If you are looking for a wine bar in San Francisco that does not have a “meat market” atmosphere, go to Yield in Dogpatch. It’s a tiny place across Serpentine, but they have a good selection of wine (organic, biodynamic) and delicious small plates. Because it’s not in downtown, Embarcardero, Financial District or the Marina, Yield gets a mostly local crowd: people who live and work in the neighborhood. The long comfy couches are perfect for relaxing after work with a glass of wine. No fake body parts popping out of plunging necklines and likewise no guys staring lasciviously at women.

• Vibe: cozy, relaxed and friendly, perfect for meeting friends and business colleagues

• Pros: delicious small plates (menu changes regularly but I love the little pizzas), good wine selection including wines from northern Italy; parking not a problem; Muni stops right in front.

• Cons: a bit out of the way if you don’t live or work in Dogpatch.

Yield Wine Bar
2490 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 401 8984
www.yieldsf.com

Axis Cafe, a popular lunch and afternoon coffee spot in the Potrero Hill neigbhorhood, is an excellent place to have lunch in San Francisco not only because the patio in the back is perfect for those gorgeous warm San Francisco days when summer seems to linger forever, but also because the food is good, unpretentious and not expensive.

So imagine my delight when I went to Axis this week and discovered that they have a sense of humor too when it comes to the menu. They had a $9 Recession Special: half sandwich, soup and small salad. You can choose from any of the sandwiches and soups. I had the tomato basil soup (which was very delicious) and the pastrami sandwich with sauerkraut; my lunch companion had the French onion soup and steak sandwich (he said both were excellent).

• Vibe: stylish cafe-restaurant with perfect backyard patio for outdoor lunches; on cold days park yourself in front of the cozy fireplace; many people from the tech startups in the neighborhood hang out here so there are lots of Macs (very uncomfortable for Windows laptop owners).

• Pros: good, inexpensive lunches; excellent place (indoor and outdoor) for coffee and lunch meetings; free Wi-Fi.

• Cons: parking in the neighborhood is a nightmare so you have to be patient.

Axis Cafe
1201 8th St
San Francisco, CA 94107
+1 415 437 2947
www.axis-cafe.com

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Check out Mapplr’s favorite restaurants in San Francisco on a Google map.

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A few days ago I posted my favorite boutique hotels in Vienna. Now that you’ve found a place to stay, it’s time to check out a few very good places to eat in the city. Most of the ones I have listed here are Italian. I am not crazy about traditional Austria cuisine, which tends to be heavy and fattening, but I’ve nevertheless posted four suggestions for local cuisine at a traditional cafe or Gasthaus which have a lot of local atmosphere and are good value for money.

Fabios
Tuchlauben 6
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 532 2222
http://www.fabios.at
Italian

Novelli
Bräunerstrasse 11
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 513 4200
http://www.novelli.at
Italian

Procacci
Göttweihergasse 2
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 512 22 11
http://www.procacci.at
Italian

Artner
Franziskanerplatz 5
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 503 5034
http://www.artner.co.at/de/restaurant-franziskanerplatz/
Chic, trendy wine bar, restaurant, champagne bar; modern Austrian cuisine

Mak
Stubenring 5
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 714 0121
http://www.oesterreicherimmak.at
Modern Viennese cuisine in the Museum of Contemporary Art (MAK)

Mario
Lainzer Strasse 2
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 876 9090
http://www.mario-hietzing.at
Fresh, light Italian food and salads

Huth/Da Moritz
Schellinggasse 6
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 512 4444
http://www.damoritz.at
Italian restaurant, bar and vinoteca

Cafe Engländer
Postgasse 2
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 966 8665
http://www.cafe-englaender.com
Traditional Viennese cafe and restaurant, lots of history

Gasthaus zu den 3 Hacken
Singerstrasse 28
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 810 3309
http://www.zuden3hacken.at
Classic Viennese Gasthaus serving traditional Austrian food

Gasthaus Immervoll
Weihburggasse 17
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 513 52 88
Another classic Viennese Gasthuis, good schnitzel and gulasch

Cafe Sperl
Gumpendorfer Strasse 11
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 586 4158
http://www.zuden3hacken.at
Classic Viennese Gasthaus serving traditional Austrian food

Gasthaus Immervoll
Weihburggasse 17
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 513 52 88
Another classic Viennese Gasthuis, good schnitzel and gulasch

Cafe Sperl
Gumpendorfer Strasse 11
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 586 4158
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I came across Eiji, a Japanese restaurant on Sanchez Street in the Castro the other day quite by accident. It’s easy to miss: hidden behind trees, in a residential neighborhood, why would one expect to find good soup noodles and sushi here of all places? But I was impressed. For lunch I had the kitsune soba noddle soup with tofu puffs — the soup was not salty at all and it felt so purifying. I also ordered the cold tofu with tamari, spring onions and grated ginger, very delicious indeed.

Lunch here is inexpensive. I paid $7.50 for the large bowl of kitsune soup noodles; for the sushi and sashimi lunch plates which include miso soup, you pay $12.50. For dinner you must reserve because the restaurant is tiny but they have a good selection of fish and of course, those excellent tofu dishes. I don’t know why this restaurant is so unknown but it deserves a place in my pantheon of favorite ethnic dives. The one thing I do appreciate about Japanese ethnic dives is that they are very clean and their decor is sparse but comforting.

• Vibe: relaxed Japanese restaurant, minimalist decor, very clean, quiet
• Pros: excellent tofu dishes, inexpensive delicious noodle soups for lunch, wide selection of fish for sushi, sashimi, chirashi; excellent service
• Cons: difficult to find parking in the neighborhood, but luckily, two Muni stops (Church Street, Castro) are only minutes away

Eiji Restaurant
317 Sanchez Street
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 558 8149

From the Hundertwasser House (above) to the Schönnbrunn Palace, Vienna is a city that shuffles seamlessly between the past and the present. Hang out in cozy cafes that have been the heart of Vienna life for decades or indulge in a shopping trip among the trendy boutiques of young Austrian designers. The fall of the Berlin Wall has made city even more attractive for visitors to want to use it as a starting point for trips to eastern European cities such as Prague and Budapest. I have listed my favorite boutique hotels in Vienna to help you make the most of your stay in Vienna. I’ll soon post my favorite restaurants and cafes.

Hollmann Beletage
Köllnerhofgasse 6
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 9611960
www.hollmann-beletage.at

Designhotel - roomz vienna
Paragonstrasse 1
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 74 31 777
www.roomz-vienna.com

DO & CO Hotel
Stephansplatz 12
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 24188
www.doco.com

The Levante Parliament
Auerspergstrasse 9
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 228 28 0
www.thelevante.com

Altstadt Vienna
Kirchengasse 41
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 52633990
www.altstadt.at

Hotel Das Triest
Wiedner Hauptstraße 12
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 589 18-0
www.dastriest.at

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Click on the Google map of Vienna which shows my favorite hotels.
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