The lure of a few days in San Francisco is always enticing…I visit every time I have the chance.

On the last week in September, the fog lifted, the sunlight bounced off the sparkling blue water in the Bay, Coit Tower stood out like a beacon atop Telegraph Hill, the city at its feet. Enjoying a view like that, it was hard to tear myself away for other adventures . San Francisco was calling---three full days to discover the “Hidden Gems of the City by the Bay” and to visit old haunts. It doesn’t get any better!

Made-to-order September weather, with just a touch of cool from the breeze off the Pacific, guaranteed that walking would be a pleasure. This City was made for human bipeds. History, restaurants, multi-cultures, architecture, shopping; San Francisco has it all, as well as being one of the most romantic cities in the world. Savor the international flavor. The City is the melting pot of the West: Little Italy, Chinatown, the Vietnam section and Mission district (Latino) are but a few of the distinct neighborhoods you will find here.



Staying in the new Hilton Financial District Hotel (www.sanfranciscohiltonhotel.com) with the crossroads of Chinatown, North Beach and the Financial District right out its front door, all I had to do was decide what to see and do first. Wonderful aromas from Dim Sum(Cantonese for heart’s delight) kitchens filled the air, and my stomach told me it was time to search out lunch. But first, Shirley Fong-Torres’ Wok Wiz walking tour of Chinatown was on the list. (www.wokwiz.com)

Fong-Torres, noted chef and humorist, is also a popular cookbook author. Her latest entry in cookbooks is THE WOMAN WHO ATE CHINATOWN, coming out at year’s end. Her commentary on the Wok Wiz tour adds a bright new dimension to a walk through Chinatown. After wandering Grant Avenue (it’s Grant Avenue in Chinatown and Grant Street in North Beach) and the nearby side streets for 1-1/2 hours and shopping for exotic teas at the Red Blossom Tea Company, I succumbed to those hunger pangs without feeling guilty. Fong-Torres took our group to the Imperial Palace and ordered Dim Sum. The waiters just kept bringing surprises—mouthwatering morsels such as steamed dumplings, shrimp balls, spring rolls, steamed buns and Chinese pastry.

After a lunch like that, a trip to TRU Spa located in the Hilton, and voted best day spa in the city by ALLURE Magazine, was just the way to digest the meal and pamper the body.. After all, I had to work up an appetite for the 5-course Italian meal at Ristorante Ideale (415-391-4129) in North Beach that evening! Although the restaurant is walkable from the hotel, it is great fun to hop on one of Mr. Toad’s vintage (pre-1930) cars for a tour of North Beach, before being delivered in style to the front door of Ristorante Ideale.(www.mrtoadstours.com)

Maurizio Bruschi, owner/chef of Ristorante Ideale , an authentic Italian dining establishment, has been in San Francisco for 15 years. He produces food to delight the most jaded connoisseur’s palate, yet it’s hard to understand a word he says with his thick Italian accent. He communicates by waving his hands, Italian fashion with grand gestures.. His food is delicious, in any language.

What better way to spend the next morning than with Daniel Bacon, historian and author of WALKING SAN FRANCISCO ON THE BARBARY COAST TRAIL?(www.barbarycoasttrail.org)

The trail is well marked with bronze plaques in the sidewalk which makes following it easy. Starting at Portsmouth Square, now known as the birthplace of the California Gold Rush Bacon makes history electric. His enthusiasm is contagious as he describes that history changing day in May 1848 when the American River gold strike was announced for the first time in this Square which was then known as Yerba Buena.

Further along the trail, Bacon tells the story of how a change in the winds spared Hotaling street, and A. P. Hotaling’s supply of whiskey (he was the supplier to the entire Barbary Coast) during the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake. As Bacon relates, many uprighteous citizens were saying the disaster was retribution for San Francisco’s hedonistic ways, but one San Franciscan was inspired to write: “If, as they say, God spanked the town for being over frisky, Why did he burn the churches down and spare Hotaling’s whiskey?”. Our walk took us by 601 Montgomery, headquarters of the Pony Express (1860-61) and now a Historical Landmark. The youngest of the riders was a 14 year-old who later became famous as Buffalo Bill Cody.

The Barbary Coast trail can take an entire day as it winds through the downtown, Chinatown, the Barbary Coast, North Beach and the northern waterfront terminating at Fisherman’s Wharf and Aquatic Park. From there I hopped on the Powell-Hyde Street Cable Car line for a ride over historic Nob Hill, home of the Bonanza Kings and Railroad Barons to return to downtown. It’s possible to get off and on the Cable Car anywhere along the route, but you have to pay a new fee each time you jump back on. The ride ends back at the starting point of the tour across from the Old U.S. Mint at Hallidie Plaza at Market where the BART Station and the Cable Car turnaround are located.

The Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market, on the site of the old Emporium building, is only a block or two away from the Cable Car turnaround, so it’s convenient to do a little ‘Big City’ shopping. The glorious dome of the original store still exists. When the Emporium originally opened in 1896 it was hailed as the most elegant store in the country. The Westfield Centre which now occupies this space is just as grand. Bloomingdales opened their largest store outside of NYC in The Centre in 2006. Along with Nordstrom, also housed here, this is a ‘don’t miss opportunity to ‘shop ‘til you drop.’

As far as I’m concerned, no trip to San Francisco is complete without dinner at one of the oldest and most reliable establishments in town: Sam’s Grill & Seafood Restaurant..(415-421-0594). Make sure to reserve a private booth, not a table. Make sure, too, to be served by Frank Morelli. Morelli has waited tables at Sam’s for about 36 years. Don’t even bother to look at the menu , let Frank suggest. My favorite is a heaping plate of fresh fried calamari topped off by Frank’s special salad. (You won’t find this on the menu.) It’s enough to say that Clint Eastwood and I share the same tastes and booth at Sam’s—unfortunately, on different nights!

Even the best of trips end. As I stroll the five blocks from Sam’s back to the Hilton the fog horns begin their mournful, melancholy evening wail. Stopping in the Hilton hotel’s ‘Lounge at Seven Fifty’ breaks this lonely mood. The warm fire and jazz offered here nightly cheers me as I enjoy a final nightcap and head to my room for a last look at the view of the city and bay before retiring.

Tomorrow it’s au revoir…or to paraphrase, “The song is ended, but the memory lingers on.”

P.S. If you’re going to be in The City between January 15-31, enjoy the popular Dine Around Program which allows you to experience some of the best restaurants without breaking the bank.

www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com
( Updated - November, 2007)

(Hidden Gems of the City by the Bay)
by Ann Terry Hill