I would love to meet up with anyone that will be around Sunday afternoon/evening/night or Monday evening. Post here or email me.
With the passing of the application deadline I think it might be an opportune time for something like this.
How does that sound? A Monday night meet-up would give pretty short notice for the rest of news.yc but I'm still up for it.
Next weekend might be a better date for something along those lines. SF is a nice place; how about postponing your flight? ;)
For a funky restaurant (before the beer) in North Beach, you can try the "Stinking Rose" where food is added as seasoning to the garlic. It's a bit touristy (because it has been so successful), but definitely an experience to remember and the food tastes good. Beware of the garlic ice cream though :). If you like sushi, the best sushi I've had outside of Japan is at Ebisu at 9th Avenue between Irving & Lincoln (Right off Golden Gate Park). They don't take reservations, so be prepared to wait in line to get in - its definitely worth it.
Another less expensive but extremely authentic restaurant is the Canton Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant in the heart of SOMA (1 block from my office at 655 Folsom). If you know Dim Sum (where food is carted around and you choose what you like when you see it) theirs is hard to beat. As good as in Hong Kong. This also locates you in the heart of the technology center in SF, and you can check out all the highrises springing up on this side of Market.
To really dial in the perfect place given the genre of food and price and location and atmosphere that you want, go for http://www.zagat.com/ . (I think we have more restaurants here per capita than anywhere else in the US)
What mode of transport will you have during the day? (To give you some ideas on what to do)
Thanks for the food recommendations, I love Asian food and forgot that San Francisco is one of the best places for it. Will probably hit up Ebisu and the Dim Sum place. Ebisu actually seems extremely reasonably priced based on how much good sushi goes for in Pittsburgh.
I highly recommend a cable car ride while you're here, especially up some of the vertiginous streets in the City.
From Ebisu, you can catch the N-Judah light-rail street car at the corner of 9th and Irving (designed by Porsche - converts to a subway when you get downtown) for 1.50, and then get off at Powell Street station. Be sure to get on the train heading downtown (toward the lower numbered streets).
From the Powell station you can head up Market and turn right on Fourth to go up to the top of the Marriott Marquis http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sfodt-san-francisco-ma... and hang out at "The View" lounge on top, and/or head over to the Metreon http://westfield.com/metreon/ at Mission, a very interesting place with a great urban plaza with huge waterfall fountain on the north side and inspiring views of the City. Also on display there now is "Da Vinci - an Exhibition of Genius" http://www.davincithegenius.com/sanfran.html and they also have a huge IMax and theaters and strange arcade games, etc, with a Sony store, etc.
On the other side of Market from Powell up 2 blocks from the Cable Car turn-around is Union Square, the heart of retail on the West Coast which is definitely worth seeing. If you are there during the day time, there is a great Frank Lloyd Wright building at 140 Maiden Lane right off Union Square - it served as Wright's experiment with a spiral ramp with central space that influenced his design of the Guggenheim in NYC. It is the building that is all brick except for an arched glass entry.
And finally, one of the most inspiring interior spaces in SF is at the Hyatt Regency at Market and the Embarcadero. If we meet up, maybe I'll drive you up to Twin Peaks - the ultimate view of San Francisco and the surronding Bay.
I'll email you my cell number if you want to meet up once you reach the Powell station (a few blocks from my office) Have a great time :)