7 things to do in San Francisco

1.  Barneys New York.  Shopaholics and fashionistas, get your wallets ready and rejoice!  The inimitable Barneys (www.barneys.com or phone  415-268-3500) finally opened its doors in the Bay Area last September. Located just off Union Square in the iconic building formerly occupied by FAO Schwarz on the corner of Stockton and O’Farrell, Barneys boasts six floors of brands and products assembled by some of the industry’s most fashion-forward buyers.

How about a $75 lipstick from Serge Lutens (thank heavens the refill is only $55), or a bottle of Frederic Malle’s Une Fleur de Cassie perfume for $210 (ask to sample a scent and see what happens)? 

How about a cobra shoebox by R & Y Augousti (proudly made in the Philippines because the “R” is Philippine-born “Ria” who met her husband “Yiouri” in design school in London)?  Of course, there is always that pair of Zoraide’s or Louboutin’s from Barneys’ much vaunted collection of 20,000 pairs of shoes. Heaven forbid you buy something as pedestrian as Blahniks or Pradas!

Barneys carries everything from $15 bottles of Kiehl’s shampoo to a wide array of “if-you-have-to-ask-you-can’t-afford-it” bags and dresses. But one of the things that makes any trip to Barneys appealing is the fact that whether you buy anything or not, you are bound to see something you have never seen before. There are always things that are out of the ordinary because, aside from buyers who are willing to take a lot of risks, Barneys is also known to get designers to make numerous “exclusives” for them. That makes “shopping” in Barneys worth it every time… even if it is just “window shopping.”

Barneys is open Monday to Saturday (except Thursday) 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. And if you are looking for “Pinoy Service” at the cosmetics counters, look for Christina Alviedo at the basement level.

2.  In-N-Out Burger. Arguably the best hamburger around (especially when you consider the price), In-N-Out Burger (www.in-n-out.com) is a West Coast institution with locations in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.  Having lived off “IO runs” back in my college days, I always felt that aside from the fact that their burgers are never frozen and are cooked to order, part of their enormous success is attributable to a very simple menu without too many choices. Customers are basically given a choice of hamburger, cheeseburger, double-double (two patties and tow slices of cheese), french fries, sodas and three flavors of milkshake.

Was I wrong!

Believe it or not, IO has a “not-so-secret-secret-menu.” And when you are so used to saying “double-double, fries and a chocolate shake,” it feels a little strange to say “Flying Dutchman, fries animal style and a Neapolitan.” Even the receipt you receive from the cashier will indicate the items you ordered from the Secret Menu.  Google it if you don’t believe me!

There are also reputedly some “secret items” floating around the Internet that may or may not really exist. But if you find something that sounds good, give it a try the next time you are at IO and — who knows? — they might accommodate you even if they have no idea what you are talking about.

“The Secret Menu”

• “3-by-3” or “4-by-4” — This is simply the number of beef patties paired with the number of cheese slices. Theoretically you can have as many patties or cheese slices as you want… at least as much as your Lipitor and Cozaar can take!

• “3-by-meat” — Again, theoretically, as many beef patties as you want without the cheese.

• “Animal Style” — A beef patty cooked with mustard and served with pickles, onions and a secret sauce.

• “Grilled Cheese” — A cheeseburger… without the burger.

• “Protein Style” — A burger wrapped in lettuce with no bun. No carbs!

• “Flying Dutchman” — two beef patties and two slices of cheese with nothing else… not even a bun. Sounds like all you need to do is bring a cup of rice.

• “Veggie Burger” — No burger. Just double tomatoes. Doesn’t sound like it’s any good.

• “Extra Toast” — Leaving the bread on the grill longer results in “crispy buns” (insert your own joke here).

• “Animal Style Fries” — Fries with the same secret sauce, onions and cheese.

• “Light Fries” — Fries cooked a little less time than normal.

• “Well-Done Fries” — Fries cooked a little longer than normal, resulting in extra-crispy fries. Particularly good!

• “Swirl Shake” — Milkshake with two flavors swirled.

• “Neapolitan Shake” — Milkshake with all three flavors — strawberry, vanilla and chocolate — swirled.

IO has numerous locations in the Bay Area with the one located at 333 Jefferson St. (between Jones and Leavenworth, about five blocks west from Pier 39) being nearest to downtown. They are open 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday to Thursday and 10:30-1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

3.  Rotunda at Neiman Marcus. Neiman Marcus (www.neimanmarcus.com), on Union Square, offers something more than just fantastic shopping. It also has one of the best places in the city for lunch or afternoon tea.

