Turning 40 in San Fran
 

My husband and I will be traveling to San Francisco in early Nov. We are staying 4 nights at the Hotel Nikko with one night in the wine country (lodging to still be determined)

Here is our tentative itenary - Please help with suggestions.

Sat. - arrive @ the Nikko early afternoon. We need a good place for lunch. Something quick and fresh around Union Square. We plan to spend part of the afternoon watching our alma marters play each other. We can't help it we love college football. Great places to watch a game?

Sat. night will be dinner in North Beach (Itlaian) with friends. Restaurant suggestions??

Sun. morning will run the Golden Gate Bridge 10 mile race. We will be hungry for a great brunch. The Nikko has a Sun. brunch. (supposed to have jazz) Has anyone tried the Nikko brunch? Any other ideas?

We plan to eat Sun night at The Slanted Door.

On Monday we will explore at leisure and have dinner at Bacar. A friend suggested this place and said they have an amazing wine list.

We will rent a car and drive to wine country Tuesday a.m. Will ask my many questions on wine country in another post.

We will return to the city Wed. afternoon. We haven't decided where we will dine Wed. night (my big 40 celebration) We were going to splurge at the French Laundry on Tues. night but could not get reservations. Suggestions for a magical night for celebrating San Francisco style???

Other questions??
Several ideas for breakfast??
The San Fran jazz festival will be on while we are there. Does anyone know anything about the artist performing on Nov. 1, 2, 3 or 5th? I have reviewed the schedule on SFJAZZ.org.

Thanks so much for all the great information on this board.

I must apologize for all the misspelled words. I was getting ready to edit my message and accidentally clicked on Post my Reply. Oops!!!!

I look forward to some great suggestions.

I've had the Nikko Sunday brunch. It's hosted by the SF smooth jazz FM station and there will be a DJ and the music that's played on the radio. The food is really good, and really plentiful. Way too many choices. It just moved back to the Nikko from Hyatt Embarcadero, where it's been for the last year.

You might want to have a look at this Gourmet Magazine list of picks for SF.

http://concierge.com/gourmet/lists/b...l/sanfrancisco

I reviewed theJazz Fest schedule for the nights you will be here. Etta James can be a hoot..rather brassy and more bluesy I think. Maria Mauldar doing "Remembering Peggy Lee" would be my pick. Check out her CDs someplace you can listen. For a blow out romantic dinner, I recommend Gary Danko OR Boulevard. Hurry and make your reservations. For watching Football you might try Pat O'Shea's on Geary and 2nd. Good sports bar with lots of enthusiasm. Nothin' fancy! North Beach.~try Cafe Macaroni..everything else seems like too much hype IMHO. For lunch on your arrival day..try either Kuleto's on Powell.(It is Italian and you might want to opt for something else. ) Wander down to Belden ALley and see what's open. I think Cafe Belden will be open.

Hi Sassystrick,

I hope this post is not too late for your trip. For your splurge dinner Wednesday night, go for Masa's or Gary Danko's - you won't be dissapointed with either (they both have websites). As for dinner in North Beach, I can't really recommend any restaurants since I think the North Beach Italian restaurants are highly overrated and more geared towards tourists. If you want great Italian food and are willing to go outside North Beach, try Ristorante Milano (great neighborhood restaurant in Russian Hill) or Delfina in the Mission District. As for breakfast, go to Mama's on Washington square (closed Mondays). If you go during the week or before 10am on the weekend there shouldn't be a wait. Great selection of eggs, pancakes, french toast, etc (CA style). A little pricey but well worth it.

Slanted Door is a great choice, you'll love it. I've been to Bacar many times for drinks and jazz but have never eaten there. Very nice atmosphere and great wines. Have a great time!