I don't live there, but when I visit I never miss at least one brunch at Mama's on Washinton Square. FANTASTIC!

FW - You have given me endless amounts of enterainment, so I would be very happy to help you find restaurants. I live in SF, so I can give you a list a mile long... My brother visited last summer and is still complaining that he gained 15 lbs in 4 days and that eating at one of my fav Thai places has ruined all other green curry for him. I maintain that I didn't force him to eat anything and that he is the one who demanded the second visit to the taco truck.

So, do you want high-end, neighborhoody, funky with great food, or all of the above? SF only or into the East Bay, Napa, etc? Clearly, I take my restaurant planning seriously...

I think you'd like the Ferry Building, it's full of gourment shops. I know you like good olive oil, wine, cheese, and other good fresh foods. There's a farmer's market in there too, on Wednesdays and maybe Thursdays May-November. You can relax at the wine bar!

Make a reservation NOW for Delfina. It's great. A 16 is rather good too, for Italian food. And Quince is fabulous...you will love them all.

-david

Oh my god! Oh my god! You're coming here! Where to start? I agree with Rachel that you'll like the Ferry Building. Sometimes the crowd is well, annoying, but it's mostly worth it. And although you have access to the Mother Ship, the FB has a small Sur la Table (there's a bigger one in Maiden Lane). I'm thinking about restaurant recommendations and can only offer Zuni Cafe on Market just above Gough for the moment. I'll keep thinking.

One of my favorite food bloggers, keckler from The Grub Report www.grubreport.com hails from San Fransisco where it seems like there is no shortage of good places to eat. The Slanted Door stands out in my mind as a must-go (that is if you like Vietnamese. Oh and isn't Chez Pannise also in SF?

Can't give you any restaurant advice, but my advice for the trolley cars is sit down right away and then wait for the conductor to take your ticket. They (the conductors) don't explain this and I got quite a look from the disgruntled bugger for standing there like a good passenger for them to ticket me. If you can't sit down, you'll just have to hang on, but don't worry, the hills aren't that steep. More of a gentle slope, really. I'm sure you'll *cough* hit something *cough* stop before you reach the water. :-)

Though I've only visited once, I highly recommend you head over to Japan Town and eat at Warakubune Sushi, just because the tastey morsels come sailing around on boats in a little moat in front of you!

Check it out

Slanted Door for Vietnamese. Ton Kiang or Yank Sing for dim sum (locals will argue about which is better). Zillions and zillions of places for Italian, ranging from dinky little neighborhood joints up to four and five stars. Lulu or Bizou for Italian-accented California cuisine.

I have, alas, gotten bad sushi (as in food poisoning bad) in San Francisco a couple of times. Anywhere in Japan Town should be fine, but be wary elsewhere.

Enjoy your trip!

Enjoy! It's all good. And DO drink the wine.

By all means have lunch at Yank Sing, located in the Rincon Center, just off of Mission. It is a dim sum
lover's dream come true. Try the Peking Duck dumplings (or whatever they call them) The dim sum trolley just keeps coming around. You get charged by how many plates you have. Elegant venue, kinda pricey, but worth it. Reserve.

Definitely do the Sat am farmer's market at the ferry building - lots of the local restaurants even have little stalls around there. Across (ish) the street is Boulevard (which I'm sure you knowof). Kokkari has great Greek, Absinthe is good, zuni (as earlier mentioned is great). you really can't go wrong here. EAst bay has Bay wolf - wonderful, Citron - one of my favorites, and Olivetos - cafe below for lunch - dinner upstairs for splurge (all of these in Oakland). have a great trip!

Hi, I second and third Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe. It's a dependable favorite.

Slanted Door is overrated -- never pay that much money for Vietnamese food. I'm going to be a bit snobby about this, but I grew up in a Vietnamese household, and the food at Slanted Door is definitely catered to a crowd that doesn't know as much about the food or the culture. Slanted Door does have nice atmosphere and makes good drinks, but if you want good Vietnamese food, go to San Jose. Period.

For brunch, go to Dottie's True Blue Cafe. You'll have to wait in line for about 1 hour, but it'll be worth your wait.

For good Chicago Style Pizza, go to Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley or Oakland (also a quite a wait, but it'll build up your appetite and will be worth it.

If you have time and a car (or other transportation) go to:

First Choice: Sonoma County wineries, Costeaux Bakery in Healdsburg, and I think Lindsey Shere (sp?) who used to (or may still) be the pastry chef at Chez Panisse has a bakery in Healdsburg as well. Costeaux is more "bread".

If you like family style Italian -- Negri's in Occidental (again, Sonoma County) is good

Second Choice: Napa County wineries -- Napa's more crowded than Sonoma, but since this isn't harvest season, it may be a "wash" re: crowds

Ernie's in SF is a tradition (if it's still open); Sally Stanford's "Valhalla" in Sausalito is good (again, if it's still open -- I haven't been in "The City" since the Oakland Fire in 1991 or 1992). Do a Google for Sally Stanford.

Enjoy!

