SF Bay advice

[memphis]

I'm taking a vacation out that way in a couple of weeks. I'll be hitting up the obvious tourist traps like Alcatraz, Golden Gate Park, and so forth. I would love to hear suggestions from locals for lesser known things that are worth a visit as well. I'll be relying on Bart and muni primarily for transportation, but I am not opposed to walking a few miles or getting a zip car for a few hours if needed to get somewhere particularly worthwhile. Restaurant suggestions are particularly appreciated. Thanks very much for any tips.

[All Along The Watchtower]

San Francisco:
Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco Zoo
Ocean Beach

Oakland:
Chabot Spacer and Science Center
Oakland Aviation Museum
Paramount Theatre

San Jose:
Tech Museum
San Jose Museum of Art
Winchester Mystery House

Hope that helps.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I don't know if it counts as an "obvious tourist trap", but the area around San Francisco City Hall is definitely worth checking out. In addition to City Hall itself, I suggest the Veteran's Building (particularly if you can see the Green Room, though I have no idea of how possible that is for tourists) and the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch.

     Relevant advice: don't wander far from the immediate vicinity, and avoid Market St. like the plague.

[The Ex-Factor]

If you're gonna spend your time at a museum, I'd recommend the Exploratorium in San Francisco over the Tech Museum in San Jose, although both tend to suffer from a deluge of kids on field trips. Outside of dense San Francisco and Oakland/Berkeley it's a bit difficult to get around if you don't have a car so keep that in mind when traveling outside of those two cities. Seconding the San Francisco Public Library recommendation, also Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge is a bit off the track but it was more memorable for me than the other places I've visited in San Francisco, with the possible exception of Alcatraz. Fisherman's Wharf is the go-to place for SF dining....I think, I'm not that rich.

[Adam Griffin]

Ashbury and Haight's the lovely stoner strip, adjacent to the east end of Golden Gate Park. That side of the park is really shady. Great place to find cannabis and even other stuff. You don't even have to ask; they'll ask you.

[Хahar 🤔]

Don't go to San Jose. It's hard to get to without a car, and it's not going to enhance your life in any way.

[Sbane]

What kind of cuisines do you want to try out? I know a good Burmese restaurant in north Oakland (also has a branch in SF) and an interesting little Indian food place in the Castro. Very different and not your typical Indian restaurant with a buffet. There are definitely some good restaurants to try out if you are into Asian cuisine. For seafood, Fisherman's wharf is the place to be. Also check out the sea lions and other touristy stuff....And are you the clubbing type? If so, there are some posh clubs near AT&T park. But I would really recommend checking out the Mission. Especially around 16th street and Mission street. Easily accessible by BART.

Here is the link for the Burmese place: http://www.burmasuperstar.com/
Also this is the Indian place: http://www.kasaindian.com/

Let me know what other cuisines interest you or what your other interests may be. I would recommend checking out Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley too...again easily accessible by BART.

[memphis]

What kind of cuisines do you want to try out? I know a good Burmese restaurant in north Oakland (also has a branch in SF) and an interesting little Indian food place in the Castro. Very different and not your typical Indian restaurant with a buffet. There are definitely some good restaurants to try out if you are into Asian cuisine. For seafood, Fisherman's wharf is the place to be. Also check out the sea lions and other touristy stuff....And are you the clubbing type? If so, there are some posh clubs near AT&T park. But I would really recommend checking out the Mission. Especially around 16th street and Mission street. Easily accessible by BART.

Here is the link for the Burmese place: http://www.burmasuperstar.com/
Also this is the Indian place: http://www.kasaindian.com/

Let me know what other cuisines interest you or what your other interests may be. I would recommend checking out Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley too...again easily accessible by BART.

Burmese place sounds great! We don't have any Burmese restaurants in Memphis, and I love trying new foods. I'm staying with friends in North Oakland (Temescal), so their location is great. They said that neighborhood is great for Ethiopian food, which I'm excited for as well, as we only have a couple of those places here. Also, how is Chinatown in SF? We used to have a really good Dim Sum place in Memphis, but they closed. Gotta get some steamed dumplings! Also, do you have any sushi recomendations?

[Sbane]

Yeah, I recommend checking out Chinatown. Lots of good restaurants there so look up yelp and take your pick. Not too into sushi so I don't know which are the best. Ethiopian food is great and I think Oakland has some good places. I have only had it in San Jose and in LA.