In the before times (and by that I mean before my friend had kids and we could fuck-off for an entire day together), said friend and I would pick a day in December, pick a neighborhood, and spend it holiday shopping and drinking. It was glorious, AND productive! Have a drink. Buy a gift. Have a drink. Get another gift. You get it!

The Saloon, in North Beach, is regularly touted as San Francisco’s oldest bar, dating back to 1861. While other bars were started sooner, their original buildings were destroyed during the 1906 earthquake and fire. The Saloon miraculously survived thanks to the firefighters and sailors that stretched a hose from the Bay in order to rescue the prostitutes that lived above the watering hole.

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While some may argue that a neighborhood bar is different than a dive bar, I am choosing to nestle them together in a little cluster of goodness…like a gooey caramel popcorn ball, or a fluffy sugar confection. Because they are all cost-effective and have that oddly twisted “je ne sais quoi”, the secret sauce that brings characters of all walks together in such a strange and lovely way.

It’s hard think of anything in today’s San Francisco as undiscovered, especially bars. That said, The City still has plenty of watering holes that really do feel local and underrated