Marilyn

I will be staying at Sir Francis Drake on Union Square. Any good places to dine within walking distance? Also, we would like to go to Chinatown and dine. Any suggestions?
What is the Mission District. I've heard starving artist/hippie place.

ray seva

The Mission is the Hispanic/Latino section of town...but there are a lot of "starving artist-types" too. GREAT, GREAT food (cheap,too).
Most of the restaurants in Chinatown are touristy-types. BUT...there IS one that mostly locals go. It's called YUET LEE, on the corner of Broadway & Stockton (on the Northern edge of CHinatown.) You MUST try the salt-and-pepper squid. To describe it as "like calamari" is a gross understatement. It's deep fried, but with KILLER spices/garlic/fresh chilli pepper. Man oh man, I kept fantasizing about this dish when I was in Europe 3-weeks ago. Of course, it't the first thing I ordered when I returned from Italy.
Give it a shot. It's very casual...open til 2am (closed on Tuesdays). Rumor has it Alice Waters & other high-profile chefs drop-in to take food home after working at their top-rated expensive California Cuisine/Italian restaurants.

Rich

McCormicks on the pier is a great place to enjoy an evening meal. The service and food are great with views of the bay.

kam

Walk 1/2 block down hill on Powell and eat at Kuleto's---it's a very trattoria type restaurant, and Pat Kuleto is the well known restaurant designer so it's his signature place. You'll love it--make a re.s through the St. Francis. The two newest darlings in SF are Rose Postola (Ligurian seafood) in North Beach which is the Italian section and the Waterfront which is a "fusion" restaurant on the Embarkadero. There are so many good places--I would stay away from Fishermans Wharf though--and I think the previous post means McCormick and Kuletos at Ghiradelli Square--you can see the Bay and the foods very good--seafood. Postrio is Wolfgang Puck's SF endeavor. If you've never been to an Il Fornaio there's a particularly pretty one in SF--it's a chichi mini chain of Italians in Itay and California. SF is THE DINING CITY---check out the Zagat guide on a Yahoo search. Enjoy and watch those pounds. PS. For the very best dim sum--it's not in SF but in Millbrae down near the airport called the "Flower Garden Lounge"--very, very authentic and raves from our Chinese colleagues.

Nyet

You have to go to Scomas at Pier 47. It's a lovely restaurant tucked away behind the Fisherman's Wharf area. not many tourist know about this place cos' it is mainly frequented by locals. I can guarantee you that it will be to your satisfaction. Forget abt McCormick and Kuletos. Apart from the view, the food is measely and pricey. It can get very stuffy too. At Scomas, the people are friendly and nice. You have to make reservations or you have to wait at least 45 minutes. I happen to chance upon it during my last trip in 1991 and it was the first restaurant I visited when I went back to SF recently. Try it and let me know what you think.