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Places even locals don’t know about

• Drink sake and sing Karaoke at the traditional shochu bar Mogura in the Japan Center in Japantown
• Enjoy traditional Japanese bar food and beer at the Izakaya Juku
• Ride the Seward Street Slides just west of the Castro neighborhood. Use wax paper and cardboard to pick up top speed and race a friend to the bottom on these twin concrete slides.
• Enjoy alternative cinema at the independently-owned, two-screen 4-Star Theatre. The architecture is quite unique and I imagine is reminiscent of a theatre experience during the 1950s.

Where you should eat

• In a city known for it’s burritos, The Little Chihuahua has one of the best, made with fried plantains, guacamole, and fresh pico de gallo.
• I didn’t know fried chicken could be so amazing until I had chicken and waffles at The Little Skillet. If you have never enjoyed fried chicken, and would never eat it again, this is the only place you need to try it.
• Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers, only a ten minute walk from the tourist zone of Union Square, is arguably the best in the city, and probably the best I’ve ever tased. The milkshakes  come in imaginative flavors and are made with premium ingredients.
• Buy a sandwich from Bi-Rite (and go to Dolores Park on the weekend). Tip: If you go around 3:30/4:00pm, ask if they have any discounted sandwiches. They usually have sandwiches for half-off at that point, and they were made earlier that morning. I recommend the yam and goat cheese.
• Eat brunch at Citizen’s Band. This is one of the best food counters in the city with reasonable prices from $3 a biscuit and gravy side to $11 for a fantastic corn beef hash. They use fresh, local ingredients.
• Eat Golden Boy Pizza in North Beach. This is one of my favorite post-bar pizza joints in the city. The slices are square and thick crust, and come in varieties like combination, to pesto vegetarian (my slice of choice), to the unique clam & garlic. (The space is a bit awkward though, as the ordering counter is just by the entrance, so people are always opening the door onto paying customers.)

Where you should drink

• My local watering hole is Café Royale. They’ve a decent selection on tap, bottles for variety, and also serve soju cocktails; they do not serve hard liquor. I go there for the relaxed environment and the “public house” feel of it. It’s a Cheers-style kind of bar with lots of regulars, as well as a stream of internationals that pass through thanks to the nearby hostels. The bartenders are good friends of mine, and the setup of the bar is nice with plenty of options for large groups or more intimate conversation (on the couches, or upstairs where most people don’t go). On the first Monday of the month there is live Beatles Karaoke. Each night of the week there is usually an event, like standup comedy, live bands, or couch surfing meet ups.
• Go for French wine and a cheese and meat plate at Terroir. It’s a bit pricey at $12 minimum for a glass, but you’re paying for quality and for the authentic ambiance of the bar. If you want to get your money’s worth, sit at the bar and ask lots of questions about the wines. The bartender will pour you generous samples of each, so you end up getting the equivalent of 3 glasses of wine for the price of one.
• Have a mixed drink at Gitane with one of their delicious flat bread pizzas. This is a more intimate, upscale lounge, with friendly and polite bartenders who are especially knowledgeable about mixed drinks.

Where you should go for fun

• Go to the Exploratorium After Dark event on the first Thursday of the month. There are lots of thoughtfully designed hands-on science exhibits appropriate for adults, and they serve alcohol. Be warned though, this is a date night haven.
• Enjoy a weekend touring the wineries in Sonoma, a local and more intimate alternative to Napa Valley. I especially recommend the Jacuzzi Winery (for the chocolate shooter of port) and the Gundlach-Bundshu Winery because it’s one of the oldest and impressive estates in the area.
• Go for some big city clubbing at Ruby Skye, a mega club downtown not from from Union Square. This is not where the locals go, but for people coming into the city to party for the weekend. It’s worthwhile going at least once if you’ve never been to a serious club before. There’s a huge open dance floor and an impressive stage that hosts internationally famous DJs.
• For a more multi-cultural experience, go after hours for Latin beats and dancing at Little Baobab, an incredibly charming and transporting Senegalese restaurant and bar. One moment you’re in the Mission neighborhood and the next you step through their door into West Africa.
• Play pub trivia on Thursday nights at Mad Dog In The Fog in the Lower Haight. It’s a good way to learn how much you don’t know.
• Witness the most amusing cross-section of humanity at Dolores Park

Best views of the city

• Ride a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, where there’s an incredible view of the city and a quaint main street full of gift stores and ice cream shops. If you need to, you can rent a bike from Blazing Saddles for about $30 per day. For the return trip, I recommend you take the ferry across the bay.
• Have happy hour drinks at The View Lounge at the 4th Street Marriott and around 6:15pm you can watch the fog roll over Sutro Tower and into the city (watch the video by my friend Bill Couch. It’s quite the spectacle).
• Eat dinner at the Cliff House for an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean.
• Alta Plaza Park in the Pacific Heights neighborhood also provides an excellent vantage for enjoying the cityscape.

Worthwhile Tourist Traps

• Do the Alcatraz Night Tour (the scarier version).
• Go to a San Francisco Giants baseball game (your best bet is to buy tickets on StubHub).
• Go to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building.
• Visit the art exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art.
• Go to a show at the San Francisco Symphony.
• Go shopping in the Haight-Ashbury District.
• Attend Sunday-morning services at Grace Cathedral in Nob Hill. The cathedral and courtyard are awe-inspiring.
• Enjoy the antics of the penguins and tigers at the San Francisco Zoo.

(Source: stewart-little.com)