national building museum in washington dc Mel s Drive-in HAMBURGERS The original Mel s was opened in 1947 on Van Ness Avenue by Mel Weiss. It

Although trying San Francisco s varied cuisine may mean y ou ll be taking y oung kids out of their culinar y comfor t z one, and that you ll be eating in restaurants not populated ex clusively b y families, y ou ll soon disco ver that S an F ranciscans ar e a friendly bunch and that most chefs will be happy to accommodate tiny palates should

Mel s Drive-in HAMBURGERS The original Mel s was opened in 1947 on Van Ness Avenue by Mel Weiss. It was demolished 25 y ears later, but not befor e George Lucas filmed American Graffiti there. In 1985 Mel s son Steven opened a new Mel s on Lombard Street but kept the old 1950s theme, complete with booths, chr ome, and tabletop jukeboxes. He eventually opened three more San Francisco locations and a smattering elsewhere in the state. The food is nothing to write home about, but under-10s love this place uniformed waitresses deliver their meals in car dboard Cadillacs, they can select 50s tunes on the jukebox, and they get balloons just for stopping by. The menu includes all the typical diner options: blue-plate specials, chicken potpie, salads, humongous desserts, and all-day br eakfast. Among other M el s locations ar e those in the S oMa and Richmond neighborhoods.