Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
illuminate the often misunderstood, unusual, and liberal social goals of this city.
Take for example the recent, envelope-pushing proposal to fine any restaurant or
store selling food containing high-fructose corn syrup. And sometimes they're just
dealing with the usual political shenanigans: One recent furor involved a supervi-
sor who was lying about living in San Francisco; when the process server went to
saddle him with legal papers regarding the lie, they found his address was false.
Whatever the issue under discussion, goings-on here are usually nothing less than
interesting. Check www.sfgov.org/bdsupvrs to see if there will be a meeting when
you're in town, as well as to learn its start time. Anyone can sit in the audience for
it and slip out again if they're bored, although during contentious debates, you
may find yourself having to watch via closed-circuit TV from down the hall.
(Local channel 26 also broadcasts the meetings, but your hotel is unlikely to carry
that channel.)
FACTORY TOURS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Philadelphia has its Yuengling. New York has Brooklyn Lager. But San Francisco's
hometown brew, the one folks fall back on when they're out with friends, is Anchor
Steam. The name alone is steeped in history; experts think the “steam” harkens to
a time when West Coast beers had to be brewed without East Coast perks such as
ready ice. One of the most popular factory tours in town is the one that explores
the
Anchor Brewing Company
(1705 Mariposa St., at DeHaro;
%
415/863-8350;
www.anchorbrewing.com; free admission; reservations necessary);
book as soon as
you know you'll be coming to town, because these popular tours max out at 20
participants per day, and don't forget your ID, or you'll be denied the much-loved
free tasting at the end. Although the company kicked off by buying an existing
brewery in 1896, this facility, its sixth over time, dates to 1979. Its owner is none
other than Fritz Maytag, of the famous cheese family, although this venture is all
about creating a quality quaff. Tours last about 50 minutes, plus however long
you'd like to spend having civilized tastes of about five of its eight typical and sea-
sonal offerings in a woody, pub-like tasting room. Visitors can take the opportu-
nity to purchase limited-edition drinking glasses and other souvenirs. One thing I
love about this tour is the fact that the brewery hires dedicated staff whose only job
is to know about beer, its manufacturing process, and then to convey that to the
visitors; on my last visit, my guide was, the rest of the time, a trained actor who
clearly knew his sudsy stuff. Photos aren't allowed on much of the tour, which
includes the cacophonous, clattering bottling line where 15,000 drinks an hour are
poured, but the most photogenic section—three 4,000-gallon copper tuns in a
room with a million-dollar city skyline view—is photo-friendly. (When the man-
ufacturing process got too noisy for my guide to be heard, he just held up signs
that described what we were seeing.) The brewery also makes whiskey, but sadly,
sharing hard spirits is not permitted. If you're also lucky enough to tour the
Budweiser brewery in nearby Vallejo (p. 141), you'll really begin to understand the
vast difference in brewing techniques. Here, the mandate is for a handmade, care-
fully mixed product that's made more or less how beer's been produced since the
19th century, and it tastes like it. There, beer-making is an industrial endeavor of
scientific, alienating proportions.
When many people think of San Francisco sourdough bread, the main variety
that comes to mind is produced by
Boudin Bakery
(160 Jefferson St., at Mason;
%
415/928-1849; www.boudin.com; $3; Wed-Sun noon-6pm).
At great expense,
