San Francisco As You Like It: 23 Tailor-Made Tours for Culture Vultures, Shopaholics, Neo-Bohemians, Famished Foodies, Savvy Natives & Everyone Else - Softcover

Wach, Bonnie

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9781569753873: San Francisco As You Like It: 23 Tailor-Made Tours for Culture Vultures, Shopaholics, Neo-Bohemians, Famished Foodies, Savvy Natives & Everyone Else

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1569753873 ISBN 13: 9781569753873

Publisher: Ulysses Press, 2004

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A refreshing antidote to the standard, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink travel guide, San Francisco as You Like It takes over 20 character types ? from grandmothers and parents with toddlers in tow, to savvy natives, neo-bohemians, and epicureans ? and creates special tours that crisscross the city to satisfy their specific likes, needs, and preferences. Instead of reviewing attractions, hotels, restaurants, and everything else by category or location, this book presents its recommendations through customized itineraries that cater to the people who will use them. Using this unique organizational tool, it becomes the definitive insider’s guide to the city ? a perfect companion for visitors and locals alike. San Francisco native Bonnie Wach understands that where you want to go in this incredibly diverse city depends on who you are (or who you want to be). Her advice is practical, funny, and deeply rooted in San Francisco's exotic history and quirky character.

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About the Author:

Bonnie Wach was born and raised in San Francisco-with only one brief and painful stint living outside the city. A former editor of WHERE San Francisco, California and San Francisco magazines, she currently writes a restaurant review column for the SF Weekly newspaper. She lives in San Francisco, CA.

Everybody’s grandparents are different. Some spend hours in the kitchen making perfect gnocchi; others have perfected the art of the microwave wave. Some impart pearls of wisdom; others impart fruitcakes and hideous, multicolored sweaters with geometric patterns. Some are spritely and engaged and keenly aware of developments of the past decade; others think service station jockeys should still wear bow ties and wash windows, and that rock and roll is the devil’s work.

My grandmother was a walker. Rain or shine, she loved to take the grandchildren out for a stroll in the woods or down the street, often leaving us in the dust. She was of the Old World―a woman who insisted her French students call her "Madame Dufer" and never "Julia," and who firmly believed children should be seen and not heard (my most vivid memories of her always involve the phrase "schreinicht so"―"don’t scream so"). And though she generally appreciated good food, in her later years, she was most content sitting in a corner booth at Lyon’s twenty-four-hour diner with a ham
sandwich and a cup of soup.
All this personal reminiscing is by way of saying that grandparents can be di�cult people to plan activities for. Sometimes a full day means taking them to a hairdresser and the duck pond, or simply letting them stay at home to cook you strudel/tamales/gnocchi. However, there are two or three universal truths about grandparents: they tend to tire easily, so going places where they can sit down is essential; their day is often centered around meals, so plan those ahead of time and work your activity schedule around them; and they live to hear about your achievements, big and small, so don’t whine when you have to trot out that story about the time you appeared on Oprah. They’re your grandparents. They’ve earned the right to embarrass you. Get over it.

MORNING
This is a tough time slot for grandparents, because what they consider morning, you probably consider prime sleeping time. No one knows why, but for some reason when you hit the golden years, your meal schedule begins moving incrementally backwards, until you’re eating breakfast at 5 a.m., lunch at midmorning, and dinner at four in the afternoon―hence the origin of the Early-Bird Special. Considering that most cafes aren’t open at 5 a.m., and that by the time they are, Grandpa will be ready for lunch, you might want to stock up on Zwieback and wave mix, and use the morning hours as your prime sightseeing time. If you do have a chance to go out for breakfast, think Old School:

It’s not fancy, but all the pastries are made with real, honest-to-God butter and sugar, and you can always find a good coffee klatch at Star Bakery in Noe Valley, one of the last holdouts of this once working-class Irish neighborhood. Their authentic Irish soda bread will warm your emerald heart, and the place is filled with the kind of homey, familiar smells that will make grandparents feel like they’re back
in the old neighborhood.

