My Favorite Places in San Francisco

I’ve spent most of my time in San Francisco since fleeing the oppressive summer heat of Texas over the summer. Since then, mostly thanks to awesome recommendations from other people, I’ve discovered some amazing places here. This is a selection of my favorites… all of which should be checked out by anyone who lives here. Know somewhere else amazing? Let me know!

Samovar Tea Lounge

If you like tea you should come to Samovar. If you love tea, you’ll probably end up coming here every day like I do. Samovar does tea like tea is meant to be done: large servings of loose leaf tea, steeped for the exact right time in the exact right temperature water. The lounges are very pleasant comfortable places, and the employees are awesome people. There are three locations; I like the Page Street one the best.

Adult Night at the Exploratorium

Museums are fun, but not interactive enough. The Exploratorium is a giant space set in what looks like some sort of Greek castle. Inside are hundreds of exhibits, all of which are interactive. You don’t see things, you do things and learn.

Even better, on the first Thursday of every month they have adult night where they have music, alcoholic beverages, and special themed exhibits. For twenty five bucks you can become a night member and go to ever adult night.

I’ve. only been once so far, but I was the last person to leave, shooed out by the tired museum staff. It was three hours of pure fun and satisfaction… I can’t wait to go again.

Adult Night at the California Academy of Sciences

While I’m on the subject, check out the adult night at the Academy of Sciences. They put it on every Thursday night, and it’s a really cool place to be. DJs, drinks, and all the usual exhibits. They also have telescopes on the living roof, aimed at interesting things in the sky. I think the Exploratorium is more fun, but it’s definitely worth checking out the Academy at least once.

Sheba Lounge

I was a little bit worried after going to three Ethiopian restaurants in San Francisco. Each one completely blended the food to the consistency of baby food. Gross. Ethiopian food is one of my favorites, and not coincidentally, one of few ethnic cuisines that fits my diet.

Luckily I found Sheba lounge. They have a great veggie combo plate, really good live Jazz music, and super comfortable seating. They’re also open late. There’s nothing like sitting on their big leather couches in front of the fireplace, eating delicious Ethiopian food, when it’s freezing cold and rainy outside.

Kabuki Spa

I don’t go here anymore, since I got a membership at Burke Williams spa (also awesome), but I really enjoyed our weekly ritual of going to Kabuki. I’ve already written about it here, so I won’t go on and on about it.

Burma Superstar

Just get the Tea Leaf Salad. It is the greatest salad in the world, dressed with fermented tea leaves. I NEVER order just a salad, but my friends and I go here and get nothing else. Just amazing.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate park is spectacular. It’s larger than Central Park and has way weirder stuff. There’s a Japanese garden that really feels like Japan (skip the mediocre tea), a lake with a hill you can climb in the middle, tons of fields, and even a herd of buffalo. If you go all the way to the water there’s a great beach with first-come-first-served fire rings you can use.

Overall I just love San Francisco and could talk all day about the great things in it, but these are my absolute favorites. Do you have somewhere super cool in SF that I have to go? Tell me about it in the comments…