San Francisco, California - Eat & Drink

Eat

San Francisco is a sensual, epicurean city with a vast array of restaurants. The price range is huge, and you can spend anywhere from a small fortune to a couple bucks for every type of cuisine. Vegetarians and vegans will find SF a paradise. Sushi is a local obsession, and though you can find a sushi bar on almost every street corner, the San Francisco/Richmond|Richmond district has more than its fair share of excellent sushi chefs. San Francisco also has the largest San Francisco/Chinatown|Chinatown in North America, as well as one of the largest Chinese communities in the West, and many exceptional restaurants serving dim sum and other Chinese delicacies are found throughout The City. This Chinese cuisine in the San Francisco Bay Area|localized Chinese cuisine has its feet in Hong Kong and America, and is different from what many visitors are accustomed to. San Francisco/Fisherman's Wharf|Fisherman's Wharf serves fresh seafood, especially clam chowder and crabs cooked to order. San Francisco/North Beach|North Beach is the place to go for Italian food, and the San Francisco/Mission District|Mission for Mexican restaurants (and Latin American cuisine of all sorts). San Francisco restaurants are also very corkage friendly. Average corkage fee appears to be in the $15 range, with some of the more pricey places charging $25-35.

Drink

The best way to find a good bar or club is to ask the advice of a local; but barring that a copy of The SF Bay Guardian or the SF Weekly will help you find something suited to your personal taste. Review website Yelp is based in San Francisco, and therefore offers very thorough coverage of San Francisco's night life.

San Francisco is very much of a "scene" town. Head to the San Francisco/Marina|Marina for mid-20s to mid-30s professionals (and those visiting from Los Angeles). San Francisco/Haight-Ashbury District|Haight-Ashbury, famous for the “Summer of Love” and hippies, is still a place for alternative lifestyle, now has many neo-punks and hipsters in the mix. South of Market (San Francisco/SoMa|SoMa) and the San Francisco/Mission District|Mission District have left-over dot-commers and hipsters hanging out on every corner. San Francisco/Castro Street|The Castro primarily serves San Francisco's gays. With a large Irish population, San Francisco has a number of very good Irish pubs extending out into the San Francisco/Sunset|Sunset neighborhood. San Francisco/North Beach|North Beach is home to several dance clubs and strip clubs.

If you like soccer (football) and all things English, you should stop into the Kezar Pub, at the edge of the Haight-Ashbury District, or San Francisco/Haight-Fillmore District|Lower Haight's Mad Dog In the Fog. The pub quiz and bar food are good. Swill some pints and stay in the dark. Good for an entire day's worth of drinking. It is also central to other "dive" bars on Haight, including the beer mecca Toronado.

Beer

San Francisco, despite being much smaller than New York City, sports more microbreweries. Anchor Brewing Company (makers of Anchor Steam, found throughout the US) is brewed on Potrero Hill, though it is generally not open to the public (tours are available Friday afternoons by reservation). Similarly, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers opens its doors on Friday evenings, though its location in Hunter's Point makes it hard to reach without a car. The other microbreweries are housed in brewpubs:

• Beach Chalet & Park Chalet are at the Pacific end of Golden Gate Park, where you can enjoy a view of the ocean or sit in the lawn area.
• Pizza Orgasmica in the Richmond District specializes in California-style pizza.
• Wunder Brewing is the City's newest brewery, located in the Sunset District.
• Magnolia Brewing Company is in the heart of the Haight, and operates a second restaurant down the street, The Alembic.
• San Francisco Brewing Company is on Columbus Ave in North Beach, in the shadow of the Coppola Building.
• Thirsty Bear, South Of Market, caters mostly to the happy hour crowd.
• 21st Amendment, also in SOMA, is three blocks away from the Giants' home at AT&T Park.

Other destinations for beer drinkers include North Beach's Rogue Ales Public House, the Embarcadero's Gordon Biersch's alehouse, the City Beer Store and Tasting Bar on Folsom St, the Mission's Monk's Kettle, and the famous Toronado Pub on lower Haight Street, which specializes in Belgians ales.

Alameda and Marin Counties also host many microbreweries worth trying. And although Santa Rosa is 45 minutes north of San Francisco, no beer lovers should skip the renowned Russian River Brewing Company in downtown Santa Rosa.