Entertainment
Feb 4, 2008 4:11 PM
Mix Editors' Entertainment Picks
A Bar Lover’s Bar
Specs:It’s not that clean, it’s not that pretty, but tucked into a small alley next to Tosca, across the street from City Lights and Vesuvio, is Specs, a bar for people who like neighborhood bars. More of a blue-collar, waterfront vibe. Memorabilia from the owner’s travels line the walls.—Tom Kenny
Bridge Theater, 3010 Geary Boulevard at Blake (415/267-4893)
Definitely buy advance tickets for this one-screen movie house, which was deemed a landmark in 1991 and named after the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Not your typical run-of-the-mill corporate theater, the Bridge showcases indie films and foreign-language cinema from the 1950s.—Sarah Benzuly
Café du Nord
One of the first shows I went to after moving to SF was at Café du Nord, and during the past year and a half, I’ve become a semi-regular visitor to this mid-size live music space. As you walk down the narrow, steep staircase to the long, narrow club, you’re reminded of its past life as a speakeasy. They’ve still got the sturdy mahogany bar, the red velvet curtain and they pride themselves on making a mean cocktail! The club owners consistently book quality talent—Josh Rouse and On the Speakers are two recent shows I attended—ranging from indie rock to power pop to folk singer/songwriters. Unless you reserve one of a handful of tables for dinner and a show, you’ll probably end up standing in the main live music room. It’s easy to score a seat at the bar, but hard to see the stage from that back room. But no matter where you sit, you’re likely to hear interesting music on an above-average sound system. www.cafedunord.com—Heather Johnson
The Pope of Tequila
Each night, way out on a nondescript, fog-enshrouded block of Geary Street in the Richmond district, Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant is hoppin’. And although the hearty food is famously delicious, the real draw is the tiny bar (www.tommystequila.com). There, “pope of tequila” Julio Bermejo holds court, educating the standing-room-only crowd of local barflies and tequila aficionados from all over on the fine subtleties of the 205 varieties of 100% blue agave tequila perched behind him on the wall, ranging from the ubiquitous Herradura Silver to Chinaco Añjeo Black Label at $90 a shot, to the rare Tres-Cuatro-Cinco Añejo, of which only 600 bottles were ever produced. (As for the price, if you have to ask…) Bermejo, who has been featured by the likes of CNN and Time and has mixed drinks for Pavarotti, is eager to share his wealth of knowledge, so don’t be afraid to sample something new—unless, of course, he offers you his homemade habanero-infused tequila…—Sarah Jones
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