Taking you along on the journey through my neck of the woods searching to find the best drinking venue on the 2.0 mile strip I call home.

Meeting up with a motley crew of acquaintances to enjoy the final college football Saturday of the season. Building off of a buddy’s suggestion as well as some recent publicity, we decide to check out the newly opened lounge/ restaurant/ sports bar, The Republic, a rebrand of the old Jones.  The Republic boasts an extensive list of taps and beers by the bottle as well as plenty of cocktails and wines. The venue contains a number of flat screen tvs, a projection screen and more than enough tables and couches to make your visit a pleasant one.

Though the game is on, very few of the other patrons seem interested in watching (this is a sports bar isn’t it?). The bar’s television schedule dictates what’s on offer, which on this particular evening entails UW’s blowout of the hapless Cal Bears on the majority of the screens, the enticing Big XII Championship pushed to the periphery and the ACC Championship nowhere to be found. As luck would have it (or merely the owner’s desire to stop my group’s kvetching), there’s open space at the lounge’s anti-chapel VIP room and we’re quickly seated and given the remote so we can enjoy the evening’s games as we see fit (talk about customer friendly– hope it’s not too late to apologize (haha) for our earlier complaining).

As the game ticks on the drinks keep flowing and I realize that eating something might be a good idea (it is a restaurant after all). Building off of my ever growing collection of completed beers I opt for what I hope is a house specialty, the burger (very adventurous, I know). With the final kick of Texas’ victory sending the Longhorn faithful into an uproar the staff is similarly a buzz rapidly transforming the sports bar into an expansive lounge. Still buzzing from my drinks and looking to unwind after my delicious burger I’m a little taken aback as my Sports Center displaying flat screen is transformed into a pastoral scene of a rustic country side (strange).

With the mood evolution my group decides it’s about time to make a change as well. Having made my way through a good portion on the venue’s extensive beer list as well as fueled the fires for the next stage of my evening I’m happy to bit The Republic adieu. Nothing out of the ordinary, but more than anticipated. The Republic delivers on all fronts, but is it a jack of all trades while being a master of none?

The Rundown:

Address: 3213 Scott St at Lombard

Hours: Monday – Friday: 4:00pm – 2:00am, Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00am,  Sunday: 10:00am – 12:00am

Best Nights: Saturday and Sunday for game time, Friday and Saturday for the pre-bar lounge.

Drinks: Enjoy the extensive beer list containing local favorites as well as some seasonal selections – house staff is more than willing and able to help out with a recommendation.

Synopsis: Nothing out of the ordinary, but more than anticipated. The Republic delivers on all fronts, but is it a jack of all trades while being a master of none?

Taking you along on the journey through my neck of the woods searching to find the best drinking venue on the 2.0 mile strip I call home.

Speed walking down Polk Street trying to beat the mid November chill in the air, I decide to stop in a little spot I’ve been meaning to try, Yabbies. Though the cursive typography on the sign above the entry make the name look like a misspelling of Rabies, I decide to press on and keep on the lookout for any feral animals passing underfoot. Briefly chatting with the maitre d’, I decide to take a seat at the bar (though I had my choice of any seat in the house as I was one of about four patrons).

Settling into my seat I decide to harass the bartender for a moment and get a little guidance on the restaurant’s name and origin.

Me: Hey, I saw the name on the sign outside, what’s “Yabbies?”

Bartender: If you can guess I’ll give you a free drink

Reaching for my trusty i-Phone I try to be discreet while Google searching “Yabbies” in every language I know and a couple I’ve never heard of.

Bartender: (Noticing my underhanded actions) Um…What do you think you’re doing?

Damn, caught red handed.

As it turns out Yabbies is a slang term for Australian Crawfish (who knew?) which is fitting as this restaurant has a great seafood selection and a nice happy hour menu. Ordering a trio of oysters ($1 each), two Dungeness crab cake (I love crab cakes) and a beer – which I had to pay for I relax at the bar and focus on my mini-meal. The décor matches the food (fresh) and even though the bar is a little quiet (maybe 6 pm is a little early to start drinking) the schizophrenic music selection (Mika–>Iron and Wine–>Notorious BIG…) helps the early evening pass by quickly).

