SF Tour: Stuff to Eat Mostly in order of distance from Moscone

Updates:

Now we all know where Moscone West is, so the distance order is a bit off. You're smart people, you can figure it out.

Here's what's changed from last year:

Jollibee is gone, replaced by something called Cha-Am Express. I haven't been there either, as I'm not terribly fond of Thai food. But lots of people apparently are, because it gets busy at lunchtime.

IHOP is no more, there is a giant pit where the building used to be. Eventually there will be another huge upscale shopping mall, but this time graced with the architectural details of the old Emporium that has stood there empty and abandoned for forever. It should be pretty, at least. Denny's is still there if you find yourself in need of 24 hour greasy food.

Rumor has it that Ciao Bella on Harrison is closed, or at least the retail shop. It's still a manufacturing facility. There is a new tiny scoop shop in the Ferry Building. Of which more in a moment.

New Stuff:

Whole Foods!! Please humor me while I repeat: Whole Foods!. Ok, so it's not open 24 hours like the big guys. But it has a vastly larger selection than the Trader Joe's in this part of town and actually sells meat products, unlike the other local Health Food and Workers' Collective Store. But you don't care about that, you don't live here. What you do probably care about is that they have a hot food bar and made-to-order deli sandwiches and all sorts of wonderful stuff. And it's close by, 4th and Harrison.

The Ferry Building. If you have some time to kill and want to wander around an interesting place, check out the newly reopened Ferry Building. It's at the foot of Market Street and has a huge clock tower that now finally works. You can't miss it. I don't actually eat there a whole lot because stuff is kinda pricy, but you can if you like. There's some new burger place that people seem to like despite being panned by the newspaper as a pale copy of the original. And if you can actually get a table at The Slanted Door, well, then, you are doing better than the vast majority of city foodies. There's take-out and sit-down of various flavors along with the other food and non-food sellers. The seafood place is highly regarded for oysters, if you like that sort of thing. If you go, do it between lunchtime and dinnertime to ensure the largest number of actually open shops. They are all individually owned and some have weird hours. There's a farmers market out front on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Hang Ah Tea Room. This is our latest favorite Chinatown dive. It's apparently been around forever, although the neon lime green and OSHA Orange interior appears relatively recent. The pictures on the walls of Miss Chinatown pagents from the 60s have been there a while, however. They market to tourists to some extent so you never know who will be there but it's popular with the locals too. They have the best steamed pork buns, and they serve them in the evening, which is not traditional for dim sum. There's lots of other stuff too, although some of the menu items are kinda weird for this non-Chinese person. 1 Pagoda Place, although Sacramento and Stockton is a much more useful landmark. If you take the bus, you can pick up either the 30 or the 45 on 3rd Street, get off right after the Stockton tunnel and walk half a block back. It's around the corner off Sacramento.

Tu Lan. I heard about this place for a while. I ate there once, and it was very good. Vietnamese, cheap as you can get. It also has all the ambiance that dingy linoleum flooring and Genuine Formica tables can offer. But the real problem is the location at 6th and Market. If I weren't accosted by smelly street people every time I even got close, I would eat there more often. If you have a choice, walk there from Market Street and not Mission. Mission and 6th is even more nasty than Market and 6th. Oh, and it's cash only.

