#2069 - Tony Nik's, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

Good cocktails in a bar that opened just after the depression (originally Tony Nicco's Café -- see history). The place had remodels in 1949 and 2000, and somehow came out of that with a swanky, late 60s, mid-century modern look.

1534 Stockton St San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 693-0990
Est. 1933
Web site: tonyniks.com
Reviews: blackbook - sanfrancisco.com - yelp

#2068 - The Saloon, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

Update: While stories abound about how The Saloon was saved from the 1906 earthquake, after I wrote the post below a commenter brought to my attention a fairly compelling bit of evidence, on the back wall of Spec's, no less, that these stories are in error. Given that the current building housing The Saloon appears to have been constructed in 1907, I now consider the Little Shamrock to be the oldest bar in San Francisco. This position is based on a somewhat arbitrary decision that to cout as the same bar, an establishment must have remained the same building, so there is certainly ample room for disagreement on my position, even if all my facts are correct. In any case, The Saloon is a fine, old establishment.

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"The Saloon," Wikipedia says, "is the oldest bar in San Francisco, opened in 1863, and also the only bar to survive the 1906 Earthquake."  The bar itself says it was opened Oct. 8, 1861, apparently as "Wagner's Beer Hall" (sfweekly), and this seems to be the more reliable date. I've found no word on when it became officially named "The Saloon."  I have read elsewhere that it is considered to be the 6th oldest bar in the United States, however I would refer to Brookston's fine list of the oldest bars in America, which places it 34th.

What constitutes the "oldest bar in San Francisco" depends on how you define a single bar. If it is simply how long a certain location (not any particular building) has hosted a bar, then the oldest is probably the "Old Ship Saloon," which is currently in a 1907 building constructed where the original Old Ship Saloon was cut into the side of the grounded ship The Arkansas in 1851. That is assuming also that you consider it a single bar even if it has been known by different names (the Old Ship was "The Brick" for much of the 20th century). There are some references online to the San Francisco Brewing Company (now The Comstock) dating back to 1861, but these appear to be in error (The Comstock location was constructed as the Andromeda Saloon in 1907).

If you hold that the oldest bar is the one running longest under the same name then the picture gets much more cloudy. This is usually ignored in the claims of bar age. I have not found when "The Saloon" was first known by that name, nor any clear evidence that it has steadily remained that (it seems dubious during prohibition, and even after, when many states outlawed using "saloon" in the name of any bar).  The "Little Shamrock" had that name by the mid 1890s (officially 1893, though I believe it was 1894 -- see outsidelands). The Old Ship is not a contender by this standard, as it reverted to the original name only in 1999. And if places like The Saloon and Little Shamrock had stretches under other names, the oldest consistent name might belong to one of the other bars established shortly after the great fire, such as John's Grill or House of Shields, both of which were founded in 1908.

Personally, I am willing to overlook a few years under different names, brief interruptions (longer during prohibition), but I feel that to be the same "bar," the current business has to be in the same basic physical structure as the past versions. Thus I agree with those who consider "The Saloon" to be the oldest in the city.

It certainly looks the part, and does not suffer from over indulgent maintenance and beautification. It is very much a dive, and pours the cheap, strong drinks of a dive. It is owned by Myron Mu, who made a living as a French horn player before taking over for his father, who bought the place in the 1950s. It features live music 7 days a week, and maintains a long-time reputation as the best blues club in the city. At the time that I visited it with a couple friends on a Tuesday evening it was fairly dead. But the evident age of the place, the temporarily silent stage area, and the enticing divey-ness all lay in silent testimony to many rollicking times and amusing stories to be heard.

1232 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 - (415) 989-7666
Est. Oct 8, 1861 (as Wagner's Beer Hall)
Web site: thesaloonsf - facebook
Reviews: sfweekly - sfblues - sanfranciscotim - yelp - citysearch

#2067 - Wexler's, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

I had to check out this upscale barbeque place based on a friend's describing them as having "good, smokey Manhattans." They did, and pork plate that I had was very tasty as well.

The only shortcoming for me is that the place is small and busy, which limited its ability to feel relaxed and intimate. That may be picking nits and is probably inevitable for a small space in the financial district with a Michelin star chef. But judging it as a bar, this puts it just a notch below my highly recommended ranking.

