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San Francisco in June

post #1 of 118
4/20/11 at 10:37pm
Thread Starter 
Nearly decided on a birthday trip to San Francisco this year. Never been to California, in fact, picked SF because I know that there are some serious cocktail spots. Not really the best time to make this trip, but well, it's a special year. Am willing to cheap out on accommodations to cut down the price -- any ideas? Willing to go more to stay in a B&B-type place rather than a chain. Bourbon & Branch, Alembic, Absinthe are on my 'strongly consider' list for the trip. Museums, other sights still up in the air -- that national park a little north of the city is probably on the list as well. Any other ideas? Looks like three days, Th (late) 'till Monday afternoon. ~ H
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post #2 of 118
4/20/11 at 10:50pm
Be sure and swing by here for a drink or a bite to eat http://www.comstocksaloon.com/ This is nice as well http://www.houseofshields.com/index.htm I like to take people to the Ferry Building around 4 pm for a drink and bar snacks at the Slanted Door. Great cocktails and you get to see a beautiful bay view while watching the ferry service. http://slanteddoor.com/index.html
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post #3 of 118
4/21/11 at 1:24am
I've heard the Parsonage is really nice as a B&B, but I have no idea on the price. Cheaper than a lot of the hotels in the city, I am sure. Maybe hit Bar Agricole? I've not been, but a few friends like it a lot. Ferry building is great, though I would opt for oysters and a nice glass (bottle) of vouvray outside of Hog Island in the evening, even if it is cold.
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post #4 of 118
4/21/11 at 1:38am
Bring a sweater.

I was at Absinthe a few days ago. It's okay for a quick drink but it is a rather ugly little bar and far too crowded to spend much time in. The recommended cocktail they served me was pretty much swill and to their credit they quickly replaced it with something decent.

lefty
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post #5 of 118
4/21/11 at 3:49am
Some nice spirits at Rickhouse as well.
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post #6 of 118
4/21/11 at 4:20am
I didn't like B&B very much. Much preferred Alembic. Both the drinks and the atmosphere. If you like Belgian beer, there are some excellent bars for that.
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post #7 of 118
4/21/11 at 4:31am
I enjoyed the art deco walking tour, if you like that kind of thing. The art in the Coit Tower is also of the same period. I enjoyed that more than the big museums.
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post #8 of 118
4/21/11 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman View Post
Nearly decided on a birthday trip to San Francisco this year. Never been to California, in fact, picked SF because I know that there are some serious cocktail spots. Not really the best time to make this trip, but well, it's a special year. Am willing to cheap out on accommodations to cut down the price -- any ideas? Willing to go more to stay in a B&B-type place rather than a chain. Bourbon & Branch, Alembic, Absinthe are on my 'strongly consider' list for the trip. Museums, other sights still up in the air -- that national park a little north of the city is probably on the list as well. Any other ideas? Looks like three days, Th (late) 'till Monday afternoon. ~ H
It can get very cool and breezy in the afternoon and evening, even in the summertime. June can be pretty foggy. Bring appropriate attire and comfortable shoes - lots of walking up and down hills. Washington Square Inn in the North Beach neighborhood of SF is a nice B&B - I've stayed there before and enjoyed the experience. B&Bs aren't going to be cheap, though. http://wsisf.com/ I've also stayed at the Grant Hotel, which is decent, historic and very inexpensive for a SF Hotel ~ $100 a night. It's also centrally located. The rooms are on the small side, but you're spending most of your time outside anyway. http://www.granthotel.net/ Driving and finding parking in SF is a major hassle. You can take the BART rapid transit from the airport into the city, and from there you can taxi around town. There's plenty to see in the city, especially if you're there for only a few days. Things to do: This might be fun
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post #9 of 118
4/21/11 at 6:06am
California Academy of Science is pretty amazing and you pretty much have to do Fisherman's Wharf for at least a couple hours. IMO Absinthe wasn't sort of a let down.
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post #10 of 118
4/21/11 at 1:00pm
On a Fri or Sat night around 8 they have live jazz here http://www.cafeclaude.com/index.html

If you don't want to eat, just stop in for a drink. It is a charming setting, hipster-free zone. Casual to dressy. Calm setting. Great for lunch too. They have inside and outside seating. Usually cuties around.
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post #11 of 118
4/21/11 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman View Post
Nearly decided on a birthday trip to San Francisco this year. Never been to California, in fact, picked SF because I know that there are some serious cocktail spots. Not really the best time to make this trip, but well, it's a special year. Am willing to cheap out on accommodations to cut down the price -- any ideas? Willing to go more to stay in a B&B-type place rather than a chain. Bourbon & Branch, Alembic, Absinthe are on my 'strongly consider' list for the trip. Museums, other sights still up in the air -- that national park a little north of the city is probably on the list as well. Any other ideas? Looks like three days, Th (late) 'till Monday afternoon. ~ H
Do The Wilson Bar instead of Bourbon & Branch (it's the same people, just located next door with the same pretentious password stuff), but it's a smaller bartender/patron ratio and allows you to really talk to the bartenders. B&B can sit you in a private booth where you can't talk to the bartender. Around the block from there is Rye, another cocktail place, and down the block is another B&B owned joint, Mr. Lew's Win Win Bar & Grand Sazerac Emporium; it's billed as a cocktail dive bar, because they crank out really amazing cocktails for ~$5. Don't miss Bar Agricole; it's a good later night spot on Fri./Sat., because it's usually very mellow and lots of industry people end up there, but don't order food there. Comstock Saloon and Alembic are the only 2 cocktail places I would order food. There's also Beretta in the Mission for strong cocktails, which was Bar Agricole's Thad Volger's previous project. If you're into rum, there's Smuggler's Cove and Nihon for whisky. The wildcard is Blackbird, because sometimes they have barrel aged cocktails.
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post #12 of 118
4/21/11 at 8:12pm
FYI - it seems that "You're fuckin' kidding me?" is not the password at B&B.

lefty
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post #13 of 118
4/21/11 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty View Post
FYI - it seems that "You're fuckin' kidding me?" is not the password at B&B. lefty
lol which one of the password bars has a "no cell phone" policy? i can't remember the name but the cell thing was nice.
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post #14 of 118
4/21/11 at 9:15pm
B&B. Their rules include no standing at the bar. This is from their site: "Welcome to Bourbon & Branch, and congratulations on finding us." You have a website. How bloody difficult are you to find? Google did it in 0.14 seconds. lefty
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post #15 of 118
4/22/11 at 2:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty View Post
B&B. Their rules include no standing at the bar.

This is from their site: "Welcome to Bourbon & Branch, and congratulations on finding us." You have a website. How bloody difficult are you to find? Google did it in 0.14 seconds.

lefty

This wannabe speak-easy stuff has to stop. There's some place in San Jose like that now too... got to love waiting outside in a line when nobody's inside and being talked to by some ridiculously "period dressed" staff.
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