flight of the lost balloon Noelle S almi is a fr eelance writer who liv ed and wor ked in sev eral U.S. cities and many foreign

Parts of Van N ess A venue, fr om Civic 39 Center to Broadway Street, are grimy, and some medians ar e platforms for someone asking for money. S ixth and S eventh streets from Market Street east to Harrison Street are home to an assor tment of folks that aren t making a go of it in mainstream society; this is an ar ea to av oid anytime, day or night.

Finds ITALIAN This neighborhood fav orite is no or dinary Italian restaurant. Considered one of the best trattorie in S an Francisco, its homemade pasta dishes are deliciously uncomplicated, accentuating high-quality , fresh ingredients over busy, heavy sauces. The menu also varies with the time of year. Although you can t go wr ong with any of the pasta dishes, including such possibilities as fettuccine with porcini mushrooms, oven-dried olives, and brown-butter sage, if you consider flight of the lost balloon a fish or meat dish for a change y ou will not be disappointed. O ptions such as Alaskan halibut and clams in white wine and tomatoes, or thinly sliced sirloin flight of the lost balloon steak with ar ugula and roasted potatoes, are delectable. If you have room for dessert, the rich chocolate cake and airy tiramisu are transcendent. The crisp white walls, warm wood furnitur e, and unpretentious decor match the elegant food per fectly. Antica has no kids menu, but the kitchen is happy to serve a kids portion of hot buttered penne with veggies, flight of the lost balloon and Vicki, the charming hostess, keeps a supply of cray ons on hand. Whenever we eat at Antica, which is frequently, we wonder why we don t come even more often. 2400 Polk St. (at Union St.). &415/928-5797. www.anticasf.com. Highchairs, boosters. Reservations recommended on weekends. Main courses $11.50 $21.50. AE, DC, MC, V. Tues Thurs, flight of the lost balloon Sun 5:30 9:30pm; Fri Sat 5:30 10:30pm. Muni: No. 19-Polk to Union St., no. 41-Union, or no. 45-Union-Stockton bus to Polk St.

Noelle S almi is a fr eelance writer who liv ed and wor ked in sev eral U.S. cities and many foreign countries before moving to San Francisco in 2001. In addition to her work promoting investment flight of the lost balloon overseas, she wor ked at a major daily ne wspaper and later at CNN in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Associated P ress in B erlin, Germany; and United Press International in New York City. Her writing has appear ed in the Santa Clara Valley Weekly, Jornal do B rasil, The West Side Spirit, Emerging Markets, USA Today, Bay Area Parent, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is also the author of previous editions of Frommer s San Francisco with Kids and of Frommer s San Francisco Day by Day (1st and 2nd editions). She lives in San Francisco with her husband Mika and three children Annika, Natasha, and Aksel.

Bathrooms have decent-sized counter space and half hav e bathtubs. Some suites even have two sinks. AbRi uses all-natural cleaning products and serves free organic coffee in the morning. The restaurant connected to the building, flight of the lost balloon P uccini & Panetti (p. 108), has a special children s menu, coloring books, and enough pizza and pasta dishes to calm any hunger pangs. Along with lunch, dinner, and takeout, the restaurant also provides room service from 11:30am to 10pm. A parking lot a half-block away will allow you to avoid the hefty valet parking fee.