The Tablehopper's Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco: Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion

by Marcia Gagliardi

When it’s time to take your parents out to dinner or your girlfriend on a sexy date, or when you’re looking for a hot venue for a birthday blowout or brunch with friends, who do you turn to for a spot-on recommendation? Why, the tablehopper, of course! Marcia Gagliardi is San Francisco’s cuisine concierge, providing restaurant recommendations and helping thousands of diners find the right place for the right occasion. With her unique blend of enthusiasm, insider knowledge, and sass, Marcia bases her recommendations on the reason you’re going out, who you’re dining with, and how much money you have to burn.
 
This first-of-its-kind guidebook has more than 580 reviews of the tablehopper’s top suggestions
 
Girls’ Night Out
Dates One, Two, and Three
Bromance
Cheap Date
Guys Lunch (Dude Food)
Group Dining and Buyouts
Meet the Future In-Laws
Old-School Power Lunch
“Fun Client” Business Dining
Meat Eater and Vegetarian
Coexistence
Late-Night Chow
Flying Solo
Cocktail Quests
 
Covering a huge range of places for all tastes, ages, and budgets, this insider’s guide also includes sections on the South Bay, Wine Country, top eats in the East Bay, and one-, two-, and three-day San Francisco culinary itineraries. Only a local and no-holds-barred eater like the tablehopper can offer visitors and locals alike such a knowledgeable and comprehensive look at the Bay Area dining and drinking scene.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

A freelance food writer for the past seven years, and a resident of San Francisco for 15, Marcia Gagliardi is perhaps best known in the food community as the tablehopper. Her cheeky weekly e-column, archived on tablehopper.com, is chock-full of insider news and gossip about the San Francisco restaurant and bar scene. The four-year-old tablehopper column was voted Most Obsessive Restaurant Informant by 7x7 magazine. She also writes for San Francisco magazine and Edible San Francisco."

Reviews

[Adrienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed thru and was outdated. You can find these on the phone.

[Clayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book feels like someone went in and pulled out 1500 thoughtful Yelp reviews and then placed them in various categories to help guide you around the city.

Listen, I love Marcia and am a big fan of her Tablehopper weekly emails, but the info she dolls out here can be found for free on the web in a multitude of places.

I was really expecting a lot more out of her book

This book might be worth your while if you are new to the city and trying to figure out the spots, but again you can do a lot of that on line for free!

[frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellente!! marcia knows her sf restaurants like no-one else, so if you need to find a specific place (think: it's a hot night and i want to eat outside. or: my picky fancy aunt is coming to town and wants to do cocktails and snacks), this book is exactly what you need. marcia's writing is funny and witty and informed and she really knows food so you know you can trust her. love it!

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this helpful to use on a recent trip to the area. I mostly consult Yelp, but this was a good back-up to reconfirm whether a restaurant was worth it.