Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Party Coach
There's little that's more alienating (and possibly dangerous) than stum-
bling bewildered around a strange city after a few drinks. Here's a novel
service for shuttling you between several clubs on one night: The
Mexican
Bus
(
%
415/546-3747; www.mexicanbus.com; $38)
zips you around three
clubs on both Friday and Saturday night, and all cover charges are included.
You pile off the elderly bus at three well-chosen Latin or salsa clubs, dance,
and just when it starts getting old, you pile back onto the bus (with your
DJ host); as the party continues onboard (no drinks are served, but that
doesn't stop passengers from toting a cocktail), you drive to the next
locale. A similar service without the Latin theme and with a plusher vehi-
cle,
Three Babes and a Bus
(www.threebabes.com; Sat only; 5 hrs.; $39)
also takes you to three clubs that change weekly and spends about an hour
at each one. Considering that so many of the city's clubs are in junky parts
of town, having wheels is a real boon. The services can be economical if
you would have otherwise been taking lots of taxis, but the value also
depends on the cover charges at the clubs you choose to go. They're pop-
ular with groups, especially women, having nights out together.
place that lazy out-of-towners choose, given its central location, which accounts
for why the cover is often a ridiculous $30 on weekends. (Depending on the
event, tickets can be had for around $15.)
A well-rounded club with a good mix of friendly, attitude-free people and music,
from minimal techno to hip-hop,
Mighty
(119 Utah St., at Alameda;
%
415/
762-0151; www.mighty119.com)
is in the middle of a grim industrial district, but it's
still crowded, and it swings many nights until 4am. The dance floor, while not huge,
is one of the larger ones in town.
There's no dress code per se at
Milk
(1840 Haight St., at Shrader;
%
415/
387-6455; www.milksf.com),
but everyone wears the Haight uniform anyway of
jeans, hoodie, T-shirt, and sneakers. Hip-hop is the dominant music style, music is
spun by DJs, and several changing monthly parties (B.A.S.S. is for female DJs, Good
Times for uplifting tunes) spice up the offerings. Everything's tiny, from the dance
area to the bathrooms.
Bootie
55
(DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., at Harrison; www.bootiesf.com; $12
cover),
a bimonthly Saturday night party, is like a microcosm of everything San
Francisco—people of every ethnicity, age, and sexual preference. The music cho-
sen, too, a mash-up of pop music from the past 30 years, satisfies the hipster's feel
for the ironic. Count on lots of nooks and crannies in this multilevel club, but
don't count on having them to yourself, because this joint's deservedly popular.
The venue isn't all that popular the rest of the time. Check its website for the next
dates, but it usually falls on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
