We're hitting the Main branch of the SF Public Library (100 Larkin Street) for Central America on a Shoestring, a talk by Lonely Planet's commissioning editor Greg Benchwick. more ›

In other cities we've lived in, the actual density of the ethnic Chinese population matters little to the density of Chinese restaurants. Seattle? The population is rather spread out, but the vast majority of Chinese restaurants are still downtown in the International District. New York? No matter what neighborhood you're in, you're never far from a Chinese restaurant. But in San Francisco, the restaurants seem to follow the community in general -- ya got your fancy places next to your rich people, your Russian restaurants in the Richmond, your Central American cuisine in the Mission. And so it follows that the best places to go for Chinese food are Chinatown and the Sunset. And yes, we're making totally specious generalizations here, and of course we could give a damn where we find great Chinese food or even who makes it (our country-bred Anglo mom makes a mean rice plate). But how else to explain the paucity of good Chinese restaurants in the Mission? more ›