What's Happening
"Oh, we know each other already.
It's just that we haven't spoken
since her daddy shot my daddy."
--- The heiress to the De Young
fortune responding to Herb Caen's
attempt to introduce her to the
heiress of the Spreckels fortune.
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Emphasis is on entertainment and night life.
Find groups of people with specified interests.
The parade itself has become just another commercial event.
But there's a good calendar and other stuff on the web page.
Newspapers
Movies
Bay Area Film Events screens the classic and cult films from
yesterday and the limited release, independent and hard to see films
of today. Anyone can screen a film, but BAFE makes it an event!
Through the use of guests, displays, on-stage talent and multi-media
support, BAFE presents movies as a complete show and not just a
movie screening.
Foreign and independent films.
2263 Mission Street.
Theatre Performance Art
Music Comedy
Summer weekends, free.
Washington Square Park, Dolores Park, and Union Square.
Films begin at dusk.
1345 Bush Street between Polk and Larkin.
530 Bush/Grant (2nd Floor).
425 Washington St near Battery, Room 200.
2450 Sutter St west of Divisadero.
57 Post near Market.
Many interesting lectures and other events.
Membership is $95/year, $35/year for students.
Arts and Literature
Primary emphasis on literature, especially poetry.
Writers and Filmmakers Group
A writing center for students aged 8 to 18.
Writers and Poets Events
A gallery and performance space in the Mission.
Literary, Performance, and Visual Arts.
Classes in improvisational theater.
San Francisco's Fall Literary Festival
Organizers of the San Franciso International Film Festival
Literature, art, film, etc.
Underground art and culture in San Francisco and beyond.
Alternative Culture
An "urban retreat." Yoga center plus sex (tantra).
Featuring classes on
Connected
Living.
They have a cafe and offer massages. Some people find it a bit of a cult.
459 Connecticut St, (415) 282-9603.
Chinese herbs, accupuncture, shiatsu. Classes.
Center for Sex and
Culture
Founded by Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence.
The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link.
Discussion Forums.
Classes
Not just gay oriented. Writing classes, for example.
500 Sutter St #310 at Powell.
Courses and events for those who want to improve their
knowledge of French.
Transit
North Beach
15 Romolo Place
A hidden trendy bar in an alley off Broadway.
Note the jukebox selection.
A good selection of links here. And check out the tour
of historical North Beach places.
Once you could have found him hanging out at Vesuvio.
Now he lives in Las Vegas and the blog is mostly
centered around LA.
Black Horse London Deli
Tiny, crowded.
"As close as it gets to a real London pub."
1514 Union St at Van Ness.
(Certainly not in North Beach.)
Lodging
By Advanced Reservation System.
Several hotels, none really cheap.
San Francisco's biggest classified section on the web.
Guest Houses category looks most promising.
Hotels, restaurants, tours. A commercial site.
580 O'Farrell St and 835 Turk St and
761 Post St (between Leavenworth & Jones).
O'Farrell and Turk: $975/month for private room with bath.
Post St is $1250/month. (Out of date.)
The Vantaggio Suites hotels serve as student housing, so one is
living among students from many countries.
This can be either a plus or a minus.
737 Post Street.
Looks like it may be pricey.
(415) 673-8445, 620 Jones/Geary, 94102.
Prices no longer available on their website or
in their ads.
It's been years since I stayed there.
It always seemed to be a pretty nice place.
But new management has taken over and done
extensive remodeling and tried to turn it into
a place attracting a much more upscale clientele.
Check out the comments at
TripAdvisor.
Weekly rate, less than $200,
list under Student Housing on the web site.
$50 - $65/day, 5240 O'Farrell St 415-397-4924, 1-800-459-6347.
Weekly rate, less than $200,
listed under Student Housing on the web site.
$50 - $65/day, 589 Post St (415) 749-1285, 1-800-459-6347.
Weekly rate, less than $200,
listed under Student Housing on the web site.
$50 - $65/day, 325 Sutter St (415) 956-0445, 1-800-459-6347.
$210/week and up with bath, 516 O'Farrell/Jones
(415) 885-9566
Taylor and Post. Daily, weekly, and extended stay.
505 O'Farrell/Jones, 771-0525.
Formerly the totally unsavory Hotel Garland.
Now completely remodeled.
(Too bad they couldn't remodel the surrounding neighborhood
as well!)
$225/week no bath, $325/week with bath,
615 Post/Sutter, (415) 673-6718.
663 Valencia/18th, 701-7666, $350/week with bath,
mention Rental Guide
Small budget hotel run by a family from India.
Fairly nice, except that my room had some Indian odor
(curry?), which I adjusted to fairly easily.
