In the same neighborhood as Boulevard and Slanted Door, Chaya Brasserie is a lovely place which is not nearly as hyped as the other two. Usually, I am not so fond of "fusion" cuisine, but Chaya has pulled off its Japanese/French hybridism without a flaw. There are strictly Western dishes, strictly Asian ones, and then some in between. The sushi specials are terrific - and so is the tarte tatin!

Dovi-
I swear everytime Mrs Kal and I walk by that place we swear we'll go there next time!

Good, yes?
Sometimes we score a room at the HarbCourt or Hyatt so that's def within stumbling distance.

Well, Kal, if you are within stumbling distance, definitely take advantage of the dessert wine menu. I NEVER get to have a glass of vin moscato with the biscotti, boo hoo!

=P~@-)=P~@-)=P~@-)=P~@-)

Hi Monica, Scalas, on Powell St., just one block up from Post St (Union Sq) attached to the Sir Francis Drake Hotel is one of my favorite restaurants.

And I love the Villa Florence. Usually where I stay. Scala's is just two block away on Powell.

And Kal, you are forgiven. Grand Cafe is great, just had a couple of not super dinners but that can happen anywhere. And we both love Kuleto's for breakfast and Left O'Douls for a drink so we are still friends, right?

Monica, you have recevied IMHO a lot of wonderful suggestions. You will need a month to check all the restaurants out.

I could list more but I would imagine that your head is spinning by now so I will not.

Do enjoy beautiful SF. And the weather should be beautiful.

Monica,
Try the increasingly popular and totally retro/trendy Dotties True Blue Cafe for breakfast. Located at 522 Jones street.
Opens at 7:30 and there will probably be a line.
(Closed Tue & Wed...?)
Order anything off of the blackboard and you'll be extremely happy!Everyone was chattering away; with an eclectic mix from blue collar to bow ties complete with walking sticks.
Check it out on Trip advisor.
pete

Again - thanks everyone. We have a reservation for Gary Danko's one night and I'm still going through everyone's suggestions & planning additional meals. We are looking very forward to visiting!

Hi,Monica. I just ate last night at a place in North Beach that I hadn't tried before: Caffe Macaroni Sciue Sciue. All 4 of us ordered something different and enjoyed. The prices are reasonable and it is less touristy than some of the other NB places. Afterwards, we walked up Columbus Ave. to Caffe Greco for a biscotti and afoggato(espresso with a scoop of gelato).
I highly recommend the Ferry Building as previously mentioned. If you go on Saturday morning up to about 2:00, you have the added benefit of experiencing the Farmers' Market, with lots of choices for lunch.
Another choice - Jardiniere, even if it's just for cocktails to enjoy the beautiful bar setting.
I also add my vote to A16, Scalas, Delfina, Farallon and Boulevard.
Oh,and one more, for something different- Foreign Cinema.
Lots of choices! Bon appetit!

Hi All,

Here's a list from a Chicago who's a SanFran-ophile:

Gary Danko (good choice!)
Slanted Door
Farallon
Delfina
Bix (a great speakeasy atmosphere & live jazz on the weekends)
R&G Lounge (hands down best Chinese in the US - get the salt & pepper crab)
Tartine bakery (in the Mission, best croque monsieurs this side of France...lots of fans of the place live on Fodors)
Swan Oyster Depot (great, popular seafood dive, counter service early, go at off-peak hours to avoide a line)
Plumpjack Cafe (freshest ingredients, best long lunch I've ever had)
Rica (awesome little tapas place on Fillmore St. with great food and creative mojitos)

If I were going to SF this weekend, I would want to check out Betelnut (Asian), A16 (Neapolitan-Italian) and Bocadillos (Spanish tapas).

Have fun!

Oh, yeah, I also second the notion of checking out the Ferry Building, and doing so on Farmer's market days. You must stop by the Recchiutti store...the best chocolate ever. Try one of their brownies. Also, the caviar place does a great sampling of their caviars on little blinis with creme fraiche. Grab some of that and head to the wine place for a nice glass of rose champagne. Also, my brother and his wife who recently moved to SF have been raving about a new burger place that has Niman ranch burgers. I'll find out where it is and let you know.

Looks like I'm going to have a hard time deciding where to go from all these great suggestions! My husband is dreaming of having lots of seafood, since upstate NY doesn't have much to offer! What's the best place to take him - he loves lobster, oysters, shrimp, clams.

Hi Monica,
Anytime you ask the San Francisco Fodorite clan about food, expect to be inundated - you'd think we wined and dined for a living!

In response to your seafood query, I'm sure you will get more than one recommendation for Swan Oyster Depot. It's worth a stop, but it's not a real favorite of mine - I'd probably eat a few shucked oysters there, maybe buy some fish to take home, but I think you can get WAY better chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co. in the Ferry Building. The last time I went to Hog Island, the chowder was a melange of winter vegetables in a cream broth, with little clams in the shell heaped in the center of the bowl. It was so good on a cold day!

For mussels, Plouf on Belden Lane and LuLu in the South of Market area. In general, most good San Fran restaurants are very attuned to seasonal delicacies as far as seafood and will often offer them as the special of the day, so take advantage of that - don't just stick to the salmon, go for the bass or the fresh sardines!

I've always enjoyed Boulevard for a splurge. I'm also a fan of Kokkari, an upscale Greek-influenced restaurant.

I recently ate at Cortez, a small-plate (the latest rage) restaurant near Union square. Although it's supposed to be tappas-influenced, the dishes were more California than Spanish. Service was very good, all the dishes were very good to excellent, and it was a lot of fun sharing dishes among our group.

Oh my, Plouf's in Belden Lane! The food there is to die for! No, no, you won't die - I don't mean food poisoning!
The food is absolutely fantastic. I love the mussels with garlic in the broth. Of course you do not want to get to close to others afterwards, LOL, but seriously Dovima is right. That is a wonderful restaurant. And Belden Place is great, a former alley turned into a rather French restaurant row. Outdoor and or course inside dining.

One could spend a year in SF I truly believe and eat out twice a day and never have to go to the same restaurant twice. That is the problem, to many choices. Mangia!

If you like fish/seafood, head on over to the oldest restaurant in the west, Tadich's Grill. Great food and great service!

Mexican-La Barca
Prime Rib-House of Prime Rib
Soup-Boudins!

One more vote for Tadich Grill. I've been going there since 1980 and never been dissapointed. You'll never know who you might bump into there. Carl Sagan was right behind me one time (early '80's) and hearing him say "Billions & Billions" sure caught my attention.

Allow me to once again plug one of my San Francisco favorites, Ana Mandara:

http://www.anamandara.com/

Bon appetit!

I'm with you flyboy, Ana Mandara is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Tornadoes (sp?) of Beef is to die for and I day dream about the molten chocolate cake desert . Cool bar upstairs, very nice atmosphere. Go to the website and look at the pictures.
http://www.anamandara.com/

Farallon is one of my favorites too. I love the glass jelly fish sculptures and lights. Another place for great food and cool atmosphere.
http://www.farallonrestaurant.com/


The Farallon you can have dinner then go see a show! Or Harry Dentons for drinks and the view.

Stu: I too appreciate your restaurant reviews!!! Thanks.

whoops, I don't daydream about the desert, I day dream about dessert!