Frommer's San Francisco 2012 - Matthew Poole [5]
• Best Surreal Dining Experience: This has to be sitting cross-legged on a pillow, shoes off, smoking apricot tobacco out of a hookah, eating baba ghanouj, and drinking spiced wine in an exotic Middle Eastern setting while beautiful, sensuous belly dancers glide across the dining room. Unwind your mind at Kan Zaman, 1793 Haight St. ( 415/751-9656).
• Best Wine Country Dining: If you’re a foodie, you already know that one of the top restaurants in the world, French Laundry, 6640 Washington St. ( 707/944-2380;), is about 1 1⁄2 hours north of the city in the Wine Country’s tiny town of Yountville. Only die-hard diners need apply: You’ll need to fight for a reservation 2 months in advance. A more relaxed alternative is Terra, 1345 Railroad Ave., St. Helena ( 707/963-8931;), where award-winning chef Hiro Sone shows his culinary creativity and mastery of French, Italian, and Japanese cuisine within a historic fieldstone split dining room.
THE BEST THINGS TO DO FOR FREE (OR ALMOST)
• Meander Along the Marina’s Golden Gate Promenade and Crissy Field. There’s something about strolling the promenade that just feels right. The combination of beach, bay, boats, Golden Gate views, and clean, cool breezes is good for the soul. Don’t miss snacks at the Warming Hut.
• Wake up with North Beach Coffee. One of the most pleasurable smells of San Francisco is the aroma of roasted coffee beans wafting down Columbus Avenue in the early morning. Start the day with a cup of Viennese on a sidewalk table at Caffè Greco, 423 Columbus Ave. ( 415/397-6261), followed by a walk down Columbus Avenue to the bay.
• Browse the Haight. Though the power of the flower has wilted, the Haight is still, more or less, the Haight: a sort of resting home for aging hippies, ex-Deadheads, skate punks, and an eclectic assortment of young panhandlers. Think of it as a people zoo as you walk down the rows of used-clothing stores, hip boutiques, and leather shops. End the tour with a pitcher of sangria and a plate of mussels at Cha Cha Cha, one of my favorite restaurants that’s a bargain to boot.
• Pretend to be a Guest at the Palace or Fairmont Hotels. You may not be staying the night, but you can certainly feel like a million bucks in the public spaces at the Palace Hotel. The extravagant creation of banker “Bonanza King” Will Ralston in 1875, the Palace Hotel has one of the grandest rooms in the city: the Garden Court, where you can have high tea under a stained-glass dome. Running a close second is the magnificent lobby at Nob Hill’s Fairmont San Francisco.
• Sip a Cocktail in the Clouds. One of the greatest ways to view the city is from a top-floor lounge in hotels such as the Sir Francis Drake, the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, and the venerable InterContinental, Mark Hopkins. Drinks aren’t cheap, but considering you’re not paying for the view, it almost seems like a bargain.
10 MORE free & dirt-cheap SECRETS
While you’re frugally sipping your “17 Ft. Ceiling” espresso from your perch at Blue Bottle, plan your day with tips from Frommer’s San Francisco Free & Dirt Cheap (Wiley Publishing, Inc.):
1. Tickets to the de Young Museum ain’t cheap, but you can climb to the top of the museum’s 144-foot observation tower for free. And if you can time it right, admission is free the first Tuesday of each month.
2. The Boudin Demonstration Bakery (pictured below) at the Wharf has a nifty little free museum hidden upstairs that explains the symbiotic relationship between San Francisco and its unique sourdough loaf. The story and science behind the “mother dough” is fascinating, as are their demonstrations. Bakery visitors can watch the entire baking process from a 30-foot observation window along Jefferson Street.
3. Hard to find, but worth the