DIRECTIONS TO THE CONFERENCE

CCE 2011 takes place at the San Francisco Women’s Building, located at 3543 18th St #8 (between Guerrero and Valencia) in San Francisco.  The building is…um…colorful, and difficult to miss.  The best way to get there is via public transit.  You can use the SF MUNI trip planner to find a route from any spot in the city.

Directions via BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit):

From Downtown or the East Bay: take any train (4 stops on Market Street) going towards Daly City/Millbrae/San Francisco Airport.  Get out at 16th Street and Mission.  Walk one block north to Valencia Street.  Go left (west) two blocks to 18th Street and make a right.  The San Francisco Women’s building will be halfway down the block on your left between Lapidge and Dearborn alleys.

From the airport or South Bay: Take any train going towards San Francisco/Richmond/Pittsburgh/Dublin/Fremont. Get out at 16th Street and Mission.  Walk one block north to Valencia Street.  Go left (west) two blocks to 18th Street and make a right.  The San Francisco Women’s building will be halfway down the block on your left between Lapidge and Dearborn alleys.

Directions via car:

From the south: Take 101 north to left exit 434A for US-101 N/Mission St/Duboce Ave toward G.G. Bridge.  Keep left at the fork and exit onto Duboce Ave.  In two blocks, make a left onto Guerrero Street.  In five blocks, make a left onto 18th street.  The Women’s Building is halfway down the block on your right, between Lapidge and Dearborn alleys.

From the north: Take 101 south across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Take the second exit after the bridge to stay on 101 towards The Marina.  Continue to follow 101 as it turns left onto Lombard Street. Continue on 101 south for one mile as it turns right onto Van Ness Avenue.  Stay on Van Ness Avenue for 2.5 miles (it will turn into South Van Ness after crossing Market Street).  When approaching the freeway overpass, stay in the middle lane to avoid getting on to the freeway.  Go under the overpass and continue on South Van Ness for five blocks.  Make a right onto 18th street.  After crossing Guerrero Street, the San Francisco Women’s building will be halfway down the block on your left between Lapidge and Dearborn alleys.

From the east: Take interstate 80W to exit 434A for US-101 N/Mission St/Duboce Ave toward G.G. Bridge.  Keep right at the fork and exit onto Duboce Ave.  In two blocks, make a left onto Guerrero Street.  In five blocks, make a left onto 18th street.  The Women’s Building is halfway down the block on your right, between Lapidge and Dearborn alleys.

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TRANSPORT TO SAN FRANCISCO

For travel by car, please see the directions above. We do not recommend travel by car if you are staying downtown, as parking near Union Square is extremely difficult and expensive.  Please visit this page for information about parking near the conference venue.

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LODGING

We are happy to offer a choice of three different hotels with discounts for CCE 2011 Attendees. The first two hotels, the Americania Hotel and The Good Hotel, are located in the SOMA district on Market St. at 7th St.  The third hotel, Hotel Rex, is located in Union Square on Sutter St. at Mason St.

The Americania Hotel is a newly renovated hotel with high design, that’s family oriented and an urban oasis, featuring whimsical and fun toys and games, complimentary high-speed internet access, flat screen TVs and iPod docking stations.  Located at 121 7th St* in downtown San Francisco, it is easily accessible by public transportation and offers parking for a fee.  Call 415.626.0200 for more info or (800) 444-5816 for reservations.  You may also reserve a room online.  Don’t forget to use the code “SOMA” for 15% off the best available rate at any given time.

The Good Hotel is an eco-friendly hotel with décor featuring reclaimed and recycled construction materials. You can buy ReadyMade® sustainable t-shirts and special souvenirs from the vending machines in the lobby.  Or you can borrow one of our resident Globe® bicycles for free and wander the city on two wheels.  Our in-room design features amenities that encourage guests to reuse and recycle.  These are a few examples of our inventive ideas to promote a good lifestyle and inspire everyone to be a little more, well, good.  The Good Hotel is located south of Market Street*, in the SOMA district, one of San Francisco’s youngest and most stylish areas. SOMA is filled with a vibrant nightlife, artist lofts, and frayed-around-the-edges urban chic shopping.  Located at 112 7th Street*, it too is easily accessible by public transportation and offers parking for a fee.  Call 415-621-7001 for more info or (800) 444-5819 for reservations.  You may also reserve a room online.  Don’t forget to use the code “SOMA” for 15% off the best available rate at any given time.

*Disclaimer about the neighborhood: South of Market St. can be a bit grittier than the Union Square area, so we recommend that you are always aware of your surroundings and don’t walk alone late at night.

