If you like chocolate, SF's a great city for it! Internationally known first-tier makers of chocolate Ghirardelli and Scharffen Berger are both based here, as are exquisite chocolate artisans Joseph Schmidt and XOX Truffles.

You can even take a tour of the Scharffen Berger factory - if you can resist the temptation to end up like Augustus Gloop from Willy Wonka!

Since all four of these are very different, and they're in different parts of town, you could choose based on what you like or where you're going.

Ghirardelli - maker of a broad range of chocolates, their flagship shop is in Ghirardelli Square near Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach. In the shop you can see the original chocolate making machines still in operation. There are lots of other shops at the Square, too, and it's a popular tourist destination.

Scharffen Berger - makers of amazing dark chocolate, Scharffen Berger is the first new American chocolate company (going from beans to bar) in over 50 years. They're the ones who made it possible to buy 82% chocolate bars in the local grocery store (thanks!). The factory is over the Bay Bridge in Berkeley, and the tour is free, though you need to make a reservation. Oompa loompa!

Joseph Schmidt Confections - Joseph Schmidt is not only a renowned confectioner, he's an artist and sculptor. His shop is in the Castro District, and visiting just to see his latest incredible creations is a holiday tradition. If you don't see Joseph while you're in his shop, he'll also be making a personal appearance at the Union Square Neiman Marcus store on December 9 from 1-4 pm.

XOX Truffles - the ultimate in handmade chocolate truffles. In a cozy little shop in North Beach Chef Jean-Marc Gorce creates exquisite chocolate truffles and waves to neighborhood passers by. His delicious creations have been judged one of the 10 Best in America by Chocolatier Magazine. Just close your eyes and indulge in the flavor!

There's no way to go wrong with any of these choices - other than not to go!

Please visit Maddie's Adoption Center at the SPCA. I don't think there's any other place like it in the world and it's FREE! ;-p
http://www.sfspca.org/adoption/maddies.shtml

hey guys, the Dickens Christmas Fair will be at the Cow Palace. Its really one of the best Christmas things to do during the holiday season. Its best to go in the morning and stay for the day lots of shows to see and they run through most of Dicken's stories are played out on the "streets". They have the best food there too, the french onion soup is to die for and the bangers and mash, heaven on a plate. But the thing that brings me back every year is the chocolate eggnog, well that and the French postcard show usually held near the end of the day. Its really risque' but quite worth the wait.

After getting off on the wrong foot with some members here, I have been reluctant to post. I apologize if I offended anyone with what were, after all, simply my opinions. That being said, I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire season thus far and, I’m happy to hear that the TJ’s will be visiting the San Francisco area. Having lived an hour north of the City for my entire life, I can only concur with the suggestions others have made, especially Muir Woods in Marin.

California has always been a major contributor to America’s agriculture, and to see a real picture of some of our state's finest, I would like to suggest the TJ’s visit the Napa Valley. Specifically, I know they would enjoy one of the area’s oldest and finest restored wineries, filmmaker Francis Ford Copolla’s Rubicon Estate (formerly Niebaum Coppola Winery). Maybe this could be their Chase Reward. It is truly a beautiful estate winery and a credit to the Napa Valley wine industry. (see: http://www.niebaum-coppola.com/ )

Whatever you do, enjoy your stay in “Baghdad By The Bay” and I know you’ll all leave your hearts there, as well.

I'm so glad the TJ's are going to San Francisco! The suggestions thus far have been great. My addition to the suggestions list would be a quick trip to south to visit my alma mater: Stanford University. Yay! It's a very beautiful (and huge) campus with free tours, located about a half hour south of SF. Take a trip to the top of Hoover Tower to get a bird's-eye view of the entire university and (if the sky is clear) you could even see the SF skyline. Just think about it :-)

Plus, Stanford has the largest collection of Rodin bronze sculptures outside of Paris (includes famous bronze casts of The Gates Of Hell and The Thinker) to go along with a really nice art museum. It's really quite nice!

You should go up to Twin Peaks for a great view of the city, go to the exploratorium and SFMOMA. Go to pier 39 to see the sea lions. Go hang out around Haight-Asbury. If you can go down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Carmel by the Sea, or Napa Valley for wine tasting, or Yosemite.

