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SAN FRANCISCO’s BEST ●Attractions●Neighborhoods/Shopping+Restaurants
FISHERMAN’S WHARF’s BEST
Pier 39’s BEST
Beach St./The Embarcadero.
This popular spot offers myriad diversions in addition to more than 110 shops and 12 restaurants. Among the boutiques is one that specializes in puppets, another in chocolate, and another in items for left-handers, and the California Welcome Center dispenses free visitor information.
ATTRACTIONS
Street performers entertain daily. An arcade is packed with cutting-edge video games is located at the bay end. Also down there is a contemporary two-tiered carousel that was made in Italy. Hand-painted with famous San Francisco landmarks and trimmed with 1,800 LED lights, its tiers are populated with 32 unique marine animals--think sea dragons, sea lions, and dolphins--as well as a few horses and pandas, two stationary chariots, and two spinning tubs. Several more low-key attractions also await.
Sea lions have taken up permanent residence on the west side of the pier and are seen there basking, barking, and belching on floating docks. Nearby, the new Sea Lion Center acts as a hub for all things sea lion, including interactive displays, educational videos and many fascinating presentations led by Aquarium of the Bay naturalists. Touch a sea lion pelt, size yourself up next to a real sea lion skeleton, and more.
Live sea lion webcam.
Video.
Aquarium of the Bay transports visitors through a long transparent acrylic tunnel via a moving sidewalk for a diver’s-eye view of the fishes, sharks, and other sea life residing in San Francisco Bay.
Each year in February, Tulipmania displays approximately 39,000 tulips throughout the pier. These harbingers of spring are a lot of work to grow here, because in this climate fresh bulbs must be planted each year. Free tours are scheduled.
RESTAURANTS
Restaurant menu boards are posted around the pier, providing a chance to analyze offerings and prices. These are among them:
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The second link in the chain licensed by Paramount Pictures (the first is in Monterey), this theme restaurant is based on the shrimping scenes in the movie “Forrest Gump.” It resembles a seafood shack. Not surprisingly, the menu has many shrimp selections, most of them deep-fried, as well as fresh fish entrees and baby back ribs. The bar serves up fun drinks, including several kinds of margaritas and some non-alcoholic, good-for-you drinks. Dessert should, of course, be a box of chocolates, and that is an option. As a bonus, magnificent views of the bay are enjoyed from most tables. An adjacent shop sells everything Gump. (Winston Groom lived in San Francisco when he wrote “Forrest Gump”--the book. In fact, he named the main character after this city’s famous department store.)
Eagle Cafe Situated at the pier entrance, this casual spot serves simple fare and cocktails. More.
Fog Harbor Fish House You can rest easy and fully enjoy your meal here because all seafood on the menu is sustainable. Located near the pier entrance, the expansive white-tablecloth dining room offers bay views from most seats, which come in the form of window-side tables and raised booths (both regular and half-moon). We started with a cup of clam chowder (also available in a sourdough bread bowl) and an iceberg lettuce wedge topped with Pt. Reyes blue cheese dressing. Addictive Boudin sourdough bread is freshly baked in-house. Entrée choices include everything from wild salmon to whole Dungeness crab to fresh lobster, but my heart said fried shrimp with thin french fries and a tangy coleslaw with horseradish dressing. My husband bibbed up and dove into a massive seafood cioppino. Steaks and pastas are also options. Our drinks of choice were a yummy Alcatraz Escape cocktail for me (coconut and dark rums mixed with orange and pineapple juices and some grenadine) and a tasty Oregon Pinot Noir from RouteStock for my mate. Desserts are housemade and samples are brought out on a tray to contemplate—hmmm, should we have a heavy one (bread pudding topped with ice cream) or a light one (raspberry sorbet)? And all the while we enjoyed watching the changing light of the evening view.
Hard Rock Cafe On Beach St., at Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf. In addition to roomy booths that allow first-rate people watching, this iconic eatery displays some ‘60s rock memorabilia: a painting of Jerry Garcia by Grace Slick, vocalist with the Jefferson Airplane/Starship; Country Joe McDonald’s gorgeous Gibson ES-355 guitar; and coming soon--Janis Joplin’s hand-painted sequined cape that is seen draped over the couch on the cover of her final album, “Pearl.” And, as might be expected from the name, rock & roll is played non-stop. The American-style food is quite good, the service attentive, and the prices reasonable. The house salad is crisp, cold romaine lettuce, and the housemade Thousand Island dressing is tangy with fresh onion. Hamburgers are served on whole-wheat sesame buns and are just plain good. The menu also offers an assortment of sandwiches, housemade chili, grilled fresh fish, and rich, old-fashioned desserts. A plethora of souvenir items can be ordered at the table and added to the tab.
Wipeout Bar & Grill Located near the pier entrance, this place gets busier as the day moves on. It features a fire pit and large seating area outside, where you can watch the throngs go by while you chow down to surf music. Choice items include garlic fries, onion rings, clam chowder, a bacon-guacamole California burger, and of course, tacos, burritos, and pizza. All seafood on the menu is sustainable. Many people stop to refresh on nachos and one of their signature 23-ounce cocktails. We came for breakfast, when it is just beginning to warm up and so a lot quieter, and we sat inside amid the TV sports bar atmosphere. My husband had the California Breakfast with eggs over easy, and though he prefers his potato wedges crisper, he cleaned his plate. My chorizo-cheese scramble with sourdough toast was also tasty, and portions were substantial enough to see us through to dinner.
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