Business Travel to San Francisco: Near the Moscone Center

Description:

Here in the heart of Mulitmedia Gulch is a fun spot for hip and hip wannabes. It is a good choice for grabbing a croissant and cafe au lait for breakfast, a frittata for lunch, or an intense espresso during an afternoon break served by a counter staff that turns over more quickly than the stock market. The setting is strictly hi-tech minimalist with pale walls of uncertain color, metal furniture and a floor that cannot decide if it is a mosaic or a mural. The outdoor seats take advantage of one of The City's few sunbelts.

Description:

In the midst of all the SoMa multimedia companies, loft spaces and clubs, is this little oasis of calm. This tiny restaurant is best known for its food and ambiance. Squeeze into a tiny table and enjoy the late afternoon sun and the buzz of conversation. Any item on the menu is good. Try the roast duck or the fresh salmon. The chef prepares all of the food to classic French standards, creamy, rich and delicious. A dinner here is the best way to escape to Paris, short of getting on a plane.

Our Local Expert Says:

The bar features a dazzling array of top-shelf tequilas. Ole, ole!

Description:

This place is hard to categorize. The decor is quite elegant, yet the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. Filled with candles, fresh cut flowers and soft music, patrons eating here are dressed casually. The food presents a similar paradox, appearing to be Mexican, but tasting rather French. A salad comes dusted with vanilla-soaked corn kernels. Grilled Pork Tenderloin is accompanied by a sauce of Pumpkin Seed and Tamarind. Dessert pairs cinnamon, chocolate and poached apricots. Cultural confusion is rarely blended with such harmonious results. The service is excellent.

Our Local Expert Says:

Best known for its extremely popular Wednesday night happy hour, which has a cover charge and runs from 5pm until 11pm every Wednesday night of the year.

Description:

An art gallery in which the entertainment and crowd are just as much a part of the effect as anything that might hang on the walls, you will find live music, DJ dancing, performance art, and film among your choices on a given night at this eclectic club. The small, intimate tables are perfect for discussing the art and those individuals who come to look at it. Cover varies.

Description:

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or SF MoMA, boasts world-class international art installations and is a unique architectural marvel in and of itself. Past special exhibits have included Matthew Barney, Frida Kahlo, Diane Arbus, Claes Oldenburg, and Marc Chagall, just to give you a taste of SF MoMA's diverse coverage of modern and contemporary art-world darlings. The permanent collections are nothing to shake a stick at, either. The painting wing features an array of modern masters, from Magritte to Pollock, and the photography, architecture and design, and media arts wings are full of visual delights. The top floor features awe-inspiring full-room installations (and we really mean FULL room) that are better left experienced rather than spoiled here. SF MoMA also has one of the best gift shops in San Fran. If you feel petered out after wandering through the museum, catch a flick at the SF Metreon entertainment complex, only a block away.

Our Local Expert Says:

San Francisco's Premier Public Art space

Description:

Fine and performing arts are the focus of the Yerba Buena Center, which includes art galleries, a movie theater, a theater for live performances, and a beautifully landscaped garden with striking fountains. Take time to visit the one dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. that invites strollers to walk behind a waterfall as they contemplate quotations from both him and other assassinated leaders of the Civil Rights movement. Music and theater groups perform among the five and one-half acres of rolling gardens during lunch from May through September. Concurrent with exhibits are informative lectures and seminars, poetry workshops, and resident artist programs.

Description:

Unless you're at Yerba Buena to catch a performance, you're more likely to visit the 5-acre gardens, a great place to relax in the grass on a sunny day and check out several artworks. The most dramatic outdoor piece is an emotional mixed-media memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. Created by sculptor Houston Conwill, poet Estella Majozo, and architect Joseph de Pace, it features 12 panels, each inscribed with quotations from King, sheltered behind a 50-foot-high waterfall. There are also several actual garden areas here, including a Butterfly Garden, the Sister Cities Garden (highlighting flowers from the city's 13 sister cities), and the East Garden, blending Eastern and Western styles. May through October, Yerba Buena Arts & Events puts on a series of free outdoor festivals featuring dance, music, poetry, and more by the San Francisco Ballet, Opera, Symphony, and others.