Nearby Herb’s Fine Foods on Twenty-fourth Street kills two birds with one stone. You’ll enjoy hobnobbing with the Noe Valley "in" crowd and various local celebrities who make a pilgrimage here each weekend (no doubt attracted by the red-leather booths, Formica counter tops, and crummy co ee). Your grandpa will appreciate the fact that this is a genuine, eggs-and-bacon diner from the 1940s. Grab the sports page and talk Yankees over a plate of bangers and flapjacks.

A sense of family and neighborliness are old-fashioned virtues that seem to have gone out with our grandparents’ era. You know what I mean―the local baker who always gave the kids a treat; the butcher who always shared some words of wisdom. Even though Katz Bagels has only been here since 1993, Burt Katz and his son, Mike, are two from the old mold. Lining the walls of their shops are hundreds of wonderful photos
of all their friends and neighbors, from babies to bohemians (a hobby of Burt’s). Grandparents from New York will appreciate their traditional boiled bagels, which aren't too chewy ("We wouldn’t be able to look at ourselves in the mirror if we made them any other way," says Burt). Bring your bubby, have a sit, a bagel, some lox, and a little over-the-fence chatter.

Art’s, at Irving and Ninth, is a classic counter-and-stool joint for eggs any style and hash browns. Huge portions at rock-bottom prices.

Manor Coffee House# is another haven for the blue-haired set―both young and old. This place hasn’t changed decor since it was picked up circa 1955 by a tornado in some tiny Midwest town, and plunked down on this deliciously frumpy stretch in the inner Sunset. Crowning touch: they still have diet plates consisting of hamburger patties, cottage cheese, and sliced tomatoes.

The Great Benches Tour of San Francisco
To my mind, good benches are worth their weight in wood. From the right perch, you can sit and contemplate city life without having to actually go somewhhhhhere. Not to meention the plethora of additional activities you might consider while perching―eating, letting others join you, taking in the views, feeding the ducks, reading the paper, taking a nap. Which is why, for grandparents who want to see it all, but maybe don’t have the stamina to get there, benches are perfect observation posts on the world. Here is my list
of the top ten benches in San Francisco:

1. Lyon Street at Broadway: Situated at the end of the toniest block in all
of San Francisco, the landing near the top of the Lyon Street steps a ords spine-tingling views of the Palace of Fine Arts, the waterfront, and the bay. This bench gets bonus points for friendly joggers (occasionally of the celebrity variety) who wave as they sweat by and for the surrounding flower pots and manicured gardens, which make you feel as if you’re in a Merchant Ivory film.

2. Marina Green kite-flying field: For sheer volume, there’s nothing like the Marina Green. It’s a place where sitting on a bench is actually a participatory sport. Aside from the obvious attractions (the views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the harbor), there are kite flyers, volleyball players, rollerbladers, and the hoi polloi coming and going from the St. Francis Yacht Club.

3. Strybing Arboretum in front of the duck pond: On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the duck pond is a small island of tranquility in a sea of activity. Around you, toddlers chase squirrels, Frisbees fly, couples fight and make up, trees carry the whispers of a hundred years of dangling conversations. While you toss breadcrumbs to the all-knowing swans and mallards (or better yet, get a bag of those wonderful sesame cookies from the Japanese Tea Garden), settle in for a long chat about the old days and all the bad things your father did as a child. (The pond is a short walk north from the main entrance.)

4. Palace of Fine Arts eastern benches: This is the best bench in the city for vicarious wedding crashers. On weekends in the spring and summer, limos frequently pull up and disgorge happy visions in white lace and bow ties for picture taking. One Saturday afternoon, in a total Annie Leibowitz moment, I saw five bridal parties posed by the banks of the lagoon at the same time. Of course, the other overwhelming reason to bide time here is Bernard Maybeck’s magnificent, melancholy pavilion, which begs quiet contemplation. If it’s not too cold, try to stick around for sunset, when the palace is lit in all its Panama-Pacific Exposition glory.

5. Thirteenth Hole at Lincoln Park Golf Course

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