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I also liked the Chameleon (further down Valencia, around 22nd) but it's one of those trendy places, like a cross between Emo's and Lovejoy's (I know, I like both of those places, go figure.) So deduct a few points, especially for the LOUD, horrendous canned music. Still, that's where I tried the cappuccino stout, plus tastes of more beers than I can remember. Also, on Sundays, everyone and their dog piles in to watch The Simpsons. During commercials they have trivia contests with stoopid prizes like, "Two, that's two orders of cheese toast!" Or Olivia Newton-John LPs. Upstairs they have pool tables and downstairs there's ping-pong. Whitewater pinball and the Gal's Panic video game, the latter two usually on th' blink. But the best part of this dive is that there's a small stage where (bad) local bands play, plus the occasional touring band (like the 5, 6, 7, 8s!). They roll the pool tables underneath the stage.

And then there's the Toronado, on (lower) Haight St. where Fillmore intersects (just 2 or 3 doors down from Naked Eye -- any magazine/'zine you could want, comics, Gearhead merchandise, movies). It's kind of a Gen. X-meets-English pub decor, but it's not as horrible as it sounds, plus it's fairly dark inside (I can't stand those bright places!). Toronado also has a decent jukebox, tho' not as cool as Zeitgeist's: too much retro country and rockabilly. But they had the Dwarves' Sugar Fix! They also had clean (!) restrooms (not for long, I'll wager) and a side room where it's quieter and less crowded. Not too shabby, I'd place it between the Chameleon and Zeitgeist. Great beer selection, natch.

Which brings me to Hate St., or the Haight, another favorite area. Even though it's a tourist trap, it's really colorful and a great place to people watch. I was there the day Jerry Garcia died, and upper Haight was one chaotic street party. Lotsa crusties getting on the bus going, "he's deaaad" in a singsong voice. Haight also has many fantastic restaurants including the Thai place, Phuket. Shitty record stores, ugh. CD-heavy, or one row of punk in the whole place. At the famous intersection of Haight and Ashbury there's a Gap! I went into a "surplus" store and it turned out to be a grunge superstore. [ed- A similiar phenomenon exists under the El on Belmont in Chicago, right down the block from the 'Punkin' Donuts' where all the scrub/skater/crusties hang out.] And if ya think we've got it bad with one Urban Outfitters here, SF and Berkeley both have locations!

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