StreetMaven

In the Sunset/Richmond areas, the avenues are numbered sequentially, i.e., 2nd Avenue, 3rd Avenue ... all except for Arguello, which is technically First Avenue. I don't know why the City chose to name this street, rather than number it (it has a tendency to confuse cabbies, for starters). Arguello is probably named after Santiago Arguello (1791-1862), who was a military man who helped to settle and establish California (albeit on behalf of Mexico), and later became a wealthy landowner with 22 kids! It's a cute little boulevard -- mostly residential, although there are a pizza place and a synagogue along the way, on the north side of Golden Gate Park. And there is Roosevelt Middle School as well. The very end of Arguello leads directly into the beautiful Presidio.

Union Street is located in the northern portion of San Francisco and extends all the way from the east side of the Presidio to Montgomery Street in the Financial District. It is famous for its upscale restaurants, clothing stores and art galleries. The Marina is an easy walk from Union Street, which offers its own retail therapy and dining opportunities, and if you are young, perhaps a chance to meet someone to date.

Fulton Street runs along the north side of Golden Gate Park, from the Pacific Ocean and then a bit beyond, all the way to Franklin. It is fairly fast-moving. It is mainly residential, although towards the ocean side there's a Safeway. The section alongside the Park is fairly nice, and just beyond the Park, on the east side, is the University of San Francisco, which is a beautiful place. As Fulton enters the Western Addition/Tenderloin area, the scenery changes a bit, and this is probably not a great area to be after dark.

This street, which runs along the south side of the Panhandle, is a rapid conduit to South of Market, or you can eventually turn onto the freeway if you keep to the right (so if that's not what you want to do, stay in the two left lanes). There isn't much to it -- it's a fast-moving, one-way, multi-lane, mostly residential street, with a cafe here and there. If you're headed to South of Market, at Franklin you will be forced to make a left turn, and then a right onto Fell, which will eventually lead onto 10th Street. From there you can navigate to anywhere South of Market you choose to go.

Geary Street has a thousand different identities. It spans almost the entire width of San Francisco, from east to west, beginning at Kearny and Market and continuing straight out to the Pacific Ocean. Its most well-known identity is the Union Square retail district, with many upscale department stores and prominent designers operating stores there. There are a lot of great restaurants here, too, although most of them are expensive. It continues through the rough-and-tumble Tenderloin (the Mason/Leavenworth area) which, although scary, has quite a few Vietnamese restaurants, many of which I've heard are quite good. As it continues further into the Richmond, you will notice many upscale Asian restaurants of every kind, and again, there are many here that are quite popular and supposed to be excellent. Going even further out into the Richmond, it becomes less commercial and more residential, and actually kind of desolate. Approaching the ocean, it loops down the hill and turns into the Great Highway, which provides a dazzling view, so be prepared for it.

Lincoln Way borders Golden Gate Park on the south side, running most of the length of the park, from the Pacific Ocean to Arguello, at which point it becomes Frederick Street. It is a fast-moving, double-lane throughway. Around 9th Avenue there are a few restaurants and a bar, but beyond that it's mostly residential (and fairly nice real estate, too) until right before the ocean, where you will find a few more restaurants. That's about it.

This is definitely worth a visit. If you are looking for a good tattoo artist or body piercer, or a great indie clothing designer, this is the place to go. It has a lot of great restaurants and cafes as well. The street scene is fun -- you can hear a lot of street music here. And if you are into Tibetan jewelry, I have seen more stores on this one street than most of San Francisco combined. The Upper Haight has lots of retail stores, many of them fairly pricey, whereas the Lower Haight seems to have mostly trendy beauty salons and night clubs, with some terrific restaurants. To tell the truth, my favorite Haight Street restaurants are in the Lower Haight, although be careful -- after dark, it can be unpredictable, though not necessarily dangerous.

Irving Street exists only in the Sunset District, and extends out to the Pacific Ocean. It is mainly a commercial area, although there is a bit of residential housing scattered here and there. The Inner Sunset has a lot of funky cafes, good restaurants and opportunities for retail therapy, albeit most of them expensive. Due to its proximity to UCSF, these customers have plenty of money and are not hesitant to spend it. 19th Avenue to about 28th Avenue could be described as a sort of "mini-Chinatown" and you can buy housewares, great food and salon services for a very reasonable price. I love this area and take every opportunity to visit it.

Parnassus is located in the Inner Sunset on the south side of Golden Gate Park. It loops gently over a very steep hill, and gradually tapers off into Judah. At the crest of the hill is the huge UCSF complex, which is a teaching hospital and clinic. There are a few retail establishments here -- on the Stanyan side, there is a pizzeria and flower shop, and on the other side of the hill there are a handful of restaurants, mostly ethnic, but all of them are pretty good. The 6 Parnassus runs along this street, which can take you into the Financial District. In the other direction, it leads out to 14th Avenue.

Hugo Street is a very short (six blocks, to be exact) , mainly residential street sandwiched in between Lincoln and Irving. It is very charming and quiet, with not many businesses actually located ON the street -- to be precise, there are a deli/cafe and laundromat and that's it. Hugo Street's main virtue is its centrality -- it is close to everything. The UCSF MUNI stop is one block up the hill, and Lincoln is only a block away, if you're trying to drive somewhere fast. There are a few MUNI buses that run along Lincoln as well, mainly the #7 and #71. The Irving Street shopping district, which has clothing stores, restaurants, banks and cafes, is just blocks away. And it's an easy ten-minute walk from Haight Street. The apartment rentals here are extremely expensive -- about $2,500 for a 2-bedroom and up. This is probably fueled by the strong demand for student housing at UCSF.