While Yabbies will do in a pitch at happy hour time, the restaurant really shines as a (you guessed it) restaurant. With dishes including ceviche, an extensive seafood list and a New England clam bake with a whole lobster, a whole crab and more clams and mussels than the eastern seaboard, Yabbies can more than carry the lumber when it comes to any sized seafood craving. Paying my tab I continue along my way adding a new spot to my ever growing list. Walking out the door I know I’ll be back in the near future and next time I’ll be sure to be a little better with my i-Phone sleight of hand.

The Rundown:

Address: 2237 Polk St (Between Bonita and Green)

Hours: 6:00pm – 10:00pm Mon-Thu, 6:00pm – 11:00pm Fri-Sat, 5:30-9:30 Sun

Best Night: Thursday, Friday

Drinks: White Wine (yeah I can’t believe I’m saying it either). Ask your server for the best pairing based on your entree/ appetizer. The restaurant also features great happy hour wine specials.

Synopsis: A restaurant so clean, even the water tastes fresh. With an extensive seafood menu Yabbies is well worth the price of admission.

Taking you along on the journey through my neck of the woods searching to find the best drinking venue on the 2.0 mile strip I call home.

When deciding on a venue for a Goodfellasesque reunion of old friends I considered several options. While Nick’s is always a smash, the later hour and Monday time frame called for a more subdued choice. Building off of the strength of my experience at Bar Johnny as well as my friends’ desire to join me in a potential wife hunting (someone else’s, not my own mind you) expedition we felt it the perfect location.
Arriving at the bar, our haphazard group is crestfallen to find out the bar is closed (5pm – close: very helpful). Luckily, fortune’s wheel didn’t leave us too far astride and we press head long into The Royal Oak, conveniently located right next door.

Somewhere in the deep annals of my memory I recall coming to this establishment before. Luckily one of my brothers in arms was there to pick up the slack and reminds me that it is in this very bar where we spent an evening with a married (I’m seeing a pattern here) Boston lawyer and her flight attendant friend – sigh.
Back to the present, this Monday night is a far cry from that fateful Friday and our party of 4 effectively doubles the occupancy. No matter, the beer is flowing and the lack of a crowd makes The Royal Oak a perfect spot for groups (or so I thought). What the bar lacked in patronage it made up for with the sound system as late 90’s rap songs blared from the speakers. While the huddle of bar flies was likely cursing today’s youth and trying to keep their ears from bleeding, I didn’t find the music too painful – though it did make conversation a little difficult. Making our way through several rounds of drinks, the music seemed to dull (along with the rest of our senses) and our jovial laughter and recapping of days gone by became paramount above “The Next Episode.”
The Royal Oak has an expansive selection of seating arrangement with several antique chairs and oak (big surprise) tables where even on more crowded nights one can find a place to sit. Though the backdrop of The Chronic 2001 made for an odd setting, the bar delivered. Cheap drinks and abundant seating, I think I found a new bar to add to my weeknight bar rotation– I’ll just tell them to go easy on the Dr. Dre.

The Rundown:

Address: 2201 Polk St (Between Bonita and Vallejo)

Hours: 5:00pm – 2am

Best Night: Weeknights, Saturday.

Drinks: Beers – Fine selection of beers from across the pond. Shoot for a Bass and Guinness Black and Tan, you won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis: Lounge with dive bar heritage. Good for groups and random adventures.

Halloween rocks my world.  For one night out of the year, you get the opportunity to let your guard down, and take on the persona of someone entirely different from your own.  Granted, I went as the classy Vince Offer (the Sham Wow guy).  Probably not someone I would want to die and come back as, but pretty fun nevertheless.

Last night, we started the show in North Beach.  Awesome time.  Not so awesome this morning.

A few fun little Sunday morning presents:

Three broken Bud Lite bottles on my kitchen floor,

Two blown speakers,

One overflowing toilet (obviously, a toilet paper roll is flushable?),

…..And a partridge in a pear tree.  Our landlord just loves us.

After the Pre-Bar , the boys of Justins Live took the show to Le Colonial in the Tenderloin for a night on the town.

The Run Down

Le Colonial is located on Cosmo Pl, between Taylor and Jones in the heart of the Tenderloin.  Say what you want about the Tenderloin, but the area has….culture.  And I’m all for it.  Le Colonial was started by Jean Denoyer, who launched the very successful Le Colonial restaurant in New York.  Le Colonial opened its doors to San Francisco in 1998.

