Wet Whistles

It started a few years back.

A buddy dragged me and another friend to some unmarked door in a sketchy part of the Tenderloin. After a brief chat on an intercom, he talked us in past the lovely young lady who greeted us.

A few mintues later, we were seated at the bar and I had my first drink at Bourbon and Branch

It was the first of about four trips I've taken there. It's a "speakeasy" in the traditional, Prohibition sense. It's a classy, dimly-lit drinking establishment with highly-professional staff and a code of conduct (including no cell phones, no cameras, and no Cosmos).

It's a reservation-only sort of place, usually. There's no standing at the bar. If there's no seats, you're out of luck. You book a table for a set time (a half-hour up to a couple of hours).

If reservations aren't in the cards for your evening, it's possible to find the door off the street that leads to the Library. There it's standing room only and the drink menu seems a bit more limited, but that could simply be that I dind't look hard enough. I've only been to the Library once.


A short time later, a sister establishment, The Rickhouse opened. It's done up in a saloon style and doesn't appear to require reservations.

And it gets crowded. Oh-so-crowded.

I've been there more than a few times. It's sort of an annual tradition, after a fashion. Great ambiance and, like B&B, excellent drinks.

Why the hell am I blogging this, you ask?


Yet another sister bar opened recently: Local Edition. Set in the old Examiner printing room, it's a newspaper-themed establishment of quite some quality.

Excellent cocktails, good staff, and a nice mix of reservation-seating and non-reservation bar area.


The news had some bit this morning about how this summer is supposed to be a big tourist season. So if you're touristing in San Francisco, consider giving these places a try.