Also the rooms are very cold, which I did not adjust to easily.
The owners' solution was to offer more blankets,
but this didn't help with the problem of getting up
in the cold in the mornings.
198 Carl Street at Stanyan. $59 -- $155 per night,
weekly rates available.
(These rates are undoubtedly out of date.
The website currently shows no rates.)
The N Judah streetcar line runs right by your
window if you have a street side room,
but it's not that disturbing.
319 Divisadero St at Page. $66/night.
(415) 861-5364
Kenmore,
Monroe,
Broadmoor,
Grenada,
These are residence hotels (weekly and monthly rates).
Meals are included in the price.
The Broadmoor and Granada are specifically retirement hotels.
The Kenmore and Monroe also cater to travelers and students.
A beautiful and historic bed & breakfast in the
Hayes Street district,
fast becoming a very hip little neighborhood.
Not a whole lot of listings.
Requires subscription to make contact,
and then it turns out that there are even fewer listings
actually available than are shown to non-subscribers.
Still, it's one thing to check out, especially if you're
looking for something long term.
Comments from people who have stayed at these hotels.
Mostly fairly pricey, though.
Comment: The Tenderloin area, say north of
O'Farrell St, is a lot safer than it used to be,
a lot safer than it looks.
There are a lot of middle-class students in their
twenties living there now.
There are still panhandlers and winos, but their
number is diminishing.
October, 2002 From the Rental Guide
(Lightly revised Feb, 2006)
Gateway Inn
438 O'Farrell 749-1888, $270/week and up.
Mention Rental Guide.
1554 Howard St between 11th and 12th
939-1315, 203-2730. Unlimited local calls.
Nice ad in the Rental Guide,
but it looks like just a very small
apartment building that has been minimally converted.
Nazareth Hotel
556 Jones St / Geary, 771-2006, $185/wk up
Elk Hotel
670 Eddy/Polk.
(415) 474-7939
Mention Rental Guide
Graystone Hotel
$200/week and up, 66 Geary
between Grant and Kearny,
(415) 956-9363 or 393-7321 Mention Rental Guide
325 Church St near Market.
(415) 621-7600.
$75/night.
Washbowl, hall bath.
1890 Page St, near Stanyan.
$89, $99 per night. Private bath for some rooms.
(415) 386-0486.
Halcyon Hotel (formerly Brady Acres).
$375/week. 649 Jones/Post, 627-2396.
Union Square Plaza Hotel
432 Geary/Mason. 776-7585,
1-800-841-3135
$300/week, $900/month.
1155 Jones St, 505-5568
Normandie Hotel
251 9th St. 621-5386.
$120 -- $160 weekly. $500 and up monthly.
Casa Melissa
615 Union/Stockton North Beach, $175/week and up,
only one bathroom for the whole hotel.
(415) 391-8365 Mention Rental Guide
Gateway Inn
$285/week with bath, 438 O'Farrell St 749-1888
Ask for Rental Guide discount.
Alissa Hotel, 447 Bush, 415-956-3232
$175 week up.
Bridge Motel
$150/week and up, no bath, 2524 Lombard St/Divisadero
(415) 292-6625
Hotel Union
$300/week and up with bath, 811 Geary/Hyde
673-5690 Mention Rental Guide
Harcourt Hotel
(415) 673-7721. $250 + tax with bath,
$200 + tax for hall bath. They take reservations.
Larkin Street.
St. Paul Hotel near North Beach
$180, $190 week with fridge
& microwave. No bath. (415) 986-9911.
A real cheapo.
Twin Peaks Hotel
(415) 863-2909. $175/week no bath.
President Hotel
Tenderloin, (415) 885-0123. $275/week,
but not many rooms at weekly rate available now.
Grant Plaza Hotel
Two stars. Fall special (Orbitz, 2003) $60/night.
465 Grant Ave at Pine St.
Nice lobby, but otherwise a dump when I was last there.
As of spring 2006, claiming to be newly furnished.
With a rate of $79/night (Orbitz, 2006).
Hotel Britton
Two stars. Fall special (Orbitz, 2003) $70/night.
112 7th Street at Mission.
201 Harrison (South Beach) 474-5797. Weekly rates.
$400/week and up, 321 Grant/Bush
Mention Rental Guide.
Mathilda Hotel
972 Sutter/Hyde, (415) 441-9236.
$400/week up.
Mention Rental Guide.
Herbert Hotel
161 Powell $175/week and up (no bath), (415) 362-1600
Mention Rental Guide.
$250/week no bath,
1010 Bush, 673-5070
706 Kearny, 956-8858
93 Sixth St (415) 543-3304
(Considerably out of date.)
