Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [4]
THE BEST MODERATELY PRICED HOTELS
• Laurel Inn, 444 Presidio Ave., Pacific Heights ( 800/552-8735 or 415/567-8467; www.thelaurelinn.com), may be off the beaten track, but it’s one of the best affordable, fashionable hotels in the city. Just outside of the southern entrance to the Presidio in the midst of residential Presidio Heights, it’s a chic motel with soothing, contemporary decor and equally calming prices.
• The Hotel Bohème, 444 Columbus Ave., Nob Hill ( 415/433-9111; www.hotelboheme.com), is the perfect mixture of art, style, class, romance, and location—just steps from the sidewalk cafes of North Beach. If Bette Davis were alive today, this is where she’d stay.
• Hotel Union Square, 114 Powell St., Union Square ( 415/397-3000; www.hotelunionsquare.com), is an updated classic in an ideal location. A $5-million renovation in 2008 melded contemporary elements with historical San Francisco features dating back to 1915.
A room at the Hotel Union Square.
• Hotel Adagio, 550 Geary St., Union Square ( 800/228-8830 or 415/775-5000; www.thehoteladagio.com), is far more chic and hip than its category counterparts. The 1929 Spanish Revival building has sexy streamlined rooms swathed in rich spice and earth tones.
• The Golden Gate Hotel, 775 Bush St., Union Square ( 800/835-1118 or 415/392-3702; www.goldengatehotel.com), receives nothing but kudos from satisfied returning guests. Just 2 blocks from Union Square, this 1913 Edwardian hotel is a charmer and a fantastic value.
THE BEST DINING EXPERIENCES
• The Best of the City’s Fine Dining: La Folie, 2316 Polk St., Russian Hill ( 415/776-5577), has been the place to go for cuisine at its finest since 1988. Celebrity chef Roland Passot never fails to offer his guests a delightfully long, lavish meal. And then there’s Restaurant Gary Danko, 800 North Point St., Fisherman’s Wharf ( 415/749-2060;), always a sure bet for a perfect contemporary French meal complete with polished service and flambéed finales.
• Best Classic San Francisco Dining Experience: The lovable loudmouths working behind the narrow counter of Swan Oyster Depot, 1517 Polk St. ( 415/673-1101), have been satisfying patrons with fresh crab, shrimp, oysters, and clam chowder since 1912. My dad doesn’t care much for visiting San Francisco (“Too crowded!”) but he loves having lunch at this beloved seafood institution..
A vendor at Fisherman’s Wharf.
• Best Dining on Dungeness Crab: Eating fresh Dungeness crabmeat straight from Fisherman’s Wharf seafood vendors’ boiling pots at the corner of Jefferson and Taylor streets may be touristy, but it’s the quintessential San Francisco experience. Locals are more apt to go to Swan Oyster Depot.
• Best Dim Sum Feast: If you like Chinese food in bite-size portions, you’ll love dim sum. At Ton Kiang, 5821 Geary Blvd., the Richmond ( 415/387-8273;), you’ll be wowed by the variety of dumplings and mysterious dishes. Don’t worry about the language barrier; just point at what looks good and it will be delivered. For downtown dim sum, the venerable Yank Sing, 101 Spear St. ( 415/957-9300;), offers an exotic edible surprise on every cart that’s wheeled to your table.
• Best Breakfast: We have a tie: Dottie’s True Blue Café, 522 Jones St. ( 415/885-2767;), has taken the classic American breakfast to a new level—maybe the best I’ve ever had. Crummy neighborhood, superb food. Ella’s, 500 Presidio Ave. ( 415/441-5669;), is far more yuppie, equally divine, and in a much better neighborhood, but it’s so popular that the wait on weekend mornings is brutal.
• Best Funky Atmosphere: That’s an easy one: Tommy’s Joynt, 1101 Geary Blvd. ( 415/775-4216). The interior looks like a Buffalo Bill museum that imploded, the exterior paint job looks like a circus tent on acid, and the huge trays of hofbrau classics will make your arteries harden just by looking at them.
A view from the bar at Tommy’s Joynt.
• Best