Cover Story

A Million Dollar Tour of San Francisco for $6

By Graceann Walden

In these weird economic times, we’re all looking for affordable entertainment. It can be had by ferry riders for a mere $6. Take your friends, family and visitors on an insider’s tour of three great San Francisco neighborhoods: Chinatown, nob Hill and Fishermen’s Wharf.

As a writer specializing in the Bay Area food scene, I try to keep my readers in the know and when I wear my other hat, as a tour operator, I like nothing better than taking locals and visitors on adventures through our terrific neighborhoods.

Here’s an idea for a great way to spend a self-guided fun and educational afternoon. Leaving the Ferry Terminal, proceed across the beautiful new plaza that spans the length of the Ferry Building, now being expanded and retrofitted. If you need a cup of coffee to fuel your odyssey, there is a Noah’s Bagel shop on Market Street on the ground floor of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Board a Van Ness and California Street cable car in front of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, at the foot of California Street and Main. Pay the conductor for an all-day MUNI pass - $6.* The cable cars run every 15 minutes from 6:22am until 1am, although we don’t recommend this tour as a late night jaunt.

If you sit on the right side of the cable car, or hang off that side, you get the better view of our trip up California Street. Along the way you’ll pass the venerable Tadich Grill, the rainy day restaurant where the sautéed sand dabs are always a good choice. Almost directly next door is another restaurant specializing in seafood, Aqua. One dish that has become a signature there is the mussel soufflé.

Your trip will take you next past the buildings that house the leading financial institutions of San Francisco: the classically designed California Bank of Trust, the beautiful Merchants Exchange Building and the massive Bank of America building.

Alight from the cable car at Grant Avenue at California for a stroll through Chinatown. But first take the time to make a short visit to Old St. Mary’s -the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in California. Chinese laborers built this gothic revival church using stone quarried in China and bricks brought around the horn. The first English-language school for the Chinese community was founded here.

In contrast to Old St. Mary’s two buildings, the Sing Chong and Sing Fat buildings built in 1908, flank the north side of California. Both display Chinese architectural elements, upturned roof edges, pagoda ornamentation and tiling prevalent throughout Chinatown. The upturned roof edge is not just an element of style, but meant to dissuade evil spirits from landing on the building.

Across California Street, be sure to visit St. Mary’s Square, to see the statue of Sun Yat Sen, by San Francisco’s favorite sculptor, Beniamino Bufano.

Strolling down Grant, in the first block east of California you’ll find the old-timey Far East Café, known for its food and even more for its interior featuring high-backed and curtained booths. In the same block two of the best places to buy inexpensive all-manner of trinkets, back-scratchers, statues and toys are the Canton Bazaar and across the street the China Bazaar.

Since Grant Avenue is geared towards the tourist trade souvenir, linen and jewelry stores, as well as restaurants dominate the scene. A few places deserve special mention. The Empress of China restaurant, between Clay and Washington Streets, perches high above the busy streets below. And, although it is not trendy, serving a menu of Chinese American fare, it is one of the most pleasant white tablecloth Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.

Unlike the cafes that surround it on the busy streets below, the Empress has a full bar and a spectacular 180 degree view of the Bay. In the lobby, near the elevators, that you must take to reach the restaurant, you can look at a display of photos of dignitaries, who have dined at the Empress. You’ll see pics of Lana Turner, Barbara Bush, Vincent Price and a rare photo of James Beard and Craig Claiborne dining together.

On Grant between Washington and Jackson Street, there are several other interesting places. The Buddha Bar is one of the funkiest and fun bars in Chinatown. Nearby, Chew Chong Tai & Co. sells kits for brush painting, decorative calligraphy scrolls and delicate Chinese brush paintings.

One fun thing to do is to have Mr. Li, who works at Chew Chong Tai, do a scroll on the spot. It makes a unique birthday gift. The lady behind the counter will look up any name in a special English to Chinese dictionary and copy the characters for Mr. Li. For a few dollars, Mr. Li produces a handsome brush painting of the name.

If you’re getting hungry, the Kowloon Café is next door. An incense-laden Buddha watches over the utilitarian dining room, where you can get yummy vegetarian dim sum to go, or enjoy their buffet lunch. Their vegetarian version of sui mai is so good, you won’t miss the pork.

If you want to learn something about Chinese teas, Ten Ren Tea Co. is a good place to stop. Located close to Jackson Street, the store has scores of green, black and aged teas. A new addition to the shop is a "tea bar" serving flavored tea drinks, hot tea and goopy tapioca drinks – currently all the rage. They’re flavored-sweetened liquid with balls of tapioca suspended in it. It’s partly drunk and eaten.

Across the street and down the block, is the best place in San Francisco to buy implements for Chinese cooking. Ginn Wall Hardware store has all manner of rice cookers, cleavers, woks, ginger craters, cookbooks, steamers, pots, pans and of course, hardware.

At Pacific, turn left from Grant to walk a hill to Stockton Street. It’s time to return to the California cable car, but instead of retracing your steps. Let’s explore the non-touristy part of Chinatown. Stockton Street is where Asians from all over the Bay Area flock to buy their meats, fresh fish, vegetables, and dry goods.

At the corner of Pacific and Stockton, Hop Sang Meat Market carries all manner of beef, pork, lamb and goat and also makes and packages their own beef or pork jerky. It comes in either spicy or regular and is $8 for half a pound - a chewy and delicious snack.

When you reach the Stockton Street tunnel, climb the stairs one flight to California Street, to re-board the cable car. Hang on, as the car climbs Nob Hill and get off at Taylor Street. Once dubbed the "hill of palaces" because of the mansions built there by the men who made their money in the wild boom days of early San Francisco, when silver and gold flowed from the mines and the Transcontinental Railroad linked our east and west coasts.

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