Tourism

Here are some of Terry's favorite things to do in San Francisco:

• Walk or run along Ocean Beach.
• Have tea in the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It's a little pricey, especially since you have to pay to enter the Garden, but I've been going there since I was a little girl and I just love it, as touristy as it is.
• Take the cable cars anywhere. Insider tip: don't board at the end of the line; you'll wait forever. Instead, hop on a few blocks later. And definitely go for standing on the outside of the car.
• Eat cracked crab at Alioto's on Fisherman's Wharf. Give the cheesey T-shirt and souvenir shops a miss, but do stroll around the restaurant area and hum to yourself "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay".
• Stroll Chinatown at dusk. The last time I went there, we dined at Sam Wo at 813 Washington St. between Grant and Stockton. We used to go there when I was in college and it is still the same. When you walk in the front door, you will be in the kitchen. Keep going to the stairs in back and walk up two flights to the dining room. They are open until 3 a.m. (closed Sundays). Cash only. While you are in Chinatown, stock up on tiny Buddha statues.
• Rent Hitchcock's Vertigo, then spend an afternoon viewing the paintings and Rodin sculptures at The Palace of the Legion of Honor.
• Walk the portion of the Barbary Coast Trail that traverses the actual Barbary Coast.

I live with my parents, and Mom's cooking is so good that I rarely go out to eat. But I do have a couple of restaurant recommendations.

For some real local flavor, so local that I've never seen a tour book that tells about it, visit one of the down-down-home restaurants listed here on my personal website.

As a Lebanese-American, I can recommend Fattoush as a decent Noe Valley Middle Eastern restaurant. Find it at 1361 Church St., San Francisco, 94114, (415) 641-0678. Everything we have ordered is good. We like to start with lots of maza (appetizers) and then share some entrees.

There are thirty-one restaurants, bars, and cafes along 24th Street between Chatenooga and Diamond. This is a very short walk NE of the event center.