Results tagged “bars”

As we all know, San Francisco nightlife has been under fire quite a bit lately. In addition to the ongoing saga of the Alcoholic Beverage Control's enforcement of arbitrary rules they've set for all-ages music clubs, a group of conservatives have been showing up at hearings at City Hall claiming that night-time entertainment is the cause of "violent crime, murder, prostitution, public urination and defecation and any host of problems that the city has been facing for decades."

Update: Thanks to Sarafina for the update on the hearing's schedule change from next Monday to the following Monday, October 26th at 1 p.m. at City Hall, Room 263. That gives you all more time to spread the word and write those letters!

Comedy.com complied a list of the 20 worst bars in the U.S. Among them is "Bow Wow’s Cocktail Lounge." Tastefully described as "a Vietnamese whorehouse," the North Beach institute wins a spot on the unsavory list mainly because of the Yelp reviews it's garnered.

To help pay for the left-leaning voter guides, the League of Pissed Off Voters -- which is billed as "an all-volunteer chapter of a national organization that works in key cities and states to make politics relevant, fun, and meaningful to young people; especially those traditionally shut out of the political process" -- is have a drunken fundraiser tonight, a fundraiser involving local celebrities. The local people of note, who will be serving you drinks all night long, are as follows:

Cheap eats/drinks guru Broke-Ass Stuart's Monica the Intern has a handy list of where best to get smashed and lose your self-respect and the respect of others. The Triangle (in the Marina but might be closed), Dolores Park (Mission), Sadlads (Castro), and rented trolleys all made the cut. Said venues are perfect for getting ripped to the tits in order to have a shrieking nervous breakdown (Sadlands), twirling inane hippie sticks (Dolores Park), or doing the whore dance -- i.e., one-arm-in-the-air-while-"freaking"-your-BFF-to-a-Justin-Timberlake-remix dance (The Triangle). Be sure to check out Broke-Ass for the remaining four places in which to lose your dignity. (The only glaring error would be Otis, but that's only because of one fateful night your editor spent there many moons ago. Ugh, never forget.) [via Eye On Blogs]

MEET-UP: The creators of Shitty Kitty are moving to Morocco, and this is Shitty Kitty's last meet-up for quite some time. So come by for their Bastille Day Partay and bid them adieu.

7 x 7 created this great video featuring Dawn Holliday, co-owner of Slim's, Guy Carson, owner of Cafe Du Nord, and Amy Miller of Sonicliving.com speaking about the Alcoholic Beverage Control's recent "crackdowns" on all-ages venues. The clubs' funds are all being depleted from fighting lawsuits, and staff morale is very low since they don't know how long they'll have jobs. Guy Carson has been in the business for twenty years and has never had any ABC violations. His question is, Why now, all of a sudden? His answer is that the folks in Sacramento are simply forcing their worldview onto San Francisco, which is pretty scary.

Zagat drops their San Francisco Nightlife edition tomorrow. Survey top-spot winners include Auberge du Soleil ("overall appeal"), the St. Regis Lobby Lounge ("décor"), the Four Seasons Bar ("service," "cocktail expertise," "quiet conversation"), Absinthe ("popularity"), El Rio ("queer"), La Trappe ("beer"), Toronado ("dive," "jukeboxes"), Hotel Biron ("wine"), and Specs ("best buy"). Oh and, hey, look: here's the Zagat guide getting a nod on How I Met Your Mother, a show that makes us want to rip off our eyelids and smash our face through a window. Anyway, if we can move away from the press release for a second, we have to admit that the Zagat Nightlife Guide does comes in handy, especially if you're a slave uncovering new local nightspots in which to get trashed. So, invitations to tomorrow's top-drawer Zagat launch party aside, we totally recommend it.

The fine folks over at Eater came across the May issue of Esquire, which boasts their annual list of the Best Bars in America. San Francisco scored big, with Zeitgeist (cyclists and porta-potties!), Toronado (somewhere in the Haight!), 21 Club, (grit!) Bourbon & Branch (never been before!), Cantina (secret basement fumblings!), Vesuvio (North Beach at its most preserved!) and Tosca Cafe (Sean Penn!) making the annual list.

Last night marked the opening gala of the third annual San Francisco Cocktail Week celebration -- a week in which Bay Area barmeisters mix and mingle with mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts from around the nation. The fest includes multiple tasting events around town, education seminars for professional and amateur mixologists alike, a national bartending competition, and lots and lots of drinking. (See full skedge after the jump.)

