Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bayarea

SF food

AceRock — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:22:14 -0800

What to eat in San Francisco/the Bay Area that I can't find in Chicago? Going to be there for a few days. Looking for some great food recs. What does San Francisco do better than Chicago? What is available there that I can't get in the Windy City?

Mostly looking for restaurants, but I'll have access to a kitchen for a few days, so any can't-miss-food-shopping experiences would be cool too.

Thanks!

Good Bay Area Car Dealers?

blapst — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:34:00 -0800

Looking for Bay Area car dealers who are not straight-up horrible. Just moved to Oakland. Want to trade in my old car for a certified pre-owned. Leaning towards a 2006-2008 Jetta, but would consider other sedans and hatchbacks in same price range.

Sadly, all the Yelp reviews for dealers in the area are uniformly the most negative reviews I have read about anything. Don't love the idea of buying off Craigslist (as was suggested in a similar thread) -- anyone know of any remotely decent dealers in SF/East Bay/Marin?

Industrial Jewelry

lore — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:55:34 -0800

Industrial jewelry in the Bay Area? Can anyone recommend a place in the San Francisco Bay Area that sells jewelry with an industrial flair? A good example would be a bracelet I saw made of the insides of analog watches. It's too late for shipping, so I want someplace local.

Oh, the possibilities...

soleiluna — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:34:12 -0800

San Francisco Bay Area: Looking for new running routes/paths in the Bay Area again...but this time, I have a car! I got some great answers last time I asked about San Francisco running routes. Now I've found a new running partner and we have access to a car, which vastly expands our running possibilities to other parts of the Bay Area & places public transit does not reach.

Any suggestions for new ideas? We're looking for places within roughly a 45 minute drive of San Francisco. We're interested in everything from something like the Berkeley or Peninsula equivalent of Crissy Field to places like Sawyer Camp Trail (paved flat sort-of hiking path) to other paths in various suburbs. Routes in SF/Berkeley/elsewhere that are less obvious/not public-transit-accessible are also great.

Other criteria: we're looking mostly for routes between 5-14 miles. I'm much less hill-adverse I used to be, but moderate/easy/occasional hills are more our speed, rather than super-intense grade the entire time. Neither of us do trail running.

(Here's where I run already:
-Embarcadero/ATT Park/Fisherman's Wharf
-Powell/Embarcadero/Columbus/Montgomery loop
-the Wiggle/panhandle
-Golden Gate Park
-Ocean Beach/Great Highway
-Kezar track
-Crissy Field
-Lake Merced)

Thank you, hive mind!

What Bay Area stores carry the Dell Adamo?

Susan PG — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:32:58 -0800

Where can I see a Dell Adamo (not the new XPS, but the one that was released last year) in person, in the San Francisco Bay Area? Frys doesn't seem to carry it, and I don't know who else would. I'm considering buying one, and want to handle it and check out the keyboard, weight, etc., in person, before making a decision. Thanks for any help you can provide :-)

Leonids by BART?

quarterframer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:02:50 -0800

Looking for advice on viewing the 2009 Leonid meteor shower for the vehicularly impaired. We want to get as far away as possible from Bay Area city lights to see the shower but won't be able to get our hands on a car.

What are the best options given the following constraints?

1) Travel by BART and (a ~mile walk or a few miles on bikes at the destination is fine, but we don't want to do long rides up into the hills at night on roads we're not familiar with).

2) Due to BART hours, viewing times must be either before midnight or after 4:30 a.m.

I've never been to many of the outlying BART destinations so I'm looking for something like: "go to such and such a park in Pittsburg two miles from BART as early as you can in the morning."

I'm aware that we are not going to find anything close to ideal conditions with these constraints. I've already done research on best viewing options on several websites, but they are not particularly helpful--unless you are able to link to one that will help with these particular constraints, there is no need to point me to even more.

Many thanks!

Real lactose-free milk in the Bay Area?

you — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:43:10 -0800

LactoseFilter: Where can I get real lactose free milk (i.e. the filtered kind, not the sickly-sweet enzymated stuff) in the Bay Area? Lactaid and all the other options I could find at the store are all made by adding lactase, which makes it sickly-sweet.

