July 2009

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The Best of the Bay Area 2009: Readers' Poll

You picked them.

Best pamper spot
1. Nob Hill Spa: 1075 California St., 415-474-5400, S.F., nobhillspa.com
2. Kabuki Springs & Spa: 1750 Geary Blvd., 415-922-6000, S.F., kabukisprings.com
3. International Orange: 2044 Fillmore St., 2nd Fl., S.F., 888-894-8811, internationalorange.com

Best cup of tea
1. Samovar Tea Lounge: 297 Page St., S.F., 415-861-0303; 730 Howard St., S.F., 415-227-9400; 498 Sanchez St., S.F., 415-626-4700; samovarlife.com
2. Peet’s Coffee & Tea: multiple locations, 800-999-2132, peets.com
3. Imperial Tea Court: Ferry Building Marketplace (Market St. at Embarcadero), S.F., 415-544-9830; 1511 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, 510-540-8888; imperialtea.com

Best movie theater
1. Sundance Kabuki: 1881 Post St., S.F., 415-346-3243, sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html
2. The Castro Theatre: 429 Castro St., S.F., 415-621-6120, castrotheatre.com
3. AMC Loews Metreon: 16101 4th St., S.F., 800-326-3264, westfield.com/metreon

Best museum night

1. Academy of Sciences Nightlife: Thursdays, 6–10 p.m. 55 Music Concourse Dr., Golden Gate Park, S.F., 415-379-8000, calacademy.org
2. Friday nights at the De Young: until 8:45 p.m. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Golden Gate Park, S.F., 415-750-3600, famsf.org/deyoung
3. SFMOMA: Thursdays, 6–8:45 p.m. 151 3rd St., S.F., 415-357-4000, sfmoma.org

Best place to get fit
1. Mercury Fitness-High Performance Pilates: 2904 Laguna St., S.F., 415-567-9009, mercuryfitness.com
2. Diakadi Body: 290 Division St., 2nd Fl., 415-863-4922, S.F., diakadibody.com
3. AlaVie Fitness: 1795 Union St., 3rd Fl., S.F., 415-567-7411, alaviefitness.com

Best wine store
1. K&L Wine Merchants: 638 4th St., S.F., 415-896-1734; 4011 24th St., S.F., 415-282-3841, klwines.com
2. PlumpJack Wines: 3201 Fillmore St., S.F., 415-346-9870, plumpjackwines.com
3. Beverages & More!: multiple locations, bevmo.com

Best bar for watching the game

1. Greens Sports Bar: 2239 Polk St., S.F., 415-775-4287
2. Kezar Pub and Restaurant: 770 Stanyan St., 415-386-9292, S.F.; Kezar Bar and Restaurant: 900 Cole St., S.F., 415-681-7678
3. Pete’s Tavern: 128 King St., S.F., 415-817-5040, petestavernsf.com

Best San Francisco cab service
1. Luxor: 415-282-4141, luxorcab.com
2. Yellow: 415-333-3333, yellowcabsf.com
3. Desoto: 415-970-1300

Best radio station
1. KDFC 102.1: kdfc.com
2. KFOG 104.5: kfog.com
3. Energy 92.7: energy927fm.com

Best radio DJ or team
1. Dianne Nicolini, John Evans, Hoyt Smith: KDFC 102.1
2. Fernando & Greg: Energy 92.7
3. Sarah & Vinnie: Alice 97.3

Best TV station
1. KQED
2. KRON
3. KTVU

Best comfort food

1. Maverick: 3316 17th St., S.F., 415-863-3061, sfmaverick.com
2. Home: 2100 Market St., S.F., 415-503-0333, home-sf.com
3. Farmerbrown: 25 Mason St., S.F., 415-409-3276, farmerbrownsf.com

Best Bay Area scoop

1. Tablehopper.com
2. SFist.com
3. Yelp.com

Best Bay Area website
1. SFGate.com
2. Yelp.com
3. Craigslist.org

Best local boutique
1. Ambiance: 1458 Haight St., S.F., 415-552-5095; 3985 & 3989 24th St., S.F., 415-647-7144 & 415-647-5800; 1864 & 1858 Union St., S.F., 415-923-9797 & 415-923-9796; ambiancesf.com
2. Danielle: 2278 Union St., S.F., 415-447-7779, shopdaniellesf.com
3. Dress: 2271 Chestnut St., S.F., 415-440-3737, shopdressonline.com

