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Hyde Street Bistro, 1521 Hyde Street, 292-4415. A delightful French bistro in Russian Hill. Great cuisine with the pleasant clanking of the Powell Street cable car line going by.

Tandoori Indian Restaurant, 869 Geary, 345-1011. Excellent Indian cuisine not far from the Theater District. Cheapest Indian lunch buffet ($4.99) in town.

Zante Pizza and Indian Cuisine, 3489 Mission, 821-3949. This place pretty much started the Indian Pizza movement. Eclectic and delicious. On the edge of Bernal Heights.

Borgo Ristorante Italiano, 500 Fell, 255-9108. On the edge of Hayes Valley lies a truly cozy, hip Italian dining experience. Great decor, too.

Buzz 9, 139 Eighth Street, 255-8783. Formerly Spike’s Cafe and then The Chat House, Buzz 9 continues the fun, hip tradition of this location. The Shabeen @ Buzz 9 is now downstairs nightly.

Nizario’s Pizza, 4077 - 18th St. & 3840 Geary. 487-0777 & 752-7777. Great pizza. Now in the Richmond AND the Castro.

Whiz Wit, 1525 Folsom & 1979 Union. 558-9200 & 923-0444. Philly Cheesesteaks, Grinders, Hoagies, and... SALADS??? How did that last one get in there? Must be potato salad, macaroni salad, etc. Owners really are from Philly, too.

Burger Island, 695 - 3rd Street, 541-9196. A swell hamburger joint right next to Pac Bell Park.

Frjtz, 579 Hayes, 864-7654. Where Mad Magda’s Russian Tea Room was. Now instead of palm readers, you can find owner Sergio Rodriguez acting as trance/techno Dj.

Farley’s, 1315 - 18th Street, 648-1545. Coffee, pastries, and a great selection of magazines and ‘zines. The highlight of Potrero Hill (and that’s saying a lot.)

Hungry Jack’s, 83 Eddy, 982-3451. Formerly Tina’s, enter this place and feel as though you entered an authentic old style diner. Serving Buffalo Burgers.

Crepe Express, 1476 Haight, 865-0264. On the corner of Haight & Ashbury lies this popular eatery dedicated to that lovely French (Brittany?) delicacy. Delicious.

Indochine, 721 Sutter. The Friday night party located at French-Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial. Put on by pretentious, arrogant SF Herald columnist Harris Rosenbloom. Beautiful, young, successful (or pretending to be successful) people.

Cajun Pacific, 4542 Irving, 504-NOLA. "Po-Boys & Louisiana Kitchen". Great Cajun food near the beach. Eat-in, take-out, catering.

Gin Joint, 312 Harriet, 934-1655. Off Bryant near the Hall of Justice. Cops and hipsters cohabitate.

Hana Zen, 115 Cyril Magnin, 421-2101. Yakitori and sushi bar. Celebrities spotted here a lot.

Sweetie’s, 475 Francisco, 433-2343. Delightful neighborhood watering hole in the North Beach/Fisherman’s Wharf area.

Yaketty Yak, 679 Sutter, 351-2090. Where the Academy of Art crowd hangs out. Live music and poetry sometimes.

Java Beach, La Playa at Judah. Take the N-Judah line to the last stop and see this great cafe that overlooks the Pacific.

Rosamunde Sausage Grill, 545 Haight, 437-6851. Smoke Duck Sausage, Polish Sausages, Sausages, Sausages, Sausages. A vegetarian’s nightmare! Lower Haight, next to Toronado.

Cafe.com, 970 Market, 922-5322. 10 Internet work stations, VIA, DSL, Scanner, Color Printer, coffee, beer.

Roccapulco, 3140 Mission, 648-6611. Great Mexican food and the Salsa Rengue Room. Dinner and live music. From Leticia, of Leticia’s in the Castro. A really hot spot.

Edinburgh Castle, 950 Geary, 885-4074. Famous Scottish pub, complete with pictures of Sean Connery on the walls and the occasional live band (and even play.) Irvine Welch read here.

Mr. Ralph’s Cafe, 90 Natoma, 243-9330. Instead of waiting on line at those crowded restaurants near Pac Bell Park before a Giants game, come here for sandwiches, beer, & wine. Quaint, cozy. Visit Francisco & Molly’s diagonally across the street.

London Wine Bar, 415 Sansome, 788-4811. America’s first wine bar. Great for a merlot just before a film at the Embarcadero, or after a bad day at work.

Jezebel’s Joint, 510 Larkin .. 345-9832. For strippers, trannies, and... anyone else I guess. The wild Tenderloin bar brought to you by the Power Exchange, the city’s only licensed sex club.

Backflip, 601 Eddy. 771-3547. Located at the Phoenix Hotel lies a tres-hip bar with a new party almost nightly.

Marlena’s, 488 Hayes, 864-6672. Straight-friendly gay bar in Hayes Valley with Dennis Crow on piano Thur., Fri., & Sat.

All Season Sushi, 524 Castro, 626-3604. New "Japanese Cuisine & Grill". Also in Redwood City at 2432 Broadway.

Walzwerk, 381 South Van Ness (at 15th), 551-7181. "East German restaurant". Interesting desserts. Unique. Well-received.

21st Amendment, 563 Second St., 369-0900. Brewery, cafe, bar. Jazz on Saturdays 7pm-10pm, mezzanine for private parties.

Foreign Cinema, 2534 Mission (at 21st St.), 648-7600. Yuppie haven serving French/California cuisine while some movie plays on a screen. Very popular.

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