'MO - June 2008 - (Page 28)

travel If Gay Had A Headquarters, It Would Be San Francisco Text by Aefa Mulholland There’s something magical about San Francisco that makes visitors feel right at home. While we can’t deﬁnitively state what it is, we know it has something to do with the city’s spectacular bayside setting, its manageable size, great restaurants, friendly locals, intriguing neighborhoods and agreeable weather. San Francisco has truly made an industry of hospitality; you never hear people say, “It’s a great place, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” It is precisely because so many visitors can picture themselves living in San Francisco that they “leave their hearts” here. If San Francisco is a great place to live, it’s even a better place to visit. Consistently voted as the top U.S. city by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, San Francisco has all the ingredients of a sublime vacation: combine in great proportions, shake (gently) and enjoy. EAT In San Francisco restaurants, you’ll ﬁnd celebrities not only in the dining rooms, but in the kitchens as well. Chefs here are well-known personalities, whose work is admired, written about and consumed with great relish (pardon the pun). Predictably, the most gay-popular restaurants are in the Castro, with outposts in Noe Valley, the Mission and Potrero Hill. Sumi (4243 18th St; 415-626-7864; www.suminthecastro.com; $16-23) has long been the Castro’s best-kept secret, serving seasonal half-French, half-Japanese fare and sake-tinis before they came into vogue. Côté Sud (4238 18th St.; 415-255-6565; www.cotesudsf.com; $14-24) serves up satisfying dishes from the south of France. 2223 Restaurant (2223 Market St.; 415-431-0692; www.2223restaurant.com; $12-34) is a gay-and lesbian-popular restaurant where you’ll ﬁnd a Paciﬁc-Rim/Global cuisine menu with a few down-home numbers. PLAY Few cities save New York offer such a broad range of nightlife options for gay women and men. The options change literally on a daily basis, as many bars are popular on only one or two nights a week, and most of the clubs are single-night-of-the-week affairs. The Bar On Castro (456 Castro St.; 415-626-7220; www.thebarsf. com) took over and substantially upgraded the space where the Castro Street Station was formerly located, with ﬂoor-to-ceiling doors looking out onto Castro Street and velvet-covered lounging chairs and sofas. The Café (2367 Market St.; 415-861-3846) was originally a lesbian hang out, attracting women from the suburbs, but is now fairly mixed. Pilsner Inn (225 Church St.; 415-621-7058; www.pilsnerinn.com) is also hot on Friday nights, packed full of young and attractive patrons; mostly men, although there’s a sizable contingent of women. Enjoy of game of pinball or darts, or sneak a smoke in the pleasantly crowded patio in back. This is where in-theknow San Franciscans booze and cruise after dinner but before going dancing. The Lexington Club (3464 19th St; 415/8632052; www.lexingtonclub.com) is the perfect neighborhood bar—dark, The Lexington Club is your friendly warm and full of cute neighborhood dyke bar. dykes. This low-key smoke-free dive offers the basic amenities of your average corner pub: one pool table and one juke box, with two ladies’ rooms full of provocative grafﬁti. No dancing, no attitude, just a comfy dyke-owned hangout. Weekend nights are packed, Monday nights the pool table’s free. Aefa is a senior writer with The Out Traveler, Gay.com and PlanetOut. Her ﬁrst book, The Scottish Ambassador, is due out later this year.. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is one of the world’s most photographed bridges. STAY Kimpton Group (www.kimptonhotels.com), a collection of small, boutique hotels offers affordable rates, tasteful décor and limited but attentive service. Each hotel has a distinctive character, and most capture the essence of San Francisco charm and hospitality. The Castro is the place to stay if you really want to immerse yourself in gay street life. The Parker Guest House (520 Church St.; 415-621-3222; www.parkerguesthouse.com; $129+) is the Castro’s luxury gay inn, comprising a pair of stunningly restored Edwardian buildings with charming, sunny grounds and a great location close not only to Castro nightlife but all the great restaurants in the Mission. The Castro’s Parker Guest House received a “Highest Rating” from Damron Gay and Lesbian Travel Guides. 28 celebrating seattle’s gay community http://www.suminthecastro.com http://www.cotesudsf.com http://www.2223restaurant.com http://www.thebarsf.com http://www.thebarsf.com http://www.pilsnerinn.com http://www.parkerguesthouse.com http://www.parkerguesthouse.com http://www.lexingtonclub.com http://www.lexingtonclub.com http://Gay.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - June 2008

'MO Seattle - June 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Voices Instant Activist Pet Project: Do You Dream About Your Pet? ’mo-BIZ: Anne Levison, Co-owner of the Seattle Storm Legally Speaking: Real Estate Buying Basics The Things We Do: Getting “Out”doors this Summer Seattle Pride Events Calendar ’mo Magazine Interview with Sandra Bernhard Anatomy of a Myth Form & Function: Turn Up the Heat on Your Triceps Gay City: National HIV Testing Day San Francisco: If Gay Had a Headquarters Book Review: Chronicle of a Plague, Revisited by Andrew Holleran Augusten Burroughs Coming to Showtime Network Sex and the City Romances the Big Screen SceneOut: People@Places Capitol Hill Guide

'MO - June 2008

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