Planning Your Trip
A company called City Story Walks (www.citystorywalks.com) is now offering an audio walking tour of San Francisco that you can download onto your MP3 player for a small fee (about $20). The three- to four-hour guided walking tour takes you to 14 of the city's most popular destinations and relays stories about each stop, and if you want to take a break all you have to do is hit the pause button. Also offered is a 30-45 minute overview of the city and its history.
The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau also has a web page -- www.sfcvb.org/travel_media/podcasts.asp -- that offers links to more than a dozen city-related podcasts that you can download for free or a small fee. For example, the Barbary Coast Trail MP3 audio tour offers highlights 20 of San Francisco's most important historic sites, and offers period music, sound effects, historic reenactments, and even maps. Another example is the de Young Museum podcast, which includes monthly information about current and upcoming exhibitions, as well as interviews with artists and curators.
Also riding the high-tech bandwagon is the San Francisco Zoo, 1 Zoo Road, San Francisco (tel. 415/753-7080; www.sfzoo.org), which now offers a global positioning satellite visitor guide device called Zoo Ranger. The slick GPS device--which features a four-inch LCD screen--allows visitors to see the San Francisco Zoo through the eyes of an animal keeper by utilizing audio, video, photos and text to share a behind-the-scenes perspective into the care of the Zoo's wildlife. Visitors are able to go at their own pace and the device automatically triggers a video introduction when the user is within range of an exhibit. This can be rented for $9.95 at the Zoo's Wildlife Connection Gift Shop.
Where to Stay
If you're a fan of Japanese anime, boy are you in luck. The décor of the new 125-room Best Western Hotel Tomo, 1800 Sutter St. (tel. 415/931-6986; www.jdvhotels.com/tomo) in Japantown is inspired by Japanese pop-culture (or J-pop if you're hip). Granted, cartoon wall graphics and Nintendo Wiis hooked up to 6-foot-wide projector screens isn't everyone's cup of green tea, but think how much the kids will dig it. When you can't take the loud colors anymore, you can always walk over to the Kabuki Hot Springs and Spa (www.kabukisprings.com), a serene urban retreat that offers massage and traditional Japanese communal baths.
The historic Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St. (tel. 415/392-7755; www.sirfrancisdrake.com) at Union Square is looking spiffy after a recent $20 million remodel. Highlights include a magnificent new lobby, a luxurious 2,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, and the sleek new 36-seat, speakeasy-themed Bar Drake. At least stop by for their signature Bar Drake Manhattan, made with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, port, Angostura bitters, and maple syrup.
Another newcomer is the Westin San Francisco Market Street (formerly the Argent Hotel), in the heart of the SOMA district. Changes include the opening of the new restaurant Ducca, a new lobby, remodeled guestrooms, and a new outdoor dining and lounge space with fire pit. For more information, call tel. 415/974-6400 or visit www.westinsf.com.
Where to Dine
There are some new restaurants in the city that are making news, one of which is SPQR, the abbreviated motto of the city of Rome, 1911 Fillmore St. (tel. 415/771-7779; www.spqrsf.com). The people who brought us A16 (one of the best Italian restaurants in the city) opened this bustling Fillmore District osteria where dishes such as beef shortribs and Roman egg drop soup have gotten such rave reviews that you can pretty much expect to wait for a table.
Farallon, 450 Post St. (tel. 415/956-6969; www.farallonrestaurant.com) has added a new oyster bar with the largest selection of offerings -- crabs, lobsters, clams, Spanish barnacles -- in San Francisco. In fact, more than 600 oysters a week are flown in directly from Chesapeake Bay. The décor alone is worth a visit, but a plate of fresh oysters on ice sure sweetens the deal.
There's a new eco-friendly restaurant near Union Square called Fish & Farm, 339 Taylor St. (tel. 415/474-3474; www.fishandfarmsf.com). This restaurant specializes in serving affordable cuisine that's sourced only from small farms within a 100-mile radius of the restaurant. It's all about food, farms, and the environment here: herbs come from their rooftop garden, floors are made from reclaimed-bamboo, and the kitchen's used cooking oil is donated to a bio-diesel plant.
After Dark
There are a lot of great new bars opening up in the Tenderloin District, one of which is stylish yet casual Rye, 688 Geary St. (tel. 415/474-4448), which specializes in classic and original cocktails made by serious mixologists (in fact, they host a "Monthly Mixing Competition" the first Monday of every month). You can shoot a game of free pool on their vintage table in the back, and even fire up a smoke in the front smoking cage. Happy hour is from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
Enrico's, 504 Broadway (tel. 415/982-6223), which makes the best mojitos in the city, has reopened (to the joy of mojito lovers such as moi). Enrico's is also the best sidewalk restaurant/supper club destination on this North Beach strip, and anyone with an appreciation for live jazz, late-night noshing, and people-watching from the outdoor patio would be quite content spending an alfresco evening under the heat lamps. The best part? No cover charge.
Another popular Tenderloin newcomer is Bourbon & Branch, 501 Jones St. (tel. 415/346-1735; www.bourbonandbranch.com), which was built to resemble a 1920s speakeasy, complete with a secret bookshelf door that leads to a separate hidden bar called The Library. You actually need to make a reservation to reserve a table, and that's just for cocktails (they take their libations very seriously here). If the reservation is accepted, you're given a time slot and a password that you need to use to get in (Tip: if you don't have either just say "books" and they'll escort you into The Library).
Spas
A new day spa recently opened in the city, which of course I had to review for you right away (the things I do for my readers). Cocoon Spa & Yoga Studio, 330 First St. (tel. 415/777-0100; www.cocoonurbandayspa.com) has assembled a first-class team of talented estheticians, massage therapists, manicurists, and yoga professionals, and the treatment area -- softly glowing candlelight, fragrant smells of flowers and herbs wafting through the air -- is blissfully relaxing. They also offer spa treatments designed exclusively for men (trust me, the Men's Institute Facial is divine).
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