<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I'm posting to the entire list since I've had quite a few requests for travel information to San Francisco which is a populat tourist destination in the summer. Bring your sweatshirt and long pants - those shivering in shorts and a T shirt are easy to identify as tourists. I wrote this note some time ago. For those going to Fisherman's Wharf area, there are wonderful crab/fish restaurants. Just exercise the same cautions you do in any restaurant. Or you can buy a steamed crab (unfortunately without the accompanying loaf of sourdough bread), make sure they crack it well, and sit in the nearby park and enjoy it while you watch the sailboats, Alcatraz and general pandemonium of the summer tourist rush. (It's quieter in Oakland, just a ferry ride across the Bay). You can contact Jeff Golden at [log in to unmask] for a copy of our local celiac-friendly restaurant guide. Ellen Switkes Oakland, Ca ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ San Francisco is a good place for celiacs. There's wonderful food in asian markets in Chinatown in SF and in Oakland. More on this in a minute. Also, if you have a car, you can check out Rick and Ann's on Domingo street in Berkeley near the Claremont Hotel for rice flour blueberry pancakes right on the menu. It's a wonderful breakfast/brunch place and the pancakes are heavenly and worth the trip. It's crowded on weekends. Cafe Rustica on College Ave in Oakland has rice flour pizza, you need to call the day before. Then when you get there, you order whatever toppings you want. It's not fabulously delicious crust, but still, where can a celiac order up a pizza! As far as markets go, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have large stores in SF and around the Bay Area. Both have lots of goodies for celiacs. For asian food, I skip Chinese food because they use lots of soy sauce, but you can eat well in Thai restaurants and of course, there's sushi in Japanese restaurants. Just watch out for imitation crab. Bring your own soy sauce. You can eat crab at Fisherman's wharf, no problem, and there's lots of seafood there and elsewhere, just make sure there's no breading on the fish or even dredged in flour. I like to stop in Chinese bakeries for dessert. They have all kinds of sweet rice flour products some with bean paste filling. Hopefully there's someone who speaks enough English to ask, but there are lots of pasteries you can eat (and lots you can't). For example, there's a round ball which has been deep fried (yes it's greasy, but really good) about the size of a golf ball with sesame seeds all over it. Inside there's bean paste or lotus bean paste.There are also rice flour savory things which are rolled out rice flour dough in a circle which are then filled with shrimp (fresh or dried) and green onions, and then the circle is rolled up. These either come in a package in an asian market, or in a chinese bakery, they are in the deli case. Very yummy. I add a bit of shrimp paste from the Thai market and g-f soy sauce and heat in the microwave or if it's from the deli, we take it to the park and just eat it up. You may also see triangular packages wrapped in dark green leaves and tied with string. This is rice with savories inside. It's been steamed. Also nice to eat in the park. There are some dim sum goodies you can eat, and lots you can't. I like to go to Yank Sing on Battery Street in SF. It's crowded on the weekend. Talk to the main person in advance about which dim sum goodies you can eat there. There are really good taro root dim sum and lots of others made from rice flour. Generally those with translucent wrappings are rice flour and the others are wheat flour. You may want to bring your own soy sauce here too. I should also add that any nice restaurant should cater to your dietary restrictions, no problem. Wendy's won't but if you can afford to eat out a few dinners at nicer places, the waiters should take very good care of you, especially if they speak english.