Saturday, August 5

EXPN's SF City Guide

Music/Dance
26 Mix
3024 Mission St. (26th St.)
415.248.1319
http://www.26mix.com/
Billed as a "soundbar" ("smaller than a nightclub but larger than a traditional bar"), this deep Mission neighborhood spot serves double duty -- great for drinks and booth lounging and even better for grooving on an intimate dance floor. It's got a nice local vibe and always features the best DJ talent in town. Old School SF head Jonah Sharp has a residency and often pulls in surprise out-of-town guests. The Wicked Crew (Jeno, Garth and Markie Mark) show up often to check out the Defender and Galaga machines all the way in the back.

The Top
424 Haight St. (Webster)
415.864.7386
It's an SF tradition at this point, when you've got a little excess midweek energy or want to keep the weekend going on Sunday night, get yourself over to the Lower Haight. The Top is everything you look for in a weekend night out, a rocking dance floor, maybe some familiar faces you haven't seen in a while, and cheap-ish drinks, all packed into an economy-sized joint. Wednesday night is "Audible Colors" which rotates House and Jungle every other week, and Friday night noted graphic artist Owen usually manages to coax his international DJ pals to drop in for surprise sets.

1015 Folsom
1015 Folsom St.
415.431.1200
http://www.1015.com/
1015 is a club with a capital C. All of the big name touring DJs stop here to play for weekly crowds of up to 3,000 party fiends. There's usually a line down the block, but once you've made it in you have a choice of three-four dance floors, multiple lounges, and enough bars to keep everyone well lubricated. The ownership recently fought and won a well-publicized battle royale with the SF Police Department that might go down as semi-historic in the annals of late night history, so show your support and fight for your right to -- well ... you know. Come-Unity happens the first Wednesday of every month, Nikita is every Friday, Release is every Saturday, and Spundae is every Sunday.

Rawhide II (Staple- Saturday nights)
280 Seventh St. (Folsom)
415.621.1197
http://www.deepcity.org/staple/
If you can't quite gear up for A BIG NIGHT OUT, and need a little more room to jack your body than can be found at the local "dance bars," Staple is the only choice on Saturday night. Residents Inhuman and Fil Latorre have filled a huge gap in SF nightlife offering quality dance music from respected and often overlooked DJs from across the U.S. and Europe. Originally a country and western gay bar, the venue still retains some nice touches like steel saddle stools, a pumping sound system and an upstairs outdoor patio that's perfect for cooling off after working it out on the spacious main floor.

Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St. (Texas)
415.621.4455
http://www.bottomofthehill.com/
The best place to catch live independent music in all of its various shapes and guises. Bottom of the Hll is a medium-sized venue with an open booking policy that showcases the gamut of national indie culture. It's also home to much of the annual Noise Pop festival and a weekly Sunday all you can eat BBQ starting at 4 p.m. If the listed headlining act doesn't ring a bell, either call Aqaurius records and ask them about the artist, or cruise by the front and check out what the patrons are wearing and driving - grease and hotrods = rockabilly, shaggy haircuts and scooters = Britpop.

Food
Big Mouth Burgers
3392 24th Street (Valencia)
415.821.4821
The crown for juicy thick burgers seems to get passed around the city every few years, these days a new entry tucked in between the more traditional Mission District taquerias is out in front of the pack and contending seriously for king of SF ground beef patties. Of course fries come with that burger, but you can also order your Big Mouth with homemade cole slaw or baked beans.
The 49er is fine option if a chicken breast sandwich is more where your heart's at, and if you're staying away from meat entirely, try the Californian -- eggplant, peppers, onions and provolone on foccacia. They proudly serve Natural Cuts Beef which contains no hormones, no antibiotics, and no insecticides and probably explains why it's all so damn good.