568 Sacramento St San Francisco, CA 94111 - (415) 983-0102
Est. June 2009
Web site: wexlerssf.com - facebook
Reviews: sfgate - sfweekly - chow - yelp

#2066 - Annabelle's Bar and Bistro, San Francisco - 2/26/2013

A white table cloth sort of bistro with some fairly good cocktails.

68 4th St San Francisco, CA 94103 - (415) 777-1200
Est. 1993 - Building constructed: 1913
Web site: annabelles.net
Reviews: citysearch - gayot - yelp

#2065 - DNA Lounge, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

The DNA Lounge is a fairly large nightclub and live performance venue that caters to alternative crowds, including "Death Guild," which is claimed to be America's longest running goth night. During the second half of the 90s DNA Lounge was owned by three people including comedian Rob Schneider, and peaked in its popularity, with secret shows by performers like Prince and Metallica. In 1999 the club was purchased by well known open source software developer "jwz" (Jamie Zawinski), who closed it for extensive remodeling and re-opened it in 2001, keeping a blog on his clashes with city hall and other experiences owning the club.

Even during alternative theme nights like Death Guild, Trannyshack, and bootie, with many people dressing the part, the vibe is fairly casual and open (the night of Death Guild I attended on this evening included people in jeans, sandals, and even tie dye). There are two floors, two stages, and two DJs, and of course the vibe and crowd vary widely with day of the week.

375 Eleventh St San Francisco, CA 94103 - (415) 626-1409
Est. Nov 22, 1985
Previous bars at this location: Chaps (leather bar)
Web site: dnalounge.com - facebook
Articles: wikipedia - yelp

#2064 - Tommy's Joynt, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

Walking down Geary at night and coming unexpectedly upon the psycho circus exterior of Tommy's Joynt felt like stepping into the pages of "Something Wicked This Way Comes."  But that feeling changed dramatically the instant I stepped into the comfortably cluttered interior. Tommy's is the first of the "hofbraus" -- the San Francisco area cafeteria style restaurants including Lefty O'Douls, the Chick-N-Coop, and Brennan's. During the day people line up to get hand-sliced meat dishes and sandwiches from no-nonsense workers who all give the impression of having worked here since it was founded in 1947. Opposite the meat counter there is an old bar that serves what is said to be San Francisco's largest selection of inexpensive beers (over 100 choices from 30 countries, mostly in bottles), as well as dive-style cocktails.

Tommy's was established here in the Fillmore neighborhood by local crooner Tommy Harris, and is still run by his relatives. The collection of oddball items and historical photos that cram the walls appear to mostly date back to the early days of the place. The food and drinks are both pretty basic, but this is one of my favorite places I visited on this bar-crammed tour of San Francisco.

1101 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94109 - (415) 775-4216
Est. 1947
Web site: tommysjoynt.com - facebook
Reviews: divefood - sfgate - hanging with harris (video) - food network (video) - sfweekly - yelp - citysearch

#2063 - Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco - 2/25/2013

Few people interested in cocktail bars would need a description of Smuggler's Cove -- Martin Cate's celebration of rum and tiki bars past has been cited in various publications as the best bar in San Francisco and one of the best in the world. Stepping past the nondescript exterior into the dark, Disneyesque, tri-level, pirate cave inside instantly provides the kind of escape to another world that characterizes the best tiki bars.

You must try some of the house classics, but in addition to tiki originals, classic cocktails from famous old tiki bars, Caribbean Island drinks, and prohibition-era Cuban drinks, if you would like a break from the sweetness of tiki drinks, the bartenders know their stuff and can create something delicious with a few indications of your tastes (I had a tikified Sazerac with Falernum). If you are ambitious you can join the "Rumbustion Society" and drink your way through the huge list of fine rums. The "Tiki Central" crowd meets there on Tuesdays.

Smuggler's Cove is one of my favorite 2 or 3 tiki bars in the country.

650 Gough St  San Francisco, CA 94102 -  (415) 869-1900               
Est. Dec 8, 2009
Previous bars in this location: Jade Bar
Web site: smugglerscovesf.com - facebook
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