I really like XOX Truffles. I don't know how much their prices are these days, but it used to be my cheap thrill. Buy a coffee, get a free truffle. If the TJs are in the North Beach area, just walk a few blocks down Columbus to their shop.

I'm sure they'll hit Ghirardelli Square at Fishermans Wharf. Their chocolates are just OK, IMO. For mass-produced chocs they're not bad. There's also a branch of Frjtz there. They make the best Belgian fries and dipping sauces. I still can't find any Belgian fries here in LA. Their crepes are just ok. Go to
Ti Couz in the Mission district for the best Breton-style crepes.

Scharffenberger's an interesting tour, but might be a little boring and too far out of the way... unless they have time to explore Berkeley as well.

Places to Eat:

San Francisco's always known as a food haven. Most of the following lean towards Asian, because well.. that's who I am.

Here are my picks for the best/cheap places to eat:

Yokoso 314 Church (at 15th): AKA No-Name sushi. Has no sign out front. Fresh, no-frills sushi at low prices. Castro district.

King of Thai Noodle House : Cheap, authentic Thai food. Stick to the noodle soups, it's what they're best at. Ask them for a bowl of the Boat Noodles. There's a branch in Union Square, plus others in the Richmond district.

Ti Couz 16th St (at Valencia): I've never seen their buckwheat crepes anywhere else here. Pick a crepe, add one or two more toppings, shouldn't be too expensive. Ham and Cheese is always a winner. Mission district. go half a block on Valencia to Bombay Creamery for dessert. Their Indian ice creams are very good. My favorite is Rose-Saffron flavor.

Gold Mountain 644 Broadway: I haven't been personally, but this is classic dim sum, recommended by many. Dim sum with a large group of TJs and crew, how can you beat that? Chinatown

Naan-N-Curry or
Pakwan (various locations): Cheap Indian food. I've only been to Naan-N-Curry, but an order of fresh naan bread and their extraordinarily cheap chicken tandoori fills me up. Free masala tea!

Frjtz Hayes (at Laguna) or Ghirardelli Square locations: Stuff yourself with an order of Garlic Frjtz. Fishermans Wharf or Hayes Valley

San Tung 1031 Irving (at 12th): My favorite non-Cantonese Chinese place. Must not miss their Dry-Fried Chicken Wings. I would drive all the way from LA to have this. Their steamed dumplings and noodles are also recommended. Golden Gate Park vicinity

Spices II 291 6th Ave (at Clement): Taiwanese take on Sichuan food. Very spicy! Bevis ought to know what to order.
Inner Richmond district, between Golden Gate Park and Presidio

Also don't discount any tacquerias in the Mission or hole-in-the-wall chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Hedge your bets, pick a place that's full of Latinos and Chinese diners, respectively. Fill yourself up for $5 or less.

I'm getting hungry now. I gotta go to lunch.

Well..all of those places sounds good but are we making a GOOD tv show here or what?!?! Frisco has a lot more to offer...

ASIAsf
Best asian fusion food and exotic drinks...and not to mention the entertainment!!! Very unique entertainment you cannot see anywhere else. Transexual/Gender Illusionist that'll make you go squint your eyes and shake your head making sure you're eyes aren't fooling you. Most of the "girls" that works there are my friends and they put on a great show!!

I have been living in the Bay Area for about 15years now. I'm a Filipino decent but I was born and raised in Switzerland. So, I know a few things around San Francisco.

Also, you guys should check out the Winchester house of mystery in San Jose, it's a trip!

See yah guys here!

Yup, you've got a point there about making an "exciting" TV show, but a TJ's gotta eat between takes, right? .
AsiaSF is a lot of fun, a great spectacle (this side of Bangkok anyway). Worth going in for a drink.

There are lots of other places that do raucous drag shows. Kimo's come immediately to mind.

And btw, no self-respecting San Franciscan will ever refer to The City By The Bay as "Frisco". It's "The City", thankyouverymuch. j/k

Want the best pizza around? Go to Zachary's on College Avenue in the city of Oakland (Rockridge district) It's the best pizza around!!!!!!! When you're in San Francisco -just hop on the BART train (Pittsburg/Bay Point line) and get off at Rockridge. They are known for their stuffed pizzas. My husband and I always get a stuffed pesto and garlic pizza. Where's the meat? You won't miss it in this pizza at all!!!!! THE BEST PIZZA!!!
http://www.zacharys.com
Zachary's Pizza
5801 College Ave.
Oakland
Just 1 block north of Rockridge Bart Station

FYI - there can be a long wait during the dinner hours

If you guys hit Berkeley - Zachary's is not that far from it.

