osugasman

Man, you guys are awesome!!!

Love Thai/Vietnamese food, sushi and seafood. Love active vacations so hiking/walking/biking a must.

Thanks!!

matt777

I just got back from a West Coast trip. I didn't go into SF but can recommend a few other places if you are going to venture out for a day.

Benziger Winery in Sonoma - great tour of a biodynamic vineyard. Its $40ea for the more comprehensive tour and wine tasting http://www.benziger.com/

Big Sur - great scenery; had a great dinner at the Post Ranch Inn Sierra Mar restaurant. I believe they have lunch too. You have to book in advance and it is big $$$. View is great. We'll call it our 23rd wedding anniversary splurge. We did this on a day trip from Marina but it may be too far from SF.

Dr. No

Definitely check out Slanted Door, located in the Ferry Building (the one you always see in shots of the city that says "Port of San Francisco" in neon. It's a great place to walk around and has fantastic food places inside. A must see for foodies of every kind. Great place to spend a lunch hour. Walk there from Union Square.

Tadich Grill is great for seafood lovers and a true SF classic. Fantastic Martinis too.

If you are coffee lovers, try Peet's Coffee. The best. Wicked strong.

There are a million good Chinese restaurants. Henry's Hunan is famous for its very spicy food.

Top of the Mark - in the Mark Hopkins hotel. Great place for a drink with panoramic views of SF. Also neat to see the Pacific Union Club, which is the only surviving mansion of the "Big Four" after the 06 quake.

Neil Perry

I was blown away with the Niki missile site tour in the National Park, just as you get over the Golden Gate, up near the light house. The lack of technology was worth a look. It was amazing even my wife was impressed.
Carmel was a great visit, such a nice town.

race911

And we can keep piling on, but you got the highlights.

What I'd like to know is where you're coming from (meaning how long of a flight/how wiped out you'll be on Day One), and what's your budget. And when you're leaving. Time management will be critical if you're trying to get a lot in.

Have a firm date?

ryano

+1 on the clift. its a great hotel if you want to stay in the city. We have had a nice stay at waters edge in tiburon as well. Its not the design of the clift but decent, affordable, and close to the more nature centric part of SF. Every time I am there i dont miss a drive to the top of mt tamalpais (http://slipvisual.com/#/photography/location/16/) its one of my favorite places in the country. Trojan Point on the top of the mt is awesome too. A drive down to stinson beach is nice as well and the light house there is pretty cool but a fairly long drive. All in all Marin County is absolutely beautiful... I could spend a week there and never go in the city. Of course Napa, Mill Valley, and sausalito are nice visits as well.

RodKnock

You want bike rides?

There are some unbelievable bike ride routes all around the Bay Area, but I'm more familiar with the Peninsula rides around Palo Alto/Woodside/Portola Valley/Los Altos with Crystal Springs Reservoir as a background. Just a picturesque bike ride, if you can fit it in. Essentially, bicyclists nearly take over the roads on the weekends down here.

Just keeping it simple:
http://www.sunset.com/travel/califor...0418000075292/

Even just riding around the Stanford University campus is awesome.

Rent a bike and helmet and you and your wife will love it. The views, the ride and the camaraderie.

mooty

Gary danko
flour and water
Michael Mina
la folie
Greens
saisson
Coi
ateliar crenn
quince
flur dy lys
cyrus
sociale
sutro at cliff house

all above restaurants are great some are very $$$$ take a look at menu to see what you like

if you go muir woods, you need a rental car. if u stay in SF then no.

if you like outdoor, you can drive to monterey then south of it 20miles to big sur, MUCh prettier than muir woods. that's assuming you like outdoors, then hike at pfiffer (sp) park. fancy dinner at post ranch inn or down to earth unbelievably juicy (yes, juicy) pizza at big sur bakery and restaurant.

if you want to go north, you can drive up to napa, TONS of good restaurants and winery for tasting.

if you want to walk GG bridge,make sure you have windbreaker and a hat. wind sometimes is really bad and some ppl get head ache in windy conditions. it's very noisy, not so romantic. but at the other end of GG bridge is marin headlands/sausalito. drive up marin headland to the very top (only one way up, cant be that confusing) you see the bay. then drive down and into sausalito (sorry forgot the street name) but it's the main road right next to water. some nick nack shops and restaurants (nothing spectacuar to eat or shop, but view is good).

ferry to alcatraz. more of tourist thing. but fun the first time.

walk to ferry bldg. you can walk along embarcadero street, again next to water. especially at night, spectacular view. one end is pier 39 (street performers) and ghiredelhi (sp) chocolate with some restaurants and comedy club and the other end of embarcadero lead you to SF Giant (ATT) park at the foot of bay bridge, lots of high end but so so restaurant there.

breakfast at tartin bakery. very crowded but bread pudding is really good.

pt reyes: drive through marin to "mt home inn". some places to hike there. then continue to "olema inn" they have great lunch and oyster (both cooked and raw). from olema inn is not far from pt reyes. u will find some quaint shops in pt reyes and they to the light house. or if you want to hike, there are lots of trails right around olema inn. just stop and ask the hostess.

i dont know much about santa cruz other than natural bridges is a short nice walk but you can do that same kind of walk in muir woods, sausalito, big sur etc.

nels415

For a easy walk/hike, try Lands End which starts at Ocean Beach. The trail runs along the coast where you can see the see the Golden Gate.

If you're into Food Trucks, check out Off the Grid, different locations every night.

Sat. morning, check out the farmer's market at the Embarcadero building. Lots of food vendors out at this time as well. Nice stroll along the water, if you like chocolate, stop off at TCHO chocolate factory.

If you like ice cream, try Bi Rite Creamery or Humphrey Slocomb for some unique flavors.

One of my fav bakeries, check out Tartine in the Mission. This place always has a line even before its doors are open.

You can tell I like to eat. Have fun! SF is not that bad on parking. I can say this because I'm a native.

manila3

is the BART train still working? You can go to San Jose via Oakland and back via Sta. Clara?

mlnr

Last time I was out there to do any sort of vacation we rented a car and drove to wine country for a few days, and then to Monterrey. It was a blast, enjoy your trip!

Nurburger

Another vote for the Clift Hotel.

I was in SF a couple of months ago & we had a superb meal at Farallon on Post St.

I also always enjoy walking down to the Ferry Building in the morning for a coffee at Blue Bottle - the farmer's market is great if you're a foodie (Tues/Thurs/Sat).

If you're walking around the shopping district & want to get a quick bite to eat, I recommend the food court in the basement of Westfield's San Francisco Center.

A trip over the bridge to Sausalito for lunch is also a nice thing to experience.

Enjoy.

speedbump2

If you do get a car for the trip to Muir Woods, go to Hertz and pick something sporty from their "Fun Collection" because there are some incredible twisties on the way into Muir Woods, and then some more out to Muir Beach, and beyond towards Reyes Point.
We went through there in a rented G37 a couple of years ago, and I was the whole way!

--Chuck--

993KT

"flour + water" has the best pasta I have ever had in the world! Maybe it had something to do with the >1hr wait. I was starving and sloshed on their awesome beers.

RodKnock

I would stay here or at the very least have Sunday brunch here. Great location and the brunch has nearly every variety of food you can think of:

http://www.sfpalace.com/