Sister Bars in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO-It was always a one-sided fight: San Franciscans hated L.A. But people in L.A. have only nice things to say about their northern neighbor.

I had a chance to get reacquainted with Baghdad by the Bay, and it hasn’t lost any of its beauty. Even more exciting is the S.F.-L.A. bar connection that’s helping to warm S.F.’s opinion of L.A. The mini-explosion of hipster barkeeps opening venues in both cities is going a long way to quieting S.F.’s squawking.

In the tradition of building bridges between our great cities, a new Bigfoot Lodge makes its splashy opening on Polk Street in San Francisco this weekend. The original Bigfoot is in L.A.’s Atwater Village and the new one is being greeted with open arms in S.F.

“I can’t believe how nice people have been,” says Bobby Green, the Bigfoot Lodge’s owner. “Our neighbors have been supportive and even helpful.”

Two weeks ago, San Francisco’s Beauty Bar celebrated its third anniversary, with Angelenos in the house. L.A.’s own Beauty Bar, opened in early 2000, has gone a long way to revitalize Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. “It’s like the gold rush,” says ownerPaul Devitt. “There’s opportunities in both cities.”

In addition, L.A.’s Burgundy Room, across Cahuenga, can claim two sister bars in the Bay Area, Ruby Room and Radio, both in Oakland. Each has given East Bay hipsters a bit of rock ‘n’ roll refuge.

Home for the holidays, I scoped out Beauty Bar (2299 Mission St., [415] 285-0323) in the Mission District, and it’s a cross between New York’s and L.A.’s. It has the Lower East Side’s slumming factor mixed with a bit of L.A. gloss. The fact that it shares employees among its three locations gives it a proper cosmopolitan feel. We bopped into a neighboring bar called Doc’s Clock (2575 Mission St., [415] 824-3627), where a friendly bartender tipped me off to a month-old hot spot called the Hemlock Tavern (1131 Polk St., [415] 923-0923). In S.F., people always wanna hip you to the cool scenes. In L.A., newcomers are pretty much on their own.

We thanked him and then, taking the advice of Beauty Bar’s Devitt, swooped into the romantic Foreign Cinema (2534 Mission St., [415] 648-7600). Guests enter through a swanky bar called Laszlo, and once inside, they can enjoy dinner and a classic movie. It’s like being at a drive-in but, in place of the back seat, there’s a table for two. Tres sexy.

By now, it was time to hook up with Bobby Green from the Bigfoot Lodge (1750 Polk St., [415] 440-2355), who was putting the finishing touches on his new bar. Just like the one in L.A., the Bigfoot Lodge in S.F. has all the trimmings of a cozy log cabin and plenty of cheeky attitude. It’s smaller than L.A.’s but it has a big addition: a grand statue of Sasquatch himself. The place is so cozy, it’s sure to be the hot toddy venue of choice on those foggy, foggy nights. Before settling in on Polk Street, however, we rolled across the Oakland Bay Bridge for some Eastside frolicking. First stop: the Ruby Room (132 14th St., Oakland, [510] 444-7224), the first sister bar of L.A.’s Burgundy Room. From the moment I walked in, I felt the spirit of Al’s Bar. It has the grubby art-damaged look and plethora of philosophical musings in the bathroom stalls. I loved it. It was all punk-rocked out, with classic Palos Verdes stone making up the back of the bar. The music was so good we didn’t want to leave, but we were on a mission to check out Radio, the other hotspot from the Burgundy Room folks.

Radio (435 13th St., Oakland, [510] 451-2889) didn’t disappoint. Bigger and fresher than the Ruby Room, Radio is a rock bar with class and an appreciation for the deepest shades of red. A flier prompted me to make a mental note to come back on a Monday, when Radio becomes the “Underground Lounge,” promising music from the “psycho sixties and porno seventies.” Par-dee.

We took our gang back into the City--as San Francisco is so nobly known--and popped into the Hemlock Tavern. The pretty bar still has a brand-new shimmer to it and the staff was kind as could be.

It was time to call it a night and we found the perfect location: the Lush Lounge (1092 Post St., [415] 771-2022), a bar across from the Hemlock, which offered an ideal way to end a lovely evening. Again, you just don’t find nicer bartenders than in San Francisco and the kind gent at the tropical-themed and very lush Lush Lounge whipped me up the finest cup of coffee, the kind you still can’t find in L.A.

You know, there’s just something about San Francisco. As I shot down its hilly hills toward the freeway and took one last sniff of its fabulous air, I was happy to be a bi-city clubber.