There is also another great place for pizza -it's call the Cheeseboard Collective. http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/Pizza%20Collective/PizzaPage.html It's located in the "Gourmet Ghetto" in Berkeley. (walking distance from the downtown Berkeley BART station)

The SF Bay Area is all about food!!!!! Stay away from fast food places! You want to try a great burger? Check out Barney's Burgers http://www.barneyshamburgers.com/ - there are locations in the city and in Oakland and Berkeley.

Enjoy your time in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Almost forgot about this one - if you want to go to a free dance party on a Sunday afternoon - head to Golden Gate Park for Lindy in the Park. http://www.lindyinthepark.com/ It's a great time. Check out their website.

*you should definitely go to Zachary's pizza in berkeley, it's the best pizza you'll ever have! (get the stuffed chicken) just take BART to rockridge station and it's right there...

**while your in Berkeley there's a sake factory and there's free tasting: it's called Takara Sake708 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, (510) 540-8250

*another thing to do in Berkeley is to go shopping on Telegraph Ave., it's not far from Zachery's (a cheap cab ride), there are tons of street vendors (everyday) and the UC Berkeley campus is right there where u can go up in the campanile and get a view of the entire bay area (it's cheap too)!

**if u want some good shopping in SF go to Haight street, there are some great restaurants like:
Kan Zaman Cafe
1793 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 751-9656

where they have belly dancers and u can smoke hooka!

*after u can go to club milk (milksf.com), it's a great little bar/club where they play good music and it's cheap!

have fun, the bay area is great and you'll love it!!!

Check out some of what makes SF SF - the Chinese American community. Check out the Ellis Island of the West,Angel Island. And the Chinese Culture Center as well as the Chinese Historical Society.

First I just have to tell you how impressed I have been with your show. Each of you has given me inspiration to start traveling more. It is amazing that watching someone from another country travel within the US has opened my eyes to the possibilities for exciting, inexpensive, and entertaining travel in my home country.
I am delighted you have been given the opportunity to travel to San Francisco, or as Northern Californians call it "The City". The Northern California coastline is like nothing else in America. You travel through the most amazing old growth Redwood trees as you follow the rough coast further north.
I grew up a few hours north of the city in a small town called Marysville, but close family lived in "The City" so we spent most of our long weekends and holidays there. Now as an adult I am thrilled to drive down and show friends the San Francisco I know and love.
My first suggestion is to take an afternoon, dress up a bit and have drinks in the Carnelian Room at 555 California Street. It is the top floor of the Bank of America building. They begin serving cocktails after 3pm in the viewing room. You can jump off the cable car directly in front of the building and then take the express elevator to the top. (Prepare for your stomach to touch your toes, they aren't messing around when they call it "express") This is one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco and will provide views of both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge which includes all of downtown San Francisco. Check out the pictures on their website. Carnelian Room website The restaurant is amazing but it's too expensive for your $50.00 a day budget. Instead go to the wharf (via cable car) and grab some Dungeous Crab and some fresh sourdough to take back and feast on at your hostel. It will be cheap and decadent.
Getting around in San Francisco is pretty easy and inexpensive if you get a Muni Passport. Muni is the local transit and a 3-day passport is only $18.00. That will include unlimited rides on the Cable Cars and all the city buses. Almost everything is on a bus or cable line so take the time on your first day and visit one of the transit booths for a passport. Taxis in the city will cost you an arm and a leg, and street traffic can take forever. URL=www.sfmuni.com/cms/mms/fares/fareinfo.htm#passports]Muni Passport[/URL]
Everyone will tell you to go to Alctraz and I agree, it's fun and interesting but I think just taking a Bay Cruise around the island and under the Golden Gate Bridge can be more exciting and gives you better views from the water.
As you are going after Thanksgiving, you will want to check out Union Square, it will be decorated to the hilt with Christmas decorations. Take a few minutes and see the tree in Nieman Marcus. San Francisco spares no expense to show its Christmas Cheer. You'll love it.
As I talk with my family over the Thanksgiving Holiday I'll get their thoughts on the city too and I will share them with you.
Enjoy your first American Thanksgiving!