Valio seems to have this, but they only sell it on the east cost. Surely someone must have figured there would be a market for importing this stuff? I mean, where I come from the filtered stuff is something like four times the price of regular milk and still sells like hotcakes.

My Google-fu is weak. Are there specialty shops for this sort of thing? Can I have it shipped from the east cost myself?!

Monday/Tuesday Bay Area Stuff to Do

yellowbkpk — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:20:39 -0800

What else can I visit in the last 2 days of my Bay-area visit? After dropping my wife off at the airport tomorrow morning, I have 48 hours to see as much cool stuff as possible. I realize that I'm getting awfully close to duping numerous "cool/geeky things to do in the Bay" questions, but the unique twist here is that it's Monday/Tuesday: most of the cool things (like Computer History Museum) are closed these days.

Can anyone suggest some neat things to drive by and take pictures of, see, or do? What's worth the drive time? Apple HQ? Netflix? Google? Yosemite National Park? Mythbusters/M5 Industries?

I've already seen the Exploratorium, and walked around Crissy field and Stanford.

Thanks!

Bay Area Dermatologist Recommendations?

noahdubya — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:19:55 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good (for acne) dermatologist in the Bay Area (SanJose/SantaCruz) I've been able to keep my acne under control for what seems like forever. One year into a PhD program, and I think that I should be seeking some professional help. That, plus I have health insurance as a graduate student (yay). But, there are sooooo many MDs. Any recommendations?

Bumpy donuts needed.

user92371 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:44:25 -0800

Looking for Bay Area donut shops that can provide donuts with modified shapes. There was a donut shop in San Jose back in 2003 or so that would take the donut hole pre-frying and stick it right back on the side of the donut, so you got a bonus donut bump. I don't know the name of the shop, or if it still exists (this would be nice to know). I am looking for something similar in the San Francisco bay area, a baker that could do almost the exact same thing -- pre-modify the shape, adding singular/multiple bumps -- to a small quantity of donuts (~3-6 dozen).

How to Teach the Seasons in San Francisco

one_bean — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:08:07 -0800

Good online resources (particularly videos) that explain the seasons of the San Francisco Bay Area?

Where should we stay in the Bay Area that's affordable and convenient to the freeways?

creepygirl — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:07:55 -0800

Where should we stay in the Bay Area that's affordable and convenient to the freeways? Mr. Creepygirl and I will be attending a wedding in Mill Creek CA. We are also going to be visiting friends/family in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, and Cloverdale. We will have a car. We're looking for something that's relatively central (we know Sunnyvale is way far south of the other locations, so closeness to Sunnyvale isn't the first priority), close to freeways, and relatively inexpensive (under $200 a night would be great.)

We don't need to stay in San Francisco, and we don't need a fancy wine country spa experience kind of hotel either. Any guidance on hotels (or even which city to look for hotels) would be greatly appreciated.

How to get this new stupid Comcast box to work with my Tivo?

mingodingo — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:31:43 -0800

Comcast filter: Will the new Comcast adapter box work with my Series 2 Tivo? If not (or if its a hassle), should I change cable/internet providers (and what's a good alternative in the Bay Area)? So, Comcast advertisements fed current customers this lie that if you were with Comcast, you wouldn't have to do anything for the digital conversion--now they want us to go get these converter boxes.

I am not good with hooking this sort of thing up, especially when a Tivo's involved. Will these boxes even work with a Series 2 Tivo? If so, can you explain to me (in a "Comcast boxes + Tivos for Dummies" kind of way) how to hook this up?

And if not, or if it's going to be a huge pain, any suggestions for alternative cable companies in the Bay Area I could switch to that don't require this extra equipment? Right now, I'm getting my extended basic cable and internet from Comcast for under $50, and I'd like to stay in that price range.

Thanks!

Great dentists in San Francisco?

needs more cowbell — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:21:18 -0800

Good dentists in San Francisco? Specific needs/neuroses inside. I haven't been to a dentist in far too long, partly out of fear and partly out of being pretty deeply squicked out by the thought of tooth decay. I have no idea what kind of shape my mouth is in currently. I think I can get over the dental phobia, but now my worry is that I'll end up with a dentist who sees dollar signs instead of being objective, or otherwise won't do a fantastic job with any work I need done.

