Restaurants & Bars

The famous San Francisco tourist neighborhood is crowded, ticky-tacky, and confusing. It’s also a really cool place to take your kids walking around on a free afternoon, crammed with sights and sounds you won’t see many other spots. Start things off with a bang at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, 56 Ross Alley (at Jackson Street); where you can watch patient, used-to-being-photographed ladies bending hot little pancakes around folded fortunes, and buy a bag to eat and walk with for $3. Head down to Grant Street next to poke in around the shops of gifty things. Several have large toy sections, and be sure to save some energy for the Chinatown Kite Shop, 717 Grant Street (at Sacramento Street), where a fantastic and functional souvenir of your trip will run you less than $20. There are dragon and lion heads to gawk at too.

Ready for a snack? Visit one of the fruit stands on Stockton Street, one block above Grant, and get something to nibble on. Test your knowledge of Asian greens; try a durian if you dare. Poke through the selection of dried seafood at Ho Kee Market, 1251 Stockton Street (at Broadway Street), and then pop next door to Wa Li Bakery, 1249 Stockton Street (at Broadway Street) for a delicate almond cookie or a cream puff.

End your trip at Portsmouth Square, Kearny Street (at Clay Street), where there’s a giant playground with separate levels for little ones and bigger ones, and plenty of benches for parents. Push away the strolling pigeons, take in the view, watch the little knots of men betting on games and the shopping-bag-carrying grandmas gossiping. Now that’s a day to remember.

Before you spend all weekend, every weekend making Halloween costumes, get out and enjoy sand castles, movies, maybe even a gigantic cup of beer.

Leap Sandcastle Contest

Teams of architects, designers and elementary school students make the most elaborate sand castles you’ll ever see.

When: Sat., 10/3, 10am-4pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Ocean Beach, Balboa Avenue at Great Highway, San Francisco, leap4kids.org.

Oktoberfest

The kids can’t enjoy the flowing beer, but Mom and Dad can, and it’ll loosen them up enough to try the Chicken Dance with junior.

When: Fri., 10/2, 3pm-midnight; Sat., 10/3, 11am-midnight; Sun., 10/4 11am-6pm; Age 4+; $30-35 (Sunday is two-for-one day).

Where: Pier 48, King Street (at Third Street), San Francisco; oktoberfestbythebay.com.

Scare on the Square

Sit on a blanket, get take-out from one of the nearby restaurants, and watch The Goonies with the kids on a 25-foot inflatable screen.

When: Sat., 10/3, sundown (about 7pm); Age 3+; Free.

Where: Courthouse Square (Broadway Street at Middlefield Road), Redwood City; redwoodcity.org.

Aladdin

When a boy finds a mysterious magic lamp he finally has a chance of winning the princess of his dreams in this adaptation starring young actors.

When: Ongoing through Sun., 10/25, Saturdays 2pm & 4pm; Sundays 2pm; Age 4+; $10-15.

Where: New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Avenue (at Market Street), San Francisco; 415-861-8972, nctcsf.org.

Festivals, movies, and more ways to take up your time.

Old Time Music Convention

All manner of non-electric instruments making old-fashioned music.

When: Ongoing through Sun. 9/13; Check website for times; All ages; Free-$20.

Where: Various venues in Berkeley including Civic Center Park, Center Street (at MLK, Jr. Way), Berkeley; 510-548-3333; berkeleyoldtimemusic.org.

Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival

Local patisseries and candy-makers bring the goodies, you bring your appetite. There’s a children’s area for when the tykes go sugar-nuts.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/12-13, noon-5pm; Age 2+; Free admission, $20 for 15 tastings of chocolate samples.

Where: Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point (at Polk Street), San Francisco; ghirardellisq.com.

Movie Day with Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)

Handler presents his favorite family movie, Young Frankenstein, in this benefit for SF libraries.

When: Sat., 9/13, movie at noon, reception at 11am; Age 4+; movie is free (but reservations required), reception $25 for adults, free for kids under 12.

Where: Balboa Theater, 3630 Balboa Street (at 38th Avenue), San Francisco; 415-626-7512, x106 or sara.bassett@friendssfpl.org; friendssfpl.org.

The Plastiki - Mission Control

Use interactive exhibits to learn about a 10,000 nautical mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a boat made almost entirely out of reclaimed plastic soda bottles.

When: Wednesdays through Sundays, ongoing through December 31, 11am-4pm; Age 3+; Free.

Where: Pier 45, Embarcadero (at Taylor Street), San Francisco; plastiki.com.

Summertime fun including movies, music, a paddle in the ocean and a morning jazz show.

