joshwitz
First Post
Here's some tips from a Gamer who's lived in SF for almost 10 years:
1.) Gamescape is THE game store. The only store that beats it is the Compleat Strategist in NYC. The people who work there are very nice and really know games. From Union Square, the easiest way to get there is to take either the 7, 71, 71L, or 6 from Market street to the corner of Haight and Divisidero. From there, walk a block and a half north. It's on the left hand side of the street, 2 doors down from Comix Experience (also worth a visit).
2.) If you continue up Haight Street (warining: it's a steep hill) for a few more blocks, you wind up in Haight-Ashbury which is filled with all sorts of cool, hipster shops that you probably won't find in Miami. There's still a bit of the Hippy vibe, but that's the lame part. In particular, Amobea Records (Haight and Stanyan) is the biggest used music store in the nation (it used to be a bowling alley). They have a huge selection of CDs and vinyl. And if you continue walking, you will wind up in Golden Gate Park which, on a nice day, is just great. You might find that Haight Street/GG Park is much nicer than a day spent at Fisherman's wharf.
3.) Yeah, there are some extremely expensive resturants in SF, but there's also a lot of excellent cheap "hole in the walls". Don't be afraid to just try a random place. The average mom and pop resturant in SF is usually pretty darn good. There's never a need to resort to fast food in SF.
I'm not sure if they have this in Miami, but you might want to try a DimSum brunch. My East Coast relatives always insist on it everytime they visit.
Some of my favorite resturants in SF:
Yak Sing or Tong Kiang: both have very good Dim Sum. You might find cheaper/better in Chinatown, but then again, you might not. Both these places are spotlessly clean and have a huge selections. This is where I take the family.
Henry's Hunan: Excellent SPICY Hunan food. Try the smoked ham dishes. It's just south of Market street, walking distance to Union Square.
Brandy Ho's: Another good Hunan place between North Beach and Chinatown.
Shalimar: This place really is a hole in the wall. It's cheap, maybe even scary, but damn, the Indian/Pakistani food is fantastic. My friends joke that they feel like they've stepped into Lahore everytime we go. It's in the Tenderloin which is walking distance to Union Square, but the neighborhood can be sketchy. You may not feel comfortable here after dark.
Naan 'n' Curry: There's a number of these scattered around the Bay. The one I go to is on Irving Street. It's always packed, it's very cheap, and the food is good, SPICY and wholesome. Open till midnight. You can take the N-Judah train from Market Street right to the resturant. It's also right next to a Comic Book Store and a Used Book Store (Black Oak Books).
There are a ton of great Italian places in North Beach. You really can't go wrong with just picking one randomly, but the Gold Spike on Columbus is very romantic, and so is Sodini's on Green (& Grant).
Vesuvio is a great bar which is probably in all of your guidebooks (make sure you go to the 2nd floor). It's also next door to City Lights Books, a historic used book store, and across the street from Spec's, another great classic bar.
Well, that's probably more than enough for just a weekend. Have a great trip!
ps -- The cable cars really are so darn cool. They run late on the weekends, and the lines are much shorter at night.
1.) Gamescape is THE game store. The only store that beats it is the Compleat Strategist in NYC. The people who work there are very nice and really know games. From Union Square, the easiest way to get there is to take either the 7, 71, 71L, or 6 from Market street to the corner of Haight and Divisidero. From there, walk a block and a half north. It's on the left hand side of the street, 2 doors down from Comix Experience (also worth a visit).
2.) If you continue up Haight Street (warining: it's a steep hill) for a few more blocks, you wind up in Haight-Ashbury which is filled with all sorts of cool, hipster shops that you probably won't find in Miami. There's still a bit of the Hippy vibe, but that's the lame part. In particular, Amobea Records (Haight and Stanyan) is the biggest used music store in the nation (it used to be a bowling alley). They have a huge selection of CDs and vinyl. And if you continue walking, you will wind up in Golden Gate Park which, on a nice day, is just great. You might find that Haight Street/GG Park is much nicer than a day spent at Fisherman's wharf.
3.) Yeah, there are some extremely expensive resturants in SF, but there's also a lot of excellent cheap "hole in the walls". Don't be afraid to just try a random place. The average mom and pop resturant in SF is usually pretty darn good. There's never a need to resort to fast food in SF.
I'm not sure if they have this in Miami, but you might want to try a DimSum brunch. My East Coast relatives always insist on it everytime they visit.
Some of my favorite resturants in SF:
Yak Sing or Tong Kiang: both have very good Dim Sum. You might find cheaper/better in Chinatown, but then again, you might not. Both these places are spotlessly clean and have a huge selections. This is where I take the family.
Henry's Hunan: Excellent SPICY Hunan food. Try the smoked ham dishes. It's just south of Market street, walking distance to Union Square.
Brandy Ho's: Another good Hunan place between North Beach and Chinatown.
Shalimar: This place really is a hole in the wall. It's cheap, maybe even scary, but damn, the Indian/Pakistani food is fantastic. My friends joke that they feel like they've stepped into Lahore everytime we go. It's in the Tenderloin which is walking distance to Union Square, but the neighborhood can be sketchy. You may not feel comfortable here after dark.
Naan 'n' Curry: There's a number of these scattered around the Bay. The one I go to is on Irving Street. It's always packed, it's very cheap, and the food is good, SPICY and wholesome. Open till midnight. You can take the N-Judah train from Market Street right to the resturant. It's also right next to a Comic Book Store and a Used Book Store (Black Oak Books).
There are a ton of great Italian places in North Beach. You really can't go wrong with just picking one randomly, but the Gold Spike on Columbus is very romantic, and so is Sodini's on Green (& Grant).
Vesuvio is a great bar which is probably in all of your guidebooks (make sure you go to the 2nd floor). It's also next door to City Lights Books, a historic used book store, and across the street from Spec's, another great classic bar.
Well, that's probably more than enough for just a weekend. Have a great trip!
ps -- The cable cars really are so darn cool. They run late on the weekends, and the lines are much shorter at night.
)
). Japanese would be Goemon. Game store would be D&J in the South Bay. All others aren't nearly as cool as they were say 15 years ago, when Games of Berkeley was teh bomb (although it's gotten much better than it was two years ago, IMHO).
'Fraid I can't help you much, there: I avoid SF like the plague, these days.All I have to say is, if no-one's pissing on your shoes or defecating across from the museum you want to go to, God is shining on you, that day. Yeah, it's gotten that bad.