I've heard of people having problems where:
1) dentists see cavities/drill where it isn't absolutely necessary (and I'm acutely aware that once you drill into a tooth, that bit of tooth is gone forever and possibly more open to decay in the long term around a filling)
2) dentists don't fully remove decay, and then teeth rot from the inside out beneath fillings

I think the only way to know if a particular dentist is good in these respects is to get a recommendation from someone who's been going to the same dentist for a long time. So, SF-area mefites, can you recommend anyone good? Other factors are:

-I don't want any hard selling of tooth whitening or cosmetic procedures. My concern is ONLY that my teeth be in the best possible shape from a health/longevity standpoint. (And I'm totally willing to do whatever is necessary in terms of flossing or waterpiking or deep-cleaning or newfangled technology to get my teeth in great shape.)
-I need a dentist who will be kind/gentle with me (mentally/emotionally) and not make me feel shitty about having put this off. I have a bizarre tendency to equate dental decay with being disgusting and having some huge moral failing.
-And lastly (but less important than the above), I'd like someone who's good about pain management and physical comfort. Sedation is not necessary, though.

If you'll all indulge me, I'd love to hear how any particular dentist you recommend ranks on each of the above things - quality of the work in the long term (over/underdrilling), hard sell of cosmetic stuff, kindness, general savvyness to ways to help my teeth be in great shape, and pain management.

I don't have dental insurance, so that's not a factor. While it would be nice to find someone who gives a discount for paying cash, my absolute #1 priority is the quality of the dentist's work and how comfortable I will feel mentally and physically.

Whew. I'm finally (sort of) dealing with this. Thanks in advance!

Maybe not the Sleep Eazy Motel, though

hwyengr — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:25:49 -0800

I'm visiting San Francisco this weekend, but I don't want to stay overnight in the City. What's your favorite Bay Area cheap-ish hotel? BART accessibility a plus. The ladyfriend and I are driving up from LA this weekend for Folsom. We'd rather spend our money on gear than hotels, so we were hoping to find a hotel/motel outside of San Francisco proper.

We're coming up the 101, but it looks like the East Bay is the best bet for BART access, right?

We're open to anything, I'd just rather not bring home bedbugs.

Cost-of-living filter: DC (proper) vs. Oakland (or East Bay--not SF).

Ignatius J. Reilly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:11:50 -0800

Cost-of-living filter: DC (proper) vs. Oakland, CA (or East Bay--not SF). I am interviewing for positions in both Washington, DC and the Bay Area, and would need to relocate to either place. I would like specific and first-hand accounts/information about how far my salary would go in either place. Moreover, my goal is not simply to determine which is cheaper (that would appear to be Oakland), but to ascertain HOW MUCH cheaper, and to better inform any potential salary negotiation or decision making. Relevent Conditions:
A. I am married, my wife and I (no kids or immediate plans to produce any) will be moving together (from Chicago, which we love).
B. We want to make the decisions germane to this question conservatively and in a way that would still work out if my income was our only one (sure, my wife will be working as well, but we want her to be able to be patient and find the right fit).
C. I would strongly prefer to live in DC proper if we move east, or in Oakland (I really like the Lake Merritt area) if we move west (e.g., comparisons of SF to DC or of Oakland to Arlington are not what I'm looking for). My wife is a little more suburbs-positive (I hate long commutes and love walkable stuff, plus we only have one car).

Relevant Facts:
D. Though I am looking for more general information, I will throw out that the salary range I am looking at is around 75-80k (obviously I would ask for more if a position was in DC, I think, but calibrating that sort of thing is largely my goal in writing this question).
E. I work in politics/advocacy and my wife works in museums. Both locations are good for our long-term careers (DC slightly better, I guess), but the Bay Area is a little better for us in lifestyle terms (we like hiking and gardening).
F. Our lifestyles are simple. We don't eat out all the time, never go out drinking or to clubs or things like that, and generally don't do a lot of paid recreation beyond the occasional movie and cheap ethnic food. We don't care if a cocktail or a steak costs more one place or another.

