Head & Tails: Eve Lounge

Up or over, shaken or stirred, we’re looking for the best bets to quench your thirst. This is where we spill it all about the area’s nearest and dearest brewpubs, bars, wine cellars, tasting rooms, package stores, liquor aisles, and well, we ARE thorough.

eve2It’s no wonder there is a lasting interest in San Francisco’s prohibition era speakeasies—this city had a uniquely rebellious relationship with America’s “Noble Experiment.” It’s estimated there were around 6,000 speakeasies in the city toward the end of the era and we continue to celebrate those gathering places with bars either reminiscent of the Jazz Age, or even built on their very foundations as with Bourbon and Branch.

Coming to you from the team behind John Colins, there’s a new addition to the City’s collection of bars romanticizing the days of prohibition, and it’s a beaut. Eve Lounge, just down the street from her big brother bar in SOMA, is a swanky tribute to the bad girls of the Roaring Twenties.

The sultry pin-up style paintings, the feathers and chains hanging from the chandeliers, and the peep-show-like windows along the entry hallway all seem to celebrate the Flappers and the modernism and new-found sexuality they represented back in the day. The handcrafted wooden bar top by local furniture company Tree to Table, along with a long curvaceous banquette, all contribute to the warmth and sensuality of the decor, further encouraging patrons to relax and let loose.

And if beats from some of San Francisco’s finest DJ’s don’t have you rolling down your stockings to cut a rug, the menu of ‘20’s era-inspired cocktails, created by mixologists Scott Baird and Josh Harris of 15 Romolo fame, is sure to.

Everything is $2 off during happy hour, daily 4-7pm. Every Monday night Eve Lounge presents Original Sin, a recurring industry event, sharing “love for the people that serve the City,” with DJ Kash orchestrating a rock hopera. Check Eve’s facebook page for ongoing weekly and special DJ events. And don’t show up looking like a scrub, Eve has a strictly enforced dress code to maintain its air of sexiness.

Eve Lounge is located at 575 Howard at 2nd in San Francisco. Open Monday-Friday, 4pm-2am and Saturday, 8pm-2am. 415.806.0075

—Sara

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Culturshock: a seismic event celebrating the best of Bay Area art & design

cc_event_culturshock

On November 5th, Culturcosm will host its first event benefiting its carefully-curated roster of local talent. Held at the acclaimed Space Gallery, the event will feature a bevy of independent artists and vendors showcased over a 2-level 1600 square foot venue, with full bar service.

Participating Artists include:

ReMade USA Handbags
Litter Jewelry
Kurt Manley Photography
Quando Belts by Genaro Vergoglini
Tomgirl Jewelry by Taryn McCabe
Cuong Ta Ceramics
Artwork by Hilary Williams
Artwork by John Wood
Vanessa Gade Jewelry
Spray Can Artworks by FuryOne
My Dutch Bike
Nate1 of New Skool

Shop our recommended best in Bay Area art and fashion, boogie down with DJ ExtraLars and marvel at surprise live entertainment planned throughout the evening.

Join us from 6 o’clock on and support the movers and shakers of the Bay Area!

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Dear Tranny: Dykes and the City

Advice is a drag, unless you’re seeking guidance from Culturcosm’s campy counselor. Looking for insider know-how on making the best of the Bay? Dear Tranny has just what you need and she always gives it up. Penned by Sandra O. Noshi-Di’n't.deartranny_masthead
Vol. 12: Dykes and the City

qDear Tranny,

I recently moved to San Francisco from New York City. Having once been a NYC chick yourself, I’m sure you’re familiar with the lesbian nightlife there. But where do I find it here? Where can a dynamic dyke like me find some action in the Bay?

Looking for Lezzies

aDear Looking,

Gurrrl, I know what you mean. Looking for a lesbian hang out in San Francisco is almost as difficult as finding a straight man at an Exodus International retreat. But because I consider myself a tranny of all trades, I know where to find some girl-on-girl action. So I waved my curling iron and came up with this sumptuous selection of Sapphic hot spots.

The Lexington Club is considered to be the most popular girl bar in the city. This Mission District institution is teeming with hot babes and cheap booze. Another great bar, The WildSide West, located in the heart of Bernal Dykes [ahem] Heights, is also quite popular with the local lesbian community. Les Ladiez, every Thursday night at The Lookout, attracts a great mix of girls, from L Word lipsticks to softball dykes. With super drink specials, cute shot girls, and a rotating cast of girlicious DJs, Thursday nights might just become your must-she night of the week.

Interested in cutting a rug? No, no, honey. I mean, on the dance floor! If you’ve got rhythm and are looking for some pop chemistry, San Francisco’s most homolicious dance party Cockblock is for you. You can bust your best moves every second Saturday at The Rickshaw. And, for the discerning dyke who demands a more exclusive level of entertainment when she hits the town, there’s Ciel Salon at 41 Sutter Street in the Financial District. This monthly private social club is located in a penthouse suite with a rooftop deck and sweeping city views. Ciel Salon happens every third Saturday.

