Booked our Anniversary trip!!! Suggestions needed!

[Amys Bling]

I am so excited!!! We booked our 1 year anniversary trip for this spring to San Fran & Napa Valley its a shorter trip 3 full days and two nights in San Fran before heading to our resort & Spa in Sonoma. My DH isn't big into tourist traps- ice been to San Fran once already do he wants to skip Alcatraz, etc. We are looking to go Muir Woods, Pier 39 and fishermans wharf because I really want to go there again, a drive down to Monterey to see the Big Sur, and then two full days of wine tours in Napa. For you San Fran dwellers, any advice would be great!! ESP restaurants... We are food snobs in the sense that we live near NYC and have been to Italy so anything chain related or mass produced won't do

Can't wait for your input! I'd love pictures if you'd like to share

 

[tuffyluvr]

When are you going? If it's a ways out, try and get a reservation at French Laundry in Napa!!!! I have never been but it's on my 'bucket list'

 

[distracts]

Muir Woods is wonderful! I could have spent all day there.

In terms of food, my parents are obsessed with the Buena Vista Cafe, at the corner of Beach and Hyde near Fisherman's Wharf. If I'm recalling it correctly, the trolley stops right in front of it so it's easy to find. Every time we go to SF, they wake up insanely early to go have coffee and breakfast there. Near Columbus and Chestnut St is Kennedy's Irish Pub & Indian Curry House Restaurant, which is an entertaining curiosity, if nothing else. There's also a lot of good Thai food, but I can't recall the names of any of the restaurants I've eaten at there at the moment.

 

[Gypsy]

See if you can get reservations to French Laundry for when you are in the Sonoma area. If you can't there is a cafe in Yountsville owned by them that's lovely called Bouchon.

There's also Bottega, which I haven't been to yet but plan to visit this spring.

Let's see. I enjoy Muir Woods and while you are up there Mill Valley is nice.

If you want a day to experience what locals like to do... here's a suggestion:
I enjoy Half Moon Bay. Driving up or down coast, stopping for Lunch at Three Amigos for huge burritos and some horchata or carrot juice. Or stopping at Barbara's Fish Trap for some deep fried fish (scallops, yum). Then watching the sun set at the Moss Beach Distillery with drinks on their patio (no food, just drinks). I've also heard nice things about Flavor in El Granada as well. So you could do that for lunch then watch the sun set at the Distillery.

I do like Carmel. The Flying Fish Grill is good, but you have to be adventurous because their 'safe' dishes (plain grilled fish or lobster) dishes are boring. Some of the best dishes are: black bean steamed halibut, almond sea bass, and and curry-shrimp soup. I would stay in an upscale Bed and Breakfast there and explore downtown Carmel. I also enjoy the Monteray Aquarium, but I don't care for downtown Monteray as much. Get some fried artichokes on the drive down from a stand with a big sign-- good eats and a fun pit stop.

I would definitely look for a great sushi place in SF while you are there. If you like Vietnamese or want to try it the Slanted Door is very good. Nice view too.

This is on my list of places to eat in SF personally, so I thought I'd share. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-house-san-francisco

We're foodies, but we love a good hole in the wall as much as a 5 star restaurant and don't need the fancy trappings to enjoy good food.

Oh, if you love steak and don't have any good steak houses where you are there is Alexander's in San Fran.

 

[Gypsy]

If you like wine, you can also stop in Alameda and go to Rosenblum vineyards which is, oddly enough, in an old airplane hanger. I love it there. Very good wine and great people, unpretentious wine tasting at it's best.

ETA: Food at Fisherman's wharf... I always walk to the steamed crab stands (there is an area just off the pier area where they are) and get a crab for each person and just enjoy it steamed and plain (or with butter, or cocktail sauce or just plain lemon). It's the most 'authentic' food experience in that area IMO. Messy, but a lot of yum and fun.

 

[Amys Bling]

When are you going? If it's a ways out, try and get a reservation at French Laundry in Napa!!!! I have never been but it's on my 'bucket list'

April. Thanks for the suggestion- I'm looking into it!

 

[sparklyheart]

I don't know if you have already booked your wine tours for Napa or if you are just going to do it on your own, but I HIGHLY recommend Max Napa Tours. They also do Sonoma.. But they take you in a tahoe-sized car (less people!!) to small but wonderful wineries without all of the tourists. NO big buses, no lines... We had to have reservations for all of the places we visited.

Of course you can always just do the wineries yourself! These guys were just so great though that I have to share their name!!

