I read where Belden Place (little alleyway halfway between Kearny and Montgomery Streets?) was the closest thing to a French Quarter in The City and offers a small escape to Europe.

Anybody have any rants or raves about the area?

Looking for feedback on Café Bastille, Café Tiramisu, B44, Plouf, and Erzulie or other good restaurants here or nearby.

Is this place hard to find?

We walked there from Union Square and had a great dinner at Plouf's -- recommended on this board -- very nice. Make a reservation.

Budman, thanks, but tell me how do you always manage to find your way to all the good places?

I trust a tired old fat guy can find a decent beverage or two in that area?

Plouf was also good on our visit, as was Café Tiramisu. It's a little touristy but still mnages to be pleasant.

Belden Place is indeed referred to by some as the French Quarter because of the French bistros such as Plouf and Bastille located there and on July 14th there is a big Bastille Day celebration. I would only describe it as offering a small escape to Europe however in terms of food. Maybe because it is an alley which on nice days is full of outdoor tables lead some to think of Europe. But it is still just a one block alley so it couldn't be described as an area. I certainly would recommend Plouf for mussels at lunchtime if you are downtown.

degas, I don't remember that area for its bars -- it was more of "restaurant alley."

Maybe someone who lives in the area can recommend a good "watering hole" nearby "for a tired old fat guy?".

I was afraid it would be hard to find, too, but if you follow a map and go between Kearny, Bush, Pine, and Montgomery, you will find it. It's such a small side street that you may not actually see it on your map!

Try the mussels in the spicy coconut sauce at Plouf. In fact, anything the bartender Bruno recommends is fabulous.

Bonjour, degas.
You should indeed have a meal in one of the Belden Place restaurants. A nice prelude to dinner there would be a drink at the top of the BofA Building (just across the street) in the Carnelian Room, to absorb the incredible view. The view may be of swirling fog and anything happening to stick up above it, but nonetheless it is stunning.

Go to B-44 for the petite paellas and what is probably the most authentic representation of Catalan cuisine in this city. Good wines and sherries on the list.

Dine at Plouf for its famous mussels. I always end up having them cooked simply, a la mariniere, but the version with cream and Calvados is good too. Don't ignore the other fish offerings - I've had excellent monkfish there.

Cafe Bastille is a more casual place. I usually have a crepe stuffed with ratatouille, usually stopping in for lunch.

Maybe (BIG maybe) you'll be here on a warm evening (hahaha) when the outdoor tables are the preferred place to sit. If not, Plouf often lights its little (artificial) fireplace on cold evenings and it is quite cozy.

Belden Place is at the back of the Russ Building, one of the most famous structures in the Financial District. Stop in the lobby to look at the faux-Gothic vaulting. At sundown, the back facade of the Russ Building turns a deep coral-rose color from the westering light (the building is made of a type of sandstone, and has aged to a beautiful color). You'll be able to view this if dining outdoors on Belden in the summer on a fogless evening (again, hahaha). I used to work in the Russ Building, so I often observed this phenomenon from the upper stories, where this incredible colored light would seem to be welling up from below.

Anyway, those are my raves, for two cents or whatever they are worth!

dovima, now you're making me want to go back sooner.

Budman,
Maybe I'll go have lunch there today (REALLY, I'm not being smug or anything)! Our new offices are only a few blocks away, but there's a world of difference between the corners of Pine/Belden and First/Mission.

dovima--yes, you should--we eat lunch on Belden about once a week, Bastille for quick lunch of crepes and Plouf when we have time for a longer lunch.

Let me describe my business lunch at Tiramisu. Don't remember what I had for an appetiser, the main dish was spinach ravioli. I got 2 raviolis on the plate, nothing else! My co-worker who ordered some seafood ravioli, got one. That's right, one ravioli on the plate, no greens, nothing! The cost of this "main dish" was around $16. We just looked at each other... For desert of course Tiramisu! It was just bitter, probably to make up for such a micro lunch they've decided to bribe us with rum! Never again!

Thanks for the additional feedback.

Good to know about those "micro lunch" places. Two raviolis and no turnip greens! For $16, I'd expect about twenty of those bad boys.

degas--I've never heard anyone recommend Tiramisu--Plouf yes, B44 yes --but not Tiramisu.

degas(also known as the gigolo) We just ate at Plouf last Friday again for the first time in a few years. It's a very good place especially for mussels and frites. You can sit inside or out..I think on a warm evening outside would be preferable. There is now a vodka bar at the far end of Belden where one can taste the night away! I've only ever heard bad reviews of Tirmisu. I might also suggest you check out Cafe Claude. Mind you, these two alleys are very small and offer only a very small escape. Please consider as well places like La Folie. For casual and in a completely different part of the city, there is Ticous for crepes (16th street).

Aaaah, yes, Ti couz is cute and if you have room after having crepes, you can indulge in a Cafe Ligeois (sp?). mm mm.

Another Frenchified area is Russian Hill. There are a few French cafes in which you can have a French pastry/croissant and coffee and feel like you are in Paris. And, you can shop in the Frenchy stores nearby! There's a restaurant there called Petit Robert that I liked.

More good ideas - my list is growing.

Anybody heard about or gone to Le Metro
311 Divisadero St. (in the Metro Hotel at Page St)? I think Rachael Ray from the Food Channel featured it once.

They are supposed to have a great earlybird special. And you know how I just hate to wait on dinner!

PamSF: "The gigolo"? Really?

degas: I'm certain you are aware that Belden Place is right off of Union Square. There are plenty of wonderful places to eat right around Union Square - Farallon for sea adventures, or high tea at the St Francis.

Belden Place is just one short street. There's a wonderful museum there designed by Frank Lloyd Wright - sorry, old age robs me of memory cells once in a while - can't remember the name right off.

I've heard people from Europe say that ALL of San Francisco is "like home".

Enjoy your visit! You've gotten some of the best of the "locals" - SAB, dovima, PamSF - to give you suggestions. Can't go wrong with anything they recommend!

EasyTraveler, sorry, but sounds to me you're confusing Belden Place with Maiden Lane?

Ah yes, Cafe Claude! That's the name of the little bistro at the end of the alley we liked so much a few years ago--thanks for the reminder, Pam.

I had read the owners had dismantled an old bistro in Paris and built Cafe Claude using all the orginal parts from it. No wonder it looked authentic! Very good lunch of pate, salade nicoise and wine, eaten at a little bistro table just outside the door.

It was one of those rare 90 degree days in SF and the alley was full of people eating outside at tables, having a wonderful time. Had we not made other plans for the day up north, I would have liked to have stayed longer and even come back for dinner to try one of the others--maybe Plouf.