I'd be happy to give you some advice (and buy you a lemon drop, incidentally, if you were interested). Drop me an e-mail.

You need to go up to Manka's in west Marin- a funky female scientist who tossed it all to run a terrific inn and restaurant- it's prie fixe, but all local and organic- delish! Good sense of humor, too. Slanted Door is good food, but high on attitude ... you need to help us narrow you down- what do you want for cuisine, atmosphere, price? I'd add House of Nanking for Chinese- damn good scallion fritters. Stay out of Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square, you'll be fine.

If you go to the Slanted Door, sit at the bar. The best seats in the house--your experience will be much better. It is expensive, but the atmosphere and location make it worth it. If you want the very best Vietnamese sandwich (Banh Mi, not sure of the spelling) head for Saigon Saigon, a tiny sandwich shop on Larkin between Turk and Eddy. Take your sandwich and head to Crissy Field, sit on the wall and enjoy one of the world's best views (and a damn good sandwich). Ernie's and Sally Stanford's places are long gone. Delfina also has a pizza restaurant and another superb place is Pizzeta 211 at 23rd and California. Both places are above and beyond the basic pizza experience. There are so many more places--how many meals will you be able to enjoy? Oh, by the way, I'm in the Ton Kiang camp for best dim sum.

It is hard to go wrong. You are coming to the city of food.

: (

sally stanford died quite a while ago. actually, my grandfather was a deputy sherriff in tiburon and he was in on a bust of her place dude. don't know if valhalla is still open. ernies is closed (my x hubby worked there). all sentimental faves.
forget about napa, they're snobs and their wine costs too much. it's more of a disneyland experience there. go to Westside road in sonoma cty for small, good, non snobby wineries in the russian river valley (if you're going to do the winery thing).
definitely go to Zuni cafe and I think you'd have a gas at Caffe Sport in North Beach (on Green). have a blast!

The city of food!
Best restaurant Fleur D lys - better than Charlie Trotters by far!
Shanghai 1930 is excellent asian food! ORder the beggar's chicken 24 hours in advance, and you will have an experience like no other.
Town Hall has this amazing dessert - Butterscotch Chocolate pot d' creme. Heavenly!
On the frugal but excellent side - Pacific Cafe for excellent fresh seafood (and they serve you wine while you wait).
Ti Couz in the mission for excellent crepes.

Don't worry about the cable cars. They only go 10 mph even down hill. There are seats inside and outside, so you don't have to worry. I rode them every day for 2 years.

God - where do you even start? I concur that Slanted Door is overrated. Chutney is absolutely fabulous for Indian - funky and cheap. Swan Oyster Depot is a classic. I also love Antica Trattoria. Enjoy!

Actually, there are a ton of us here that would love to buy you a drink - lemon drops extraordinare! If you put out a time & place, I'm sure there will be a lot of locals that would love to meet the Food Whore in person.

My suggestions include Yank Sing (Ton Kiang is great, but depending on where you're staying Yank Sing is more convenient), Kokkari (fabulous Greek), Chez Panisse (in Berkeley), Rutherford Grill (if you get up to Napa - great Ostrich)and of course the Zuni Cafe.

Thank you, Everyone!

As I know more and get final dates, I will keep you posted. At that time we can hopefully find a time to share a lemon drop.

Just not on a trolley car. Those things still have me freaked out.

Wow, what a great list of restaurants so far. The SF Bay Area is a GREAT place for food. You actually will find really good food probably wherever you go. You can try the SF Chronicle's reviews, or SF Food blogs, like Becks and Posh, or just follow the suggestions of the people that you are visiting. The key, I think is context. Tacos in the Mission District at 1:30am can be just as good as Dim Sum at Yank Sing at 1:30pm. The only specific place I would suggest, is the Saturday Farmer's Market at the Ferry building, and the shops in the ferry building. Relaxe, Breathe, Enjoy. And if you do make an appearance, there will be plenty of "Drops" flowing you way. Best of Luck.

I've lived in/around the city for over ten years, and have a few places I'd love for you to try: Tartine (in the Mission - 600 guerrero) is a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall french bistro/bakery you shouldn't miss; Paul K. (in Hayes Valley) has an innovative, delicious menu and the lead waiter/artist-in-residence is an experience all by himself. (And Hayes Valley has terrific shopping!) Foreign Cinema (in the Mission) has fantastic food and they show old movies against a big wall in the central courtyard. I haven't been to Canteen yet but it's been getting written up EVERYWHERE and if you can get a table it's supposed to be exceptional (817 Sutter). Breakfast, try Miss Millie's (in Noe Valley) - lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes - mmm. If you're heading to Carmel/Santa Cruz/Monterey, please try Theo's - it's our little version of the French Laundry and is truly, truly outstanding. My two cents! :)

Um, just so you know. Sites are using your site to gain more hits. look in your "trial run" entry. They massively spam to up their popularity on search sites like google....

My husband I were there in January and had to eat cheaply. We enjoyed Kim Cheung for dim sum (I believe it's on Jackson in Chinatown) but it's almost always 100% Chinese so if you don't speak Chinese you need to be comfortable with dim sum. If you enjoy Asian cooking then check out the Wok Shop (www.thewokshop.com).