Pick Up and Paddle

Learn the basics of kayaking or practice your strokes at this inexpensive UCSF-sponsored family activity. Kayaks are extra-stable sit-on models, and staff are ready to help you navigate Mission Creek’s calm, sheltered waters.

When: Sat., 7/11, 10am-noon; Age 8+; $25-35.

Where: Mission Creek, 401 Berry Street (at Seventh Street), San Francisco; 415-476-2078; campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu.

Early Bird Jazz: Woodwinds & Strings

Introduce the kids to jazz at this concert, which focuses on exploring the use of woodwinds and stringed instruments for young audiences.

When: Sat., 7/11, 10am (Kids 5 and under) and 11am (Kids 6 and over); Free.

When: Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Campus Drive (at Mayfield Avenue), Stanford; stanfordjazz.org. 

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Oswald, the original Mickey Mouse, was the star of a horde of charming black-and-white cartoons, which unspool at this film festival introduced by special guest Leonard Maltin and accompanied by live piano music.

When: Sun., 7/12; 10:30am; Age 4+; $12-14.

Where: The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street (at Market Street), San Francisco; 800-838-3006; silentfilm.org.

Youth Manners & Etiquette Class

Pre-teens learn the basics of polite public dining at a three-course instructive lunch.

When: Sat., 7/11 (and also 10/17), 10am-1pm; Age 9-13; $108.

Where: The Warwick Regis Hotel, 490 Geary Street (at Taylor Street), San Francisco; 415-346-3665; AdvancedEtiquette.com.

Just in case you’re not trapped in bed all weekend, waiting for breakfast to come to you.

Kamikaze Heart at Brava Theater Center

Human beings fling, flex, bend and stretch their bodies in interesting ways in this riveting, kinesthetic collaboration between hip hop artists, circus performers, and dancers.

When: Ongoing Fridays (8pm), Saturdays (4pm and 8pm), and Sundays (4pm) through 5/31; $14-25.

Where: Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street (at York Street), San Francisco, 415-665-2276; citycircus.org.

Napa Valley Wine Train Family Date Night

Parents have a fancy-schmancy booze-soaked meal in one car of a 1917 restored Pullman train, while in another car kids are feted by professional daycare providers with games, movies, and their own (probably less booze-soaked) dinner.

When: Sat., 3/9, 5:55pm; All ages; $99 for each parent, one child free with each parent admitted and $15 for additional children.

Where: Train leaves from the Napa Valley Wine Train Depot, 1275 McKinstry Street (at First Street), Napa; 800-427-4124 or visit winetrain.com.

Mother’s Day at the Zoo

The Oakland Zoo has a special party for human moms, with brunch, free train rides, a special animal presentation, live music, and an arts and crafts table where kids can make their own Mother’s Day cards.

When: Sun., 5/10, 10am-3pm (brunch is served 10am-3pm); Age 2+; Train rides are free with zoo admission, Free-$10.50, brunch is $14 for adults, $8 for kids 12 and under.

Where: Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Road (close to Highway 580), Oakland; 510-642-9525, oaklandzoo.org.

KFOG’s Kaboom

The huge fireworks fest has street food, live music, a children’s stage with youth performers, and finishes with a lot of upturned faces going ooh! and aah! Fireworks are choreographed to a simulcast of music on 104.5, for those watching the skies from non-fest locations.

When: Sat., 5/9, 4pm (Fireworks start at dark), Age 5+; $15-20.

Where: Pier 30/32 - Embarcadero and Brannan (south of the Bay Bridge), San Francisco, kfog.com.

After a long, long slog through the IKEA (including a trek back through the store when you discovered in the basement that neither shelves nor drawers were in stock for the model of desk you chose), the last thing you want to do is herd the kids into the echoing restaurant for Swedish meatballs, even if they do come with lingonberry jam. Escape instead to nearby Emerybay Public Market, just a hop, skip, and jump up the street.

The Public Market is crowded and not exactly cheap, but the big draw for parents is the multiplicity of ethnic eats within, 25 stalls that serve everything from burgers to Vietnamese food. Your kid can have his plain bean and rice burrito from the Mexican place, while you dine on Afghan pumpkin stew, tom yum from the Thai place, or dol sot bi bim bap from the Korean stall. Finish off with a sweet crepe from the crepe stand and you’re fortified for the long, shopping-bag-crowded trip home.

Emerybay Public Market is located at 5959 Shellmound Street (at 64th Street), Emeryville; call 510-652-5852 or visit emerymarket.com.

