San Francisco: The city I love!

San Francisco has a bunch of great places to go check out and 1 weekend doesn't do justice when you are visiting. Here's a list I have compiled in our short stay of 1 year in the city. Hope this helps those who are visiting/trying to decide if they should move to the city or not (You should!).

Tips to remember when you are in SF:

• Always carry a fleece (be it winter or summer): The weather in the city is notoriously famous for changing any minute. The fog can roll in anytime (especially if you are in the Marina/Sunset area).
• Take public transport to get your way around. The MUNI can be painstakingly slow when it comes above the ground but its still a lot less painful than driving
• Walk around the city: Explore the city on foot. Its just 7X7 miles anyway :) If you are ambitious. try walking up the steep slopes around Divisadero and Broadway
• Use Yelp to find places to eat around the city. Its very heavily used there + very reliable
• Talk to the locals: They are really nice and super helpful (in most cases)
• Try to visit when the city goes crazy (Gay Pride Parade/Bay to Breakers/Chinese Parade/Halloween)

The Usual Suspects: (these are just my favs. There are tons more):

• The 49 mile scenic drive thru the city: Takes half a day but pretty scenic and nice in parts. Plus gets you to appreciate the different neighborhoods of the city
• Castro district: Gay capital of the city. Definitely hang out here on weekend nights.
• Crooked St/Union Square/China town (check out the Golden Gate cookie store...they make fortune cookies in front of u and u can put your own fortune in it :))
• Fisherman's wharf/Alcatraz cruise : This place could get windy so make sure to carry yr jackets
• Cable Car Ride from Powell to Fisherman's Wharf
• Museums (if u r interested): Moma, Legion of Honor, Palace of Fine Arts etc
• Twin Peaks: A must-see on a non-foggy / non-windy night. Do this after you have explored the city....you will be able to spot sights you have been to from up there
• Golden Gate Park: A huuuge park. If you are the science types, check out CAL academy
• Bike ride from Fisherman's Wharf ->GG bridge->Sausalito: The road after the bridge to Sausalito is all downhill so its a lot of fun biking. If you are lazy like us, you can take the ferry back so u don't hv to bike back up :) Sausalito is where the rich and the elite live. It has small quaint shops/ ice cream shops/places to eat and good views of the city.
• If u go across the Golden Gate bridge towards Marin County, make sure u go up the small peak on the left . The view of the city fm up there is pretty nice.
• Painted Ladies: The row of Victorian houses they usually show in Hollywood movies

Non-touristy recommendations:

• Walk up from Market St to Buena Vista Park: Its a steep walk uphill but the views from the top make up for it. Sunset time is ideal to visit
• Corona Heights: Awesome view of the city from this peak...its a short walk up the hill but totally worth it!

• Ocean Beach: They have these fire pits where u can go light a bonfire and its first come first serve. So just show up at 5pm and grab a firepit and watch the sunset.
• Land's End Trail: Small hike along the ocean on one side and the cliffs on the other (We took this pic while we were here)
• Farmers Market at the Embarcadero on Sunday mornings: You can have your lunch here.
• Walk along the Embarcadero on a nice sunny day
• AT&T Ball Park: I am not a huge Baseball fan but I hear this place goes crazy with Giants fans
• Drive from Oakland to SF over the Bay Bridge: Take the Treasure Island exit and explore the island. It has some fantastic views of the city skyline
• Appreciate the Victorians around the city: Upper Market has some grand houses that can take your breath away
• Mission Dolores Park: Heaven in the middle of the city. It might be super foggy in the Marina but it can be nice and sunny here over the park. The whole city seems to be out here on a nice sunny day. Check out the city skyline from the top right corner of the park (20th and Church)
• San Francisco Public Library: Huge...reminds me of the library we had in Virginia Tech

Places to eat: Here are a few places I wouldn't mind going back to eat in SF over and over again: (Note: I am a vegetarian and don't eat eggs (not vegan though). So my recommendations are narrowed down to these choices. Always always always use Yelp for finding places to eat around the city)

Mexican: Mission district is a paradise for small Mexican Taqueria joints

• El Toro: Small Mexican joint in the Mission
• Panaderia La Mexican
• El Castalitto
• Puerto Allegre
• Los Jarritos
• La Taqueria

Tapas:

• Picaro: Mission again
• Alegrias: Marina
• Cha Cha Cha (Tourist alert)
• Destino/Pisco Lounge

Indian:

• Kasa: Awesome Kathi rolls in the Castro and Pac Heights


• Dosa: (Filmore and Valencia) Expensive South Indian place but worth checking out once for the ambience. If you can handle spice, try their Habanero Mango Dosa
• Naan n Curry: Small Pakistani joint around Civic Center. Their lunch buffet is pretty good compared to the A LA Carte menu options. One of the few places open till 4am
• Sultan: Same as above (good lunch buffet)

Weekend Brunch:

• Chruch St Cafe: Church and 15th St: Absolutely love their Veggie bagel w/sun-dried tomato creme cheese
• Squat & Gobble: Market and 16th st
• Crepevine: All over the city: Crepes have eggs but have been to a few of these and they have a lot of options besides crepes
• Crepes at Cole: Same as above: Try their mimosas
• Park Chow
• Dolores Cafe: Fresh Orange juice rocks here

• Ike's place: Their sandwiches are awesome.I heard they got an eviction notice recently...hope that's not true!
• Boogaloos: Usually has a long wait on weekends

African:

• Bisaab Baobab: Mission: Senegalese cuisine
• Cafe Ehiopia: Mission: Good Ethiopian food

Mediterranean:

• La Mediterranee
• Truly Mediterranean: Small med. joint. Very awesome falafels
• Kan Zaman: (Tourist alert) Mediterranean place with live Belly dancing in the nights (after 9pm). This place is in the hippy neighborhood of SF (Haight Ashbury)
• Gyro King: Opposite the SF Library

Vegan/Vegetarian:

• Gracias Madre: Vegan Mexican place in the Mission
• Ananda Fuara: Civic Center and Market (Indian) : Healthy vegan options
• Herbivore: Tasty healthy burritos/fresh OJ
• Cafe Gratitude: Cultish place ...gotta try it!
• Cha-Ya: Veggie Sushie (yeah that exists!)

Italian:

• Stinking Rose: (Tourist alert) Awesome italian place if u like Garlic in yr food. Hv dessert at Steps of Rome after u eat here
• Beretta: Nice bar in the Mission + Italian food
• Tommaso: Shady location but good food
• Del Fina: Best pizza joint in the city

Desserts:

• Ghiradelli Square: One of the best ice cream places :)
• BiRite ice cream and Mitchells Ice Cream : Both r small ice cream joints ...very awesome
• Creme Brulee cart: I dont eat eggs so I didn't try this out but I have heard its to die for (the whole expereience of following this guy on Twitter and rushing to him before he runs out of stock is pretty amazing)

Others:

• Small coffee shops around the city: A lot of them have free internet. Grab a book or your computer or even better just do people watching
• Limon for Peruvian food
• Noe valley (the family friendly place in SF) and Mission district (parts of this are kinda shady...anywhere close to 16th and Valencia is safe) has a bunch of nice restaurants to eat
• Lots of nice bars around the city (too many to list)

There are tons of other places which I might have missed (I'll try and keep this list updated as and when I think of/visit new places).

I miss living in the city and if were not for the commute to south bay every day, I would go back and live there again. Who's to say..maybe we will :)