Best place to dine with a crowd
1. Buca di Beppo: 855 Howard St., S.F., 415-543-7673, bucadibeppo.com
2. Betelnut: 2030 Union St., S.F., 415-929-8855, betelnutrestaurant.com
3. Town Hall: 342 Howard St., S.F., 415-908-3900, townhallsf.com

Best outdoor spot for drinks
1. Zeitgeist: 199 Valencia St., S.F., 415-255-7505
2. Americano: 8 Mission St., S.F., 415-278-3777, americanorestaurant.com
3. Medjool: 2522 Mission St., S.F., 415-550-9055, medjoolsf.com

Best cup of coffee
1. Peet’s Coffee & Tea: multiple locations, 800-999-2132, peets.com
2. Blue Bottle Coffee Co.: 66 Mint St., S.F., 415-495-3394; 315 Linden St., S.F. , 415-252-7535; Ferry Building Marketplace (Embarcadero at Market St.), S.F.,; 1552 Beach St. #R, Oakland, 510-653-3394; bluebottlecoffee.net
3. Philz Coffee: 3101 24th St., S.F., 415-875-9370; 201 Berry St., S.F., 415-875-9943; 4023 18th St., S.F., 415-875-9656; philzcoffee.com

Best beer on tap
1. Monk’s Kettle: 3141 16th St., S.F., 415-865-9523, monkskettle.com
2. La Trappe: 800 Greenwich St., S.F., 415-440-8727, latrappecafe.com
3. The Tipsy Pig: 2231 Chestnut St., S.F., 415-292-2300, thetipsypigsf.com

Best nonprofit gala

1. Black & White Ball: sfsymphony.org
2. Meals on Wheels Gala: 415-920-1111, mowsf.org
3. Academy of Friends: 415-995-9890, academyoffriends.org

Best-kept San Francisco secret
1. Hand in Hand (custom jewelers): 3150 18th St., Ste. 546, S.F., 415-282-4370, handinhandsf.com
2. Cook! SF (ready-to-cook meals): 415-513-5328, cook-sf.com
3. Leftovers (home furnishings): 1259 Polk St., S.F., 415-404-6540, leftoverstores.com

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Comments for The Best of the Bay Area 2009: Readers' Poll (2)
  • patricia 4/15/2010 2:12:01 pm
    I MOVED HERE A YEAR AGO FROM LOS ANGELES, AND HAD THE VERY BEST COSMETIC DENTIST( AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH THE MOVIE BUSINESS--L.A. HAS NUMEROUS EXTREMELY GOOD ONES). I HAVE SEARCHED MANY WEBSITES HERE, AND CANNOT FIND ANYONE THAT SEEMS TO BE THAT OVERLY QUALIFIED BY THEIR EDUCATION ETC.I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR IMPUT ON THIS. I VALUE MY SMILE AND VERY GOOD DENTAL WORK AND WOULD LIKE TO FIND THE BEST THAT SAN FRANCISCO HAS TO OFFER.
    THANKS VERY MUCH,
    PATRICIA
  • patricia 4/15/2010 2:11:53 pm
    I MOVED HERE A YEAR AGO FROM LOS ANGELES, AND HAD THE VERY BEST COSMETIC DENTIST( AS YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH THE MOVIE BUSINESS--L.A. HAS NUMEROUS EXTREMELY GOOD ONES). I HAVE SEARCHED MANY WEBSITES HERE, AND CANNOT FIND ANYONE THAT SEEMS TO BE THAT OVERLY QUALIFIED BY THEIR EDUCATION ETC.I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR IMPUT ON THIS. I VALUE MY SMILE AND VERY GOOD DENTAL WORK AND WOULD LIKE TO FIND THE BEST THAT SAN FRANCISCO HAS TO OFFER.
    THANKS VERY MUCH,
    PATRICIA

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