Category Archives: Uncategorized
Beaches
Those who expect California to have the palm-dotted, serene waters of the tropics will be startled to find beaches with a harsh, violent beauty instead. The coast south of Santa Barbara more or less upholds the Hollywood image (prominent lifeguard stands and loads of Beautiful People in skimpy beachwear), but even here the water is [...]
Castro District
Cafe Flore. Flore is one of the Castro’s premier gay gathering spots for pseudoartists, political activists, and trendy boys in black turtlenecks. If the outside seats are full, strike a pose until someone makes room – sharing tables is de rigueur. Expect plenty of noise, action, and, in midst of it all, and incredibly attractive [...]
San Francisco
San Franciscans have long been believers in the connection between coffee and the arts. Early acolytes of this philosophy included beat poets Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who held all manner of performances at Caffe Trieste, in North Beach. It’s still a popular place to grab a demitasse on a rainy day, especially if you [...]
Cafe Culture
On Friday night Bay Area cafes are often as crowded as the local bars. More than mere filling stations, they are where locals come to meet friends, gossip, discuss Descartes, read pulp fiction, pen poetry, or polish dissertations. In particularly cafe dependent societies like Berkeley and San Francisco, coffeehouses do more than just grind and [...]
Marina District / Cow Hollow
The nightlife in this affluent neighborhood is typified by the bevy of bars in the Triangle, the intersection of Fillmore and Greenwich streets, which attract hordes of sporty young professionals. The crowds are clean-cut, and the neighborhood is one of the safest in the city. Blue Light Cafe. If the modern industrial decor (including, of [...]
Chinatown
By day a maelstrom of gaudy souvenir shops, pungent markets, and overcrowded sidewalks, Chinatown transforms into a quieter neighborhood at night, when most people on the streets are en route to or from one of the neighborhood’s many Chinese restaurants. Step into one of the local bars for a reminder of whose part of town [...]
