It seems that at a lot of restaurants in scenic locations, you're paying for the view as much as the food. That isn't always true, however. There are places with cheap or reasonably-priced food, but with great views. They're hard to find, but here are some places that I've been to:

• Monterey Bay Aquarium cafeteria - The Monterey Bay Aquarium is situated on one of the most beautiful locations in California. It's right on the edge of Monterey Bay. The cafeteria here has huge picture windows overlooking the Bay. While having a sandwich, pizza, or a bowl of clam chowder, you can look out the window and see sea lions sunbathing on rocks, sea otters playing in kelp beds, sailboats cutting through the water, scuba divers exploring the depths, and fishing vessels boats bringing in their catches.


View from the cafeteria at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Lawrence Hall of Science cafeteria - The Lawrence Hall of Science is perched high up on the Berkeley Hills overlooking UC Berkeley. This is a huge science museum, a publicly-funded complement to the privately-funded Exploratorium across the Bay. You can see what a few million in public dollars can buy in the massive, space fortress-like concrete structure of the museum. Inside are many permanent and changing science exhibits. Outside is the volunteer-built Challenger Memorial, a full-size replica of the cabin of the space shuttle. From the downstairs cafeteria, the Small Planet Cafe, you can grab a bite to eat and sit by the long picture windows. Through them, you can get a spectacular panoramic view of the Bay that includes Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, most of the Peninsula, the Golden Gate, the Bay Bridge, Sausalito, San Rafael, Alcatraz, and Angel Island.


View of the Bay and Golden Gate from the Lawrence Hall of Science
• Exploratorium/Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco - The Exploratorium is one of the best science museums in the world. Its hands-on exhibits have become a model for science museums around the world. It shatters the stereotype of museums being solemn, stuffy places. Here, fun, play, and learning are fused together. Kids can fire lasers, bend electron beams, create lightning and tornadoes, make strange musical sounds, build bridges, and engage in hundreds of other activities. It is not a quiet place or boring place. They have small cafe in the middle from which you can watch all the action while having a vegetarian sandwich. Outside is the Palace of Fine Arts, one of the most beautiful settings in San Francisco, or anywhere. The domed "Roman temple" reflected in the surrounding pond looks like the mythological scene from Fantasia. This is a popular spot for photographing weddings, fashion shots, and commercials.


The Exploratorum
• Burger King in the Presidio, San Francisco - Lincoln Boulevard is one of the most scenic drives in San Francisco. It runs past the Lincoln Park Golf Course, the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the ultra-wealthy Seacliff district, Baker Beach, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Presidio of San Francisco. The Presidio is a former army base that is being converted to civilian use. It is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Just off Lincoln Blvd. in the Presidio was (I don't know if it's still there) the biggest Burger King I've ever seen. It served the soldiers at the army base, but on weekends, it was always nearly empty. It had huge arched picture windows with gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay, Crissy Field, Alcatraz, the Marin Headlands, and Angel Island. You could see sailboats, wind surfers, and huge cargo ships sailing on the Bay and through the Golden Gate. This may have had the best view of any Burger King (or McDonald's, Jack-in-the-Box, etc.) in the world.
• Taco Bell at Rockaway Beach, also known as "The World's Most Beautiful Taco Stand" - Highway 1 south of San Francisco passes by some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the Bay Area. Here are steep cliffs dropping hundreds of feet down to the ocean. Here and there are sandy beaches pounded by huge Pacific waves. South of Pacifica is Rockaway Beach, a jewel of a beach on a small crescent-shaped Bay, surrounded on either end by rocky cliffs and tree-covered hills. Sitting almost incongruously in the center of this beach is a Taco Bell stand, but not just your run-of-the-mill Taco Bell stand. The massive wooden building looks like it was transplanted from the Sea Ranch or Big Sur. Inside, you can enjoy your tacos near a fireplace, watching through big picture windows the crashing waves and surfers riding them. On sunny days, the beach may be dotted with sunbathers. If they changed the name and the menu, they could probably charge $20 on up for meals, but for now, you can fill up for a couple of bucks while enjoying a million-dollar view.
• Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk - The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is one of several amusement parks in the Bay Area, but it's the only one that has free admission. You only pay if you ride the many rides here. The Boardwalk is located right on the beach at Santa Cruz, near the Santa Cruz wharf. It's actually the only oceanside amusement park left on the West Coast. The centerpiece and symbol of the park, the venerable Giant Dipper Rollercoaster, built in 1924, has been rated one of the best roller coasters in America. There are other thrill rides here, as well as kiddie rides for the little ones. The beach surrounds the Boardwalk and is free. The San Lorenzo River flows along a cliff just to the south of the boardwalk. Steelhead run up the river in the winter. In the summer, children and sea lions play in the slow tidal waters. The beach by the Boardwalk is warm and protected. It's one of the few beaches this far north where you can swim in it without freezing to death or being towed out to sea. There are lots of fast food stands on the boardwalk selling everything from pizza to clam chowder. You can grab a corn dog and sit on the bleachers, watching a free concert or just enjoying the sun and the view of the ocean.  If you're a teenager, this is the best place to go girl and boy-watching. You can see a live picture of the Boardwalk and beach here.

Ron Horii, San Jose
Created 10/6/97. Last update: 2/5/99