There’s another one coming early next week but it shouldn’t be as bad as the one that hit last week. Hopefully the worst of it is over, ie no more downpours.
Good news: It won’t be steady rain all day every day all week. Looks like one day rain early, another day rain late. “Bad” news: I am seeing 20-30 mph winds on Tuesday. Hopefully, the winds behave themselves.
I am going to Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland today. Chef/owner Tonya Holland just reopened this one from another location in Oakland and, now, she just opened in the Ferry Building in S.F. You should definitely check it out! The one in S.F. is open from 7-7 (weekdays, not sure about weekends).
Enjoy your trip!
Change of plans…
We are having lunch today at International Smoke, 301 Mission St. S.F. Never been, but former President Obama just ate there and now I’m curious…
“when the forecast for San Francisco is rain for many days in a row, does it mean periodic sprinkles, showers, downpours?”
At this time of year it is usually low pressure areas coming off the Pacific. They can be from Alaska (cold) or Hawaii (warm and very wet). It may be just a front coming through quickly (say 6 hours) or a prolonged and focused atmospheric river (up to 24-48 hours). And where the rain goes varies hugely, San Francisco has nearly twice the rainfall of San Jose, parts of the North Bay have twice as much again.
So “rain every day” doesn’t tell you much. At the moment more downpours appear likely but not as prolonged as some of the recent storms and how much rain SF will get is still uncertain. Look at the forecast discussion for more details of exactly what’s expected (it is updated twice per day): https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=SFOAFDMTR
International Smoke was excellent! John Legend and his wife dined with President Obama there on Monday. If you go, make a reservation (on Open Table) before 2 PM weekdays. They have a lunch special for $35 p.p. that includes an appetizer/salad, entree, and cookie to go. But, you must upgrade the dessert and order the Key Lime Parfait. Both my wife and I think it was the best dessert we have ever had. Ever. We did not get in on time for the special but the offerings were the same as what we chose. Ayesha Curry (Steph Curry’s wife) has herself a very good eatery.
My wife thought that Brown Sugar Kitchen in the S.F. Ferry Building might be “to-go only” and a friend of mine just confirmed this. (The Oakland location seats over 80 patrons.) There is lots of seating throughout the Ferry Building and vicinity, however.
Given that there is supposed going to be a week of rain in the forecast, check your flight to SFO if there will be delays/cancellations.
I love that city. But beware it’s not what it once was IMHO. Still plenty to do and definately wear/pack for variable temps.
FYI business guest over the years. Not a native or local. So ymmv.
Returned home from San Francisco on Thursday night after spending 8 days there. The first 3 days was very windy, heavy rain showers and cold. The last 4 were partly to mostly sunny and around 50 degrees in the am to about 59 degrees by afternoon. When the wind died down, it was warm in the sun. The layering advice is the best to follow.
If you are staying in Rockridge I’m surprised people have failed to point out that there is AMAZING food in the area!
- Best crispy shrimp tacos at Cancun (directly across from the Rockridge bart station)
- Market Hall
- Olivettos
- Soi 4 for Thai food
and very nearby in Temescal (next to Rockridge) there is:
- the BEST Ethiopian food at Asmara
- One of my favorite restaurants ever: Pizzaioli
- Burma Superstar (AMAZING, sorry I know I keep saying this, but it’s true!)
In SF I love House in the North Beach (the deep fried salmon roll is amazing lol)
I also agree that the homeless/poop/needle problem has gotten just crazy. I would avoid Market Street, Union Square, Civic Center because of this.
Normally the rain is fairly steady on the first day and then showery (not heavy showers) for the next couple of days. But we’ve had some seriously weird weather this month (like the rest of the US) with extremely heavy showers that seemed to have come almost out of nowhere (not quite… but it looked like it was pretty much done raining and then suddenly we’d get these very heavy bursts… not normal for here).
It kind of looks like we are heading back toward a more normal pattern though. Hope you have a good trip.
My kid’s midterm in his CS70 class at UC-Berkeley was completed last night, so after a couple of weeks of intense studying, we decided to go visit him today and treat him to lunch. We originally were planning on going over to The Cheeseboard, but when we saw the bajillion people in line, we quickly changed plans and went to Saul’s Jewish Delicatessen. My first time there. New York style but with a California twist is all I can say. Pretty good place to eat.
After dropping my kid back to campus, we went to the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses in the Piedmont part of Oakland. The roses are not out yet, well maybe 5% out, but the plum blossoms and cherry blossoms in the area are starting to bloom. So next week is a good time to come, since they all should be out (the plum blossom tree in front of my house is about to bloom any day now). The roses will probably take a little while more though. The plum and cherry blossoms don’t stay out for long, probably for a couple of weeks, and then that’s it. Morcom is a beautiful place for a stroll. We capped off the day by going to Fenton’s Creamery nearby for some ice cream and sherbet.
So a couple of more places closer to Rockridge Oakland that you can go visit.
You absolutely missed out on 2 of the district’s BEST!:
Wood Tavern (owners last name)
Belotti Ristorante E Bottega
Both on College Ave, walkable from Rockridge BART, but in opposite directions. If you go, you MUST have the roasted chicken at Wood Tavern, in a Parmesan crust. If you order coffee they serve Cole’s Coffee, a couple doors down from the restaurant. If you go to to Belotti, their homemade pasta dish (changes regularly) is incredible. The restaurant is tiny. Know that in advance or you will be a bit shocked. I like Oliveto too, but mostly when they do their truffles week, the week before Thanksgiving, for the past 20 years or more.
ProfessorPlum168, Our rendezvous places with my son (Cal ‘15) were:
Zachary’s Pizza (also Slice, also Cheeseboard— but always crowded as you say!)
Elmwood Cafe (breakfast or lunch)
La Mediteranee
Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen
Jupiter (great patio dining with live music)
House of Curries (S liked it more than his parents)
Cream Ice Cream sandwiches (line sometimes a block long)
You guys are really making me want to go to Berkeley/Oakland, rain or not…
It is near to impossible to get a reservation at Wood Tavern, so stop by next door at their little sister restaurant, Southie and enjoy! Southie is 100% my favorite go to lunch and dinner place. It’s tiny, but amazing. Lunch/dinner with a glass of rosé, sitting at the window is so much fun… people watching galore. YUM!
@TheFrenchChef I think you mean “Cactus Taqueria” not Cancun. I’ve lived in Oakland for 20 years ; )
If you go to Wood Tavern after say 2:45 PM, you can have your pick of tables. They stop taking reservations during their slow times, between lunch and dinner. Yes, they ARE very busy during peak dining times so reservations are a must.
Correction: Elmwood Cafe has now shut down- something that had to do with racism.
I’ve been to Wood Tavern only once – and had ‘whipped bone marrow’ for the first time!
Yes, and I meant Cactus for crispy shrimp tacos, not Cancun…
I also love La Mediterranee on College Ave - though haven’t been there recently - I believe it sold, didn’t it? When it was for sale about 6 months back I dreamed of buying it! I wonder if it is still as good.
I also love Zachary’s (even if it isn’t ‘real’ Chicago Pizza). But I’ve been eating it since I was 11!