asian food in SF?

[drewpbrown]

my girlfriend and i are visiting san francisco for a couple of days next week. we're eating at chez panisse and ad hoc, but we're also looking for some good sushi/japanese, vietnamese or chinese food. any suggestions? we're staying in between union square & chinatown if that helps, and we're not looking for anything fancy.

more generally, we plan to drive north towards mendocino and beyond for the rest of the week and would be interested in any advice on eating along the north coast. i can't be specific about where we will be because we are kind of playing it by ear, but if anybody has some suggestions on eating anywhere along the coast between the bay and eureka that would be great.

thanks, drew.

[Preserver]

ohh you have to go to the slanted door at the ferry building and if you are there on the weekend check out the farmers market on saturday too then go to the slanted door after, they serve vietnamese food ....

[ricain]

ohh  you have to go to the slanted door at the ferry building and if you are there on the weekend check out the farmers market on saturday too then go to the slanted door after,  they serve vietnamese food ....

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I agree on Slanted Door - it is really popular and a pain to get a reso at sometimes, but with good reason. And great wine list to match your food to. Le Colonial is a good alternate.

The Ferry Terminal market is definitely worth checking out as well, especially the seafood restaurant, Rechiutti for chocolates and the wine bar.

For sushi, affordable I like Godzilla at Van Ness and and Polk. More upscale, but exquisite (and you might see some celebs), is Ozumo on Steuart next to Boulevard.

There are a lot of good places in Mendo - I think doing one of the single malt scotch flights at Little River Inn looking at the rugged Pacific coast was a great experience. Further down the coast there is a little inn in Jenner with a good restaurant - but I'm sorry I don't recall the name. Part of the fun of the trip is just cruising up route 1 checking out the little towns...

Finally if you like wine I would check out the Anderson Valley cutting over from 101 - Navarro vineyards is there along with Pacific Edge (champagne) and Roederer's North American location. There are also two great micro breweries in the area: Anderson Valley Brewing Company (Boont Amber Ale) in Boonville, and North Coast Brewing Company (Red Seal Ale) in Ft. Bragg, Mendo's poorer cousin.

Finally there are two world class vegetarian restaurants:

Greens at Ft Mason in SF

The Ravens at the Stanford Inn in Mendo

Both of these would be interesting for the foodie visiting the area...

Can you tell I miss the Bay Area? :-)

Hope that helps -

Edited August 1, 2007 by ricain (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

I have eaten at every Japanese/sushi restaurant in Japantown. For a very unforgettable experience, consider getting reservations at Kappa Restaurant. They only seat eight or ten in an evening so reservations are a must. It is an event in that there is no menu - you simply eat the dozen or so bites of food placed before you. It is hard to find as there is no English name of the restaurant on the door and its entrance is rather hidden (upstairs from Denny's and adjacent to a night club).

If there is no time to make reservations, a great back-up is Maki which is also very small but a bit more accessible in the Japantown mall itself. Maki has the advantage of having sushi on the menu as well as lovely savory offerings that are beyond your classic tempura, teriyaki, and tonkatsu.

Lastly, Kiss Sushi is somewhat the standard of high-end, reservations-suggested sushi in San Francisco. Right on the edge of Japantown, this establishment only seats about 13 or 15 and I have occasionally been able to walk in and eat, but that is only because I have done so as a solo diner on weeknights.

[djyee100]

I'll second North Coast Brewing Company (Red Seal Ale) in Ft. Bragg. I always stop by there when I'm in Fort Bragg.

A couple friends whose opinion I trust have recommended the Trinity Cafe in Mt Shasta. I haven't been there yet, but the next time I am in the area I will go. http://www.trinitycafe.net/