Description:

Legions of office types from mail room clerks to fast-track Yuppies love the enormous sandwiches on freshly baked bread here, and the huge and hugely popular lemon-poppy seed rolls that are the size of a small cabbage. You will find the usual turkey, ham and meatloaf selections plus some innovative vegetarian sandwiches that change daily and that go beyond sprouts and avocado. Though small, the space is well planned, so you can pick up a soda or bottled water on your way to the counter and exit by the bakery counter/coffee bar with a second cash register, making it easy to change your mind and pick up dessert after all.

Description:

Opened in 1988 and given a $460-million expansion in 2006, this ritzy 1.5-million-square-foot urban shopping center is one of the few vertical malls (multilevel rather than sprawling) in the United States. Its most attractive feature is a spectacular atrium with a century-old dome that's 102 feet wide and three stories high. Along with Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's department stores and a Century Theatres multiplex, there are more than 170 specialty stores, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor, bebe, Benetton, Foot Locker, J. Crew, and Victoria's Secret. The bottom-level is sprinkled with good, quick eats and gourmet delicatessens; you won't find your standard food court fare here.

Description:

This gleaming mass of brushed-chrome, plate-glass and 21st century attitude is one of The City's best shopping and entertainment complexes with first-rate shops, restaurants, attractions, and state-of-the-art cinemas (including an IMAX. Sony Playstation store in the whole wide world, plus hyper-cool video arcades. The food court is a cut above what you will find in a typical mall, featuring outposts of such San Francisco restaurants as Sanraku. Hands-on is the house rule. Look through colorful coffee table books. Touch Sony's biggest touchscreen remote. Capture alien invaders at the PlayStation store, and then bring home the latest band's CD spinning inside the listening station. You'll also find other great places to browse and shop like: Sony Style letting you kick back in one of the "living rooms," and watch a movie on the biggest television, or try out the latest HandyCam.

Our Local Expert Says:

If you don’t fill up during the game, head out to one of SoMA’s great nearby eateries: Tres Agaves boasts wonderful haute Mexican food and top-shelf tequilas; Primo Patio serves up a delicious islands-inspired lunch menu; and South Park Café features refined yet unpretentious French cooking.

Description:

Baseball lovers would be remiss not to catch an open-air game at AT&T Park, home to MLB powerhouse the San Francisco Giants and the record-breaking feats of Barry Bonds. Built in 1997, AT&T Park is positioned on the bay in San Francisco's funky SoMA district and appeals even to fair-weather sports fans with its fantastic setting, beautiful views, and fun features, such as the 80-foot Coca-Cola bottle with playground slides. And then there's the matter of the park's top-notch eats. Where else in America could you expect to buy a gourmet sausage and garlic fries or a sushi roll for your mid-game snack?

Description:

With an abundance of patio seating, a huge swank-yet-casual dining room, and proximity to AT&T Park baseball stadium, festive MoMo's hits a home run if you're headed to a Giants game, but is not a destination in itself. Crowds of upscale sports fans make this a fun place to hang out on the patio and chow down on greasy-good thin-sliced onion rings, refreshing seared ahi salad, thin-crust pizza, and awesome burgers. Come sundown, there are dozens of other restaurants where I'd prefer to spend my money, but singles appreciate the bar scene. Happy hour is hopping Monday through Friday in the baseball off season -- especially during sunny weather. If you're headed here on a game day, make a reservation or arrive early, because party people form a line around the block to get in, and it's no fun trying to eat standing at the bar or wrestling for one of the coveted patio tables.

Description:

Works by established artists and students are exhibited here. Subjects range from different artistic interpretations of the traditional tzedakah box to the Holocaust's non-Jewish victims to seasonal holiday exhibits of menorahs. In its effort to link the Jewish community to mainstream society, the museum often exhibits works that are political and controversial, thus challenging visitors. Educational programs are held in conjunction with current exhibits.

Description:

Even in a city full of great restaurants, this swank spot is a standout. It is a delight for all the senses: the ambience is classy, the seasonal Provençal food is outstanding, and the aromas coming from the wood-fired and rotisserie ovens are irresistible. Plus, its large wine list has merited the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Although the extensive menu boasts many scrumptious dishes, we recommend ordering a rotisserie special, which never disappoints. When you are looking to impress people with your impeccable taste, or when you are just looking to have a great meal, make this your destination.