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This week we take a look at the big city just around the corner (or in Mike's case, 80 miles south): San Francisco. From our first forays into the city, to our love for it's appearance in popular culture, this episode is mainly about the metropolis we grew up knowing. We also divulge a classic story about Danny (you might remember him from such episodes as Sega and the Super Bowl).
Also, if you're ever in San Francisco, be sure to check out a restaurant owned by Dom's relatives: Zadin.
Intro/Outro Music: Can I Be a Star by Burnshee Thornside
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Re: Zadin -- Damn, but that looks good.
Reminds me of 1) How long I've gone without good Vietnamese food and B) How pathetic it is that a city of millions doesn't have one good Vietnamese place. I've yet to find a decent Korean place, either, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
If you really want great Korean food in California, then take a trip down to the L.A. area. I was just there and made sure to have some great Korean BBQ (Chosun Galbee in Korea Town). But if that's not an option, I've been told Brothers Restaurant in SF is very good, although I only found it ok. There's a few in Jtown that I found decent as well. Sorry, I don't know their names, but Jtown really isn't that big, so it shouldn't be hard finding them.
As for the East Bay, there's some pretty good places along Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. Koryo is probably my favorite BBQ place in the East Bay, mostly because it's closest to where I live. Seoul Gom Tang is very good for soups, and Pyung Chang Tofu House is good for their spicy tofu soups. I liked Sahn Maru as well. They still don't compare to the places in Southern California, but I like them well enough. I've also heard good things about Jong Ga House on Grand Ave. near Lake Merritt in Oakland, but I've only been there once years ago.
Damn... Now I feel like eating Korean food. And I should mention my favorite Korean BBQ place is Shik Do Rak in Garden Grove. Just note that that seems to be a popular name for Korean restaurants. I'm only talking about the one in Garden Grove.
Much obliged, Soung. I will definitely keep those in mind for the next time I come through LA.
One small problem, though -- I currently live in Jakarta, not California. Any of those places deliver?
Well given the location of Jakarta, I'd think it'd be easier to get deliveries straight from S. Korea since it is a little closer to you. After all, why get Korean food from California when you can get Korean food from Korea?
But I find it somewhat surprising Indonesia doesn't have any authentic Vietnamese restaurants given its proximity to Vietnam. Hrmm, now I'm feeling like Vietnamese.
I'd settle for inauthentic Vietnamese at this point. The best I've found so far is a pho stall in the Plaza Indonesia food court, and it is, as you would expect, craptacular. There are a handful of good Thai places, though, and Thai food is always welcome. It's good and, with much less emphasis on frying things than Indonesian food, good for you.
I think I get why there are no Vietnamese places, though. Indonesia seems to be a place people leave to find work elsewhere in the region (Malaysia, HK, Singapore, etc.), not the other way around. With the lack of immigrants from other cultures, local cuisine dominates. Not that it's a bad thing, mind, but it's not great for variety.
As far as deliveries, I quote from the book of Jesse Ventura: 'Jokejokejoke'. So hard to get the right inflection over the Interwebs.
Hey,
each episode I feel like I know you better. I somehow feel like a bit of a stalker after "revealing" episodes like this
For someone not born and not living in the U.S., it's nice to get a bit of non-tourism-information about SF, makes me want to visit when I visit America, because "everyone" talks about New York, but tend to forget there are actually other cities worth visiting too.
SF > NY.
Not that I have anything to base that off of because I haven't been to NY yet. haha. But hey, SF is just a little bit more affordable at least!
Amy, you are a cruel person. I was mowing my lawn while listening to the podcast. You began talking about crepes and I felt the need to make myself some. (And I happen to agree about SF > NY, however Washington DC and Chicago are better than SF as far as I know.)
Hahaha crepes, ftw!
I've been to Chicago, but maybe I didn't get the full experience or something... I like the city well enough, but it's no SF. SF <3 forever! 
Wow, I just wrote a profound comment about why I like SF better than Chicago, but WordPress deleted it because I didn't put my name on the comments.
I officially hate WordPress now.
Web applications need to have auto-saving for user input within their cookies... I am not going into this now.
Anyway it was basically SF > Chicago but SF ? DC cuz I never been there.
The Swordian women have spoken.
the swordladies? Ye gods, everyone duck! they're gonna cut everything!
Then we can introduce a new tag: "It's no longer a Long One."
Other notable movies set in San Francisco: Basic Instinct, 48 Hours, Foul Play, Big Trouble in Little China (technically, because it was filmed on a studio lot), Pacific Heights, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Presidio, Milk, The Princess Diaries, and Zodiac.
Also, TV series set in San Francisco: Full House, Nash Bridges (also primarily filmed in SF), Charmed, Eli Stone, Party of Five, Trapper John, MD, Too Close for Comfort, Dharma & Greg, Monk, and of course, Streets of San Francisco.
As an SF native, my moments and places are a bit different than yours. But after having lived elsewhere and coming back, one thing really strikes me about the city:
It's really beautiful. There's hardly a bad view of the city from pretty much any angle. The surrounding area is also really great, and there's just the way the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean and lights up the sky in the evening that just warms my heart. Land, sea, air, mountains, it all fills up the eye and overwhelms the senses.
The only two cities I've been to that come close to SF in this kind of natural beauty are Seattle and Vancouver.
There are a lot of other things to recommend about SF, like the weather, the food, the people, the culture, the history, but for my money, it's also the most beautiful city in America. (Mad Cakester, DC and Chicago can't hold a candle to SF on weather, because they're both unlivable in the summer.)
Other notable movies set in San Francisco: Basic Instinct, 48 Hours, Foul Play, Big Trouble in Little China (technically, because it was filmed on a studio lot), Pacific Heights, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Presidio, Milk, The Princess Diaries, and Zodiac.
Also, TV series set in San Francisco: Full House, Nash Bridges (also primarily filmed in SF), Charmed, Eli Stone, Party of Five, Trapper John, MD, Too Close for Comfort, Dharma & Greg, Monk, and of course, Streets of San Francisco.
As an SF native, my moments and places are a bit different than yours. But after having lived elsewhere and coming back, one thing really strikes me about the city:
It's really beautiful. There's hardly a bad view of the city from pretty much any angle. The surrounding area is also really great, and there's just the way the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean and lights up the sky in the evening that just warms my heart. Land, sea, air, mountains, it all fills up the eye and overwhelms the senses.
The only two cities I've been to that come close to SF in this kind of natural beauty are Seattle and Vancouver.
There are a lot of other things to recommend about SF, like the weather, the food, the people, the culture, the history, but for my money, it's also the most beautiful city in America. (Mad Cakester, DC and Chicago can't hold a candle to SF on weather, because they're both unlivable in the summer.)
I need to make it to Vancouver then! It seems like we share similar thoughts and opinions on the city. I also love Seattle, so I'm glad to be visiting Lita there soon.
Oh yeah, and now that I'm thinking about it, Gene Roddenberry picked San Francisco as the site of Starfleet because it's where the United Nations was founded.
I watched Journeyman every week!
Also, I'm upset I wasn't there because no one mentioned Sneakers! NO ONE! You're all fired! Yes, I'm a bit behind on listening to these...
I was trying to forget Sneakers. Bastige.