 

[Amys Bling]

I don't know if you have already booked your wine tours for Napa or if you are just going to do it on your own, but I HIGHLY recommend Max Napa Tours. They also do Sonoma.. But they take you in a tahoe-sized car (less people!!) to small but wonderful wineries without all of the tourists. NO big buses, no lines... We had to have reservations for all of the places we visited.

Of course you can always just do the wineries yourself! These guys were just so great though that I have to share their name!!

Thanks!! We def want small tour groups. I was going to call the hotel to see what tours the book and then figure out what we want to do. Now I have another tour group to look into thanks!

 

[tuffyluvr]

When are you going? If it's a ways out, try and get a reservation at French Laundry in Napa!!!! I have never been but it's on my 'bucket list'

April. Thanks for the suggestion- I'm looking into it!

Definitely do--you have to make reservations months in advance, but you may still be able to get something. Very expensive, but a if you love food, it's someplace you've gotta try!

I agree with Gypsy--you have got to get sushi in SF! I can't recommend a place, but I will ask my friend who live in the city.

As far as Carmel goes, I love the Bernardus Inn and winery. It beautiful and close enough to Montery. Downtown Monterey is icky and touristy--you don't want to stay there. It's all Bubba Gumps, horrible tchotchky shops and teenagers on school trips.

Big Sur is spectacular. Unfortunately, we always camp when we go there, so I don't really know any restaurants or hotels. There are little bungalows in Julia Pfeifer Natl forest--which is amazingly beautiful. Nothing fancy, but the view makes up for it!!

 

[Mayk]

Sol Bar is an awesome place to eat as is Martini's. We did the Silver Oak Tour and then did the food/wine paring. The Chef suggested Martini's (we asked him where he liked to eat)... It was fabulous. It's in a old house in St. Helena and we thought it was one of the highlights or our trip.

In San Francisco... The Grand Cafe is my favorite.. close to Union Square... The Slanted Door down at the warf is also pretty awesome. Make reservations for the slanted door it gets packed....

In San Francisco....Breakfast at Sears or Blue Dot Cafe (hopefully I got that name right on that one...local favorite.. long lines).

 

[slg47]

carmel and napa are gorgeous. lots of good restaurants too. gott's roadside is great for burgers (and wine!), they have locations in napa, st. helena, and SF.

as far as SF restaurants...lots of good ones...depends on what kind of food you like! FI and I really enjoyed Spruce, but there are tons of others that we have been meaning to try.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

http://www.fourtane.com/

cheers--Sharon

 

[slg47]

HI:

http://www.fourtane.com/

cheers--Sharon

wow, thank you for the eye candy!

 

[Skippy123]

I don't have suggestions but I did want to say yay and please post lots of pics

 

[sapphirering]

Here's a list of places that I've dined/stayed at:

Farm House Inn Restaurant: http://www.farmhouseinn.com/restaurant-0/
It's honestly one of the most memorable meals I've ever had, up there with the Michelin-starred restaurants that we've dined at in France and Italy.

Restaurant at the Ventana Inn in Big Sur: http://ventanainn.com/dining.aspx.... Very good food, spectacular setting and scenery. The Post Ranch Inn across the street gets great reviews as well but I haven't dined there myself.

Cyrus restaurant, supposedly rated right behind the French Laundry: http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/

If you're into gastro-molecular food, the hot spot in SF is Atelier Crenn: http://ateliercrenn.com/ I went there with our foodie friends when it first opened. It was very interesting but I'm not sure I'd go back. It's one of those meals where you sort of want to go for a slice of pizza afterward. But it was an experience.

If I can think of more I'll come back and post later. HTH.

eta: Zuni Cafe in SF and Chez Panisse in Berkeley are great examples of Bay Area cuisine at its best- fresh, locally sourced ingredients prepared relatively straight-forward.

 

[Amys Bling]

Sol Bar is an awesome place to eat as is Martini's. We did the Silver Oak Tour and then did the food/wine paring. The Chef suggested Martini's (we asked him where he liked to eat)... It was fabulous. It's in a old house in St. Helena and we thought it was one of the highlights or our trip.

In San Francisco... The Grand Cafe is my favorite.. close to Union Square... The Slanted Door down at the warf is also pretty awesome. Make reservations for the slanted door it gets packed....

In San Francisco....Breakfast at Sears or Blue Dot Cafe (hopefully I got that name right on that one...local favorite.. long lines).

I looked into Martini's Oyster Bar and Grill and the menu looks delish! We are definitely making a reservation for there during our stay Thanks for suggesting it