true Financial District enclave where the wine and the food are both excellent. The place where bankers and lawyers like to take clients or celebrate a big win in surroundings that are quietly luxurious.

In general, nina, you will find a good awareness of wines almost anywhere you dine in San Francisco. Of course, California wines are spotlighted and rightly so, but the availability of wines from all over is at a very high level here. I had dinner out the other night and enjoyed a glass of red Sancerre - a wine I had not encountered since my last time in Paris!

Eat drink and be merry!

offlady

oenophile? Thanks, I learned a new word today!

suze

i'll drink to that!

sea_wahine

Thep Phenom for Thai in SF. Burma Superstar is one of my all time favorite local places. For best shot at a table without a wait, go early side.

Underhill

For Chinese food, we like the quite old Far East Café; it's on the left on Grant Avenue after you walk through the arch. For dim sum, the Hang Ah Teachouse and Gold Mountain.

For fish, the Hayes Street Grill is very good, and Farallon (sp?) is absolutely beautiful as well as having fine food.

jtp

We loved Gary Danco--food, presentation, cheese course, wine options, staff - all perfect,we booked 3 months ahead, we had a wonderful casual dinner at Grand Cafe (booked it through Open Table.com)

MelissaHI

Nina, at the end of this I think you will feel like me--there are too many good places in San Francisco, and really not enough time! I just read all the posts and thought, "I second that...and that....and that...."

I also love the restaurants at Belden Lane (LOVE the mussels at Plouf) and I'm in love with Hayes Street Grill. Even though you're a carnivore, do have their fig salad. mm mm. Another good spot for dinner and/or dessert is Citizen Cake (around the corner...ish from Hayes St. Grill).

La Folie was wonderful, but do go hungry. I was ready to pop my zipper by the time I got out of there!

I also thought Absinthe was good for carnivores.

My mind is racing.....I think I need another trip to SF too!!!

jeepyland

If you don't mind the trip, I'd encourage you to try Chez Panisse. We ate in the more casual upstairs part and absolutely loved everything about it. Be sure to try the nettle pizza if it's on the menu! I've heared mixed things about the prix fixe section downstairs but we did not try that.

tondalaya

Expensive, traditional, beautiful, French, Fleur de Lie.

razzledazzle

I think you mean Fleur de Lys

R5

ilovetotravel29

This will perhaps not be a popular answer with some of the foodies on here, but I feel to get a real feeling for the true life of the city and its inhabitants, try some of the more ethnic and down to earth restaurants....Taiwan on clement and 5th avenue (I think) is an excellant and very traditional Taiwanese restaurant...most of the items on the menu do not cater to Americans, but to more traditional Taiwanese or Asians.....their tofu dishes are excellent!!

Also, I would have to 2nd House of Prime Rib---delicious and not overpriced. I much preferred House of Prime rib to Ruth's Chris.

I don't have my vote for my fave Latino restaurant just yet.....wait! I do! I forget its name and it is quite small, but it is on Haight and Fillmore and has some of the best and most homestyle tasting burritos....nothing tastes over or massproduced. It is not the best area at night, however.

Also, Truly Meditteranean makes some of the best schwerma I have ever tasted.

For me, I like eating the food of the locals when I travel...so I ate sandwiches at Katz's in New York, and steak Pasties in London and baguettes with jambon et burre in Paris. But that is just my own personal style.

ilovetotravel29

I also second stinking rose for garlic lovers, also Bocce Cafe--I believe on Green street in North Beach is a really, really great Italian restaurant with truly affordable prices.

Also, El Toro Taqueria or El Castillito's is great for good Mexican food.

Though I am an SF native, I do not go for such places as Boulevard, Jardinere, etc.

bill_boy

As a local, I have eaten at 90% of the restaurants that's been mentioned in this thread and I KNOW that these are the same ones that the locals like to go to.