Truly Med
3109 16th Street (Valencia and Guerrero)
415.2527482
The Middle Eastern answer to beans rice and carne asada. It's what locals call "logfood" at it's finest - falafel, schwarma, and more wrapped burrito style in lahvosh. Tuesdays and Fridays are chicken schwarma days but it goes fast, so don't be disappointed if you're coaxed into a falafel deluxe (with potatoes) by one of the lightning fast crew members. There's only a few seats and sometimes a line out the door, but much like other food options in the neighborhood, you'll have your food in hand and on your way to a local watering hole within minutes. If you like the Arabic tunes blasting out of the boom box behind the counter, they've got tapes for sale.

La Taqueria
2889 Mission St. (25th)
415.285.7117
Almost upscale and a little more pricey than most competitors, but well worth the extra beans. No rice in the burritos, and when you ask for cheese in the tacos, they'll grill it between two corn tortillas before wrapping 'em up. The principal difference here seems to be freshness of ingredients - the salsa's chunky, the carne asada's lean, and the agua fresca is more fruity than the sugar water found at other taquerias. La Taqueria is probably not an everyday stop because the extras add up and before you know it you've built an $8 burrito, but if you want to step up and treat yourself to a gourmet taco, place your order with the cashier and listen for your number.

Pancho Villa
307 116th Street (Valencia and Mission)
415.864.8840
The classic burrito and staple of any true San Franciscan's diet. The phrase "super vegetarian" probably originated here, and when you're starving and down to your last three bucks " what kind of beans" seems somehow more profound than anything ever uttered by trained royal Shakespearean actors. It ain't fancy, but when locals far from home dream of SF style Mexican food, this is the place they long for. If a burrito won't quite calm beast within, try a snapper or grilled prawn dinner plate. Recently they've added tofu and black bean options to the menu. El Toro, around the corner on 17th Street, is owned by the same crew.

The Ramp
855 China Basin
415.621.2378
Monday- Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sat.- Sunday 9 a.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Located just off Third Street runway into PacBell Park, in one of the last old school patches of land that lies anywhere near the South of Market dot com purgatory, the Ramp is all about salt air, sunlight, and a pint of beer. The food is standard solid American fare - burgers, chicken, big salads - but the only real reason to grab a table here is to bask in the glory of an actual working waterfront that hasn't been whitewashed and prepped for mass tourist consumption. It's the perennial winner of the SF Bay Guardian "Best Outdoor Restaurant " award and the hours are seasonal because it's pointless without bright blue skies. Check it out before the Giants need to build another parking lot or something.

Bars
22nd St. Corridor (Make Out Room, Latin America Club, Doc's Clock)
Back in the day, 22nd Street was considered the "deep mission" by the marauding forces of gentrification and the Latin American Club was a good cocktail and a safe distance away from the highly touted "new-bohemia" of 16th street. The 21st Century has brought crazy wealth to SF and a outdoor hipster shopping mall feel to Valencia Street, but the spirit of massive margueritas and old fashioned late '80s indie rock slacker street cred lives on in "The Corridor." The Latin American Club, the Make Out Room just down the block, and Doc's Clock around the corner on Mission Street are best on the weekdays, when the locals still rule and smoking goes overlooked (although you didn't read that here).

Dalva
3121 16th St.
415.252.7740
Monday- Sunday 4 p.m.- 2 a.m.
Happy Hour daily 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
$2 pints, "well-drinks" and sangria
Great mixed drink specials and a well-rounded jukebox that are only outdone by a spot on rotating cast of local DJs. Dalva is a comfortably dark, centrally located hole in the wall right next to the Roxy Theater. There's no dance floor, which causes the DJs to provide just the right balance of groovy but conversation friendly funk. If you really want to get away and lounge, wander back into the secluded hide out behind the pay phone and restrooms. Old school trivia tip of the day - before it was reborn and repainted the joint was called Sumiko's and was run by a country and western loving Japanese hipster matron of alcoholic bliss.