A biker bar on Valencia at Duboce. 20 guest rooms,
minimal but cheap.
Many of these are gay managed, but you don't have to be gay
to stay there.
They are not super cheap.
Miscellaneous
Daphne Miller, MD. 1448 Church Street at Cesar Chavez,
415-642-0333
(C.f. Yelp).
Author of The Jungle Effect:
A Doctor Discovers the Healthiest Diets from Around the World
--- Why they work and how to bring them home.
Nutritionally Oriented. Doesn't take insurance.
1841 Lombard St/Laguna, 94123 415-921-1290.
Massage, pain management.
Massage and energetic healing.
Accupressure, Qi Gong, etc.
2333 Market St/16th St. 415-793-2110.
Shops, restaurants, etc.
East German restaurant.
381 S. van Ness at 15th.
600 Guerrero at 18th St.
Momi Tobys Revolution Café and Art Bar
528 Laguna St
(near Fell St & Hayes St)
Tiny place with sandwiches, beer, wine.
297 Page Street at Laguna in Hayes Valley.
497 Sanchez Street
near 18th, a block from the J-Church Line stop.
Nice inexpensive lunch from 10 AM to 1 PM.
155A S. Park St, near Bryant and Third St.
Afternoons, closed Mondays.
Claims to be the only authentic French bistro
in San Francisco.
4754 Mission St
(between Leo St & Russia Ave)
Small Latin internet café with local art
displayed on the wall.
7 Claude Lane (off Sutter St near Kearny)
151 Noe St
(between 15th St & Henry St, just north of Market)
People seem to like it quite a bit,
and although not cheap, it's not as pricey as Café Claude.
240 Front St between California and Sacramento in the Financial District.
San Francisco's oldest German restaurant.
A Few Choice Dive Bars
Grassland
905 Kearny Street
Murphy's Pub
217 Kearny Street at Sutter
"Warm Beer --- Cold Food"
"Slutty Women Welcome"
201 Columbus Avenue near Kearny
in North Beach.
The Saloon
1232 Grant Avenue.
San Francisco's oldest bar.
Blues at night, Saloonatics in the daytime.
In the 19th Century, it existed as
Wagner's Beer Hall.
With a trough running down alongside the bar so that....
Well, you can probably figure it out.
(Hint: No women allowed back in those days.)
1371 Grant Ave on the corner with Green Street.
Blues every night and never a cover charge.
Gino and Carlo's
548 Green St, North Beach.
Sports bar. Pool tables.
Vieni Vieni
1431 Stockton St just down from Columbus.
If you've never been here, then don't go,
because you don't belong.
Especially if you don't have your Medicare card.
Gold Dust Lounge
247 Powell St
A tourist bar. (On Powell St. Case closed.)
Cheap margaritas and a small band.
The margaritas are good and the band is enthusiastic.
Sutter Station
224 Market St at Sansome.
Weekly lingerie shows.
(Legally, if she's wearing lingerie then she's not naked.
That eliminates lots of legal problems.)
Aub Zam Zam
1633 Haight Street near Clayton.
Small ("intimate") place
with a circular bar and two or three tables.
An excellent jazz selection on the jukebox.
Many years ago, the name was the
Persian Aub Zam Zam.
Obviously there's a story there, which I don't know,
but it's reflected in the decor.
Many years ago, the owner and main bartender
was a surly elder gentleman named Bruno.
He'd refuse to serve you if he didn't like your looks
or you tried to tell him how you wanted your martini made.
Now they even serve vodka martinis. (Gasp!)
A very nice crowd comes here.
Not conspicuously upscale, but no riff-raff.
Finnegan's Wake
937 Cole St, just off the N Judah streetcar line.
A fairly small neighborhood bar,
unpretentious (to say the least!)
despite the yuppie neighborhood,
with English ales on tap.
Noe's
1199 Church St at 24th.
Friendly.
Good bartenders and cheap drinks.
A sports bar, depending on the bartender's mood.
520 Hayes St between Laguna and Octavia.
Beer and wine only.
Small (but with a large back room), friendly, not at all trendy despite
the name and the neighborhood.
It would actually not be out of place
in a non-touristy section of Paris.
A DJ in the evening. Single-occupant restroom
can generate a fairly long line.
Cresta's 2211 Club
2211 Polk Street near Vallejo.
Ha-Ra Club
And you used to think you knew what a dive bar was!
Why do so many people love Carl the bartender,
despite his efforts to drive his customers away?
875 Geary at Larkin in the Tenderloin.
More or less across the street from the Ha-Ra Club.
A fairly hip young crowd.
According to Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting),
"The Edinburgh Castle Pub has become a San Francisco underground
literary institution, now having much the same status as that
erstwhile unofficial home to the Beat Generation,
Ferlinghetti's
City Lights Bookstore."
