Moms are always out and about in the city and looking for original and fun places to eat, shop and see with their kids! Well, we have a few hip suggestions that you don't want to miss. Here with us to share is the publisher of Todo guide book, Kiri Henderson.
Web site: todomonthly.com
Places Featured Today:
Toy Boat Café
Inner Richmond area
401 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Kitschy environment featuring toys and memorabilia that kids love and parents remember.
- Notable shop feature: mechanical pony with leather saddle; collections of Pez dispensers and promotional dolls from movies you forgot were ever made, such as Harry and the Hendersons.
- Feature pies, cakes, and ice cream. One of few places in San Francisco to get Egg Crèam
- We recommend the made on premises ice cream sandwiches and Hanna's Molten Chocolate Cake.
St. Francis Fountain
Mission District
2801 24th St.
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Restored Soda Fountain: high wood paneled booths and telephone booth, originally opened in 1918 taken over by new management in 2002.
- Hipster wait staff; friendly and helpful service.
- Retro candy and toys. For example: Garbage Pail Kids Trading Cards.
- Fun menu items: Nebulous Potato Thing, Chef's Mess; many vegetarian options.
- TODO recommends for breakfast, brunch or lunch; watch out for the mid morning wait on the weekends though.
Yummy Yummy
Inner Sunset area
1015 Irving
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Vietnamese restaurant in the Richmond.
- Name with unquestionable appeal.
- Big bowls of Pho (noodle soup), fresh crab right now, and it's perfectly appropriate to slurp your soup.
- A way for parents to satisfy their taste buds and those of their children.
Circus Center
Web site: circuscenter.org
Upper Haight near Kezar Stadium
755 Frederick St.
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Have been teaching circus arts to children for over 20 years.
- Offer classes to children and adults; even have preschool acrobatics for children as young as 18 months.
- Own and operate an actual circus: New Pickle Circus.
- Classes include: Chinese acrobatics, trapeze, tumbling, contortion, juggling, and clowning.
- Operate the Clown Conservatory: a 1 year training program.
- Also run a summer circus camp for children 7-15 (week or more stay).
A-MAZE-ing Puzzles
www.randallmuseum.org
Corona Heights
199 Museum Way
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Temporary exhibit at the Randall Museum.
- Engages both children and parents in brain teasing puzzles.
- formed as a giant maze, puzzles are dispersed throughout.
- Puzzles include: untangling circles, pyramid building, finding hidden words.
- Open through May 1st 2008; admission is free, but a donation is recommended.
- Other exhibits: Live Animal Exhibit with tide pool creatures, also ceramics, art and woodshop studio.
Pika Pika
Japantown
1581 Webster Street, Suite 185
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Newly expanded in Japantown.
- Based on Purikura.
- A number of photo booths each with it's own theme: pop star, angel…
- kids and parents can draw on the photos digitally or add cartoon characters to the photos before printing.
- Produces tiny picture stickers that can used to decorate cell phones, wallets, bedrooms.
- Serious addiction in Japan.
- Parents can also have passport photos taken or pictures developed. Also can create a stamp to mark golf balls with.
Le Video
levideo.com
Inner Sunset
1231 9th Ave.
San Francisco, CA
Features:
- Arguably the best video store in the city, started as all French films.
- Stock of over 50,000 titles, a few thousand in the kids section.
- Extensive kids collection of titles, Family, Disney, Enfante (French children's section).
- Obscure, international, rare films (Esoterica).
- Very knowledgeable staff are there to help you find your way.
SenSpa
senspa.com
Presidio
1161 Gorgas
San Francisco, CA
For Reservations: (415) 441-1777
Features:
- Not for children, definitely for a parent's recovery time.
- 13,000 sq foot spa in a renovated army barrack in the presidio.
- Have luxurious versions of traditional spa treatments, but also offer acupuncture as well as workshops and lectures on health and wellness.
- Also, have more romantic options such a room-for-two Onsen bath followed by side by side massage treatments, or more practical Couples Custom Path (a wellness coach supervised plan addressing dietary health and stress management).
