Expert: Ernest Tufft - 3/7/2010

Question
Ernest, First let me thank you for taking your time to answer some questions. I am from Canada and I am taking my family to SF then to LA then to SD.
I am looking for some nice family restaurants, Night life things to do with family, kids 14, 16, 18. great things to see, Have plans to see currently, golden gate and alcatraz in SF, Universal in LA and walk of fame, Disney and SD zoo and sea world. Any other suggestions in any of these cities we are there for 2 weeks and plan on driving from SF down the coast and ending in SD.

Answer
Since your children are teenagers, you have plenty of opportunity to avoid the overly predictable corporate "family restaurants" and encourage culinary adventure at reasonably priced local restaurants.  San Francisco's Chinatown comes immediately to mind in this regard, but the whole city is famous for food, and actually the better Chinese, Vietnamese, and other restaurants have migrated west into the Richmond District, particularly along Clement Street.  Plan to walk around and stumble upon a good restaurant.  There are plenty of neighborhood restaurants that will cater to a family like yours in SF on a personal basis.  I personally think Alcatraz is over-rated and time wasting, particularly for the ferry price, and I find that simply catching a commuter ferry for a walk around Sausalito would be more interesting for the family.  Teenagers like to people watch more than stare at rusty prison architecture.  So hang loose, I recommend spending a lot of time walking around aimlessly appreciating this very unique city, rather than tying your family to schedule of tourist stops.  Use ordinary public transportation to be "green", rather than riding the tourist bus, or worse terrorizing yourself and the family by driving a rental car around.  On Muni, after initial ticket purchase, everyone grab a transfer ticket for additional two hours of free rides on trolley, bus, or train all around town.  For example, from downtown, I recommend taking the N Judah Muni train line out toward Golden Gate Park, and then you can walk through the park and into the Richmond district for dinner along Balboa Avenue, before catching an express bus back downtown.  A walk from the Embarcadero along Market Street, past the Civic Center, to the Castro District is long, but young people hoof it all the time, just wear good walking shoes.  If your group gets tired, bored or short of time, simply jump on any antique trolley along this route, or go below the street to the MUNI rail system.  Everyone will be wonderfully fit and will sleep well at night after a day of wandering SF complex of hills and valleys.

LA is generally regarded as being better fit for the rental car driver, being so widely spaced, particularly around Anaheim, where Disneyland is located.  However, the beach cities, downtown, Hollywood, and Pasadena are all serviced well by the high speed LA Metro train system, which is relatively new and easy to use.  The Getty Museum is a must see place for your family, as tickets are free and easy to get on-line.  Plan to spend plenty of time there, enjoying live music as well as browsing the exhibits.

SD is similar to LA in terms of orientation for rental car, but the city's unique geography of canyons and flat topped mesas makes it more difficult to understand.  Your kids will like a walk in the Gas Lamp district at night, which is easily reached by the light rail trolley.  During the day, Balboa Park, in addition to the world famous zoo, has numerous museums which can be decided upon by family vote when walking around.  The Air and Space Museum, for example, is one of the nation's best.

In general then, rather than making specific restaurant recommendations, I suggest finding accommodations well located near terminals for public transportation access, and then networking your tour into places where good restaurants are easily found.  Study the public transportation websites of these cities very well before going there as the stops made by trains or trolley are often key places young people love to gravitate toward.  The practice of having menus in the window is widespread, so you can study the prices before choosing.  Have your kids pledge to avoid familiar corporate places like McDonalds, Denny's, or Applebees.

Hope this helps...