Any good Q places worth trying near Union Square in San Francisco?

Several on Mission street, Baby Blue's is decent.

I really disliked Baby Blues. However, I know others who would disagree. In terms of BBQ in S.F. in general:

Smokestack BBQ
4505 BBQ
Memphis Minnie's

Those are the three I would go to. San Francisco is not a hot bed of BBQ, there is a current uptick in Southern food happening though, and things are getting better.

I've heard good things about M.Y. China. Have not been there yet.

Another place to probably not go to, at least in my mind, is Wexler's BBQ, which is not really BBQ and is very expensive for what you get. I've been twice and it is off of my list as well.

I'll have to keep an eye on this thread. Moved back to the bay area a little while ago. Last time I was here was 2 years ago and never really made it up to SF that often, because of traffic and parking. South of SF, I think I've only found 1 place that I thought was worth spending money on if I didn't want to cook (it's an hour south of SF though). For an area that's really populated and has great cuisine of just about every other kind, it's really lacking in the BBQ department. Though I can't speak for Landarc's part of the bay

Shoot, I'd offer to come out and hang out with you, but, been feeling poorly this year, my trips to S.F. have been pretty limited.

TonyT, some inside shooting, the problem with BBQ in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially S.F. and the Southbay, is that it is really expensive to have a restaurant. Most places zoned for restaurants are leasing for $40 to $100 per square foot. With numbers like that, the era of pure BBQ joints is not going to happen, you have to sell beverage, a lot of it at that. Most of the better BBQ places actually make it on beer and cocktail sales. BBQ is just too expensive to do well, and still make a rent check. Places like Phat Matt's or Everett and Jones in the East Bay survive due to real estate being somewhat more friendly in the East Bay.

Fancier places do fine in the SF area, as people are more inclined to eat light and drink heavy.

I worked in SF (1st & Market, 3rd & Howard, 5th & Mission) for 20+ years. My advice is to forget about BBQ and enjoy the foods that are done well in SF. While I've barbecued all my life, I never got that serious about it as a necessity until I moved here, since I was surrounded by excellent Texas BBQ joints.

Near Moscone Center, I'd assume Thirsty Bear still does a very good paella and excellent fried calamari along with very good beers. More in the Financial District, Piperade is excellent, as is Kokkari. In SOMA, Le Charm no longer serves lunch, but is a good choice for dinner. Near Union Square, Cafe Claude does good bistro fare. If you're into Mexican food, find a local to give you up-to-date information on good places in the Mission district and stay away from Chevy's and the like. It's just been too long since I've been in the Mission for me to suggest a place, as I've been concentrating on the offerings in Marin instead. For seafood, there are hundreds of fine choices. One of the easiest to find and to get into is Scoma's at Fisherman's Wharf (yeah, I know, but it's a must for tourists for some reason) - the food's much better than you should expect at the Wharf, and their cioppino was superb the last time I tried it. And of course you should visit some of the Italian and pizza places around North Beach - there are several good ones there. Chinese food's abundant, as is Thai. Enjoy.

If you're on an unlimited expense account, there are more fine choices than you'll be able to try during your stay. I've only listed reasonably-priced ones, as the top-tier places are very well-known.