IF
YOU'RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO
November
2007
We've got
your perfect holiday itinerary
STAY | EAT | SEE | SHOP
Whatever your seasonal
longings—be they falling snow, crackling
fires, the soft scent of pine, or the gathering
of friends and family—there’s nothing
quite like decorated Christmas windows, twinkling
lights, and the streaming sound of carols to get
us in a festive holiday mood. There’s no
better place in California to experience the season,
and get some requisite shopping in, than San Francisco.
Throw in a little culture and cuisine, and you’ve
got a getaway designed to get your holiday off
to the right start.
 THE
WESTIN ST. FRANCIS HOTEL
Every year since 1880, a magnificent Christmas tree has been raised in Union
Square, lending to the four corners’ undeniable position as The City’s
best place to get your festive feelings stirring. For all but the first
24 years, the St. Francis Hotel has bared witness to this custom, as the esteemed
landmark hotel stands sentinel to the hustle and bustle that is San Francisco’s
prime center of social life and shopping.
Deeply imbued with
history, the St. Francis is an ideal place to stay
at a time of year when we long for the traditional.
In the original main building, which withstood
the 1906 earthquake (though it was gutted by the
resulting fire and completely restored, to open
again in late ’07), guests are greeted in
the ornate lobby of rich tapestry rugs and the
giant 1856 Viennese clock. This holiday season,
you’ll find the lobby traditionally decorated,
which includes a giant sugar castle created by
Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Francois Houdre.
Guest rooms in the original building have high
ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and Empire-style
furniture. The result is turn-of-the-century charm,
yet with
all of the comforts and modern amenities expected from a world-class property.
In The Tower, the “new” part of the hotel added in 1972, spacious
rooms are more modernly furnished and feature striking views of downtown.
Those
of you who have been to the St. Francis before may be surprised
to learn that the elegant Compass Rose, known for
its exquisite afternoon tea service, is gone. Your
disappointment, though, should disappear as soon
as you learn that it was replaced by Michael Mina
San Francisco, serving refined American cuisine
by the noted chef.
As the only hotel
directly on Union Square, the Westin St. Francis
offers the perfect launching point for every city
activity, from cable cars to theatre, and is within
walking distance to Chinatown, North Beach, and
The Embarcadero. After all that, return to the
hotel and sink into high thread count sheets and
duvets atop Westin’s signature Heavenly Beds®-— a
sumptuous, indulgent way to end your day.
The Westin
St. Francis Hotel
Union Square, 335 Powell St., San Francisco
(415) 397-7000;
www.westin.com
 HOTEL
VITALE
As the St. Francis is traditional and historic, Hotel Vitale is chic and modern.
Muted colors and natural tones are accented by soft blues and greens throughout;
the result is ultimately serene but not at all simple.
Rooms are sleek,
with pedestal beds, luxurious linens and fluffy
duvets, custom bedside tables with river stones
underneath glass, flat screen televisions, plush
bathrobes, and spacious baths with glassed-in showers
and limestone walls. Half of the rooms have stunning
bay views, though guests without them can hang
out on outdoor terraces on the fifth and eighth
floors and take in the sweeping sights of the waterfront
and nearby Bay Bridge.
Vitale resides in
a spectacular location on the southern Embarcadero
waterfront, directly across from the totally re-invented
Ferry Building Marketplace, where shops and restaurants
large and small celebrate food in all its forms.
If there’s a foodie on your list, you need
not look further than this one-of-a-kind shopping
experience that features everything from an antique
store focused on culinary products to cookware
gift shops to purveyors of gourmet and artisan
products.
This urban retreat
is also a place to rejuvenate; Vitale (which means
vital in Italian) offers complimentary yoga classes
for guests, a fitness center, and features a rooftop
spa and bamboo garden with soaking tubs for your
own personal bathing ritual al fresco.
Each evening
a hip crowd gathers in the circular lounge to drink
cocktails
and take in the 180-degree views. At Americano
Restaurant, Chef Paul Arenstam makes use of the
fresh local produce from the Ferry Building Marketplace
for his menu of contemporary Mediterranean food.
While
everything you need to get your holiday in order
is within
walking distance on flat streets, Vitale also provides
complimentary luxury car service within a mile.
HOTEL
VITALE
8 Mission St., San Francisco
(415) 278-3700;
www.hotelvitale.com
 CRUSTACEAN
It’s difficult to reduce the restaurant Crustacean to a few paragraphs — it’s
really a story for the ages; one of heritage, of fortunes lost and regained,
of royal life left behind though family prevails, and of the meaning of ancestry
and the importance of food. Helene An was a privileged child in Indochina ensconced
in an extended royal family. As a young mother with three children, she fled
the coming political unrest with her family in 1975, landing in San Francisco
with nothing but those she loved, a drive to persevere, and expertise from
a childhood in the kitchen learning from three family chefs (one Vietnamese,
one Chinese, and one French) as they prepared exquisite meals.
From a small
diner in San Francisco where An and her family worked
day and night, the culinary tradition of royal
Vietnamese food blossomed into a multi-million
dollar food empire which includes bottled items
and lifestyle products.
One manifestation
of this special story is the restaurant on Polk
Street, touted for its Euro-Asian cuisine and considered
by many to be the original home of fusion food.
An’s culinary approach is to balance complex
flavors and textures with a “freshness and
lightness” and to serve dishes that are simple,
clean, and refined.
