Return to San Francisco after 15 Years

San Francisco Marriott Marquis

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Hotel | "Good Enough, not Great"

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The San Francisco Marriott occupies most the block of 4th St. between Market and Mission, a convenient location on the edge of the Financial District, close to the Civic Center, and with easy access to everywhere else by public transit (parking your car at the hotel runs $50 a day).Flying into SFO, here are several ways to get to the San Francisco Marriott: Samtrans bus costs $1.50(?)o.w. and stops right beside the hotel. BART(the subway/metro) costs $5.35o.w. Exit BART at the Powell St station. Turn right when you leave the train, and the station exit brings you out at the corner of 4th and Market, a half block from the hotel. Shuttle vans start at $17, taxis and limo even more. ...Read More

The San Francisco Marriott occupies most the block of 4th St. between Market and Mission, a convenient location on the edge of the Financial District, close to the Civic Center, and with easy access to everywhere else by public transit (parking your car at the hotel runs $50 a day).

Flying into SFO, here are several ways to get to the San Francisco Marriott: Samtrans bus costs $1.50(?)o.w. and stops right beside the hotel. BART(the subway/metro) costs $5.35o.w. Exit BART at the Powell St station. Turn right when you leave the train, and the station exit brings you out at the corner of 4th and Market, a half block from the hotel. Shuttle vans start at $17, taxis and limo even more. BART is noisy, the trip door to door takes about an hour, but you don’t have to worry about traffic problems on the expressway. BART also connects to Oakland airport.

BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) also extends to several East Bay cities, including Oakland, Richmond, and Berkeley.

Check in was fast and friendly. All the staff we encountered were friendly and generally helpful.

San Francisco Marriott is primarily a businessman’s hotel, situated only a block away from the Moscone Center, San Francisco’s convention center. That makes it a good buy for tourists on holiday weekends. Our 2008 Labor Day rate was $149, Saturday-Monday nights. This was the American Express Gift Package. We paid $199 a night, and got back a $50 Amex Gift Check every day. Only by Amex credit card.

This is not an inexpensive hotel, and for the price, it was a little off key. The problems were encountered, all minor announces, but they still should not have happened were: 1] the desk assured us we had a quiet location. It was only minimally so, some street noise, especially sirens, could be heard in the room. Hall noise, fortunately rare, came right through the door. On the other hand, there was no plumbing noise form other rooms and very little noise form the interior except the occasional hall noise. 2] The toilet seat would not stay up. About half the time, it came crashing down. 3] Really god awful pillows, all four of them on the bed. In hopes of getting a decent pillow, I called housekeeping and asked from a foam pillow. It was a bit of an improvement, but it left me with five bad pillows in place of four. 4] No blanket on the bed, only a European style comforter. I hate these things. They give you your choice of one temperature– too hot. I resorted to my usual solution. I removed the douvet, tossed the insides on the floor, and used the duvet as a blanket. Dutifully, the maid put it all back together every morning, so I had to take it apart every night.

On the positive side, the room was OK on quiet, if not perfect. The curtain did a good job keeping light out. The 37" LCD HDTV had a great picture, and an OK selection of channels, The bathroom had a night light, a dimmer light to use at night so as not to go blind from brilliance when you switch on the light if you need to visit during the night. There were two chairs, both reasonably comfortable, in the room, and a nice work desk with internet connection (extra charge). The room was not super spacious, but it was a long way from cramped space. There was a remarkably quiet mini-bar, good drawer space, and nice large closet, ironing board, hair dryer (not attached to the wall), and a terrific shower head. The coffee drinker liked the one cup coffee maker, but said the coffee at the nearby Jack in the Box(open 24/7) was better.

On balance, I would stay here again, and of the 6-8 San Francisco hotels in which I have stayed on visits, there is only one other that I would even consider staying at again.

Although we had no problems, the San Francisco Marriott is located within one block of two of the top five locations for robberies in San Francisco, 5th & Market and the Metreon.