With an outdoor veranda, in addition to the main dining room, parties have the choice of dining inside or out.    The restaurant offers a stacked menu that consists of traditional French Vietnamese cuisine.  Check out the full menu.  I’m sure the kitchen staff was pleased when I put in an order for Thit Ko Chien at 10:45pm on a Saturday night.  Regardless, the food was great.

At night, the tables clear, and Le Colonial turns into a club-goers sanctuary.   I made it a point to dabble on the drink menu as well, sampling an “Emerald Buddha” (Ciroc Vodka, House Lemongrass Sour, Barritt’s Ginger Beer, Tall, on the rocks) and a “Pura Vida” (La Pinta Pomegranate Tequila, Fresh Mint, Diced Jalapeno, and Fresh Lime Juice).  The drinks were not cheap, but once it hits your lips, it tastes so good.

Dinner Hours:
Sunday through Wednesday, 5:30 – 10:00 pm
Thursday through Saturday, 5:30 – 11:00 pm
Lounge opens nightly at 4:30 pm.

Summary

Le Colonial has been a spot frequented by fine diners and finer women.  I was thoroughly impressed. The wait staff was incredibly friendly, from the people working the door to the cooking staff that was willing to throw food on the grill 15 minutes before kitchen close.  Again, a relatively pricey night out, but it was definitely worth it.

Taking you along on the journey through my neck of the woods searching to find the best drinking venue on the 2.0 mile strip I call home.

Continuing my conquest to beber at some of San Francisco’s finest bars (and as many as Polk street has to offer) I congregate with a group of buddies at the heralded and some would say mythical Big Foot Lodge. Boasting a breeze through window and a hanging stump above the entry, The Big Foot Lodge is a bit of an oddity from the street. This first glance judgment is backed up upon entry as the wooden walls, girl scout sash adorning bar tenders and 9 foot sasquatch  throw anyone for a loop (especially after a few pre-game cocktails). The busy Saturday night makes getting to bar all but impossible with the row of people awaiting drinks and another along the side wall making even walking an American Gladiator Eliminatoresq test of will. This mass of people does provide the opportunity for a little conversation, which is quickly becoming my forte.

Me: Hey, how’s it going?

Random Guy: Keep walking

Me: Touché

Taking the random guy’s advice I press my way to the bar and order up some beers for my friends and what I believe to be the bar’s signature cocktail the Sasquatch.

Me: 3 beers and on Sasquatch

Bartender in pre-teen Girl Scout garb: Alright, you’re the first person to order one all night

Popular, I’ve clearly made the right decision

Grabbing my bounty and heading to the back of the bar to meet my friends I discover a gem as a comparably open lounge area lies beyond the human gauntlet at the front of the house. Taking my seat and taking second to glance at my credit card receipt I’m pleasantly surprised by the results, 3 Beers and a signature cocktail for little more than the base ATM fodder, not bad. These reasonable prices stun us even more as we escalate to martinis as a nice round two and are all too happy to party with a Hamilton in exchange for the finest vodka the rail has to offer.

Stumbling drunk by the time we rise from our seats we notice the crowd at the bar has grown and that now they’re chanting. Reminiscent of tribal ceremony or a pep rally bonfire, the bar is soon a blaze as a towering (semi-towering) inferno engulfs the publican’s arena (I wonder what SFFD thinks of this ritual?) Not wanting my drunken stupor to lead to an inquisition era auto de fé, I give the Sasquatch statue the requisite dap (oh, you always have to pay respect to the Sasquatch) and fight my way out of the bar.

Avoiding injury and getting my fill of cocktails I’m not quite sure what I’ve just experienced. Nevertheless, The Bigfoot Lodge served a worthwhile Saturday evening companion and unlike Harry and the Hendersons, I’m definitely keeping this Sasquatch as part of my family (or at least my drinking one).

The Rundown:

Address: 1750 Polk St (Between Washington and Clay)

Hours: 3:00pm – 2am daily

Best Night: Weeknights, Saturday. Look out for the Fire Show.

Drinks: Beers – Amazing happy hour specials. Hamms. The Sasquatch: Spicy  ginger brandy and Wild Turkey (which I’m certainly a fan of).

Synopsis: Great bar with a flair for the dramatic. Space can be a problem, but drink prices keep your mind otherwise occupied.