9/26/06

Hoping to try something new, we decided to check out a sake bar. this place was kind of more a restaurant than a bar, but whatever, i dont know if it’s even possible to find a sake bar that’s not a restaurant as well. the place had sleek decor and a ton of different sakes to choose from. i dont know pretty much anything about sake, but i know i’ve liked unfiltered sake before, so that’s what i got. it was pretty good, but after tax+ tip came out to almost 20$ just for a tiny little slender glass. Tom got a flight of different sakes to try. all of them were actually really good, and it was cool to be able to try a variety of different types. anyways, i guess there’s a reason why sake bars are always restaurants too… the sake was nice, but definitley not something you can just hang out and drink on it’s own. after our first round, we took off.

Tsunami Suhi and Sake Bar is at 1306 Fulton Street in San Francisco

the first time i came here, i thought to myself that this place must only be for true alcoholics, or at the very least, aspiring alcoholics. a bunch of old drunks sat at the bar, the bartender was surly, and there was a couple who were literally dry humping and rolling on the floor in front of the jukebox. yes! this is what hanging out in the ‘loin is all about! the second time i came here, it was a bit more subdued and had less of a divey feel. oh well, it’s still a nice place to kick it, and they have pabst for only 2$ ALL DAY. plus, the bartender made a damn good bloody mary, which is a tough thing to find (outside of zeitgeist).

the Nite Cap is at 699 Ofarrell Street in San Francisco

As soon as I heard about this place, I knew I had to check it out…. a secret 1920s speakeasy themed bar. The place was hidden behind a nondescript door in the loin, and had no address listed anywhere. The only way to go, was to make a reservation in advance, and then they give you the address. The whole concept just seemed really cool to me. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of people feel that the whole thing is just really gimmicky, and I can definitely see that, but it’s still a cool gimmick nevertheless.

Trying to make my online reservations proved to not be too easy though. First, everything was booked up till midnight. Then, once I made a reservation, the website wouldn’t let me modify it. Then, the website went back and forth a few times between saying they had availability and that they didn’t. There are definitely a few glitches in the system.

That Saturday, at midnight, we rang the buzzer and were let in to Bourbon and Branch. The place was awesome. They really had the 1920’s theme down, with the nice decor, dim lighting, and old music playing. We were seated at a booth, and spent some time deciding what to get from the huge list of cocktails that they had on their fancy drink lists. There were so many different kinds of alcohols on here that we hadn’t ever even heard of. Also, this place makes all of their fruit juice from scratch and the mixers don’t run off a fountain. As promised, the drinks here were incredible. Almost everything we tried was delicious and made absolutely perfectly. The drinks were pricey, about 10-12$ a pop, but totally worth every penny. Our table ordered a bunch of different drinks, so each of us got to try a wide variety of them.

Although the drinks were great, the service wasn’t. First off, service was super slow and our waitress only came around a couple times in the two hours that we were there. We had the foresight to order a bunch of extra drinks w/ each order, but our friends at the next table only got 2 drinks each, which is pretty weak. Also, when the bar ran out of strawberries for one of the drinks, my friend asked if she could just have a different kind of berry substituted. They refused. Ok, I know they take great pride in their drinks and are really anal about everything being perfect, but still, I think that it’s pretty rude to flat out deny a customer’s request.

So overall, I can see why this place has been getting some mixed reviews. It’s a really cool concept, great decor, and incredible drinks… but poor service and they definitely need to hire a few more waitresses and/or bartenders. Luckily, they’ve only been open a couple weeks… I’ll bet a lot of these kinks will soon be worked out and this place will fully live up to its potential. I would definitely love to come here again.

Bourbon and Branch is at 501 Jones St in San Francisco

this bar was pretty cool but nothing special. the theme is 80’s hip hop and they did have some really cool sold-school photos on the walls of kids break dancing. but that’s pretty much as far as it went. they had some old nikes hanging from the bar, a simon game, some boomboxes, but other than that, the place was practically the same as it was when it was Cama. plus, the drinks were pretty expensive. i dont think i’d mind going again, but i doubt i’d make any special effort to go… especially since the mission has so many other better bars nearby.

Double Dutch is at 3192 16th St in San Francisco