Mission District,
Noe Valley, Bernal Heights
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Esperpento
(22nd St. at
Valencia). This once-reliable sister restaurant to Picaro hasn't had outside tables for
a while and is in danger of losing their last bone. But we spotted the
outside tables again a few days ago, so there's hope.
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Garçon
(Valencia
& 22nd). This neighborhood French restaurant has several sidewalk
tables and friendly staff always ready to serve you there. Though there
are no heaters, partitions moderate the evening breeze. Huxley even got
a lamb bone here once! |
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Joey and Eddie's Pescheria
(Church St. at 29th St.). A cozy, heated front porch and waiters
endlessly patient with Hux's tangled leash make for a great night out
every time. There are always dogs passing by on Church Street to greet.
If this place has a drawback, it's that the delicious-smelling fish
doesn't have the kind of bones that Huxley gets to have.
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Last Supper Club
(Valencia at
23rd). Ever-hopeful Huxley covets the steak and eggs served at brunch.
Umbrellas keep the sun out of eyes tired from the night before, and the
staff always brings water.
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Le Zinc (24th St.
between
Noe and Castro). Sit out front to watch the street, just like a
Parisian tourist, or in back under the heat lamp. Huxley particularly
likes the corks from the well-chosen list of French reds.
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Mitchell's
Ice Cream (San Jose
Avenue at 29th Street). Nothing is better than a visit to San
Francisco's finest ice creamery, always mobbed with friendly humans and
dogs, a chance to slurp up fallen ice cream off the sidewalk while the
humans relax on the benches outside, and, if Huxley is lucky, the end
of a cone.
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Noe's
Bar (24th St. @ Church St.). Just what you need after a hike to
Las Papas: a couple of tables with umbrellas, draft beer, and all of
Noe
Valley going by. Hux heard he could go inside; he hasn't tried yet, but
if it's true another bone is sure to follow.
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Picaro (16th St.
between Valencia & Guerrero). Something about this taperia makes
the humans generous. Huxley has been known to get a whole cantimpalito
(a snack-sized chorizo), usually when the humans get near the
bottom of a bottle of Spanish red -- a delicious cork at a reasonable
price. Tables are protected by a little fence and the neighborhood is
always interesting to watch.
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Vino Rosso (Cortland
Avenue,
Bernal Heights). There's only a bench outside, which means only glasses
of wine for the humans and no corks for Huxley, but the water bowl is
very welcome after hiking
around Bernal Heights and there are always friendly human and canine
passers-by. Other humans have been seen eating outside as well as
drinking, so this place's star is on the rise.
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Downtown: Financial
District, North Beach, Union Square, Tenderloin
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A La Turca (Geary St.
at
Larkin). Delicious Turkish food at reasonable prices, and sidewalk
seating in a neighborhood where it's rare.
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B44, Belden Taverna,
Brindisi, Cafe Bastille, Plouf (Belden Place). All of the many
restaurants on Belden Place have covered outdoor seating and heaters.
Huxley usually sits at one of the tables farthest from the restaurants
(and the heaters) where there's more room to sniff around. Two bones
for the reliability of all these restaurants as a group; one of them is
bound to be open at almost any time. Cafe Bastille has been open for
weekend lunches when the others were not. The humans like the tapas at
B44 and the mussels at Plouf best, but Huxley is most interested in
Cafe Bastille's aromatic andouillette.
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Cafe Claude (Claude
Lane). Huxley will never forget his first visit to this outpost of
traditional French cooking, when a kind waiter treated him to the
remains of someone's charcuterie plate, boiled chicken left over from
making stock, extra hamburger from a steak tartare, and even a lick of
the steak tartare mixing bowl. The humans were so jealous. Excellent corks as well.
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The Crepe House (Post
&
Taylor). What's not to like about breakfast with a cheery tiki god?
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Emporio Rulli (Union
Square). During Huxley's stay downtown in 2006, this was the place to
enjoy an early continental breakfast and watch Union Square wake up. |
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Giordano
Bros. (Columbus at Broadway). The outside tables here aren't
quite as comfy as at SF Brewing Company, but the fries that regularly
fall out of the overstuffed sandwiches more than make up for it.
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Mario's
Bohemian Cigar Store (Washington Square). Hux has never actually
had one of Mario's meatball sandwiches, but the smell keeps him coming
back just in case. The outside service is a little slow, but that's
just perfect for relaxing and enjoying this interesting corner location
with lots of people and dogs to greet as they walk past.
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San
Francisco Brewing Company (Columbus at Pacific). The humans seem
to think better of the beer than the food here, but there's no better
place for a dog, or a human, to watch the world go by than one of the
tables tucked in around the main entrance.
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Wine (Embarcadero
Two). Hux prizes this place not for the corks -- the humans tend to
have glasses here, not bottles -- but for actually having been allowed
inside a couple of times before there was sidewalk seating. Now there
is, and it's perfect for a snort or three as early as ten and as late
as
midnight.
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South of Market
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The Butler and the Chef
(South Park). Hux fits right in with the strict French ambiance. The
kindly chef, who's been known to bring out a dog treat, and all
of the other dogs visiting the park made this his favorite lunch stop
back when he worked in this neighborhood.
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South Park Cafe (South
Park). The nicest place Huxley knows of to watch humans eat dinner
South of Market. It's not far from his old office, there are dogs in
the park in the evening, too, and he usually gets a cork.
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Zebulon
(Natoma near 2nd St.). That guy at the other end of the leash sometimes
seems awfully relaxed here for a weekday lunch. Yes, there's beer as
well as sandwiches. There's not really much here to interest Huxley,
but it's a welcome oasis in this neighborhood.
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Around town
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Frjtz
(Hayes Valley). All we've ever had here is beer and fries -- Huxley's
favorite menu, because lots of fries and happy owners mean he usually
gets a couple of fries himself. This restaurant has just moved (if
we've gotten it right) to the Mission; we don't know yet if it'll still
be on this list.
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Park Chalet (behind
Beach Chalet, on the Great Highway at JFK
Drive). Three bones for abundant outdoor seating, heat lamps near every
table, lots of other dogs to greet, and the brewpub beer and erratic
service, both of which keep the humans from moving on too quickly. And,
of course, because coming here means a long walk in Golden Gate Park or
on Ocean Beach or both.
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