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Travel Snapshot / Snob Wine Bar / San Francisco Travel / Wine Bars / → All Tags

Dropping Into S.N.O.B. Wine Bar in San Francisco

This is S.N.O.B wine bar in San Francisco which, as you can see, stands for Sonoma, Napa or Beyond.

Despite the name, S.N.O.B. is a totally chill place to grab a glass of wine and some small bites. Wines by the bottle, glass and flights (starting at $14) are offered as well as four different types of beer (Stella Artois is on tap) and non-alcoholic drinks.

Guests can sit at the long bar or in some funky wine barrel chairs near the front. Warning: These are not comfortable. We hit up the soft couch instead which was fine and dandy until a homeless woman sat down next to us and her blew her nose on her shirt. A Snob bar? Not at all.

S.N.O.B is open Sunday-Wednesday from 4pm until 11pm and Thursday-Saturday from 4pm to midnight.

Related Stories:
· Snob Wine Bar [Official Site]

Starbucks Alternatives / Coffee Shops / Coffee / Booze / Alcohol / → All Tags

Starbucks Alternatives: The Buena Vista

It's a story well told, two guys sitting around, reminiscing about some killer concoction they had overseas one night. Like any good tete-a-tete, a challenge is laid forth and from it, a blessing to all mankind. In the case of The Buena Vista, on Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco, it's the Irish Coffee for your Aunt Pauline to drink without looking like an alcy.

Born in 1952, the Irish Coffee was a collaboration between owner Jack Koeppler and international travel writer Stanton Delaplane, and it's based on a drink served at Shannon Airport in Ireland. The pair toiled over getting every component just right, the crux being the float of smooth airy cream on top. Maybe if the US wasn't so inherently puritanical we'd all be sipping Irish Coffees every afternoon instead of soy half-caff jerk drinks?

The Buena Vista has yet to go chain on us and the original Irish Coffee still remains the best. Yes, it's located in one of the craziest tourist sections of the city, but it's still worth a stop to drink up some real history.

Related Stories:
· The Buena Vista [Official Site]
· Starbucks Alternatives coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: whiffer]

Music Venues / Music Travel / Live Music / San-Francisco-Music-Venues / → All Tags

San Francisco Music Venues: Hemlock Tavern

San Francisco's bar and music venue Hemlock Tavern had to take a risk when it opened for business in 2004. At the time, the Tavern's location in the city's Polk Gulch neighborhood was barely on the hipsters' radars. But, after years of hosting bands five to six nights a week, the Tavern's gamble has paid off, and it's quickly become one of the city's most successful start-ups.

Though it hosts bigger acts, the Hemlock's main draw is its roster of up-and-coming local bands, and regular DJ nights hosted by locals. If live music isn't your thing, and you don't mind harassing your ear drums for a few hours, we recommend heading to Hemlock every Monday for the Punk Rock Slideshow from 10 pm-2 am.

Playing punk from the 20th and 21st centuries, the DJs on the decks won the San Francisco Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay" award in 2004 and often host free shows that start at 9 pm.

Though entrance to the bar is free--and they serve hot peanuts on the house--there's usually a small cover to see the bands. Great news for smokers: the Hemlock has an adjacent, heated outdoor smoking lounge for its tobacco-loving clientele.

Related Stories:
· Hemlock Tavern [Official site]
· Punk Rock Slideshow [MySpace]
· San Francisco Music Venues Map [Jaunted]
· Music Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Virgil Ward Porter]

San-Franciso-Music-Venues / Live Music / Music Venues / Music Travel / → All Tags

San Francisco Music Venues: GAMH

The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco once again topped all the "Best Live Music Venues" listings in 2007. Despite stiff competition from legendary theaters like The Fillmore, it's dominated the scene since opening exactly 100 years ago. Ornate balconies, soaring marble columns and elaborate ceiling frescoes surround a giant dance floor and two bars.

Last week, Elvis Costello performed there and a show from Loudon Wainwright (papa to Martha and Rufus) takes place Sunday. More destructive acts, like The Hold Steady have plenty of turrets and protruding ornamentations to scale before diving into the crowd. Come to think of it, the venue's decor makes perfect sense: rock climbing for rock stars.

Related Stories:
· Great American Music Hall [Official Site]
· Live Music coverage [Jaunted]
· San Francisco Music Venues coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: grenade]

Best-Raw-Bars-Map / Restaurants / Oysters / → All Tags

Best Raw Bars :: Swan Oyster Depot

Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.

San Francisco's restaurant scene moves almost as fast as New York's, with chef shake-ups and lease-swapping happening all the time. But at Swan Oyster Depot, the barkeeps aren't messing with success: This simple, 19-seat seafood emporium's been shucking since 1912. The place maintains its old-school vibe, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

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Green Travel / San Francisco Tours / Electric Car Tours / GPS Travel / → All Tags

San Francisco GPS Car Tours: They Know Where OJ Went To School

Last summer we told you about a San Francisco tourist transportation that was sure to get the greenies over-excited.

Now, we bring you GoCar Rentals in SF.

GoCar rentals is similar to Electric Time Cars in that, they offer electric carts that go up to 35 mph and an on board GPS computer so you don't get lost. So what is the difference? Well according to GoCar they provide the “first ever storytelling car.” Apparently they never watched Knight Rider.

What kind of stories does GoCar tell?

It tells you about historical facts of certain locations and business. Who would have known that O.J Simpson attended to Galileo High School! I didn't know until the GPS lady told me so!

A GoCar rents for $44 for the first hour, $34 for hour two, and $24 for each additional hour, after five hours of rental, you won't be charged for any additional hours. GoCar drivers must be 21 or older with a valid driver’s license.

Oh, and get this, you can become a GoCar Rental franchisee. You can license a GoCar Rentals franchise for somewhere between 50 and 100k; the company’s first franchise has already opened in San Diego. A second franchise is scheduled to open in Miami in April. GoCars also sells new and used GoCars—buy one and launch your own brand of GPS tours. New vehicles run $6,000.

Maybe we should start Jaunted GoCars New York. Could we still get Dick Clark to do the audio portion--"Remember, to wear a helmet!" Is this gonna be bigger than Subway? Time will tell.

[Photo: rhosoi]

Related Stories:
· Toursit Transportation is Electric [Jaunted]
· GoCar Rentals [Yelp]