As long as you're in town.....

Since I know you have to do something else besides eat at NOPA, here's four more new favorite things to do in San Francisco (plus one old favorite)...

1- PRESIDIO YACHT CLUB. This semi-rundown yacht club...but in a cool, old school sort of way...is where the wedding reception took place (the actual wedding took place on a boat out in SF Bay on an exceptional, war, sunny afternoon. Most awesome!). It's at Fort Baker, under the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Besides being open on Fri-Sat-Sun to the public (call ahead to make sure they don't have any private events happening) for great, cheap, strong drinks and good draft beer, this place has a unbelievable view of the bay and bridge (at left is the view from their deck) that other bars would kill for. It takes about 15-25 minutes to get there from downtown, and is so worth the drive. I'm courting family trouble by giving away one of w's sisters favorite places, and I have mixed emotions because I would hate to see it get too popular, but this is just too good.

2- 24TH STREET CHEESE COMPANY. Should you find yourself in Noe Valley and in need of some snacking/picnic material, this is a fabulous cheese shop with an awesome selection of cheeses, plus wine, crackers, bread, etc. Everything you need for your outing, in one very well run stop. The staff was vry nice, helpful, and more than willing to sample some of their unusual, delicious cheeses.


3- STORE FRONT DIM SUM IN CHINATOWN. How have I never done this? Stop in one of these innumerable places, check out their selections, point to what you want (or if you're lucky like me, you're with someone who speaks Cantonese. Thanks sweetie...my tummy appreciates your native language skills), and get ready to eat for an insanely cheap price. At my favorite stop, You's Dim Sum, we had shared four different, really good bites (including a fresh out of the kitchen pork bun...yum!!) for just $3.30. On a sunny early afternoon of wandering, there's no better way to eat!

4- LUNCH AT JEANTY AT JACK'S. Before we had to head to the airport, w, sis, and I had lunch at this city outpost of Philippe Jeanty's Yountville restaurant. So very French, so very delicious. Perfect escargots, a terrific steak frites, and the best coq au vin I've had maybe ever. The bottle of '06 Sancerre went down pretty well , too!

5- COCKTAILS AT BIX. Classy but not stuffy, perfect negronis, martinis, and glasses of fizz. Any place that has separate cocktail glasses for their gin and vodka up cocktails works for me. The three of us went after lunch at Jeanty, and what a way to send ourselves off. I could spend waaaay too much time at this bar!