Questions:
1. How much more money would I need to make in DC for it to be "equal" to Oakland, in terms of cost of living?
2. What is the cost difference between these two places in terms of rent only (we will not be buying), likely for a 1 bedroom apartment?
3. Am I being stupid by ruling out suburban DC?

Last minute catering help

cali — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:51:35 -0800

Looking for a caterer for a small dinner party at a house in Napa THIS weekend. Either Saturday or Sunday, 6-8 people, near Silverado, no dietary restrictions. What options exist, or where would be a good place to look?

Buying a house with 5% down: FHA vs. Conventional with 95% LTV?

unclezeb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:58:11 -0800

House Mortgage-filter: FHA vs. Conventional 95% (LTV) Mortgage? Found a calculator, but it's limited and we're seeking hive mind wisdom instead. We (me an Aunt Zeb) and several friends are separately considering buying homes in the California Bay Area, but we all need help deciding between a FHA mortgage and a conventional mortgage with 95% Loan to value (LTV). We've used the calculator, but it won't allow calculations for houses over $249,900. Our friends are looking in the range of $300k-400k houses.

Using some the following numbers as assumptions, please help compare the Conventional 95% LTV vs. the FHA mortgage:

House price: $350,000
Down-payment: $17,500 (5%)

Interest rate: 5.250% conventional vs. 5.375% FHA

FHA funding fee: 1.75% of the loan amount, can be financed ($6125) onto the mortgage. No such fee for a conventional loan.

Insurance:
FHA 0.5 - 0.55% / month (~$150) (FHA insurance cost) - required for 5 years.
vs.
0.9 - 1.9%/month (~$210) (private mortgage insurance) - may be terminated after 1-2 years.

Initial equity: +$XXXX(?) for the conventional loan?

Big question: Which is the right loan for us / our friends in that hypothetical scenario?

It seems the difference would be a slightly higher monthly payment for a conventional loan while paying PMI (about 2 years), then it would be less than the FHA loan monthly cost. After 5 years of the FHA insurance the two would be about even with a slight edge for the conventional loan. So, assuming they plan to own the house for 10+ years, which is the right loan for them? Are we missing anything that will have an impact on these figures

(Side question: I've heard an FHA loan may be "transferable" if the house is later sold to an FHA loan qualifying buyer ... can someone explain? And why/if this is not an option for a seller holding a conventional loan?)

Apple third-party repair shops in the Bay Area?

NucleophilicAttack — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:17:40 -0800

What's the Bay Area equivalent of TekServe? More specifically, looking for competent and honest Apple upgrade and repair shops that will work on machines that are out of Applecare, and which will do aftermarket upgrades (e.g. new hard drives, etc.)

Bonus: close to Palo Alto.

What to see in the Bay Area for a former resident who's lost his way?

kalessin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 06:38:51 -0800

Fun/Geeky things for me to do in the Bay Area next week either by myself or with my (retired but adventurous) parents? Details in extended. I grew up in California, went to high school in Berkeley, and a few years of college in Santa Cruz/Monterey until, in 1989, just after the earthquake, I relocated to the MidAtlantic and currently live in Baltimore, MD.

Each time I visit the Bay Area, I feel more and more out of touch with the area and my old haunts keep disappearing or changing. I sometimes have a completely inaccurate idea, too, of neighborhood safety when I visit (usually I am too cautious).

Every couple of years I make it out for a week or two to visit family and a few close friends. It turns out that this trip (Wednesday to Tuesday, starting 8/5/2009) is overlapping with friends' other family visits, so I may have a lot more time than I had anticipated to spend alone or with my parents.

I'll be staying with them very near the Ashby BART station. (Thank G-d, it sounds like BART will not be shut down during my visit.)

When I was living in the area, I liked various geeky attractions (Lawrence Hall of Science, Exploratorium, Dark Carnival, various comic book and book stores) and used to hang either in North Berkeley with various friends or would walk to Telegraph Ave or College Ave or through UCB campus and window shop. Sometimes I'd also explore various neighborhoods in SF (The Castro, Market, the Ferry terminals, Golden Gate Park, etc.) I'm also half Chinese which is relevant because I also find a lot of comfort and interest in going to and exploring the various Chinatowns around the bay.

