DH and I will be staying in the city in the Irving Street/ Inner Sunset area in early Oct. for the bluegrass festival. Any dining tips in this area? Any type of cuisine is fine. Also, may branch into the upper Haight and Cole Valley districts. Thanks!

Inner Sunset--Park Chow, Ebisu (good sushi). P.J's Oyster Bed, Pacific Catch.

Cole Valley: Eos Wine Bar, Zazie, Kezar.

I do have some favorite restaurants on Irving, but don't want to broadcast them on a website. They're plenty busy as it is!

So sorry!

If memory serves - there's an Andronico's Market either on Irving or close by. Great Italian deli in the market.

Have a great time at the bluegrass festival!

I'm probably wrong, but I think I read in Inside Scoop in the Chronicle a while back that PJs is closing....

Lots of restaurants on 9th st.

Stu Dudley

Arizmendi Bakery
A very handy place to know about.
On Ninth Avenue between Judah and Irving.

Besides their coffee cake, scones, English muffins, pecan rolls, etc. they offer a different pizza every day. You can get it by the slice to eat there or on the run or you can buy a complete pie to take home. They will even sell you a pizza that 3/4 of the way baked so that you can finish it off freshly in your own oven - nice if you are staying in an apartment with kitchen facilities.

A couple of doors down from Arizmendi is a nice coffee place where they roast their own coffee each week. Can't think of the name right now, but you'll know it by the people with lattes out front. There's a Starbucks also on Irving between Ninth and Eighth, but I think you'd prefer the atmosphere of the other place.

Cheers,
d.

GTG?

PJ's Oyster Bed has been closed for a few months now. I'd agree with SAB, who recommended Chow, Ebisu, etc.

In the Haight, try Cha Cha Cha (tapas and sangria). Closer to the festival itself, try Marnee Thai.

Thanks all! I've been on menupages.com, and thought Ebisu looked like a good place as did 9th street in general. I just may have to send someone an email to get some inside info, LOL. I've been to Zazie, SAB and really like it. May go back there as well as try Eos.
Hi Faina- About a GTG, I'm going to think about it. We have out of town friends coming in for the festival, so it may be difficult to schedule one.

Hi trippinkpj,

9th Avenue, 9th Avenue, 9th Avenue.......

9th Street in S.F. is not so pretty as our Inner Sunset. I don't want you to get into a cab or bus and get messed around direction wise.

Btw, I was on Cole Street last night. Stopped in at Say Cheese, which is on Cole near Carl. They plied me with sample tastes and I left with some lovely choices. The shop sells other goodies and some wine too, so keep it in mind if you are stocking up for a picnic or a casual meal back at your lodgings.

>>Lots of restaurants on 9th st.<<

Oops - thanks for the correction. Yes - 9th street is not as interesting.

Stu Dudley

Cool, yes I meant to say 9th Ave. That's where I was looking on Menupages.com between Judah, Irving and Lincoln. I think I have a lot of ideas now, and will check out Say Cheese. Thanks Dovima and everyone.

ttt
Any last minute suggestions for me, besides what's already been mentioned? Thanks again all.

Last month we ate at Hotei - it serves Japanese noodles and located right across the street from Ebisu.

I think it's related to Ebisu but I'm not 100% sure. I had a soba, which is pretty good. My mom had ramen which is REALLY good.

http://www.hoteisf.com/

Thanks yk, I saw Hotei mentioned in the current Sunset magazine. The prices look good too.

Thanks again all, we had a great weekend in the Irving Street/ 9th Ave area. We took Dovima's advice and went to Arizmendi Bakery (pecan rolls and cookies!). It was as great as you described. Also, thanks easytraveler for the Andronico's tip. We got sandwiches and snacks for each day at the festival. We had Japanese food at Kiki's (near Ebisu with more reasonable prices) which was good also. We ate breakfast two days at Howards Cafe, very good and budget priced. Rounding out our weekend we had a great pizza at Pasquale's.

Hardly Strictly was madness this year, didn't you think? Sooo many people but still fun. Who'd you see?

I take my niece to Pasquale's all the time. And myself to Arizmendi, which I believe is an offshoot of the original Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley.

Hi Leely2- Yes it was great! We saw Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant on Friday. We started with Carlene Carter Saturday, Three girls (Emmy Lou, Shawen Colvin and Patty Griffin) and their Buddy (Miller, Richard Thompson, Nick Lowe, Jerry Jeff Walker (a blast!) and one of my faves Asleep at the Wheel. Sunday I saw, Bill Kirchen, Riders in the Sky, Alison Brown with Joe Craven, Elvis Costello (his twin boys were on the edge of the stage with their mom Diana Krall!), Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and Maura O'Connell. It was beyond fantastic. What a gift that Warren Hellman gives to San Francisco and music in general every year!
Who did you see Leely2?

I went Sunday only. I saw (saw is a loose term) Elvis Costello. Also watched Bonnie Prince Billy as I'm a big Palace, Palace Brothers fan. Iron and Wine, whom I'd seen several years ago. And a bit of Gogol Bordello and Emmylou. I am more into the "hardly strictly" angle.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself--and I hate crowds. I'm glad you had a good time. Sam Beam (Iron and Wine) said during his set, "I wish my town had rich people who put shows like this on."

It is a great weekend.

Way cool Leely2. I'll have to check out Bonnie Prince Billy and Iron and Wine sometime. Also, I'm thinking of doing a breakfast Fodor's GTG, next year for any Fodor's Hardly Strictly fans or early breakfast buds. I think we'll stay in the same area.

Hi tripp,
Just saw this and was wondering where you stayed while in the city.