Any opinions on where you will find the best Crab Louie or Cioppino in San Francisco. They both seem to be specialties of the city and I would like to try at least one of them on my upcoming trip.

Fisherman's Wharf

You might want to ask on this board:

http://www.chowhound.com/california/...francisco.html

Scuoma's at Fisherman's Wharf- not sure about the spelling, but any taxi will get you there. During our 4-day weekend, we had dinner there twice it was so good!

It is "Scomas", I think. Some people like it, some people do not. My friend who lives in San Francisco likes it, but she doesn't like anything else in Fisherman's wharf.

Caveat. If the server asks you "what kind of dressing would you like on your crab (or shrimp) Louis... oil and vinegar, thousand island, or blue cheese)....stalk out of the place.

A LOUIS salad has a LOUIS dressing on it and that is why it is called that.

I have been know to have fights in restaurants over this travesty. Seriously <grin>.

Except if you are like me as due to food allegies I can't eat the Louis dressing so I get the olive oil and vinegar dressing..but it has the same salad ingredients. Sorry jtrandolph, I just couldn't resist, LOL.

BTW don, if you love mussels do go to Plouf's in Belden (or is it Beldon?) Place off of Bush St...you will be so happy you did.

don--another seafood that you will only find out here is sanddabs. Try to find them on the menu at Hayes Street Grill or Sam's.

Thanks for he replies. Not to seem ignorant or anything, but what are sanddabs?

The softshell crab at Farallon is very good. If you decide on Farallon, get a table in the main pool room. I love the decor in this place! ***kim***

The Cliff House <http://www.cliffhouse.com/> gets my vote!
Also, the view is awesome. Be sure to ask for a table by the window.

Sand Dabs are a local white fish - about the same texture as the local Petrale ole. They are smaller than Petrale Usually the Petrale is filleted then cooked , whereas the Sand Dabs are cooked whole. Tadich & Sams will bone them for you prior to serving them at your table. I like Sand Dabs more than Sole, but I have not seen any in the local markets recently.

Stu Dudley

For the best cioppino I recommend the Tadich Grill, a traditional "old San Francisco" restaurant in the financial district.

Another recommendation for Tadich Grill and their cioppino.

If you are an oyster fan, do have the local oyster varieties while in San Francisco. By local I mean the ones from Tomales Bay - Hog Island is the most common one. The Hog Island Oyster Company has its own restaurant in the Ferry Building complex - a very nice place for lunch. For dinner, I have enjoyed oysters and other shell fish recently at O'Reilly's Holy Grail on Polk at Bush (it's a fun Irish place with beautiful stained glass windows). Further north on Polk (near Jackson or so?) is Yabbie's Coastal Kitchen - very knowledgeable about oysters, also has excellent crab cakes on the menu. A lot of people recommend the Swan Oyster Depot, but I stopped liking it years ago.

Plouf? Yes, big time, if you like mussels. The rest of the menu is excellent too, and Belden Alley is a place where you have many alternatives. Sam's Grill is at the Bush Street end of Belden Alley.

Message about sand dabs - Stu provided a very good description. Make sure, if you order them, that they are cooked as simply as possible - a brief sautee with hot butter with a bit of parsley is just about all they can stand. If the restaurant says they are coated in something or, horrors, deep-fried, abstain. I once (and only once) had sand dabs in a waterfront place at Moss landing that had been battered and fried. Those poor little fish met their end in a "cement kimono".

Try "Fish" in Sausalito:
http://www.331fish.com/food/index.html

dovima: LOL!

Had great sand dabs at Flaherty's (?) in Carmel once - still remembering how delicate they were!

>.another seafood that you will only find out here is sanddabs. >>

I'm hoping they still have them on the menu at Tadich Grill, as my husbands parents told him how good they were there, and that's what he wants.

Sandy

There's a restaurant called Cioppino that, surprise surprise, makes a very tasty cioppino.

M