There is a striking view of the hotel’s archeture from Yerba Buena Gardens, across the street (Mission) from the hotel.
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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 7, 2008

San Francisco Marriott Marquis
55 Fourth Street
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 896-1600

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Tong Palace

Best Of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Excellent Dim Sum, and that's hard to beat"

On the way to Tong Palace Photo - Tong Palace, San Francisco, California

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We went to San Francisco for dim sum, and once there, we went to the Tong Palace for dim sum. If you do not know what dim sum are, read on. If you know, you can skip to the Tong Palace heading below. The maître d' at our favorite dim sum restaurant thought for awhile when we asked him how Dim Sum translated into English. He came up with "little snacks to eat while drinking tea." The Appetizer section of a Chinese restaurant menu gives a good idea of what dim sum are– egg rolls, spring rolls (they are different), pot stickers, fried won tons– but this is just an intro to dim sum. A good dim sum restaurant will offer 30-45 appetizer like items, and instead of handing you a menu, the waitresses...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 6, 2008

Tong Palace
933 Clement st
San Francisco, California 94118
(415) 668-3988

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Jeanne d'Arc

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Restaurant | "Do not Miss It"

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Jeanne d'Arc four courses prix fix spinach goat cheese soup lamb shank breast of duck with raspberry sauce mashed endive grande marnier souffle & cream anglaise great atmosphere $38 wine $22 up veg soup mostly tomato, goat cheese spinach in puff pastry, entrees salmon, swordfish, prawns & scallops in tomatoes white wine, roast duck breastt raspberry sauce, duck confit, rabbit wh wine & mushroom, roast loin of lamb, steak au poivre flamed incongnac, fillet mignon forrester: mushroowm stuffei homatoe braised bok choi, mashed; gr marnier suffle or chocolate mousse. Dinner at Jeanne d’Arc was hands down the best meal we had in San Francisco. For the money, it was one of t...Read More

Jeanne d'Arc four courses prix fix spinach goat cheese soup lamb shank breast of duck with raspberry sauce mashed endive grande marnier souffle & cream anglaise great atmosphere $38 wine $22 up veg soup mostly tomato, goat cheese spinach in puff pastry, entrees salmon, swordfish, prawns & scallops in tomatoes white wine, roast duck breastt raspberry sauce, duck confit, rabbit wh wine & mushroom, roast loin of lamb, steak au poivre flamed incongnac, fillet mignon forrester: mushroowm stuffei homatoe braised bok choi, mashed; gr marnier suffle or chocolate mousse.

Dinner at Jeanne d’Arc was hands down the best meal we had in San Francisco. For the money, it was one of the very best meals we ever had anywhere. In short, Jeanne d’Arc offered a great atmosphere, good service, fine food, and relatively low prices: $38 for a four courses meal of classic French cuisine. Wine starting around $22 a bottle.

Jeanne d’Arc only has a prix fixe menu of four courses. The appetizer course offered a salad or a hot dish of spinach and goat cheese in puff pastry, which we all ordered and it was superb. Next came "Summer Vegetable Soup", basically a watery tomato soup which was well done for what it was, but it was the least impressive part of the meal. For the main courses, she had Roast Duck Breast in Raspberry sauce, a fine variation on Duck a l’Orange. The slices of duck breast were perfectly prepared, slightly pink in the middle.

I had a first rate Braised Lamb Shank, with meat so tender that only a fork was needed to clean the shank to the bone. It was served with a classic, tasty, Espagnole sauce.

All entrees were accompanied by fine mashed potatoes, tasty braised bok choi, and a half a tomato stuffed with mushrooms. Then came dessert, a wonderful Grand Marnier soufffle served with a cream Anglaise on the side. The waiter helpfully instucted us on the proper procedure for adding the cream to the souffle. The other option for dessert was chocolate mousse.

The meal was very filling, almost too much so.

Other main courses included salmon, swordfish, prawns & scallops in tomato white wine, duck confit, rabbit in white wine & mushrooms, roast loin of lamb, steak au poivre flamed in congnac, and fillet mignon forrester. And all at the same price.

