30 Hours in San Francisco

 

Christmas in San Francisco is my favorite time to visit—holiday decorations, favorite drink locales, and of course some holiday shopping! Here is what I chose to do on my visit this year, along with some additional suggestions for your own weekend trip.

Arrival at Oakland Airport is convenient, now that the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) has extended their boarding right to the airport. For only $10.05 one can ride to a stop that is walking distance from Union Square—where you’ll want to stay to get the most out of a short visit. With overnight hotel parking at about $50 per night and traffic as crazy as it gets, you’ll be glad you skipped a rental car. We had our hotel hold our bags and went for a walk through nearby Chinatown for Dim Sum at City View Restaurant. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll through the Financial District, to The Embarcadero Waterfront.

Starting at the end of Market Street with the Ferry Building’s many artisan food options, walk towards Pier 39. You will see Coit Tower up on Telegraph Hill and pass by the famous Fog City Diner. We chose to skip the tourist destination that is Pier 39 and kept walking through the famous Fisherman’s Wharf Chowder and Crab Sidewalk Stands. Boudin Bakery is a favorite, but this time the Aquatic Park beckoned, with a beautiful view of Alcatraz and the obligatory stop at Ghirardelli Square. Those in the know skip the main shop with the line out the door and go to the back of the square where they have another, less crowded retail outlet.

In this center we found Bluxome Street Winery’s B53 Bar, stopping to have a glass of wine and take in the ocean view off their deck. My Syrah was quite good with medium tannins balancing out the black cherry, pepper, earth and vanilla overtones. My wife had a Chardonnay that boasted lemon, grapefruit, butter, and oak. Since it is often very cold in San Francisco, you may wish to visit The Buena Vista Café, where you can get their famous Irish Coffee and perhaps sing traditional Christmas Carols along with other patrons this time of year.

From here it is a colorful and aromatic walk through the Italian shops and restaurants of North Beach. Usually The Stinking Rose garlic restaurant captures my business, but this night needed to start out with a Cable Car cocktail at The Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake hotel. Beautiful views there, “between the stars and the cable cars.” Another cocktail option with similarly picturesque views is “The Top of the Mark” at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel. Although the drinks here have lost their luster over time, it is still a nostalgic favorite for me.

Late night dinner at the historic John’s Grill (where Sam Spade ordered chops in Dashiell Hammett’s Maltese Falcon) was in store for us this trip, where I wholeheartedly recommend the broiled seabass. While awaiting our table at John’s we also took in some live jazz from the oldest jazz club in the city at the Les Joulins Jazz Bistro across the street. After dinner, there is no better place to get in the holiday mood than Union Square, with its decorated Christmas tree and trumpet player belting out some Christmas classics for tips.

After a good night’s sleep and having walked over 10 miles on the first day, we were glad to be staying near Union Square so that we could hit the seven-floor Macy’s, after a satisfying breakfast at the Pinecrest Diner, to satisfy our big city shopping impulse. Fortunately we had several hours before our flight, as we would need them. But better still, there is a Boudin Bakery Cafe on the Macy’s basement level. Bringing home a souvenir loaf of sourdough bread from Boudin is a sure way to be welcomed home from a quick getaway!