What's going on in San Francisco / Bay Area

The piano bar is a dying institution ripe for resuscitation, a happier, friendlier retro-karaoke experience where an interactive audience is gathered around a live musician instead of a glorified jukebox, and a good time is had by all. The institu...

Nowhere else in San Francisco can the entrance chamber to a darkroom, a confessional door from a Catholic church, and a staggering mishmash of ancient televisions, forgotten radios, lamps, chairs, tables, and telephones be stacked from floor to ce...

222 Hyde has come a long way since its more modest years in the mid-'00s. A wild party space in the deep Tenderloin, for much of that decade it was defined by a scenester clientele and the lo-def ear-rape of blog-sourced hipster electro. A couple ...

Now that most of us have heard of izakayas, the Japanese pubs where salarymen and students gather to get red-nosed and snack on little plates, half of San Francisco's run-of-the-mill Japanese restaurants have renamed their hot menus "izakaya fare....

The pay-by-the-pound system makes shopping at Clothes Contact feel like a strategy game. You become more conscious of the fabrics as you weigh out everything by hand, trying to guess what your total will be. You also get to rummage through the $1 ...

Well-aged beef, a toasted brioche bun — this is a burger you want to order rare. It's made from ground short rib, chuck and skirt steak. It's a little secret bargain from this pricey hotel restaurant — you can get this burger at the bar with fries...

As the Giants made their epic run for the pennant and the World Series last year, it was surprisingly difficult to find good places to cheer on Buster, the Beard, Huff Daddy, and the Freak. Most of the sports bars had half their TVs tuned to other...

It looks Irish, and it sounds Irish, but while you're here you're most likely to bump into Wisconsinites or Texans who are relishing a cosmopolitan buzz. Johnny Foley's opened about a dozen years ago in the touristy haven of Union Square. It's a f...

There's no line outside, no bouncers, and no guest list for elite scenemakers. Yet fashionable young crowds still show up en masse. Where is this magical nightclub, you ask? Answer: It's not actually a club at all — it's EpiscoDisco at Grace Cathe...

Layered two patties high and fried to a gratifying crisp, the KK Cafe veggie burger is neither meat- nor health-conscious. But whoever ordered a burger for health reasons? Veggie burgers may contain a careful balance of vegetable and grain, but at...

No matter who you are, pulling up a chair at Tommy's means two things are certain: You'll learn something about tequila, and you'll have a great margarita. Having created the renowned "Tommy's" margarita (fresh lime juice, agave syrup, and tequila...

Ordinarily, we'd be loath to send you to a bike shop known as a hot spot for fixie kids and roadies. Of cycling's many tribes, these two are among the most exclusionary, and condescending. And both tend to congregate at this North of Panhandle sto...