San Francisco boasts a diverse and abundant restaurant community, with mouthwatering choices and local favorites. These are a handful of restaurants (and dishes) that we have personally experienced and enjoyed throughout the years.

• Brandy Ho's
  217 Columbus at Pacific in Chinatown. 415.788.7527.
  Experience a real neighborhood Hunan place. Try the smoked ham with bamboo shoots, calamari with black bean sauce, and chicken curry with garlic and hot sauce.

• House of Prime Rib
  1906 Van Ness. 415.885.4605
  The name says it all. Chef Chuck Phifer prepares a tasty menu with prime rib at its center, and waiters carve it up table-side at this upscale, family-oriented Van Ness eatery. Don’t despair if there's a non-steak eater among your party, the restaurant also features a healthy selection of fresh fish.

• California Pizza Kitchen
  438 Geary, 415.563.8911, www.cpk.com
  Enjoy healthy California cuisine in a relaxed, casual dining environment. Specialties include BBQ chicken pizza, and chicken tequila fettuccine. A national chain, CPK thrives here in the land of its birth.

• Gaylord India
  1 Embarcadero Center. 415.397.7775, www.gaylordindiarestaurant.com
  Lavish, Candlelit Indian dining with patio seating. Specializing in tandoori and curry dishes, in addition to many meatless selections and freshly baked breads.

• Maharani
  1122 Post Street. 415.775.1988, www.maharanirestaurant.com
  Cozy up to someone special in the pillows of Maharani's “Fantasy Room” and enjoy delicious northern Indian cuisine. Opulent and dreamy, the atmosphere lends romance to the restaurant's wonderland of naans, curries, vegetarian and authentic tikka masala. Maharani is a veritable Maharajai palace on Post Street.

• North Beach Restaurant
  1512 Stockton, 415.392.1700, www.northbeachrestaurant.com
  A traditional North Beach meeting place, owner Lorenzo Petroni has created a restaurant where Tuscan cuisine is accompanied by fine wines from a superbly-stocked wine cellar.

• Golden Dragon
  816 Washington. 415.398.3920
  In the heart of Chinatown, surrounded by traditional Chinese dragons, chefs prepare such Cantonese delights as sweet and sour chicken, broccoli & beef, shrimp in lobster sauce, Peking duck and dim sum.

• Scoma's
  Pier 47 on Al Scoma Way. 800.644.5852
  Backed by a family tradition of quality and service since 1965. Scoma's is the quintessential destination restaurant. Voted "Best Restaurant" five years running by WHERE Magazine readers, Scoma's Restaurant continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the States.