I am now quite the food snob, and still a science/computer geek.

My question is for area residents. I am interested in foodie destinations and other geeky destinations I might not have heard about to visit by myself or with my parents. Can you help enlighten me and let me know about your favorite spots like this around the Bay Area?

The limitation is that it needs to be public transit/walking accessible for the most part, but my parents and I are adventurous with Bay Area public transit and can walk 2 or 3 miles comfortably on any journey's walking leg.

Oh, I should also say I'm not interested in wineries but might be interested in microbreweries, depending. :)

Thanks very much in advance for any answers. Also, I did search for previous questions, but nothing I could find quite fit my quesion/sought answers, but please let me know if I missed something!

Radical lefty sightseeing in The Bay Area?

willie11 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:51:03 -0800

Fun things for a lefty to do whilenon San Francisco for a few days? I'm in the bay area for the next few days and would like to check out some fun radical spots. Either in SF, Berkeley, Oakland or the surrounding area. I have a car. If it matters, I'm here until Thursday.

Bonus points for anything having to do with labor activism.

My think-meats hurt. Help me find a shrink.

lekvar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:20:21 -0800

Short Version: I'm poor and I need therapy in the SF Bay Area. Long Version: My job provides no benefits. I'm too poor to afford much out-of pocket, but I make too much to get county or state assistance, as near as I can tell. I just lost 15 hours a week, so, YAY! I have free time for some much needed therapy, but I'm also even less able to afford it than I was before.

I've tried finding info online, but my info-finding skills are weak.

So, MetaFilter, have you had any success finding low-cost therapy in the Bay Area? Have you found financial assistance in paying for therapy? Any hints, trick, pointers, advice, or recommendations?

What should I do after being cited for fare evasion on Caltrain?

pmdboi — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:42:21 -0800

I was cited for fare evasion on Caltrain. What are my options, and which ones are wise? I bought a ticket by credit card from one of the electronic vending machines just before getting on the train on the Mountain View Caltrain station going to San Francisco. On the way back from SF, shortly before arriving at Mountain View, the conductor started checking tickets. I looked at mine and noticed to my dismay that, in my rush to get on the train that morning, I had inadvertently bought the one-way ticket instead of the day pass. When the conductor reached my row, I showed him my ticket, explained my mistake, and offered to make up the difference in fare (I had more than enough cash on me). He instead cited me for California PC 640(b)(1) ("Evasion of the payment of a fare of the system"). I received the citation in the mail today and the bail is set at $245. The maximum punishment is a fine of $250 and 48 hours of community service. I have the option to just forfeit the bail.

So, I have a few questions:

1. If I appear in court and tell my story, is there any chance that my fine will be reduced?
2. If so, should I request a court trial or just an arraignment?
3. Do I have anything to gain from pleading "not guilty"? I was not trying to evade the fare, and I was willing to pay when I realized my error.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Need reliable Audi Mechanic

jeffamaphone — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:21:39 -0800

Bay Area: Peninsula: Please recommend an independant Audi mechanic. I have a '07 Q7 and I'm looking for an independent mechanic so I don't have to pay dealer prices for oil changes, etc. The qualities I'm looking for, in order of desirablity, are:

1) Does Quality work.
2) Is honest and reliable.
3) Good value for the money.

I.e., I'll pay slightly more for someone I can trust and rely on. I'm not purely looking to minimize cost.

Thanks!

We can afford more than a shack, right?

logic vs love — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:39:36 -0800

We're looking to buy a house within an hour or so of San Francisco, but we aren't familiar enough with the surrounding areas to even know where to start looking. Where's a good place to live? Difficulty level: under $300k. We're a youngish couple with a baby on the way, currently living and working in downtown San Francisco. We're looking for a small home under $300k within an hour or so of San Francisco, but our knowledge of anything outside of the city is quite pitiful and we don't even know where to start looking.

So far, we've limited the search to Oakland, but the Officially Nice neighborhoods are a little too expensive, and it's too hard for us to tell which of the other neighborhoods are on the right side of the line between "Pleasant Place to Live" and "Get Shot Walking Outside".

What are some nice, affordable neighborhoods or towns for raising a small family?