Hush Hush
496 14th St. (Valencia and Guerrero)
415.241.9944
Daily 7 p.m.- 2 a.m.
Another smoke-friendly, DJ-friendly bar perfect for hooking up and hanging in the 'hood. The pool table never seems dominated by aggro jerks and the booths are deep and spacious. Similar to the Lower East Side in Manhattan, there's always seems to be a new hotspot in some previously disregarded/ abused part of the Mission that manages to recombine the basic familiar elements of what makes a watering hole cool. The Hush Hush is the locale of the moment these days if you dig obscure soul 45's spun by record nerds and enjoy spending time wondering how all of these together looking people can stay up 'till 2 a.m. and drink so damn much on a Tuesday night.

Six
60 Sixth St.
415.863.1221
Friday- Sat. 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.
Like its sister spot across town in the Mission, Liquid, Six brings a touch of NYC stripped-down cool to another borderline neighborhood. Six has two levels - the top is filled with plenty of couches that encourage a gentler form of the typical "come here often?" repartee, and the downstairs is a straight up nicely underlit underground no-nonsense dance floor that heats up fast. Sure it's gentrification, but it's still of the low- key variety here. The crowd's a good cross section of lively SF and the owner is developing a local rep for fighting the good fight against the SFPD who don't like fun (see 1015 Folsom).

The Rite Spot
2099 Folsom St. (17th St.)
415.552.6066
The Rite Spot is just out of the way enough to keep the throngs from realizing that not only are the drinks reasonably priced but the kitchen's open late (for SF). The Gorgonzola Burger remains one of the better kept secrets of Bay Area late-night cuisine, and the strangely tuned piano in the corner lends a Tom Waitsian air to the atmosphere. Sometimes a jazz trio moves in a drum kit and and slightly amplified guitar, but if there's no live music, drop a quarter in the jukebox stocked with Elvis, Frank, Hank and other guys that all real barflys know well. Possibly the best thing about the Rite Spot ? Ample parking!

FASHION
True
1415 Haight St.
1427 Haight St.
2 stores... men s and women's/accessories
415.626.2882 (men's store)
Daily 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
Quadruple XL sizes used to mean "hip-hop," lately it's come to just signify standard citified "hip." Not everything's baggy here, especially on the girl's side of the shop and down the street where they've got a large selection of backpacks and accessories. True stocks all the labels that get rocked on whatever "urban video" cable channel you prefer - Ecko, 555 Soul, Lifted Research, Group, Dub Brand, and local brands like Upper Playground and Exact Science. Pick up a copy of The Source magazine, XXL, or even XLR8R to get an idea of how to mix and match what you might find.

DLX Skateboards and Clothing
1775 Eggbert
415.626.5588
http://www.dlxsf.com/
Owned by Dogtown skate legend Tommy Guerrero, DLX (pronounced "Deluxe") carries all forms of skate hardware in addition to variations on the standard cargo pants/hoody sweatshirt /Vans shoes uniform of choice. The shop is also home to art exhibitions, film and video showings, spoken word events, and music performances. Check the website for contests, giveaways, crazy video clips of dudes getting rad, shockwave games and even recommending reading (!). Tommy's a bit of a renaissance man with a new album out on internationally reknown label Mo Wax? if you get a chance to see him or his buddies in local SF band, Jet Black Crayon, play don't hesitate.

Virgin 69
149 Valencia Street
415.355.0069
http://www.virgin69.com/
Follow the above URL for the complete scoop on the multifacted empire of cool that is Virgin 69 -- "a new and innovative multi-media promotion and production force based in San Francisco." The shop is conveniently located one door down from house music haven Clear Records, so if you or your mate get bored you can "just be a minute" right next door. Virgin 69's also got a separate gallery space on Mission Street and has a selection of work up on the walls of the boutique. Oh yeah the clothes -- reasonably priced casual shirts, t-shirts, pants and hats from local labels like Kingsize, ESDJCO, American Junkie, and Upper Playground.

Fishbowl
3253 16th St.
415.934.1726
Tasteful boutique run by a designer husband and wife team. Most of the clothing is characterized by clean lines and a no-frills modern vibe -- unusual for the Mission District known to most as the home of "pay by the pound" thrift store shopping. Watch for the house label to debut on the racks soon amongst other more familiar brands like Blue Dot and To The Max. The prices are midrange, which encourages maybe adding one of the weird rubber inside out flower pots to your final purchase. They've got a nice selection of hand made jewelry and hats too?