Chevys 3rd and Howard, right outside Moscone. A decent Tex-Mex place with table service. I think there's a full bar too, but I don't pay much attention to such things.	Shiki Near Moscone, but don't bother to go looking. Sometimes others are best left alone. I ate here the afternoon I was out taking pictures around Moscone. I had one of the sushi lunch specials and was not impressed. I didn't get sick, and it's better than starving, but that is about all I have to recommend it.	Jollibee 4th and Howard, a local outpost of the the fast food wonder of the Philippines. I haven't actually eaten here because I have always considered it just a little too scary to experiment with. A friend reports that the burgers are ok, but the reviews are mixed. Here is a report from a Macworld attendee who wasn't nearly so impressed: www.tavallai.com
More Jollibee I'm not quite sure what that is on that sign, but I can assure you that I am not going to be the one to find out. I think I'd rather my first introduction to Philippine cuisine be something other than greasy fast food.	Metreon Food 4th and Mission, the other side of Moscone North. Metreon has a food court that has take-out versions from real restaurants around the city. Oh, and Starbucks, too; can't go anywhere without finding one of those. It is better than your average mall, but it's still a food court.	View from Metreon Check out the 4th floor. The Where the Wild Things Are theme gift shop and cafeteria counter is kid stuff, but the view off the balcony is worth it. The red-brown building is the Museum of Modern Art. The upper plaza is on top of Moscone North.
Mels 4th and Mission, on the ground floor of the 5th and Mission parking garage. Moderately priced with good burgers and other standard American fare, including breakfast. Not exactly healthy, but otherwise reliable. Don't think about what's in it, just order the chocolate malt already. It can get pretty packed on weekends and evenings because it's across from Metreon.	IHOP and Denny's 4th and Mission, across from the parking garage. About what you would expect from national franchises. No worse, but also no better, than others of it's kind. Denny's is at least open 24 hours. Just to the right here, outside the photo, is Jack in the Box, a greasy fast food place. On a a previous Macworld trip, before I knew better, I casually suggested to a friend that we might eat there. He accused me of attempting to kill him by induced heart failure right then and there.	Ciao Bella 3rd and Harrison. Now this comes with my highest recommendation. They make the stuff right there, and the cheerful counter guy is happy to explain the whole process and let you sample whatever you like. They have sandwiches too, I haven't had one but they look good. Go for the gelato and sorbet, all natural, in ever-changing seasonal flavors. I have to watch the dairy products, but let me tell you, the sorbet is lactose-free nirvana. They are open weird hours, Monday through Friday from 12 to 4. I'm sure there is at least one of the lunchtime sessions you are less than excited about, inhale that steam-table repast but skip the foodservice mystery dessert and head over here instead. www.ciaobellagelato.com
Koh Samui and the Monkey 415 Brannan Street (near 3rd.) We got some take-out from this Thai place the week it opened, because it is next to the office for one of my volunteer projects. Tasty stuff, even considering my issue with fish sauce, and all the better because someone else was paying. It's not terribly pricey, but it's getting up there for what I would call moderate. The entrees were a little light and they were definitely skimpy on the sticky rice. Also it had been sitting around in the take-out container for a while because it was starting to get dry. The steamed rice was a normal respectable portion and in fine shape. I'd believe that not too many people order sticky rice, but we had a bunch of traditionalists. The foundation is a NGO working in Laos. We've been several times since for dinner and it is pretty nice. I'm still not happy with the sticky rice, but everything else I've had has been very good.	Basil Thai 1175 Folsom (near 8th.) This place is around the corner from us, so although I'm not terribly fond of Thai, we have eaten here. It's a nice dinner place.	La Mediterranee Market and Noe ("No-ee"), in the Castro. There are several nice little places to eat at this corner in the Castro, Market and 16th and Noe, the center of the Queer Universe. If you enjoy people-watching, this is the place to be, even if buff gay men are not your style. It is out near the end of the F streetcar line, and that is generally the best way to get there. Good selection of Mediterranian style: kabobs, dolmas, hummus, etc. and many vegetarian options. I think of it as mostly Greek, but I'm not exactly calling myself an expert here. The food is excellent, and we enjoy making science experiments with lemonade on the copper tabletops. La Mediterranee
Bagdad Market and Noe, opposite corner. Open 24 hours, it's a big late-night hangout place to get a cup of coffee and a burger, whether that be animal, vegetable or whatever else it is they put in some of those psudo-meat substances. But for some reason I still can't get a soy hot chocolate. When the bars start to close, this place turns into a real zoo. If it's not 3 in the morning, there are places with better food, but it's our first choice for late-night. Sit by the window and watch the scenery walk by.	Cafe Flore Still at Market and Noe. There is another corner to go, even. Yes there is food in there under all that greenery, a coffee shop and lunch kind of place. Cafe Flore is the absolute best place to hang out with a cup of something and a newspaper on a sunny afternoon. Cafe Flore	Zao Finally, the remaining corner at this intersection. Noodle Bar pretty much describes the food. A fun (and loud!) place for Asian fusion soups and noodles.
FoodsCo 14th and Folsom. Ok, so you have been invited to a party at somebody's house. But since this is Northern California, the center of the New New Economy, you can't count on there being fancy catering anymore. And, lucky you, Trader Joe's closed at 9. If you think you would feel like a dork for showing up to the potluck with a bag of chips from the Mini-Mart, you can try real supermarkets. FoodsCo is -- how do I put this gracefully? -- a dump. No fancy salad bars or designer organic food here. But it is open 24 hours, and they won't charge you twice as much for not being a member of their "Club" like at Safeway. Don't mind the security guards outside, it's just part of the Mission "atmosphere." Yeah, that's it. A more positive part of being in the Mission is the large selection of hispanic foods, including Mexican sodas made with actual sugar. And, strangely enough, Kroger products. There are no Kroger stores here that I know of, but FoodsCo is one of the other stores they own.	You See Sushi 94 Judah (at 6th Ave.) Our very favorite sushi place, nothing fancy but reliable and inexpensive. Good hot food, too. We like them, they like us, we can be found here many Saturday evenings. Often we have wished they were open Sunday too, but you can't have everything. The 6 Parnassus bus lets you off right out front.