Hi Tack Tourism: Strolling Around Fisherman’s Wharf

Posted on December 2, 2007

“Oriental Art” Store

During a conference this weekend at San Francisco’s Fishermen’s Wharf, I took a stroll to get some fresh air and descended down the rabbit hole of tee shirt shops and tacky tourism. I have lived in or near San Francisco most of my life and never go to Fishermen’s Wharf…for good reason. Except for what amounts to a Cirque du Sealion, the loud unstaged performance of marine life at nearby Pier 39, and a few walk-away crab stalls, there is little authentic left here. A. Sabella’s , the historic seafood restaurant just closed after 85 years. But if it is authentic “Oriental Art” you seek, Fisherman’s Wharf may still be for you.