#2097 - The Mad Dog in the Fog, San Francisco - 3/3/2013

Perhaps you like soccer. I do not. But the Mad Dog is still a pleasant place to grab a pint. It's a fairly typical English style pub, comfortably situated in the neighborhood, with a pretty good beer selection, a nice little patio, and enough unique gewgaws and decorative touches to feel like it has some personality.

530 Haight St. San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 626-7279
Web site: themaddoginthefog.com - facebook
Reviews: partyearth - wsj (barcraft) - yelp - thefillmorecenter - citysearch - everybarinsf 

#2096 - Trax Bar, San Francisco - 3/3/2

From the 70s through the first half of the 80s, the Haight had a thriving gay community rivaling the Castro. A dozen gay bars in the area included including the I-Beam, which hosted such bands as the Cure, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Duran Duran, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. But unlike the Castro, the more bohemian Haight gay scene never recovered from the AIDS crisis, and Trax is now the single gay bar left in the neighborhood.

From the outside it looks like a vintage gamers' scene, but the inside is bathed in velvety reds and rainbows. The site is said to have hosted a bar since the 40s, and it's now one of the oldest running bars in the Haight. It's now a fairly standard gay dive bar, with strong, cheap drinks, friendly bartenders, and a mellow vibe.



1437 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 864-4213
Est. 1974
Previous bars in this location: Question Mark Cocktail Lounge
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2095 - Martin Macks, San Francisco - 3/3/2013

An Irish themed "gastropub and sports bar" that struck me as pretty thoroughly boring.

1568 Haight St, San Francisco 94117 - (415) 861-1586
Web site: martinmackssf.com - facebook
Reviews: haighteration - yelp - menupages - eater

#2094 - The Gold Cane, San Francisco - 3/2/2013

The Gold Cane may be most famous for being the place that the infamous Bruno chased people to when he kicked them out of Zam Zam. But the crowd makes it quite a happening little dive, even on this night when the streets of the Haight seemed strangely quite for 10pm Saturday. It states that it was established in 1926, although this was in another location up the street and would have been during prohibition. It appears to have been in its current location sine 1978. Besides stiff, dive-style drinks and a fun crowd, the Gold Cane has little patio and a large moose head.

1569 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 626-1112
Est. 1926, 1978 in this location
Reviews: sfist - yelp - sfgate - zagat

#2093 - Milk Bar, San Francisco - 3/2/2013

When I entered this bar it was packed with people, perfectly still, and eerily quiet -- so much so that I felt obliged to whisper my drink order. Eventually I learned that the people staring at the televisions had come for a screening of the film "Rolled" by Whit Scott. This is apparently the only dance club in the Haight, and on more typical evenings caters to USF students with a mix of live music and hip hop DJs.

1840 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 387-6455
Web site: milksf.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2092 - Murio's Trophy Room, San Francisco - 3/2/2013

Murio's was established in 1959 by Olympian and tennis champion John Murio. This was his second bar, after the Hawaiian Village just a few doors up the road (now the Cha Cha Cha). It was very divey, but new owners Edward Sargent and Roger Howell opened a highly remodeled version at the beginning of 2012, in a fashion that one site calls "darker and masculine," but which strikes me as something like a pimp's idea of classy. Thankfully, the retained the great sign out front and also the ancient trophies,  the bartenders are cool and funny, and it's still pleasant in a way that good dive bars are pleasant

1811 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 752-2971
Est. 1959
Web site: muriostrophyroom.com - facebook
Reviews: sfgate - tablehopper - eater - sfist - yelp - luckybdesign

#2091 - The Alembic, San Francisco - 3/2/2013

Small and crowded, very nice craft cocktails.

1725 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 666-0822
Est. 2006
Web site: alembicbar.com - facebook
Reviews: sfweekly - grubstreet - becksposhnosh - sfgate - jaunted - yelp - bourbonobservor - sanfranciscorestaurants - beeradvocate - gayot - voiceplaces