As the menu notes, Jeanne d’Arc is "Cuisine Traditionelle", a classic true French Bistro. It is not the ultimate in haut cuisine, nor does it try to be, but for what it is is, which is very,very good, it is very,very good. Don’t miss it. I recommend with out any reservations, that when visiting San Francisco, there are two meals you must eat: a dim sum lunch, and a dinner at Jeanne d’Arc.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 7, 2008

Jeanne d'Arc
715 Bush St
San Francisco, California 94108
+1 415 421 3154

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Scoma's Restaurant

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Restaurant | "Crab Cakes on the Waterfront"

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Lunch on the waterfront is was a far cry from our lunch the day before in New Chinatown. To start, Chinatown cost $20 for three, the waterfront was $53. The waterfront places are more elegant than an authentic local dim sum parlor, and the former feed tourists, the later locals. Like all the kitsch around Fisherman's Wharf, Scoma’s exterior looked like a New England clapboard. sea captain's house. Inside was attractive, a long narrow building with a bar on one side and long narrow dinning rooms with an almost decent view of the city and coast. Bright and cheerful, the table were set with fresh flowers, white linen, and the usual eating tools. Service was prompt, made no mistakes, and friendly. ...Read More

Lunch on the waterfront is was a far cry from our lunch the day before in New Chinatown. To start, Chinatown cost $20 for three, the waterfront was $53. The waterfront places are more elegant than an authentic local dim sum parlor, and the former feed tourists, the later locals. Like all the kitsch around Fisherman's Wharf, Scoma’s exterior looked like a New England clapboard. sea captain's house. Inside was attractive, a long narrow building with a bar on one side and long narrow dinning rooms with an almost decent view of the city and coast. Bright and cheerful, the table were set with fresh flowers, white linen, and the usual eating tools. Service was prompt, made no mistakes, and friendly. As we had been walking all morning on an unusually hot day, we were thirsty. The staff managed pretty well to keep our water glasses full.

We lived in Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay, for 20 years, and came to like crab cake sandwiches as one of our favorite lunches. There is a a rivalry between the coasts over which crab is best tasting, the west coast's Dungenes or the Eastern Blue crab, so, there was no question about what we would order– Dungenes Crab cake sandwiches for lunch for a taste off. The crab cake was very good but it was so different from the classic Maryland crab cake that they defy comparisons. It would be like asking which is better, a sirloin steak or a veal shank? One can have a preference, but that isn't the same as saying one is better than the other. Our preference is for the Maryland style crab cake, and it has more to do with the the preparation rather than with the type of crab (and, at our favorite crab cake restaurant at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, a crab cake sandwich is $4 less than at Scoma's).

The crab cake sandwiches came with very good fries, and it made a filling lunch. In short, it’s expensive, but if you must eat at the tourist trap that is the San Francisco waterfront, Scoma’s is good, safe bet, but be prepared to wait in season and pay top prices.

Scoma’s has an extensive menu, including four variations of San Francisco's most famous dish, Crab Louis; 13 pasta dishes, most with seafood; 12 shellfish; 10 items called "house favorites– Cioppino, Calamari, surf & turf, shrimp, and scallops; four steaks; 11 fish; and eight sandwiches– tuna, crab, shrimp, burgers, and steak. Prices start at $10 for soup or salad and go to $57 for lobster tail. Figure $12-20 for a sandwich, and about $30 for an entree.

There is also a three course prix fixe lunch menu (until 3:30pm) for $23 that includes choice of clam chowder or salad, choice of five entrees, and the chef’s desert of the day. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 9, 2008

Scoma's Restaurant
Pier 47 on Al Scoma Way
San Francisco, California 94133
(415) 771-4383

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General sight seeing

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Maltise Falcon death scene Photo - San Francisco, California

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San Francisco is one of the world’s great cities to visit, and some say to live. It is certainly the best the USA has to offer. Years ago business took me from Washington DC to San Francisco several times, making San Francisco one of my favorite destinations until I got to know London, Prague, Rome and Vienna. After the first trip, I planned my visits so that I stayed in the hotel furthest away from the work site by cable car, a spectacular way to commute, but times change. We visited San Francisco over Labor Day weekend (2008) and didn’t even ride the cable cars which had been transformed from part of the local mass transit system into an expensive ($5 per trip) tourist ride with long lines t...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 7, 2008

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