#2099 - The Redwood Room, San Francisco - 3/3/2013

This is very much what you'd like a hotel bar to be -- dark and swanky, with history and good cocktails. I'm not sure how well the digital portraits (which change over time) fit in. But the cherry colored wood, the lighting, the art deco angles and the rest of the decor make for a romantic stop -- at least if you come in on a non-busy night when there are no special events. And while the bar has recently had an expensive remodel, it retains the redwood bar and the basic design theme from it's beginnings right after prohibition.

495 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 - (415) 929-2372
Est. 1933
Web site: facebook
Reviews: restaurant-ingthroughhistory - sfweekly - worldsbestbars - spottedbylocals - about.com - partyearth - yelp

#2098 - Toronado, San Francisco - 3/3/2013

Toronado is a long-time craft beer mecca, in a divey sort of setting crowded with beer lovers and hipsters. I had my first Pliny (the Elder) there, and got a lot of friendly nods from people who thought a guy sitting on a stool near the door must be working the door.

547 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 - (415) 863-2276
Est. Aug 5, 1987
Web site: toronado.com - facebook
Reviews: partyearth - beeradvocate - esquire - sandiegoreader - blackbook - urbanspoon - yelp - tripadvisor

#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