Oh yeah! I remember that report. 
Since we’ve commenced the SF planning of the trip - what area should we stay in for maximum sightseeing and eating benefit? Would you do AirBnb or hotel? I’m leaning toward AirBnb.
Oh boy. If it rains I will probably have a stroke!
For me, Dragon Beaux is more of a schlep than going to Koi Palace in Pleasanton, but Yank Sing is better and a block from a BART station.
I used to drive from Berkeley to the Richmond fairly often, but since Facebook, Google, et al. expanded the Bay Bridge rush hour to 18 hours a day seven days a week, forget it.
Which is two blocks from the Rincon Yank Sing.
Well, she won’t be coming across the Bay Bridge. I don’t even know where Pleasanton is. Just not an East Bay kinda gal, I guess.
How does any restaurant honor reservations? They don’t overbook and they hold empty tables for customers with reservations.
That’s what “reservation” means. It doesn’t mean “in line ahead of walk-ins, maybe, if we can be bothered.”
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If you are white-knuckler, and I think you may be. I suggest you plan your route so that the twisty spectacular portions of HWY 1 are as you trek North. The passenger (TheCookie) will be on the mountain side rather than the plunging into the ocean side of the road.
I “enjoy” driving 
, and my dw freaks when the precipice is on “her” side as we negotiate certain portions of the wonderful dramatic highway 1.
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Yes, dear.
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Pleasanton is kind of like Rosemead.
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At least I’ve heard of Pleasanton 
For Dragon Beaux, go there about 30+ mins before doors open and you’ll get seated. Might be better to Uber over unless you find parking meters that have more than 2 hour limits.
In SF, b.Patisserie is quite excellent for French style desserts, kouign amann and the ilk. Owner Belinda Leong was a former pastry chef at Gary Danko, worked at 3 star Manresa, and did some time in the kitchen of Noma. She also does some Asian/Cantonese slight twists to the desserts; a while ago she did a very upscale version of the pineapple bun, but die hard purists said it was a farce and it looked far more European than Cantonese (lol), and you get some French twists of a classic chestnut maron but instead of chestnut it’s peanut butter and jam. It’s about 12 mins walk if you park by SF Japantown, and you will head towards Fillmore street (lots of nice shops to browse) and will pass by Woodhouse Fish (seafood/lobster rolls) and some very quaint looking cafes and brunch places, and SPQR before making a left on California street to get to the the patisserie. Nice local neighborhood strip on that side of Fillmore.
Hayes Valley might be fun to explore as well. On that street is True Sake (the nation’s first ever dedicated sake shop, drop in to take a look if you are in the area…pick up something and pay corkage at a restaurant to try instead of wine for fun), and nearby you have Souvla (tasty greek lamb / beef gyros, salad, greek fries), hipster coffee Ritual, Smitten liquid nitrogen ice cream, hipster Blue Bottle coffee, Arlequin Wine Merchant, a Mano (a neighborhood walk in Cal Italian place, very good pastas, though the pizzas are just average), Doppio Zero (VPN certified pizza and other pasta, but to me this is overall very average), Salt & Straw (you have that at Larchmont/LA so no point going there for SF) and some somewhat pricey clothing and shoe stores. And there’s Monsieur Benjamin, very nice French style place that’s more upscale but great quality and very satisfying.
Yank Sing serves more dated classics that cater more towards non Cantonese/non Chinese speakers, maybe better service, but the prices are very high. Dragon Beaux isn’t cheap but you get more modern interpretations of dim sum (some fusion touches) in addition to the classics…perhaps not the tip top best of all service, but is more in line with Hong Kong, and you get a variety of premium Chinese tea to choose from. I’m not clear on where Dragon Beaux stands with the local Cantonese community up here, but for sure they are not so enamored with Yank Sing (a lot of it due to the pricing and lack of variety/value).
Hmmm if you like Cantonese roasties, maybe drop in to Ming Kee (call ahead to make sure they are open) and get a rice plate for lunch? Literally eating with local Cantonese and Toishanese Cantonese in the area and construction worker types, super blue collar. Sit down to order from waitress (menu is under the glass cover on the table) Just get BBQ pork/char siu and soy sauce chicken rice plate (or you can order individual plates of some of their roastes a la carte, the menu will mention it), it will hit the spot so good (cash only).
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Okay, sounds good… I think. 
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You spend more than two hours at dim sum? Wow. And as I mentioned the 38 Geary bus is a total winner.
For years people have been telling me that Yank Sing isn’t popular with the Chinese community, but usually the majority of tables around me are speaking Chinese.
It is about classics executed well rather than trendy stuff and novelties. Which is true of San Francisco in general.
I always recommend tourists in SF leave their cars at the hotel and use public transit or Lyft. Not only is parking expensive in a lot of neighborhoods but you can waste an annoying amount of time finding parking.
Sam’s Grill is great, one of the few remaining old-school SF places (their web site has a quote from M. F. K. Fisher about a visit there in 1915) that hasn’t modernized. I’ve found the food better than at the quite similar Tadich Grill, which doesn’t take reservations.
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I think you’ll get a much better bang for your buck with Air BnB. If there is a big conference in SF, rates at hotels can be nuts.
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If you do a hotel you’ll pay a bloody fortune for parking. I’ve seen some airbnb’s in the city that came with parking.
I don’t know if you can open this but I selected every nabe I could find (and screwed up with a couple across the Bay Bridge). I filtered for parking but didn’t put in a price.
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Note that this is just advice and stragetic/logical planning. Don’t forget, I told to get there 30+ mins before opening which means you have already lost 30+ mins in the meter, leaving you with 1.5 hours or less of dining time. There will be lag time in between putting your orders in the checksheet vs when they arrive at your table, and the prospect of waiting for something hand carried out that are non checksheet orders (available for the taking/ordering). You can’t just assume things at face value and assume that it’s going to be an easy in and out even if you are in the first seating (or you could be SOL and be one of the last people to get in first seating, you never know). Better safe than sorry, or just eat fast and face indigestion…
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I love the way you phrased that. Very reassuring. :o)
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That’s true. Thanks.