OK all SF dwellers,

My trip is now 10 days away so I feel like I can pester you about restaurants and actually recall some of the discussion.

I will be staying at the W Hotel, right across the street from the Moscone Center. Hopefully that means something to you folks geographically. (It means not so much to me except that I am walking distance from Union Sq. and reasonably close to Fisherman's Wharf.)

So, any suggestions on restaurants where two people could have dinner for between $30 and $50? (Not including drinks) My GF and I like all cuisines, although she is partial to Thai and Sushi, and I am partial to steak houses. I know I can "citysearch" this but I thought maybe you would have some favorites...

Cab rides will likely be our primary means of transportation, so maybe we can set the search radius at "a $10 cab ride"?

While I can't recommend any places in particular - you're gonna love your trip to SF! I was there just recently for about a week, and had one of the most amazing vacations of my life.

From Sonoma and Napa, to the PCH down to Big Sur, the landscape is unbelievable! Truly makes you rethink the existence of a higher being.

SanFran was also pretty unbelievable. Your SO will find no shortage of sushi to down, and the Thai fusion cooking there is really great. SanFran, if I recall, is one of the best places to go get fusion cooking.

Just remember to bring both shorts and a winter coat - and be prepared to wear them both on the same day...as someone famous once said, "the harshest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Fransisco." You'll walk the 7 hills and as you go up, you'll feel the temperature increase dramatically - down to shorts you go. Then you'll turn a corner, and boom, you've got to put a sweater on. Crazy!

What's even more crazy to me is walking the hills. I highly recommend against it. I had nightmares - literal bad dreams - about walking up and down those f'in hills after 3 days. Definitely cab it if you've got the resources...

Most of all - have a great time.

/jealous, rambling, worthless post.

Osaka Grill on Sutter near Polk St-- Japanese Teppanyaki (think benihana, but good) The Chateaubriand is HIGLY recommended as well as their shrimp fried rice. This is my personal favorite in SF.
Sanraku at 704 Sutter St (not sure of cross street) Good sushi and tempura.
Postrio 545 Post St between Taylor and Mason.
There are 3 restaurants that I eat at regularly.
If you like Indian curry then you should check out Naan N Curry. I have not been to the store on Leavenworth and don't care much for curry, but the sister restaurant in the avenues converted me to well done curry. HOT, but oh so yummy.

jr

Vietnamese - Slanted Door
Sushi - Blowfish, Tokyo Go Go (AWESOME and different)
Steak - House of Prime Rib, Lulu's
Italian - Michaelangelo's in North Beach (cheap and good), Kuleto's (fancy)
Seafood - Farallon (fancy)
Chinese - House of Nanking, Firecracker, Harbor Seafood
Chinese Dim Sum - Yank Sing (my opinion, best in SF)
Peruvian - Limon
Tapas - Cha Cha Cha

In reply to:

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Chinese Dim Sum - Yank Sing (my opinion, best in SF)

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what is a Dim Sum, and why is it different from regular chinese??

out here in west texas, we have our own variation of all foods.. we have TEX/MEX, which is like a mixture of texas and mexican flavors.. and then we have TEX/CHI, or TEX/JAP(its hard to be PC here).. anyway.. its basically chinese and japanese foods, just with hints of texas.. for example, if you get a chinese stir-fry, chances are it will have jalapenos in it. or, if you egg foo-yon, it will have a little shake of tabasco sauce or salsa on the top..

we just like everything hot, i guess..

bigjohn

PS-not trying to hijack ringmir, just answer my original question and i will be happy.. and have a safe and fun trip to the bay.. i hope to make it to that part of cali some day.. i had the displeasure of spending 5 days in the anaheim/long beach area back in the early 90's.. absolutely horrible..

Dim Sum is sort of a-la cart chinese food. There's a somewhat specific set of foods that they wheel around the dining area and you can take plates of this and that. I'm not too sure beyond that though, maybe someone more familiar with it can chime in?

Oooh! I'm ashamed of myself for forgetting that. Yank Sing is hands down the best dim sum in the city. Their che sui bao (pork buns) are like crack for me. I have a friend who loves their shrimp stuffed crab claw (he has a thing for food stuffed food)

Also there is Brother's BBQ on Geary for very tasty Korean BBQ. If you have 4 or more people they will let you cook it at the table yourself.

jr