San Francisco Travel advise needed (non-BB)

[HudsonHawk]

1967...The Summer of Love...aka...The Summer of HudsonHawk

Yes, 40 years ago this summer yours truly entered into this world, though at the opposite corner of the country from San Francisco.  Still, as luck would have it, I'll be in the Bay Area on business at the end of August, and am thinking about having my wife join me at the end of the week for a few days.  So a few questions for those who don't despise me....

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

Any "must dos"?

Any "don'ts"?

Restaurants to take my lovely bride (we'll also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary)?

Any help would be appreciated.

[JimR]

1967...The Summer of Love...aka...The Summer of HudsonHawk

Yes, 40 years ago this summer yours truly entered into this world, though at the opposite corner of the country from San Francisco.  Still, as luck would have it, I'll be in the Bay Area on business at the end of August, and am thinking about having my wife join me at the end of the week for a few days.  So a few questions for those who don't despise me....

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

Any "must dos"?

Any "don'ts"?

Restaurants to take my lovely bride (we'll also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary)?

Any help would be appreciated.

PM me if you want. i was there 5 days last summer.

aren't you going to slam Purpura in your post? it is expected here now.

[astrojack]

I'd stay in the City. Napa is nice, but if I had to choose, I'd stay in San Francisco, especially if you've never been or haven't been much.

The last 10 times or so I've stayed there I've gotten hotels through Priceline.com, which has worked out very well. I usually bid on four-star hotels in the Union Square area and get either a Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt. It looks like they're going for between $80 and $120 or so on Priceline during late August, though that depends on the day of the week. These hotels are pretty standard business-traveler-quality options. If you have something special in mind, you'll be better off avoiding Priceline.

My sister stayed at the Parc 55 recently and really liked it.

One thing to note is that if you will have a car with you, you're going to pay around $50 a night for parking at any of the hotels. You can usually find parking in lots downtown for less, but it's a hassle parking there and walking to your hotel. And driving in SF is no picnic, so there's that, too. May be better to skip the car if possible.

As far as must-dos, it's kind of hard to go wrong. A lot of people will tell you to avoid Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, but they can both be fun in their own (very touristy) way. I wouldn't make a day of either of them, though.

Other classics are Lombard Street, North Beach, Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, the Haight, cable cars and  Alcatraz.

The SF Chronicle web site (sfgate.com) has some good resources that are worth checking out. They annually rate their Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area (sfgate.com/food/top100/2007/). They also do a "bargain bites" list with lower-priced options. There are lots of good recommendations in there, though just about anywhere you go is going to be pretty good.

La Taqueria in the Mission gets raves for its burritos and tacos. Delfina is popular for Italian food, though there are tons of Italian places in North Beach. A favorite of mine is Chow -- one is on the periphery of the Castro, another is near Golden Gate Park. They're both very good, but not the place for a romantic dinner.

SFgate also has a good guide for visitors (sfgate.com/traveler/guide/) that I'd check out. Lots of good stuff.

[Noe]

1967...The Summer of Love...aka...The Summer of HudsonHawk

Yes, 40 years ago this summer yours truly entered into this world, though at the opposite corner of the country from San Francisco.  Still, as luck would have it, I'll be in the Bay Area on business at the end of August, and am thinking about having my wife join me at the end of the week for a few days.  So a few questions for those who don't despise me....

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

Stay in San Francisco.  You can find a good enough hotel for 150 or so a night.  And don't rent a car, take taxis instead.  If they know you're a tourist, they will give you the ol' San Francisco style ride through the streets.  Bring a barf bag when they do.

Any "must dos"?

Ride the trolley cars, its fun.  Go to Chinatown, it's interesting and fun and the food is excellent.  Go across the Golden Gate bridge to the shops and restaurants on the other side.  Go to Giardelli (sp?) Square, buy the missus some nice chocolates.  Eat at one of the Fisherman's Wharf's restaurants facing the bay, it's really nice right about sunset.  Eat some silver dollar pancakes at the Sears Fine Foods eatery at Union Square (where you can easily catch a trolley), they're a San Francisco treat.  Go to Lombard Street, walk down the side of the crooked street.

Any "don'ts"?

Stay away from Castro Street unless you really have to go there.  Don't go to Haight/Ashbury street, it's disappointing.  Go to Alcatraz if you want, but there really nothing much to it.  Don't go to the Levi-Strauss museum in the Levi-Strauss home office, it's boring.

Restaurants to take my lovely bride (we'll also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary)?

My favorite is The Flytrap Restaurant.  It's cozy, the food is excellent (I loved the stuffed pasta with crabmeat dish they served, it was outstanding!), it can be a little noisy at times, so you just have to catch the right night and moment to be there.  Nice piano bar music, excellent ambience, good anniversary place (IMHO).