The 21 Club
98 Turk St. In the darkest Tenderloin.
Pop's
2800 24th Street near York, in the Mission.
3300 Club
3300 Mission, near 29th.
A real Irish bar, not for tourists and young drinkers.
3225 22nd St near Mission
Poetry and fiction readings sometimes.
Otherwise, a loud Mission District bar with strong drinks
and loud music (DJ).
Not a dive bar, but a restaurant with great music.
Over 62,000 images.
Reading group.
Bookstores
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's store, founded in the Beat Era.
Now, a lot of the selection is fairly conventional, but
extensive. Good place for small press literary books.
Check out the poetry room upstairs.
A Clean Well Lighted
Place for Books. RIP
Used to be one of San Francisco's best stores for new books.
Now replaced on Van Ness Ave by a branch of Books Inc.,
which is in many respects identical to what the
Clean Well Lighted Place used to be.
A fairly conventional bookstore, but a wide selection.
Now deceased.
On Castro Street.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, kinky.
A great little store.
1644 Haight Street in the Haight-Ashbury district.
A fairly large selection, but lack of space prevents them
from displaying it well.
Books Incorporated
2275 Market Street in the Castro District.
This store has ``chain'' written all over it,
but right inside the door I often find really interesting
remaindered books.
Browser Books
On Fillmore Street near Sacramento.
Small store with a fairly standard selection,
but I find it very nice and always make a point of going in
if I'm in the neighborhood.
A very good large independent bookstore in Corte Madera
(Marin County).
A small store also in San Francisco, at the Ferry Building.
1 Ferry Plaza, #46,
San Francisco, CA 94111
653 Chenery St between Diamond and Castro Streets.
A small friendly place only a couple blocks from the Glenn Park BART
station. Selling books and records (vinyl).
Also a great selection of newspapers and magazines.
Alexander Book Company
20 2nd Street, off Market.
Three floors.
Good selection, but I don't usually find anything unusual here.
Aardvark Books
Mostly worthwhile for the used selection.
Look in the window for very recent notable reviewer's copies
at half price.
Good for when you've heard a lot about a new book
and don't want to wait for the paperback edition
but are not willing to pay full price for the hardback.
Cover to Cover Books
On Castro Street off 24th in Noe Valley.
New books. This is a very small store,
but they're friendly and they have some really interesting books.
European Book Company
925 Larkin Street near Geary.
This is the place to go if you want books
in European languages, especially French, Spanish, and German.
Forest Books
3080 16th Street at Valencia.
Small, mostly used.
A very pleasant store where I often find something
unusual I want.
Marcus Bookstore
1712 Fillmore Street not far from Geary.
Named after Marcus Garvey, this store is devoted to
African-American history and politics.
Borderland Books (science fiction)
534 Laguna Street near Hayes
Very small science fiction and fantasy store.
Worth checking out.
Mission District.
Good store for avant garde literature and politics.
506 Clement Street. Both new and used books.
One of the city's best bookstores
and parking in the neighborhood is not too difficult.
Carrol's Books
Moved from Church Street to North Beach,
but now no longer exists in San Francisco.
Find them in Paris in the Latin Quarter as San Francisco Books. .
Acorn Books. RIP
1436 Polk Street near California.
Huge selection of used and rare books.
Now gone. The owner retired.
1210 Valencia Street at 23rd in the Mission District,
also 1620 Polk Street at Sacramento,
also in Berkeley.
A store for vibrators and other sex toys,
especially catering to women.
They also have a good but small selection
of sexually oriented books.
Check them out if you don't find what you're looking for
at A Different Light.
Phoenix Books, 3840 24th Street (Noe Valley)
and Dog Eared Books, 900 Valencia Street.
Essential shopping places for used-book addicts.
Not as extensive as Green Apple,
but I usually find a few interesting things there.
"A poorly lit dirty place for books."
In the Tenderloin.
Huge collection of used books.
Totally disorganized.
The new Small Press Bookstore at New College.
766 VALENCIA AND 19th
415 - 437 - 3494
San Rafael
Formerly the best store for new books in Berkeley.
Now gone forever.
Berkeley, Telegraph Avenue near Dwight Way.
Four floors. New, used, and remaindered.
I often find very nice remaindered books at Moe's.
A wonderful collection of expensive art books on the fourth floor.
Berkeley. Science fiction, fantasy, and also mystery.
Extensive selection.
Palo Alto. I've never been there.
Palo Alto & Mountain View
Highly recommended, but I've never been there.
Palo Alto & Menlo Park.
It's been thirty years since I was there,
but I have wonderful memories of it.