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SFS Fan 13 years ago.
The Taqueria San Jose in the Mission is fantastic.
Not the best area but generally safe if you just blend in like local.
On mission near 25th. All the locals love this place.
I always managed to rent a car and head out for a day after I got tired of the constant sameness of the expo exhibits. You wear out after a couple of days of it. By renting a car you can hit the roads, venture and find a diner or interesting restaurant. But I will never again go to Napa Valley by car. After two wine tastings I had to stop and then it was no fun after. Let someone else drive. [:D]
I enjoyed the dining and the private parties. I used to be well connected in the Mac graphics world. I wonder if MacWorld is as exciting as it used to be after hours.
Say hello to MacWorld for me! I keep saying I’ve got to go, but never do.
Be sure to check out the restaurant tab above, which gives a number of suggestions, such as one of my favorites, the House of Nanking, within walking distance or via easy-to-use local transportation.
At the cable car turntable at Powell and Market, just up from Moscone, a booth sells a MUNI (SFMTA) map of city buses and streetcars or see http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/indxmaps.htm Very helpful.
Very useful MUNI routes 30 and 45 run from Moscone up to North Beach via Chinatown. You could also use cable cars, but they’re very crowded and the line to get on northbound can sometimes be long.
The Taqueria San Jose in the Mission district is easily reachable by BART rapid transit from Powell and Market, instead of slower MUNI transit. I wouldn’t go there at night, if you’re not used to large cities, although the shear number of people in the area probably keeps you safe.
In summary, you can easily visit all of Roadfood’s "official" San Francisco recommendations without a car.
One more suggestion: You can take the Golden Gate Transit ferry from the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street to Sausalito for a very reasonable price. Great views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The Ferry Building has an awesomely outstanding food court, with favorites like a branch of Taylor’s Automatic Refresher in the Napa Valley ( http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1086 ) At this time of year, there’s no onward public transit to the Muir Woods, but I heartily second Davydd’s suggestion to rent a car for a day to explore that area. Or, you can take a Gray Line tour there.
As a veteran of many MacWorld Expos in San Francisco I can tell you there are tons of choices to eat between Moscone and Union Square. I was rarely disappointed just walking around, exploring and trying. Public transportation is super. You definitely do not need a car in SF. I quit going to MacWorld 10 years ago so any suggestion I would have would possibly be out of date. I often jumped on the cable car and headed to Fisherman’s Wharf. Taxi’s were convenient and cheap if you will willing to travel in a gang with other Expo goers. The only place I had to go once was John’s Grill but only because of Dashiell Hammet’s Maltese Falcon. I only used a rental car to make day trips to places like Napa Valley, Muir Woods and Monterey and you can pick up and drop off a rental car right near Union Square. But you know all that. Hey, have fun at MacWorld.
There’s a lot of good info in these threads. If that’s not enough here’s another which I think included a discussion of taquerias.
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19351&whichpage=2&SearchTerms=san%20francisco
If your schedule allows, public transportation is comprehensive and can get you just about anywhere. I’ll just warn you that in my experience and from what residents tell me the MUNI does not even attempt to adhere to published schedules and on off-hours and weekends you can wait much longer than you expect. But it’s well worth it to see other parts of the city if you have the time.
There have been several threads in the last year discussing this topic. Clicking on "Search" in the heading of this screen and entering the phrase "Union Square" found a lot of threads, 3 of the most recent are listed below. Enjoy your trip, it’s a great city.
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22952&SearchTerms=union+square
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20604&SearchTerms=union+square
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19295&SearchTerms=union+square
Next week, beginning January 14th, is Macworld Expo at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco and, while I have my favorite places to eat in "The City", I’d love to hear recommendations from the rest of you. Ideally, your recommendations should be within walking distance of the Moscone Center/Union Square area (i.e., assume no access to a car). It would also be helpful if your recommendations are cheap, since I’m on a VERY tight budget. I look forward in learning about some new places to eat as well as returning to a couple of my old favorites! Thanks in advance!
Where to eat around Union Square in San Francisco?
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