A Family Adventure in San Francisco's Chinatown
Living in the Bay Area, we sometimes forget that some of the world's favorite tourist attractions are right in our backyard. So why let visiting Europeans and Midwesterners have all the fun? It's often fun to play tourist as a local, especially with kids in tow. We've found ourselves visiting places in the Bay Area that we ourselves haven't been to since we were kids. Recently, we decided to visit that tourist favorite, San Francisco's Chinatown.
The biggest and oldest settlement of its kind in the United States, San Francisco's Chinatown was established in the late 1840s, and today is roughly contained by Broadway to the north, Kearny Street to the east, Bush Street to the south, and Powell Street to the west. With hundreds of restaurants, shops, and other attractions, Chinatown is a worthwhile destination for a family day trip into the city. It's a way to explore both the past and present of San Francisco, and to experience the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a different culture without going very far.
We parked our car at the Sutter Stockton Garage and set out on foot for Chinatown. Heading down Bush Street, we turned through the iconic Chinatown Dragon Gate onto Grant Avenue, Chinatown's main drag. The Dragon Gate, a San Francisco landmark since 1970, is the only authentic Chinese gateway in North America, and utiliizes traditional Chinese construction techniques. We headed up Grant past the souvenir shops and glittery art galleries, seeking out our first goal: lunch.
There are restaurants literally on every corner in Chinatown. Each one seems to have its adherents and detractors, but dining seems to be an essential part of the Chinatown experience, even if most of the food there is geared toward tourists. (In fact, if you want a really authentic Chinese dining experience, you might consider heading out to the Richmond District instead.)
We decided to check out the Far East Café, which has been on Grant Avenue since 1920. While the Far East Café's Cantonese cuisine is nothing to really write home about, the atmosphere is fantastic, with giant ornate chandeliers, carved screens, murals, and private booths with red velvet curtains you can close for privacy. Sitting in a booth, you feel a bit like you should be waiting for a secret rendevous or working a shady political deal. We ordered some dim sum and tea and opted for one of the booths, of course. The kids also liked looking at the large tanks full of fish, crabs, and other live sea creatures destined for diner's plates. The restrooms were clean, too, which is a big deal as far as Chinatown restaurants go.
My husband tried unsuccessfully to talk us into going to the almost-as-venerable Sam Wo instead, up around the corner on Washington Street. Sam Wo is a hole-in-the-wall place spread out over several floors of a narrow old building. You enter through the kitchen and head up the stairs and food is brought up via dumbwaiter. It's cheap and greasy but good. Sam Wo was home to the late Edsel Ford Fong, billed as the World's Rudest Waiter, who would make patrons bus tables and sternly make menu choices for them.
After lunch, we headed up Grant, poking our heads into souvenir stores, tea shops, and galleries, and taking in Chinatown's unique East/West architecture and street decor. Most of the souvenir shops seems to sell the same selection of cheap stuff, so if you want to buy something, it pays to visit a few stores and compare prices. We ended up in the Far East Flea Market at 729 Grant Avenue, a cavernous shop that stocks a bewildering array of stuff, including San Francisco souvenirs, Chinese clothing, chopsticks, teapots. toys, housewares, and even samurai swords, all at dirt cheap prices. If you absolutely have to drop some money on souvenirs in Chinatown (and with kid in tow, you know this is going to happen), this is the place to do it, since prices seem to be lower here than at all the other shops we visited.
Since we were on foot with two little kids, we realized we couldn't cover all of Chinatown in one afternoon, so we decided to stick mainly to Grant Avenue for this outing. After all, since Chinatown is right in our backyard, we can always go back, right?
One detour we made was up into Ross Alley for a visit to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Ross Alley can be a little hard to find, but it's right off Grant Avenue between Washington and Jackson Streets. Allegedly San Francisco's oldest alley, Ross Alley was once known for its brothels and gambling dens. Today you won't find any of those establishments, but what you will find is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Follow your nose down the alley—you'll pick up on the scent of baking cookies pretty quickly.
The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is yet another Chinatown hole-in-the-wall storefront, a cluttered noisy little shop where older Chinese ladies deftly fold hot cookie circles into the familiar fortune cookie shape. You'll notice that not all of the cookies get folded, due to tears, texture and what not. Their loss is your gain, as these rejects are handed out as still-warm free samples. Yum!Pick up a one-pound bag of fortune cookies for $3.75 ($4.75 if you want mixed plain and chocolate fortune cookies). They also sell a variety of other cookies and snacks, as well as their famous "adult" fortune cookies. It's cash-only, and if you want to take a picture, you'll have to shell out another 50¢, a fact which the little old man who seems the run the place will remind you.
Fortune cookies in hand, we wound our way through the streets and alleys of Chinatown back to the Sutter Stockton Garage, resolving to visit again soon and see more of this city within a city.
If you go
Chinatown is centrally located in downtown San Francisco, bordered by Union Square, the Financial District, and North Beach. We find it easiest to park in the huge Sutter Stockton Garage, which is not only easy to get to and relatively inexpensive, but is only a block away from the Chinatown Dragon Gate at Bush Street and Grant Avenue. To get there, cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, then take Doyle Drive downtown to Lombard Street. Turn right on Gough Street and follow it to Bush Street. Turn left on Bush Street and follow it downtown. Be prepared to turn into Sutter Stockton Garage right after you pass Stockton Street. Once you park, follow the signs to the Bush Street exit and get ready to begin your Chinatown adventure.
Far East Café is located at 631 Grant Avenue, between California and Sacramento Streets, and is open every day from 11:30 am to 10 pm; phone
Additional information about visiting San Francisco's Chinatown may be found at www.sanfranciscochinatown.com.