We also enjoyed the small Italian restaurant in North Beach called Tomasso's (great oak woodfired pizza). You must check out the Ferry Building while you're there. We also went to a sushi place in Japantown with floating boats but the sushi was less than adequate (esp. coming from Southern CA). I'm sure San Fran has plenty of good sushi, though. Have fun on your trip!

Native San Franciscan checking in.

My first word of advice on the trolleys is to NOT call them trolleys; they are **cable cars**. If you don't want to fall off, either sit down or hold onto a pole. I've had to jump off "slipping" cars on two occasions, and when sliding backward downhill, they WILL go more than 10MPH.

If people are still having good experiences at Zuni, more power to them - I'll never go there again. If you want to ditch Slanted Door for an excellent and affordable Vietnamese meal, go to Bodega Bistro on Larkin Street and go heavy on the lettuce wraps or anything that features loads of fresh, tender (and likely unfamiliar) greens.
I'll be another to recommend Swan Oyster Depot on Polk Street; been around for nearly a century and it's nothing but rickety stools at a counter - but wonderful fresh seafood (focus on the shellfish) and allow yourself to enjoy Dungeness crab, in season until about the first of April. The brothers who own Swan are cheery and welcoming, and be sure to make friends with the person(s) sitting next to you! Also on Polk Street is Yabbies if you like seafood and neighboorhood spots. In the same general area, I second the suggestion of Antica Trattoria. I wish visitors here would spend more time in the neighborhoods and less time in the gawdawful Wharf, and even downtown or North Beach. Go Asian food shopping on Irving Street between 19th and 26th Avenues, and have a bowl of pho there, near 19th. Or visit Green Apple Books and the Asian markets on Clement Street. Tool around Mission, between 16th Street and 24th at least.
Kady is right about the sushi boat places, but you already knew that - you don't want to visit them. Sushi in San Francisco definitely matches that of LA, but if you're coming from New York, why bother?
Finally, if you're at a total loss, call on Edith for ideas: Clearly she's got the best sense of What's What in San Francisco of any person I've ever met online.
Oh, and are you meeting up with Amy? She of Cooking with Amy? That would be a good idea, too. http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/

PSing to say that you will also want to refrain from saying "SanFran". It's either "San Francisco" (usually pronounced "San Frincisco") or, locally, "the city". When I was a kid, goofy people in cheesey clothing, sporting bad hair styles, said "frisco". Their children say "SanFran".

Seconding some of the recommendations you've already been given:

-- dim sum: Ton Kiang or Yank Sing. Ton Kiang is a lot heavier on the seafood options. Yank Sing's downtown (edge of the financial district), Ton Kiang's in the Richmond district (north of GG park).

-- Tartine. The best French-style bakery in the city. disappointing if you've just come back from Paris, but otherwise quite good.

Other thoughts:
-- Clementine. Neighborhood french restaurant, in the inner richmond. Not uber-expensive, not uber-fancy, but great food, good people-watching, and a very pleasant atmosphere.

-- Mifune. cheap noodle place in Japantown. Tasty and filling and cheap.

-- Mitchell's ice cream (in the outer Mission). Great ice cream, with lots of interesting tropical fruit flavors.

Things to see or do? Well, that depends on what you want and where you plan to be in the city. Outdoors? Indoors? Museums/art/monuments/shopping/parks/views?
Wine country? Coast? Urban?

Ok, so I will need like a month for a visit.

And check on the Cable Cars, and using the entire name of San Francisco.

I don't want to offend an entire city before my arrival.

I have enough of that going on in my day to day life. :-)

Tu Lan, a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese place near 6th & Market. Legend has it that Julia Child loved it. A little sketchy, but delicious.
For the biggies, I'd go with Zuni, Jack Falstaff & Gary Danko.

I'm an Oaklander (10 minutes away from SF by train), so I'd have to recommend (require, even) a trip to Bakesale Betty.
Arizmendi bakery for pastry and tasty artisan pizza.
Dona Tomas for some high-end mexican.
And of course, Chez Panisse.

Just had to add my two cents worth, because cleary you don't have enough choices!

Chez Panisse (in Berkeley, not San Fran) is amazing (it is the birthplace of California cuisine, after all).

But if you are in the East Bay, try The Cheeseboard Pizza Collective for the best non-NY, non-Chicago pizza anywhere. I'd call it California Pizza, but don't want to conjure bad associations with a certain chain.... It's across the street from C.P.

And feel free to contact me for more Berkeley options.

All the recommendations are fabulous and I'll add a couple more. For a fantastically funny show, if you have the time, see "Beach Blanket Babylon" in North Beach. Try to get your tickets ahead of time since it sells out. Next door to it is a restaurant called Capp's Corner... old-time Italian. Also, you must check out Joseph Schmidt Confections at 2000 Folsom Street. Unbelievably great chocolate. Have fun!

You may want to pop over to 4th St. in Berkeley to have a lemon drop at Cafe Rouge.