San Francisco - Alison Bing [114]
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PRACTICALITIES
Opening Hours
Most places to eat are open seven days a week, though some close Sunday and/or Monday night. To provide for caffeine needs, cafes open as early as 6am or 7am and tend to stay open until 8pm daily. Lunch starts at noon and runs through to 3pm. Evening dining starts at about 7pm or 7:30pm, with restaurants opening around 5:30pm and last service around 9:30pm during the week or past 10pm on weekends. Where opening hours are listed with a review in this chapter, the venue’s opening hours vary from the norm.
How Much?
Even when you eat cheaply in San Francisco, you’re spoiled for choice: for under $3 you can enjoy a gourmet taco, a plump, filling pupusa (Salvadoran stuffed, fried dough), an order of three-shrimp dumplings or a tasty roast beef banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich). At the other end of the spectrum are tasting menus at the city’s top restaurants, which can easily run over $100 per person with wine pairings. The US recession has brought more daily and prix-fixe specials to local menus – see individual reviews for noteworthy standing offers.
If you’re planning a dining-out celebration, bringing in your own bottle of bubbly and homemade cake may seem like a good value until you tack on the $10 to $30 corkage charge and per-plate cake-cutting fee of $2 to $5. Just so there are no surprises, call ahead and inquire.
Booking Tables
Most restaurants take reservations for lunch and dinner, so call ahead if you can – even if it’s the same day. Many restaurants that take reservations also set seats aside for walk-ins, so you could try your luck if you’re willing to wait. Restaurants that don’t take reservations may subject customers to long waits (20 minutes or more), so get your name on the waiting list and make yourself comfy at the bar, or duck out and find another place.
At a few perennially popular restaurants, reservations need to be made well in advance. French Laundry and Chez Panisse often require reservations months in advance, and a few days or weeks lead time can be helpful at Gary Danko (opposite), Slanted Door and some of the more intimate restaurants such as Kabuto or Jai Yun. If you call for prime-time same-day reservations at some in-demand restaurants, they might claim they’re fully booked as a matter of principle, but you might be able to make a booking by asking if they have any ‘last-minute cancellations.’ Many in-demand restaurants also have counter or bar seating available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the same or a slightly limited menu.
Tipping
As elsewhere in the USA, tipping is customary in restaurants. Servers expect at least 15% of the check total before tax, unless something went horribly wrong with the service; you might give up to 10% more if the service is exceptional. Keep in mind that servers get paid a minimal wage, often without health benefits, and tips are what make their wages livable. Many restaurants add an automatic service charge for parties of six or more, so if you’re traveling with an entourage, check before you tip. Tipping is optional at coffee bars and places where you place your own order at the counter, but a $1 tip is always well received.
Groceries
A grocery store may sound like the last place you’d want to have lunch or dinner, but wait until you see some of the gourmet goodies made locally or on the premises at SF’s specialty markets. Bento boxes are prepared by sushi chefs behind the scenes at Nijiya Supermarket; Sunrise Deli serves up arguably the city’s best baba ghanoush (eggplant dip) and stuffed grape leaves; kim bap (Korean rolls) and kimchee (spicy fermented vegetables) are made in-house at First Korean Market; and you can buy housemade salsa and fresh, still-warm tortillas at La Palma Mexica-tessen Click here. If you’d rather whip up something from scratch, hit a farmers market (see the boxed text), and in case of misadventure, keep enough wine on hand to wash it all down from Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant or PlumpJack