The Hotel Rex® in Union Square was inspired by the downtown San Francisco art and literary salons of the 1920′s and 30′s. Vibrant and alive, the clubby lobby surrounds guests with distinctive San Francisco period furnishings, walls of antiquarian books, and an exceptional collection of exotic objects, original portraits and murals.  The hotel is located in the heart of the theater district and one block away from Union Square, the center of the City’s shopping district. The hotel is within walking distance to Union Square’s Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Tiffany, Nordstrom, fashionable boutiques, art galleries, Moscone Convention Center, Yerba Buena Gardens and the Museum of Modern Art. San Francisco’s Powell Street Cable Car line is one block away and travels to Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown and North Beach.  Click here to receive the discounted rate of $169/night, or use promo code CCE.

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FOOD

Coffee shops

Ritual Coffee Roasters
1026 Valencia Street, San Francisco
Ritual Coffee Roasters opened in May 2005 with the intention to share amazing coffee with San Francisco and it was only a matter of weeks, or maybe just one, before Ritual had a line out the door. Many of our customers asked what we were doing to our coffee to make it taste so good, while the connoisseurs simply wanted to know what took us so long to get here.

Borderlands Cafe
870 Valencia St (between Cunningham Pl & 20th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Serving fine coffee and teas along with fresh pastries and light meals.

The Summit SF
780 Valencia San Francisco @ 19th
The Summit presents an artisan approach to modern café culture; featuring Blue Bottle Coffee, offering craft beers and local wines, and serving conceptually creative cuisine – democratically priced. As a gathering place for like-minds, The Summit also functions as an art space called Peek Gallery, celebrating the connoisseur as curator and craft as art.

Stable Cafe
2128 Folsom Street (@ 17th)
San Francisco CA 94110
The café features a menu drawn from owner Thomas Brian’s Neapolitan Agrarian roots. The aromas of baking and fresh brewing coffee make this a welcome morning spot. Lunch is a seasonal menu with daily specials which share old family recipes with a modern twist. The evening ambiance is warm and inviting with tapas, beer, and wine. All recipes start with local, sustainable, and fresh ingredients.

Philz Coffee
3101 24th Street, San Francisco
Philz Coffee in San Francisco has developed a devoted following, and for good reason. The twenty blends that are now available by the pound are the result of 25 years of coffee alchemy and invention.

Dolores Park Cafe
501 Dolores St (18th-19th)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Dolores Park Café is your neighborhood cafe. We have been an integral part of the community since our founding in 1997.
At Dolores Park Café we believe in giving locally and our goal is to create community in an urban setting by providing a fun and welcoming aesthetic coupled with an extensive organic menu and deliciously fresh food. Regular events include happy hour daily, rotating monthly exhibits by local artist, and live music every Friday night.

Brunch, Lunch and Dinner

Tartine
600 Guerrero St (between 18th St & 19th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Renowned bakery – coffee, bread, pastries, sandwiches

Bar Tartine
561 Valencia St (between 16th St & 17th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
brunch on weekends, dinner, bar

Luna Park
694 Valencia Street (at 18th)
San Francisco, CA, 94110
Luna Park strives to bring its guests delicious, creative food and a one-of-a kind cocktail experience amidst a unique, trendy atmosphere. Our kitschy, flea-market chic, ambiance lends itself as the perfect environment for any occasion. Whether you are having a business lunch, celebrating with loved ones, on a first date, out with the girls, or looking to meet someone, from our lively bar scene to our cozy dining areas, Luna Park is always the perfect place to go, and with our reasonable prices, you won’t feel put out picking up the tab.

Delfina
3621 18th St
San Francisco, California 94110
The food is Italian in spirit— elemental, seasonal cooking whose simple appearance belies its depth of flavor.  It’s the kind of food you might find if a great Italian cook were lifted out of Italy and placed in California. Inspired by trattorias found throughout Italy, the menu changes daily, driven by the offerings of local producers. We cure many of our own meats and fish and make our own sausages, pastas, and gelato.  Our desserts are made fresh daily.  We are committed to using organic produce and sustainably- raised meats and fish whenever possible.

Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th St
San Francisco, California 94110
The food at Pizzeria Delfina is inspired by Craig’s memories of New York-style pies from his youth and pizza from the best pizzerias of Naples. The menu features six Neapolitan inspired, thin crust pizzas and two daily-changing special pies and a “piatto del giorno” from the oven. The food is Italian in spirit, using local, seasonal ingredients. An array of antipasti tempt diners from their glass case along a dining counter: glistening fresh-cured anchovies, eggplant caponata, fresh-stretched mozzarella, and artisanal salume. Desserts include a seasonal fruit crostata and Bellwether Farms ricotta cannoli.