[Mr. Happy]

1967...The Summer of Love...aka...The Summer of HudsonHawk

Yes, 40 years ago this summer yours truly entered into this world, though at the opposite corner of the country from San Francisco.  Still, as luck would have it, I'll be in the Bay Area on business at the end of August, and am thinking about having my wife join me at the end of the week for a few days.  So a few questions for those who don't despise me....

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

Any "must dos"?

Any "don'ts"?

Restaurants to take my lovely bride (we'll also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary)?

Any help would be appreciated.

I'll be in Napa for the entire month of July. Stay in the city. Napa hotel rooms will cost you an arm and a leg.

[Gizzmonic]

If you're a pinball/video game nerd like me, you should check out the Musee Mechanique:

http://www.museemechanique.org/

It's pretty close to tourist central around the Fisherman's Wharf.  They have some awesome mechanical "baseball" games that were made in the thirties, including one called "1934 World Series" that has a rotating marquee that has all the names of the participants.  They also have vintage "peep" shows from the turn of the century, mechanical dancing puppets, and various electric/mechanical coin operated toys.

It's free to go in, although the games all cost 25¢ .  Stop by if you're in the area.

1967...The Summer of Love...aka...The Summer of HudsonHawk

Yes, 40 years ago this summer yours truly entered into this world, though at the opposite corner of the country from San Francisco.  Still, as luck would have it, I'll be in the Bay Area on business at the end of August, and am thinking about having my wife join me at the end of the week for a few days.  So a few questions for those who don't despise me....

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

Any "must dos"?

Any "don'ts"?

Restaurants to take my lovely bride (we'll also be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary)?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Ty in Tampa]

If you're a pinball/video game nerd like me, you should check out the Musee Mechanique:

http://www.museemechanique.org/

It's pretty close to tourist central around the Fisherman's Wharf.  They have some awesome mechanical "baseball" games that were made in the thirties, including one called "1934 World Series" that has a rotating marquee that has all the names of the participants.  They also have vintage "peep" shows from the turn of the century, mechanical dancing puppets, and various electric/mechanical coin operated toys.

It's free to go in, although the games all cost 25¢ .  Stop by if you're in the area.

I saw that collection when it was at the Cliff House. Fascinating and kinda creepy.

[Mike S]

Where should we stay (2 nights, Fri/Sat)?  In the City?  Napa?  Bus station?  Don't want to spend $300/night

I'd stay in Sonoma, not Napa.  Not as expensive, far less pretentious, and the wine is incredible.  My ex-girlfriend from college does PR work for several of the wineries there as well.  Happy to have a chat with her and see if she can sort you out.

[Limey]

Watch out for the cornhole, bud.

[NeilT]

We stayed here last time we were there, and it was very nice.  The Kimpton chain is always good, and the have great local information about restaurants and such (though they steered me wrong on a park for playing catch with my son.  They may be better at other games of San Francisco catch, but that's not the question I asked).  They also give you a goldfish for your room.  It's across from fisherman's wharf, which is neither here nor there.  We got a great deal on rates using the federal employee discount.  The Argonaut is a wee bit precious, but what do you expect in San Francisco?

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60713-d268533-Reviews-Argonaut_Hotel-San_Francisco_California.html

There is plenty inside the city to see.  Unless you're leaving the city, don't rent a car: use mass transit for everything.  You might think about taking the train up to Berkely.  As a child of the Summer of Love, you should pay homage, and I thought the campus was really pretty.

At least tour the baseball field that Barry built. 

I've never figured out San Francisco restaurants.  I guess I'm too cheap.  I'd definitely try to find a good place for dim sum.

[OldBlevins]

Definitely stay in the city.  We like to walk through parts of Golden Gate Park and wind up at Cliff House, where you can look at the ocean, watch the seals, go to the museum, and get a drink.

[geezerdonk]

If you decide to go out of the city, try Yountville. There is relatively inexpensive lodging such as Petit Logis or Maison Fleurie. If you want to go to a restaurant run by a world class chef but don't want to make a reservation months in advance or take out a second mortgage, Yountville has two - Bouchon (Thomas Kellar) and Bistro Jeanty (Philippe Jeanty). If you stay in the city, a trip to the Redwood Room in the Clift Hotel might be worthwhile. It used to be one of the world's great bars. I have heard that it was remodeled recently with plasma TVs replacing the Klimt prints.

[mclard]

If either of you like garlic, the Stinking Rose on Columbus Ave. is a unique dining experience.  You can smell it from two blocks away.  The best time to eat there is just before your return flight home.  Makes you very popular on the plane.