Now that you’re sufficiently equipped, your nights may never be lonely again. Happy hunting!

Remember, Tranny knows best.

xoxo
Sandra

Have a question about Bay-area life that’s fit for a queen? Email Sandra at deartranny@culturcosm.com.

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Head & Tails: Fly

Up or over, shaken or stirred, we’re looking for the best bets to quench your thirst. This is where we spill it all about the area’s nearest and dearest brewpubs, bars, wine cellars, tasting rooms, package stores, liquor aisles, and well, we ARE thorough.

fly2

If you were mourning the loss of Brick Restaurant, don’t. Instead, celebrate its reincarnation as Fly Bar & Restaurant, the second. That’s right, as of May 1st, the ever-popular Divisadero destination has branched out to Nob Hill, and in more ways than just location. The new Fly touts a full bar (no offense to sake cocktails, but sometimes a girl needs a real drink!), a new 35-bottle beer list, and an arcade room—no chance of getting bored when you’re boozing here. The extra bonus? Brick’s executive chef Nate Cooper stuck around, so you know you can count on fresh and very tasty eats to go with your drinks, including the Brick Burger you know and love, finger-lickin’ fish tacos, towering nachos, and more. Try all ten thin-crust pizzas—they’re half off during happy hour, 4-7 daily, featuring $3 drafts and $5 signature cocktails. And check the “professionals” selection of made-for-each-other beer-and-a-shot combos, like El Jimador Reposado with a 16oz. Tecate, they’re all $8 anytime. All in all, the new Fly is, well, super fly.

The newest Fly Bar & Restaurant is located at 1085 Sutter Street, at Larkin, in San Francisco. 415.441.4232.

—Sara

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Happy @#%&*! Holidays

Last night I had the pleasure of attending Aimee Mann’s 3rd Annual Christmas Show at Bimbo’s. Part rock concert, part variety show, the event always seems less like a promotional vehicle and more like a chance for Mann to ham it up with her band and a random group of friends—famous and otherwise. Considering Mann’s previous record with labels and agents, even something as commercial as a Christmas concert feels genuine with her at the helm (part of last night’s routine featured her angst over whether or not she’d sold out by shilling for a yogurt company).

Leading the troupe as emcee was the cantankerous and ever-hilarious Patton Oswalt, who offered an impeccable send-up of how improbable today’s world would seem to someone from way back when … in 1998. Other notable mentions included Grant-Lee Phillips disguised as various characters, including a hirsute Willie Nelson granting a depressed woman’s wish for him to vocalize Mann’s 80s anthem, “Voices Carry”; Nellie McKay, all sunshine and lollipops in a lemon-yellow frock à la Loretta Lynn, confirming her status as Satan’s favorite anti-folk songstress; and last but never least, the wiggity Hanukkah Fairy (a frizzed and frazzled Morgan Murphy), returning for round three whilst apparently drinking “Two Buck Chuck” for two, in a tutu no less.

While I wouldn’t say it was Mann’s best effort (I’ve gone all three years and maintain that her first show felt the freshest), I didn’t walk away disappointed. For one thing, Mann included a handful of songs from her latest album, @#%&*! Smilers, which just coming off her European tour sounded nothing short of fabulous. As for the rest of the evening—a sold-out show replete with F-bombs, heavy booze, and an air of inanity tinged with imperfection—Mann and her wacky entourage felt like family indeed, even for a @#%&*! Scrooge like me.

—Kay

Yoshi’s dishes out an El of a good time

Yoshi’s Japanese
& Jazz Club
510 Embarcadero West
Oakland, CA 94607
510.238.9200

To long-term denizens of the Bay Area, the name Yoshi’s is synonymous with jazz. Though, locally, a given when it comes to Japanese eats and soulful sounds, many may recognize that their joint business offering may not exactly be the most intuitive combination. Uh, sushi and saxophones? Yeah, and it actually works. Yoshi’s has been serving up jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, and Harry Connick Jr. for over 30 years now and the sake’s still flowing strong.

DeBarge, coiffed as they were then in 1983. And, bringin' down the house, now in 2008.

DeBarge, coiffed as they were then in 1983. And, bringin' down the house, now in 2008.

I was lucky enough to catch original Motown artist El DeBarge on the Yoshi’s club stage recently. An ardent fan of classic R&B and feathered man perms, I was determined to see if El and his brothers still had what it takes to bring some rhythm to the night. Thankfully, they did. Hit singles “I Like It” and “All This Love” reminded me of what these 1980s chart toppers are known for. The hair of old may have been retired but, that night, falsetto song stylings reigned supreme.

—Michael