Osha Thai
819 Valencia Street
SF, CA 94110
Entering the Valencia location, one finds oneself surrounded with a natural element, a transformation from the restaurants with simple colorful paint. The differences extend to the cuisine, not simply an addition of fusion to complement Thai cuisine, but a marriage of culinary arts of Asian cuisine with Thai cuisine. One will experience something special with the Valencia location.

Range
842 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
S.F.’s ideal restaurant — delicious food and imaginative drinks in a modern yet cozy space
“You know you’re falling in love with a chef when you yearn to see what he would do with an ingredient that has yet to appear on his menus.”
- Meredith Brody
SFWeekly.com

Frjtz
590 Valencia St (between 16th St & 17th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
This place is known for its fries and has a wide selection of unique “dipping sauce” to accompany it.
weekend brunch, lunch, dinner – crepes, sandwiches, salads, fries

Limon Rotisserie
1001 South Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94110
Limón Rotisserie is the rare San Francisco restaurant where you can take a date, have a good meal and a glass of sangria, and only spend $20 a person. That’s because each order comes with a choice of two sides and three sauces ― a creamy rocoto mayonnaise, a buzzy aji amarillo sauce, and an herb-and-garlic chimichurri. The sauce we reserve for the yuca fries; the pollo a la brasa needs nothing else.
-SF Weekly

Commonwealth
2224 Mission St., San Francisco
Commonwealth’s goal is to offer one of the best dining experiences in the Bay Area. Executive Chef Jason Fox’s Progressive American cuisine harmoniously combines flavor palettes from around the world, and a broad range of techniques to create food that is refined, distinctive and satisfying. Fox creates harmonious, layered dishes rather than focusing on any single ingredient or mode of preparation.

Puerto Alegre
546 Valencia St (between 16th St & 17th St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
good Mexican food, big portions, strong margaritas

Cha Cha Cha
2327 Mission St., San Francisco, CA  94110
“The predominantly Caribbean menu has a small-plates focus, with spicy stand-outs like Cajun shrimp and jerk chicken, along with lightly battered calamari served with a hefty dollop of lemon aïoli. The few entrées verge on enormous, so opt to share, or order the lighter spring mix salad with coconut vinaigrette as a first course.”
-7×7

Ti Couz
3108 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
lunch, dinner – authentic french creperie (sweet and savory,) salads

Arinell Pizza
509 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Thin crust NY style pizza.  They sell slices, and are open late night.

Panchita’s #3
3115 22nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94110-3218
Salvadorian-Mexican restaurant, great pupusas, happy hour Tues – Sun 4-7pm

Chile Lindo Empanadas
2944 16th St (between Van Ness Ave & Capp St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
closed Sun, but good for a quick bite, known for empanadas (obviously)

Flour + Water
2401 Harrison St
San Francisco CA, 94113
flour + water is a San Francisco Italian restaurant that focuses on seasonal ingredients sourced from the unparalleled and ever abundant California artisans and growers.
*Lines can be super long, so you may need a Plan B

Snacks and Ice Cream

Bi-Rite Market
3639 18th Street
We pride ourselves on being a full service market– the one-stop shop– but with a selection of products that we’ve carefully edited to be the best. We seek out the fanatical farmer who swears that the best tasting tomato should be dry-farmed, the rancher that believes that a more mature grass fed cow tastes better, and a winemaker that feels great wine should be a natural expression of a grape and a season rather than a manipulated consistency.

Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th Street (@ Dolores)
San Francisco CA
Bi-Rite Creamery products are lovingly handcrafted in small batches. We strive to use local, organic ingredients when available, and are committed to operating in a sustainable manner. Our ice cream is made from Straus Family organic dairy products. The fruit and flavorings we use are organic whenever possible and our packaging is made from biodegradable materials.

Bars
Doc’s Clock
2575 Mission Street (Between 21st and 22nd Street)
San Francisco, CA
Doc’s Clock is a full bar in San Francisco’s Mission District with shuffleboard and a generous happy hour from 6-9 every day.

Monk’s Kettle
Gastropub, extensive beer list
We here at the Kettle take great pride in using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients – from locally and organically farmed produce, to free-range meats, sustainable seafood, and artisan breads and cheeses. Preserving our local farms and businesses is vitally important. We’ll do that. You can help.
The kitchen is open every day until 1 AM.