A couple of weeks ago, SFist reported that all-ages clubs The Fillmore, Great American Music Hall, Slims, Bottom of the Hill, Cafe Du Nord, and DNA Lounge, were all under threat of being shut down by the Alcoholic Beverage Control due to minor permit discrepancies. Senator Mark Leno met with ABC officers and reportedly came to an agreement that they would work together to keep the clubs in business.

Last year, Mayor Newsom and Supervisor Maxwell introduced legislation aimed at reforming the nightclub industry. Apparently, not much has been accomplished since then.

Uh, oh, we're in trouble. Fly Bar and Restaurant, our all-time favorite place for happy hour (see our staff bio) is opening up right around the corner from us at 1085 Sutter at Larkin, in place of the recently-closed Brick.

Hot off the funcheapSF presses: Wear your animal print or safari gear and meet at El Rio tonight at 7 p.m. for the ever so quirky Cougar Run bike ride, which is being put on by Cyclecide. The event is free, but donations for the performers are requested.

The Chronicle came out with an article on Saturday, which was described by The Bay Bridged as a must-read, regarding the Alcoholic Beverage Control's (who are currently hiring, BTW) threat to shut down legendary, all-ages live music venues, such as The Fillmore, Great American Music Hall, Slims, Bottom of the Hill, Cafe Du Nord, and DNA Lounge.

What better way to celebrate Good Friday than be getting good and smashed. And tonight's fourth annual Easter themed bar crawl, the Bad Bunny Bar Crawl, will do the trick. While you should try dressing up like a bunny, rabbit attire isn't required to have a festive night. What is required is a strong liver and a desire to start off the holiday weekend early.

by Heather Cummings

While the news is a few weeks old, it stings fresh as this morning's rain. See, word has it that the new plan to turn part of Nob Hill's Fairmont Hotel (which, oh noes, is a CHAIN!) into condominiums will mean an end to its famed Tonga Room. Ack, is right. Plans call for deconstructing the tower and replacing its rooms with as many as 160 condos. (.pdf warning) And said plans do not include keeping the best place in the city to drink rum while watching a band perform KOIT classics in the middle of a pool. Does this mean the Tonga Room will go the way of the 711 Club and 177 Townsend (Club Universe)? Probably. But as Curbed points out seven tiki lounges will still remain in San Francisco.

             

While we wait for Eater to tell us just what San Francisco bar stands as the most body cavity-cleansing, check out theses glamor shots from the Second Annual Big Bad Blond Wig Bar Crawl.

Last week Eater asked its readers for their opinions on the "douchiest" bar in San Francisco.

http://www.elriosf.com

If this is any indication of things to come, tomorrow's Palin-Biden debate could prove the single most entertaining trainwreck in television history. And we want you to share this moment with other inebriated strangers. So, readers, would you let us know of any Bay Area bars, all of them, hosting a viewing party for the big showdown? Thanks.

Hey, the debate is back on tonight! John McCain dried his tears and will head over to the University of Mississippi to get reamed by Barack Obama. Exciting stuff, folks! Tonight's topic: foreign policy. Zzzzz, right? But at one of these venues, you'll have have plenty of comfort juice by your side to keep things interesting.

Goodness, it's been quite an enthralling day, hasn't it? The tale of the cheap patrons versus the cranky House of Shield bartender got many of us hot and bothered. And in an effort to pour fuel on that fire -- oh, you're welcome - we contacted both the House of Shields' owner, the awesomely-named Schlomo Rabinowitz, and the anonymous bar patron who spent much of last night digging glass out of her foot.

Internet drama of the hair-pulling, eye-scratching, and feline variety is always high quality entertainment. And today Yelp has it in spades.

(image courtesy of Dan Berkes and SFGTV2)

We would go, but we're located in Eastern SOMA. And one day, by the will of God, we shall destroy Western SOMA. Mwah hah hah.

There's nothing like outsiders pointing out what's wrong with your city in their news publication. Today's "Reasons Why San Francisco Sucks" article is brought to you by the LA Times: Last call for many classic S.F. Bars. In the article, they talk about the closures of many SF faves, such as John Barleycorn, Bobby's Owl Tree, Moose's and Washington Square Bar & Grill among others. Really, just reading the article made us depressed.

Want to help save Hole in the Wall Saloon from the spindly claws of old Mrs. Crabtree? Of course you do. It takes place soon, so head over to City Hall now, folks.

South of Market is home to one of the largest networks (with the fewest dropped calls?) of queer-friendly businesses in San Francisco. It has been this way for decades and doesn't appear to be changing. Or is it?