I <3 San Francisco
The folks at Intelligent Traveler: National Geographic said they wanted to hear what we love about our cities. So I took a moment out to fill in the blanks, and am posting my responses here. To tell them what you love about your city, get the questionnaire on their website.
San Francisco is My City
The first place I take a visitor from out of town is to Tosca on Columbus for a Cosmo.
When I crave Thai Food I always go King of Thai Noodle house or any number of other wonderful Thai restaurants in the area.
To escape I get in the Escape Pod and I head to Big Sur.
If I want to do something fun and silly with my out of town friends, I go ride the elevators at the Saint Francis, the Mark Hopkins and a few other high-rise hotels to take in the views and then take pictures of said friends lounging in the lobbies.
For complete quiet, I can hide away anywhere south along Highway One. Pick a beach, any beach.
If you come to my city, get your picture taken with the twins, Marian and Vivian Brown, although I haven’t seen them lately. If you don’t run into them, then go into the Mission and take your photo with the murals on Balmy Way.
If you have to order one thing off the menu from Tu Lan it has to be Vietnamese Shrimp Fried Rice. This divey hole in the wall is kind of scary for out of towners, but the locals love it. Sit at one of the tables near, or even at, the counter so that you can watch the cooks and check out the other dishes they are making.
24th Street in The Mission is my one-stop shop for great Mexican food. Las Palmas Mexicatessan for wonderful hand made tortillas made from masa ground in the kitchen, as well as tacos, burritos, and other Mexican yummies to go. La Victoria Panaderia for morning pastires. La Torta Gorda for a torta. Discolandia for those south of the border sounds.
Locals know to skip Fisherman’s Wharf and check out just about anything else in town. Really.
When I’m feeling cash-strapped I go to Caffe Trieste in North Beach and have a latte while the opera plays on the juke box. Then I go hang out at City Lights bookstore and read in the aisles.
For a huge splurge I go to my favorite restaurant in the city, The Slanted Door, for lunch.
Photo ops in my city include any bar or cafe.
If my city were a celebrity it would be homeboy Robin Williams. Sensitive, hilarously funny, vulnerable, not too old, and a bit foggy.
The most random thing about my city is that Industrial Light and Magic currently has offices on the spot where the future Star Fleet Academy will be. And there’s a statue of Yoda there. Another random thing in SF is that there are exact copies of Ghiberti’s Doors of Paradise at Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill.
My city has the most beautiful, friendly, sexy, gay men.
My city has the most down to earth, intelligent, and tech-savvy women.
In my city, an active day outdoors involves hiking – going anywhere involves hiking.
My city’s best museum is SFMOMA, more because of the building. But they’ve been on a roll with traveling exhibitions lately and they have an excellent photography collection.
My favorite walking route is anywhere in Golden Gate Park .
For an evening of art, check out First Thursdays in the downtown art galleries from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Start at 49 Geary!
Sam Wo’s is the spot for late-night eats. Greasy spoon Chinese food and it’s open until 2 or 3 am.
To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, read sfgate.com, sfweekly.com, and the bayguardian.com.
You can tell a lot about my city from the Ferry Building and its Farmer’s Market. We love food, we love our food to be local, we love independent booskstores, and we love sweeping views.
You can tell if someone is from my city if they visibly cringe when you call it “San Fran” or “Frisco”.
In the spring you should hang out at Cafe de la Presse with a bowl of cafe au lait and watch the tourists stream through the Chinatown gate.
In the summer you should bring a sweater and dress in layers, and don’t be surprised if people are wearing their turtlenecks.
In the fall you should take a day trip to the wine country to experience the fall colors and the crush.
In the winter you should wait for a storm and then head out to the beach in the car, grab a coffee at the Java Beach Cafe, and then park the car in the lot at the end of Fulton or Lincoln facing the ocean. Then just watch the raging weather come in off of the ocean.
A hidden gem in my city are the Kabuki Hot Springs.
For a great breakfast joint try the St. Francis Fountain on 24th St @ York.
Don’t miss the Day of the Dead festival in The Mission at the end of October.
Just outside my city, you can visit Napa Valley and Sonoma County for wine tasting.
The best way to see my city is walking and taking MUNI. There is a great cross section of the SF population on MUNI, and you can get just about anywhere on the long haul buses. From downtown you can go to the beach on the 5 or the N-Judah, you can see the SF hipsters on the N-Judah, and a MUNI tour would not be complete without going through Chinatown on the 30 or 45.
If my city were a pet it would be a Jack Russell Terrier. So cute and playful, yet it will bite your hand off if you don’t pay attention. Did you know there are more dogs in SF than there are children?
If I didn’t live in a city, I’d live in the middle of nowhere.
The best book about my city is Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, which I remember reading as a weekly column in the SF Chronicle.
When I think about my city, the song that comes to mind is Tony Bennet’s I Left My Heart in San Francisco, of course.
If you have kids, you won’t want to miss The Exploratorium.
Bay to Breakers could only happen in my city.
My city should be featured on your cover or website because it is the most worldly and wonderful city in the United States.
Check out the artist-at-large San Francisco site for a lot more information on visiting San Francisco!
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