The Rotunda is located on the fourth level and overlooks the store below through a large round atrium that gives the restaurant its name. Guests, welcomed with a cup of consommé and a giant “popover” instead of ordinary bread, will find themselves dining under an iconic stained-glass dome with expansive views of Union Square across the street. With the food tending to be very good (try the signature Lobster Club), dining at the Rotunda is as much about the experience and the ambience as it is about the food.

Reservations are highly recommended. Neiman Marcus is at 150 Stockton St. (at Geary) and the Rotunda can be reached at (415) 362-4777.

4.  Campton Place Restaurant. This highly rated restaurant in its equally highly rated hotel is another great place to eat around the Union Square area.

Owned and operated by Taj Hotels and with a kitchen run by Executive Chef Srijith Gopinathan, Campton Place is a consistent four-star Mobil Award winner and has always been one of the Zagat Guide’s top restaurants in San Francisco.

For me, the best way to describe the food at the restaurant is consistently excellent without trying too hard. They serve really good food, use the best ingredients, have excellent service and are probably resisting the temptation to try to do too much.

I think a lot of chefs and restaurants fall into the trap of trying to be overly inventive and trying to push the envelope too far. If you don’t really know what you are doing, that approach often leads to weird combinations and food that just doesn’t taste very good. 

Chef Gopinathan tends to keep things relatively simple… which is often the best way to do things anyway.

Reservations are recommended. The hotel and restaurant are located at 340 Stockton St. (between Sutter and Post) and can be reached at (415)955-5555. Although the hotel’s rooms tend to be just a little bigger than a postage stamp, they start at a reasonable $240 which is not a bad value given the location and the quality of the hotel.

5.  Sutter–Stockton Garage. And what is the best place to park if you will be shopping and dining in the Union Square area? There is parking available under the square itself, but I personally prefer to park in the cheapest place in the area I’ve found — the Sutter-Stockton Garage. Located quite unsurprisingly at the corner of Sutter and Stockton Streets, the structure is located about a block and a half north of Union Square.  The garage does get full but probably because it is so big, I cannot remember any instance when I was not able to park in a reasonable amount of time. Don’t forget to bring your parking ticket with you and pay at the machines on the ground floor before returning to your car.

6.  The Ferry Building Marketplace. The Ferry Building (www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com) boasts an unbeatable view of the Bay Bridge and a food lover’s paradise all under one roof. Artisan shops, specialized independent operators, restaurants and a few select chain store operators like Sur La Table (www.surlatable.com) combine to cater to the food lover’s every dream.

Probably the most popular restaurant in the building is Charles Phan’s famed Vietnamese restaurant Slanted Door (www.slanteddoor.com, call 415-861-8032) where tables are harder to come by than water in the Sahara Desert. Reservations are essential unless you plan to walk in at an off hour. And even then, I would make a reservation. Take it from me… I have tried to walk into this restaurant at least five or six times and I have never been able to get a table. Maybe I should take my own advice and make reservations ahead of time so that I can talk about the food instead of just how much I want to eat there. They are open 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5:30-10 p.m. for dinner. 

Perhaps my favorite stop in the building — because the stops come so few and far between — is Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Cafe (www.tsarnicoulai.com,  call 415-288-8630). A pioneer of “sustainable farming,” Tsar Nicoulai offers California caviar in addition to the traditional caviars from Iran or Siberia. Although still expensive, the California varieties are about half the price of their imported cousins and were quite surprisingly good. Certainly good enough to get rid of any craving I might have. You can also call them at 1-800-952-2842 for home delivery.

If you are driving to the Ferry Building, the most convenient place to park is the adjacent validated parking lot north of the building on The Embarcadero Road. 

7. Mitchell’s Ice Cream. This multi-awarded Bay Area fixture which was opened in the ‘50s doesn’t only serve very good ice cream which is prepared daily, but is doubly interesting because it serves a lot of Filipino flavors including buko, langka, macapuno, mango and ube!

No, the owners are not Filipinos but they do import a lot of ingredients from over here. In the spring and the summer, they will even serve an authentic Halo-Halo complete with evaporated milk!

Mitchell’s (www.mitchellsicecream.com, (415) 6482300) is open 11 to 11 daily and is located at 688 San Jose Ave. (at 29th Street).

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For comments, email me at omniumg@yahoo.com.