SFO Dec 2, 6 hours
 

I have 6 hours free in SFO. I arrive on a domestic flight at around midday and have to jump on an international flight at around 6pm. Both UA.

I was wondering if any FTers will be around and know of a decent restaurant nearby. If you'd like to get together and have lunch, that would work well for me.

Also, any suggestions on what to do for the six hours would be appreciated. I'd hate to be boring and sit in the RCC for that long :(.

Check the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) schedule -- you can take the train from SFO to downtown (I think it's about $5), or a cab ride is about $30 with no traffic. The restaurant in the FS at 757 Market is excellent -- floor to ceiling windows looking out to the street. There is a also a large mall with Nordstrom and other shops directly above the BART station. If the weather is ok, a short walk from the Union Square station is Maiden Lane -- there is a deli/restaurant there that blocks off the street, sets up tables outside, and sometimes plays live music during lunch time. You can also catch a cable car at Union Square if you're looking for the touristy thing. There is also a Cheesecake Factory on top of the Macy's -- the view is incredible if it's a clear day and you can eat outside.

Have fun!

Max's Deli cafe in Burlingame is OK, you might be able to get there (cheating a bit) by taking the Hyatt shuttle to and from the hotel and then just walking across the street!

I can vouch for the convenience of BART. They put in an extension directly to SFO (in fact, to the international terminal). On my recent flight out of SFO, I took a casual carpool a block from my apartment in Oakland, got dropped off at the Embarcadero, hopped on BART, and I was at SFO before I could finish reading the front section of the Chronicle. Talk about awesome.

BART does have a slight hitch. The ticket price to SFO is $4.95 from the SF financial district. Everywhere else in the area of SFO (even stations farther away) are under $4.00. But they grab you by your danglies and squeeze, because it's still considerably cheaper than driving there and paying for parking, catching a cab, or heaven forbid, get off BART at the Millbrae station and transfer to a city bus like I did once many moons ago.

For info on BART, just go to http://www.bart.gov . Very convenient, and no problem with your rolling up rights, assuming the escalators are all functioning.

Beware the Cheesecake Factory on the top of Macy's in Union Square, though! We have NEVER been there (weekday or weekend) when the queue wasn't a bear. On weekends it's even worse; we've been told flat out that waits could be two hours+.

The food is great, though, as is the cheesecake. If you're hankering for a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, take the elevator up to CF in Macy's, and turn right when you exit the elevator... go straight to the cheesecake counter, and order one to go. They will pack and bag it and give you napkins and forks, so you can even take it with you back to SFO if you wanted.

Do visit Union Square if you can. All the holiday decorations are up now (they were finishing up the Christmas tree lights a week ago). It looks very nice.