Prices are serious, but not stratospheric. Designer Darbury
Stenderu loves rich fabrics: handpainted velvets and silks she
makes into stunning dresses, shirts, capes, tapestries, scarves,
and pillows, priced from $50 to $2,000. Custom leather jackets at
Lava 9 take about two weeks to make and cost around $550; others
are priced lower. Nomads sells its own make of men's overshirts of
soft sueded cotton or wool, while Vintage Boutique has retro-'70s
Levi's cords and bell-bottoms for $38 to $44. Try Buu, a tiny and
eclectic shop, for Vietnamese silk-blend toiletry kits, bottles of
sea salt, and Japanese ceramics, or Pomp for simple Japanese-style
table napkins.
When you're ready to give your credit card a rest and sip some
tea-in-a-glass, stop by Frjtz, an Amsterdam-style cafe offering 15
types of tea and gourmet Belgian-style French fries.
THE RICHMOND
San Franciscans living in other parts of town think of The Richmond
district the way Manhattanites think of
Staten Island - they don't.
Quiet, less crowded, more spacious than the rest of the city, The
Richmond is the only neighborhood really suited to exploring by
car. Go there for an afternoon to recharge your urban batteries
with green spaces, sea breezes, and wild beaches.
The Richmond reminds a visitor that
San Francisco is an ocean city.
You'll find a majestic, salt-sprayed view of the Golden Gate Bridge
from Fort Point in the Presidio - not precisely in The Richmond,
but on the way there, and close enough.
Sip jasmine brew at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
Then try some of the city's best Asian cooking along Clement Street
between 4th and 23rd. Fountain Court features Shanghai-style items
like smoked fish and
Shanghai Juicy Steamed Buns (pork dumplings
stuffed with ginger). The menu at Bai Som - grilled meat, toasted
rice powder, very hot sauces - comes from Issahn in northern
Thailand. Traditional Thai cuisine is served at Khan Toke, and
Burmese and Mandarin dishes at Burma Super Star.