Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
259
Swing and ballroom dancers, and those who 've never completely let go of
their Ginger Rogers fantasies , will ador e the
Cheryl Burk e Danc e C enter,
1830 17th St. (
&
415/252-9000;
www.cherylburkedance.com). Friday nights
are ballroom or swing lessons and par ties (with non-alcoholic beverages) and
other days of the w eek feature Argentine tango or salsa. There's a $10 c over
charge for just the par ty, and a $15 char ge for the lesson and par ty.
Drinking in the a tmosphere
The best plac e for a summer ev ening cocktail
is the Sk y Terrace at
Medjool
(2522 M ission St. at 21st St.;
&
415/550-9055;
www.medjoolsf.com). The r oof bar at this ex cellent M id-Eastern r estaurant
affords 360° views of the M ission. The crowd is cool but unpretentious, and the
mojitos
are tast y. Also in the M ission Distric t is
Casanova (
527 Valencia St., at
16th St.;
&
415/863-9328; www.casanovasf.com) an eclectic bar drawing a good
mix of M ission locals and hipst ers from around town. There are plenty of other
bars in the vicinit y of Casanova so you can try more than one. A very grown-up
place to have a drink is
Nihon,
at 1779 Folsom St., at 14th St. (
&
415/552-4400;
www.nihon-sf.com), where the emphasis is high- quality spirits. One of the bet-
ter wine bars is the ultra-sleek
Cav,
at
1666 M arket St., bet ween Franklin and
Gough str eets. (
&
415/437-1770; w ww.cavwinebar.com), f eaturing fabulous
wines from close b y and ar ound the w orld. A c ool Ar t Deco supper club ,
Bix,
56 Gold St., off M ontgomery Street between Pacific and Jackson str eets in the
Financial Distric t (
&
415/433-6300;
w ww.bixrestaurant.com), has the best
martini in t own. L ooking t o sip a little bubbly inst ead? St op b y
The Bubble
Lounge,
at 714 Montgomery St. at Washington Street
(
&
415/434-4204;
www.
bubblelounge.com), and choose from more than 300 champagnes and sparkling
wines. The
Redwood Room,
in the überhip Clif t Hotel, 495 Gear y St., at Jones
Street (
&
415/929-2372;
www.clifthotel.com), is still a popular c ocktail lounge.
Another al fr esco drink can be had at
Americano,
at Hotel Vitale on 8 M ission
St. at Embar cadero (
&
415/278-3777;
www.hotelvitale.com/dining); the patio
near the bay is jammed on most warm nights (and ev en cool ones, since there
are plent y of heat lamps) with 20-somethings c ool enough t o get past the
velvet rope. If you'd rather ha ve a drink in a mello w setting, stop by the classic
Tosca Café,
242 C olumbus Ave. at P acific Street (
&
415/986-9651
),
in Nor th
Beach, an understated old-style bar with a long mahogany counter, red-leather-
covered stools, and perhaps a local c elebrity or t wo.
Comedy clubs
Cobb's C omedy Club ,
915 C olumbus A ve. (
&
415/928-
4320;
www.cobbscomedyclub.com), has two shows nightly Thursday through
Sunday for $15 t o $43 and a marathon of local c omics on Wednesday nights
for $10. No one under 16 admitt ed. Nex t door t o Embar cadero 1 is the
Punchline C omedy Club ,
444 Batt ery St., bet ween Washington and Cla y
streets (
&
415/397-7573;
w ww.punchlinecomedyclub.com).
Locally and
nationally known comics play here twice nightly most days of the week. Shows
are only open t o folks 18 and o ver, and ticket pric es start at $10.
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