Some locals will tell you to skip San Francisco’s Chinatown.  It’s just full of cheap trinket shops and mediocre Chinese restaurants, they say.  As usual, I say that you can get a lot out of Chinatown if you do Chinatown right.

To me, it only makes sense to start your day in Chinatown by passing through the Dragon Gate.  It spans Grant Avenue at the southern entrance to Chinatown, just a few blocks northeast of Union Square.  A block further north, veer off to the right to take a quick stroll through St. Mary’s Square.  St. Mary’s Square permanent resident is an impressive granite and steel sculpture of [Read more…]