Crossroads Trading Company
2231 Market St.
415.626.8989
The evolution of the second hand shop. The buyers are discerning and you won't have to dig too much to find something you would've paid twice as much for on Haight Street. There's usually a few nice broken in leather jackets on the walls, but other than that, they don't carry much vintage wear. The shop gives 40% cash or 50% of retail price in trade, so if you're looking to turn around a closet full of last years stuff, this is the place. Just make sure it's unstained, untorn, and could be considered sort a still cool to someone.

Off The Path
Mt. Tamalpais
Cross the Golden Gate bridge going North on 101, take Stinson Beach/HWY 1 Exit, go under freeway, through one light then left onto HWY 1 (Shoreline Highway) go up mountain, look for Mt. Tam. sign then right onto Panoramic Highway.
Legend has it this was the place that the mountain bike was born and if you wind up scaling Highway 1 on a weekend you'll see plenty of SUV's with racks loaded up with the latest two-wheel gear. There are tons of truly amazing vistas up here and more than enough secluded trails from which you can simultaneously lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean to your right and SF to your left. It can be the most romantic spot in the Bay Area at sundown so watch out for renegade wedding parties or just couples feeling warm and fuzzy.

Twin Peaks
Up 17th St., left at Clayton, right on Clarendon, left on Twin Peaks Blvd.
Another amazing place to get a true understanding for why the dot commers want to buy all the land, jack up the rents and own the whole damn place. You can't really blame them though, as you sit and stare out over the City from this vantage point, the meaning of life becomes clear and the urge to take snapshots of your girlfriend or boyfriend looking like a tourist with a dumb smile on his or her face becomes overwhelming. The original Spanish name for this spot is -- uhh -- Los Pechos de la Choca - "breasts of the Indian maiden."

Aquarius Records
1055 Valencia
415.647.2272
Thurs.- Sun. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday- Wed. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
http://www,aquariusrecordssf.com
They know everything about indie music culture. Even if you're not in the mood to buy anything, 10 minutes spent reading the well-composed little encapsulations attached to each of the new releases will convince you that you absolutely have to have an obscure reissue of a hard to pronounce 20th Century new music composer's most relevant piece due to it's obvious influence on Master P and Spaghetti Western soundtracks. Get your Japanese noise, exotica, international folk music, black metal or dub compilation here. Sometimes Aquarius hosts live performances - check the website and join the mailing list.

Cliffs at Ocean Beach
Take Geary St. west all the way to the ocean, make a right into the parking lot before you start heading down the hill on PCH, get out of your car and stick to the walking trails hugging the cliffs overlooking the water.
This is as far west as you can go on land, and although you'll be staring straight out into the vastness of the Pacific, one of the best places to really appreciate why SF is nice. Like the surrounding Sunset District, it can be very windy and foggy so bring layers if you plan on spending more than a few minutes hanging out. If you hike towards the Golden Gate bridge you'll likely see people fishing for fun, food and profit, and directly below the parking lot lies the ruins of the Sutro Baths, a crazy 19th Century pool complex that was covered by glass domes.

City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Ave. (Broadway)
415.362.8193
Daily 10 a.m. - 12 a.m.
http://www.citylights.com
The house that Jack (Kerouac) built. Actually Lawrence Ferlinghetti is the man responsible for getting the ball rolling, fighting the censorship happy U.S. gov in the '50s over William Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch, and opening the nation's first all paperback bookstore. City Lights is one of SF's most important cultural institutions and unlike most institutions, remains an international barometer for cool, anti-authoritarian politics, literature and general hipster attitude. Lawrence is still around and does things every so often like get named the City's first poet laureate, or get SF to rename a bunch of street in honor of great writers. Everything you think is "alternative" can be somehow traced back here.