A perfect example
of this is the Green Papaya Salad with marinated
calamari tossed in a spicy Vietnamese vinaigrette
with rau ram and Asian basil, or the Rice Paper
Shrimp Roll with green mango and served with spicy
peanut sauce. The Lobster Roll is prepared in a
crispy filo wrapper with a strawberry and kiwi
vinaigrette.
There is one requisite
dish, though, that is almost like a common code
amongst people who have dined at Crustacean, referred
to like a shared secret with a wink and a nod:
Roast Crab served over Garlic Noodles. Here an
entire Dungeness crab is roasted to perfection
with garlic and spices, and is served over perfect
egg noodles infused with garlic sauce.
Again, go
with friends who like to share, and try as many
dishes as you
can. This is a restaurant that you can not simply
read about; it must be experienced first-hand.
CRUSTACEAN
1475 Polk St., San Francisco
(415) 776-2722;
www.anfamily.com
 STRAITS
RESTAURANT
There are probably dozens of San Francisco restaurants you need to try. Let
us strongly recommend two.
At Straits Restaurant
in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, Chef/Owner
Chris Yeo delights guests with an authentic yet
modernized interpretation of his native Singaporean
cuisine. The food of Singapore is influenced by
the country’s cultural diversity—a
true fusion of Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Malay,
Indian, and even Western culinary expressions.
Serving a great selection of small plates, a meal
at Straits is a virtual tour of taste sensations,
with intriguing flavors and captivating spices.
Many
dishes feature fragrant lemongrass, such as the
Ayam Rendang—chicken
breast in a spicy lemongrass-coconut sauce with
pandan polenta-—and the Ikon Pangang, which
is grilled salmon in banana leaves with a lemongrass
chili sambal. The alluring Origami Sea Bass is
baked in parchment with ginger, longon, and shitake
mushrooms, and vegetarians will be equally tantalized
with dishes such as the Chap Chye, cabbage stir
fried with shitake and straw mushrooms, dried beancurd,
lily root, and bean thread noodles. Because the
menu is so interesting, it’s a great place
to go with a group, so you can share and taste
your way through Southeast Asia.
The drink menu
is equally intriguing: margaritas with salted plum,
cucumber, or coconut, a lemongrass mojito, a ginger
drop made with house-infused ginger vodka, and,
of course, a perfect Singapore Sling. Don’t
overlook the extensive sake list, including a flight
tasting—trust your server to give you a good
recommendation.
Straits has a decidedly
exotic atmosphere; in contrast to the commercial
shopping center, the interior is dimly-lit and
sophisticated, noticeably chic and contemporary.
With its stylish ambiance, exquisite food, and
excellent service, Straits Restaurant is precisely
the kind of place we go to San Francisco for.
Westfield
San Francisco Centre/Straits Restaurant
845 Market St., Ste. 597, San Francisco
(415) 668-1783
 de
Young Museum
As the oldest museum in the city, founded in 1895, the de Young Museum has
been an important part of the cultural fabric of San Francisco for over 100
years. But if you haven’t been since October 15, 2005, you’re in
for a surprise; it has re-opened in a new state-of-the-art facility that integrates
art, architecture and the natural landscape in one multi-faceted destination.
Its collections still include American paintings, decorative arts and crafts,
art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, and western and non-western textiles.
Through
November 23rd, the de Young is open late every Friday for
special exhibits of live music, poetry, films,
dance, tours, lectures, cocktails, food, artist
demonstrations, and interactive art projects.
From
October 27th – January
13th, 2008, the first comprehensive presentation
of “The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson” will
exhibit her sculptures along with her works on
paper, her personal history as a woman artist,
the history of Jewish migration to this country,
and the history of 20th-century art, including
major movements such as Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract
Expressionism, and Minimalism.
Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
San Francisco
www.deyoungmuseum.org
 Legion
of Honor Museum
Built to commemorate Californian soldiers who died in World War I, the Legion
of Honor Museum is a beautiful Beaux-Arts building located in San Francisco’s
Lincoln Park. Thought to be the city’s most beautiful museum, it displays
an impressive collection of 4,000 years of ancient and European art in an unforgettable
setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Its collections include European
decorative arts and paintings, ancient art, and one of the country’s
largest and finest collections of works on paper (prints, drawings, photographs,
books). And, of course, don’t miss Rodin’s famous masterpiece,
The Thinker, situated in the outdoor Court of Honor.
From November 17 – February
17, 2008, the Legion features a visual history
of the Petit Trianon, the picturesque château
that Louis XVI of France gave to his wife, Marie
Antoinette, as her private hideaway when she became
Queen of France in 1774.
Lincoln Park
34th Ave. and Clement St.,San Francisco
www.thinker.org
 Westfield
San Francisco
Several blocks over, on Market Street, well within walking distance from Hotel
Vitale, the Westfield San Francisco Centre has more than 170 stores, including
The Art of Shaving: a NY-based grooming products line for men; Furla with Italian
luxury accessories; Blu by Antik Denim; Tourneau, the world’s largest
watch store; Juicy Couture; and of course, Bloomingdales.
http://westfield.com/sanfrancisco/
Union
Square
Steps from The Westin St. Francis, Union Square
offers shopping of all sizes and prices. Besides
the massive Macy’s that takes up a block and a half
with seven stories and the revered Gump’s, there are boutiques galore,
including: Emporio Armani, Escada, Versace, Prada, and Hermes. There is also
great bargain hunting: Loehman’s, DSW for shoes, and Zara. www.unionsquareshop.com
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