Comments on the following restaurants would be appreciated: Moose, Rose Pistola, The Stinking Rose, Fior D'Italia, Postrio, Scoma, Alioto, Scala's Bistro, Farallon
Any recommendations in chinatown would also be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Frank, Try looking for restaurants in SF at www.sfgate.com. My own opinions are: Moose's--good food and lively atmosphere; Rose Pistola--really good Ligurian seafood and pastas; Fior D'Italia--oldtime Italian with decent food, try to be seated in the front room; Postrio--"CA cooking", pretty usual for us, you might like it; Scoma and Aliotos--very touristy, wouldn't recommend although Alioto's is a bit better; Farallon--everybody's darling. Stinking Rose is a bit tricked up for me--garlic is good but there's a limit! Also would recommend Boulevard, Hayes Street Grill, Kuleto's and Plump Jack Cafe, but there are many, many others. In Chinatown we steer people to the Great Eastern, which is a bit touristy, but fills all visitor's expectation of Chinatown and SF. For really wonderful dim sum, the best place is in Millbrae, near the airport at the Hong Kong Flower Garden Lounge. Enjoy.

In Chinatown, the New Asia Gardens is good for dim sum. There's a Hong Kong Flower Lounge in the Sunset District, too -- also great!

Have to agree with the opinion of Mooses. Farallon is pretty expensive, but good food. New Asia for dim sum (but be sure to ask for a table by the kitchen...or you'll never get any of the really good stuff. For gourmet dim sum (also expensive...but sooooo worth it), try Yank Sing in the financial district. Also, if you're looking for something French and special...try Fleur de Lys, near Union Square.

We very much enjoyed the Jeanne D'Arc restaurant in the Cornell Hotel near Union Sq. (Bush St just off Powell). It's prix fixe, about $26 for 4 courses. They post the menu for the day out front.

Ate at Scala's Bistro a couple of years ago before it because *in* ... It was WONDERFUL! I had a pasta with wild mushrooms that was devoured down to the last morsel. On the assumption that things haven't changed I would give it my highest recommendation.

Ate at Scala's Bistro a couple of years ago before it became so *in* ... It was WONDERFUL! I had a pasta with wild mushrooms that was devoured down to the last morsel. On the assumption that things haven't changed I would give it my highest recommendation.

We had lunch at Scoma's, although I'd heard it was very touristy (but then we were tourists hanging out in a touristy meighborhood). We liked it, the cioppino was fantastic. I liked Brandy Ho's in Chinatown.

Good to know about the Hong Kong Flower Garden in the Sunset District. They've also just opened one in Palo Alto where instead of the roving carts, the menu has pictures and descriptions and you fill out a little "request form". Don't know if I like that or not, but the dim sum's still great.

2 more dim sum places you may not have heard of are Harbor Village in Embarcadero 2 and Koi Palace in Serramonte. Both are yummy.

Frank - little did you realize by asking what most would seem to be a "simple" question that you could receive so many different (and some the same) San Francisco Restaurant comments! We who live in San Francisco (or the entire bay area as far as that goes) pride ourselves on our knowledge of the great restaurants of 'THE CITY'. Here are my comments on what you asked about and of course some other recommendations you may find interesting: Mooses: Popular local place with good food. Rose Pistola: I like this place in North Beach! The best seat in the house is at the bar having a glass of wine or cocktail and dinner ordered through the bartender. Go to this one. The Stinking Rose: Over rated and not worth the long wait outside to get a table (you can do much better than this in North Beach).Fior D'Italia: Old stand-by for locals. Been around since the beginning of time. Have good and not so good experiences there. Postrio: Wolfgang has pretty much had his day in this town. It is okay, but over rated and kinda yesterday. The food is okay, not bad but not great. Scoma and Alito's: I put them together because I have the same comment; Dont be a sucker! These are tourist rip-offs. Not very good food at tourist prices. Dont eat at Fishermans Wharf period. Scala's Bisrto: I like this bistro in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The Ravoli (W/Lemon cream) is fantastic. Also get the Bostini cream pie. Farallon: Was the "in" new spot- got old quick. Has one of the best ambiences of any restaurant. This place is pricy but fish lovers like it. (don't get the beef) Chinatown recommendation: Dim sum at City View on Commerical St. Great Eastern is very good and across the street from Great Eastern is Hunan Home. In Chinatown standard rules to follow are: if there is a fish tank, is it clean? does the place have business? did they stand on the street and hand you a walk away menue to try to get you inside? Stick with what is recommended or go out to the Sunset District as suggested and try Hong Kong Flower Garden Rest. (Geary Blvd). This is the "other" Chinatown of San Francisco. Other suggestions: Try Jardinere in the Civic Center area. Hawthorne Lane in the South of Market area. Speak french? go to Fleur de Lys in the lover nob hill area. Try local places like Nob Hill Cafe on Taylor St. on top of Nob Hill (very local, no tourist here). Ask a local for their neighborhood choice. I also recommend: Boulevard, Cypress Club, i Fratelli, Lulu, Mecca, Masa's, One Market, Oritalia, Ritz Carlton Dining Room, Splendido, Tavolino, The Waterfront, Tommy Toy's, Venticello, and Zuni Cafe. I have lived in SF for over 23 years and never get tired of eating out in this wonderful American treasure we call home. Enjoy our "OZ"

Thanks for all the dining suggestions. Had a great stay at the Mark Hopkins and did all of the obligatory tourist stuff (Alcatraz, Fisherman's Warf, Cable Cars, North Beach, Chinatown, etc. Ate at Rose Pistola's, Mooses, Scoma's, House of Nan King, City Market Cafe at Pier 39, Sears Fine Foods, Uncle Vito's and others which escape me at the moment. S.F. is a great restaurant town and again many thanks for all of the suggestions.

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Ate at Stinking Rose last night. It was wonderful, but it was a looong night. We had reservations for 7 at 7 (on a Saturday night).... our family of 5 was there promptly at 7 but they have a policy not to seat until the whole party is there. Our friends showed up at 7:15 but we weren't seated until 8:15.

I VERY STRONGLY suggest that if you meet friends there that it's agreed upon that if anyboy is late, THEY PICK UP THE TAB! (which didn't happen in our case.....)