You know when you see a restaurant with a line in front every single week that the line-waiters must be waiting for something good. In the case of Goat Hill Pizza’s Neighborhood Nights, they’re totally right. The Potrero Hill pizzeria holds Neighborhood Night every Monday, with all-you-can-eat pizza for kids and adults. The pizza is good, with a cornmeal-lined crust and a non-threatening sauce, but it’s the presentation that’s the killer on Monday nights, as the pizza is wheeled on carts through the restaurant, dim-sum style.

Each pizza is cut into small slivers, giving kids a rare chance to choose exactly what they’d like to eat– and offering adults sick of ordering kid-friendly pizzas a chance to try some interesting toppings, like chicken and green olives, or pickled peppers. The servers keep bringing new carts out, you keep pointing and eating. And unlike at a dim sum joint, where you get sticker shock when you see the bill (did I really eat 4 pork buns??), you know what you’re paying for coming in, so you can relax and chew, maybe order a glass of Goat Hill’s decently-priced wine and check out the view of the skyline. Aah. Doesn’t that feel nice? Look at all the suckers lined up for your table. Let ‘em wait.

Neighborhood Night occurs every Monday from 5-10pm at Goat Hill Pizza, 300 Connecticut Street at 18th Street, San Francisco; $5.95 12 and under; $10.95 13 and over; 415-641-1440; goathill.com.

Yojo Mobile, makers of the incredible mobile-device-accessible bathroom finder MizPee, now has a mobile site for San Francisco parents: Yojo Mama. I spent some time playing with it today, and it’s pretty cool. You put in your address, or the neighborhood you’re heading to, and find nearby bathrooms (crucial!), food, or kid-friendly spots like playgrounds, libraries, ice cream stores, and diners. They obviously hired someone familiar with San Francisco to fill the database, someone with decent taste who rates local places honestly: See’s Candy got four apples, while the gritty Margaret S. Hayward Playground in Hayes Valley rated only three.

You can look at Yojo Mama from your computer, or from a phone or other mobile device. If you sign up, you can even save reviews of various places, to access while you’re out: what was that great park right by the place with the killer fried chicken? Now you’ll remember!

Visit yojomama.com.

Tea parties are a cherished mom/kid tradition, but a visit to one of the Bay Area’s adult-oriented tea houses can be more stressful than fun. “Dear God, Chloe, watch how you set down that tea cup.” “Boys, we do NOT crawl under the table here.” “Sarah, I want you to stop eating sugar cubes, right now!” Oy. Putting on the ruffly dress and flower-hat is fun and all, but how you can you digest and relax when you’re worried the whole time?

At I’m a Little Teapot, a combination kids’ clothing boutique and tea house, things are different. Tea is not served blazingly hot. Giggling is encouraged. And you won’t be served in $50 china cups that you’re paranoid about the kids breaking.

The street-level floor of I’m a Little Teapot is a charmingly appointed store, with girlie dresses, sweaters, and baby gear. Upstairs is the rentable party room, elegant enough to host a shower, or dazzle a whole table full of eight-year-old girls at a fairy luncheon. For $275 I’m a Little Teapot provides invites, the room, fluffy dress-up clothes, tea, an orchestrated craft project, and a whole bunch of exceedingly excited little girls in tutus.

I’m a Little Teapot is located at 127 Fourth Street (at Morgan Street) in Historical Railroad Square in Santa Rosa. Call 707-525-8768 or visit teapotparties.com.

Down economy or no, there are still holiday indulgences that parents are willing to spend on. One much-beloved, pricey local tradition: the Ritz-Carlton’s annual Teddy Bear Tea. Children and parents dress up in holiday finery and bring favorite stuffed animals for a tea party in the Ritz-Carlton’s splendiferous, decorated-for-the-holidays Lobby Lounge. Binky the Elf presides over the tea, tells classic holiday stories, sings songs to amuse parents, and hands out balloons as kids enjoy hot chocolate, teddy bear cookies, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, all served on gorgeous oh-my-god-be-careful china. The whole shebang culminates in a visit and portrait with the giant, cuddly costumed Ritz-Carlton teddy bear, and each child is given a high-quality teddy of her own to take home.

Warning: this event may be a bit threatening for very young children, who will no doubt enjoy the cookies and PBJs, but will not be interested in going near any big teddy bear, no way, no sir. But for children age 4 and up, particularly Fancy Nancy-style princessy girls, the event is a holiday highlight.

A portion of proceeds benefits The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Teddy Bear Tea occurs daily through December 24, 2008 at the Ritz-Carlton, 600 Stockton Street (at California Street), San Francisco. Seatings are at 10am (tea ends at 11:30am) and 1pm (tea ends at 2:30pm). $80 per person; call 415-296-7465 or visit ritzcarlton.com.