Foo - San Francisco Infromation (food, bars, etc.)

So in a month I will be at a HUGE nerdfest in San Francisco and I know there are alot of people on the board from the area and I need your input...
The conference is in and around the Moscone Center, Union Square area. We are staying about a mile away near the corner of Polk and Geary. What I am hoping to get is information on good places to eat (in about a mile radius) and places to drink. Are there any grocery stores in the area... I figure I could save some food money and spend it on EtOH instead. Though I must warn you, this is a chemistry conference so no where that my other (non-biking, foreign, and/or rightwinged) friends would be uncomforable in please (we will be dressed to impress also).
And if there is a good bike store in the area let me know, just for a visit.
Thanks

North Beach and Columbus Ave. are packed with good places to eat. Chinatown too. Some are kind of pricey though.

I forgot the name of it, this fish place on the pier...expensive as hell, but has the best fish and sourough i have ever had, period. It's an upscale place though.

Seriously, I would not place my self above gambling to support my sourdough habit at that place.

Aaaaa a fellow geek enroute to Oracle Open world I am guessing. We usually hit the Stinking Rose, and some little place about two blocks from the 'W'. I can't remember the name of the place but I will find out. They only have a few dishes but they do them very well. They have been in the same spot for 70 years and the staff looks like they were there on opening day. Great food. If your going PM me also and I can pass on some good event info to you. We usually try to have Oracle corp take us out and its a great meal with lots of top shelf wine......:)

Sorry, it was on Fisherman's Wharf, the place is called Fishermen's Grotto.

If you're on a a budget, you're best off staying out of tourist hotspots. I generally advise against anything Pier 39/ Fisherman's Wharf related, but I understand the perceived need for tourists to go there. Even most of chinatown is a tourist trap, and if you want Chinese food, the best is not to be found there.

You'll be staying close to what's called The Tenderloin (or simply: The 'Loin)... a sketchy neighborhood a night, but great food places to be found. Don't be afraid to venture out in the city.

check out http://sfsurvey.com/ for restaurant ratings by locals. You can do a search by neighborhood, or cuisine type. SF is great for ethnic foods like Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, etc.

Enjoy your stay!

I am heading out there next week for a geeky affair too. I will be staying at the Sir Francis Drake in Union Square. So lets hear about SF. Can I take public transportation up to Muir woods? I like to eat at the hole in the wall type places that only the locals no about and are usually the best places around. I am hoping to rent a bike and cruise around too.

i suggest renting a full squishy, riding over the bridge and ride some trails there, then grab the ferry back to s.f. and eat your face off in chinatown.

Pasha
Thanh Long (on Judah) for garlic crab

I am heading out there next week for a geeky affair too. I will be staying at the Sir Francis Drake in Union Square. So lets hear about SF. Can I take public transportation up to Muir woods? I like to eat at the hole in the wall type places that only the locals no about and are usually the best places around. I am hoping to rent a bike and cruise around too.

Yes to Muir Woods but a bike might be faster with the conections.

First in SF try http://www.sfbike.org/download/map.pdf it lists all the bike routes for the city. Use that to get to a "Golden Gate Transit District" bus (of which there are many - I use #80) which will take you over the birdge to the Mill Valley / Marin City area just north of Sausalito and The Bridge.

Then catch the Marin County Transit Dirstict bus 61 which goes through Muir Woods.

Recycling this thread as I need some San Francisco info and will make use of what's above.

My question has to do with hotels. I have a list of hotels and see a cluster around Union Square, another bunch around Fisherman's Wharf and a small cluster just south-east of Market Street that is very close to Union Square.

What area should I base myself in? I'll be in San Francisco with my wife and two young kids. Any hotel recommendations?

Thanks.

S. San Francisco: There's a place called Charlie's Steakhouse! INCREDIBLE food, a bit pricey, but worth it!

Recycling this thread as I need some San Francisco info and will make use of what's above.

My question has to do with hotels. I have a list of hotels and see a cluster around Union Square, another bunch around Fisherman's Wharf and a small cluster just south-east of Market Street that is very close to Union Square.

What area should I base myself in? I'll be in San Francisco with my wife and two young kids. Any hotel recommendations?What's your budget? Can't go wrong with the Fairmont up on Nob Hill... Great view!

What's your budget? Can't go wrong with the Fairmont up on Nob Hill... Great view!

I guess somewhere from $150-250 USD/night. is that a reasonable budget or is San Francisco as expensive as I hear.

Shouldn't be a problem at all. You can find stuff around the airport like the Ramada Inn or Embassy Suites for U$75-150/night.

In SF itself, TravelLodge & Days Inn are around $90-120/night. The Ramada for $120 is about a mile from Fisherman's Wharf if you want to do the touristy stuff there. Then catch the cable-car to head up the hill and see the other sites.

The Cathedral Hill Hotel and Holiday Inn (about $130/n) is pretty close to Japantown & Union square for lots of good food & shopping. :)

The bigger places like the Hilton or Marriot starts running $200+.

The Beach Blanket Babylon show is hilarious!!!

I stayed at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Powell in Union Square. It's a great location, China Town is two blocks away and North Beach is not to far. I think it ran about $130 a night but that was a special conference price.

With the kids I would not go (i think that is south) of union square to much as you will end out where I stayed (Geary and Van Ness) and it was not an attactive part of town (a few homeless, drug-addicted, stripclub, kind of area) but all that around union square was very nice and a pretty large selection of food to choice from