Self-directed hipster literati tourist in San Francisco?

April 5, 2005 11:56 AM

What do I send my cool, intellectual, movie buff, record hound house guest to do in SF while I'm at work?

I've got a house guest coming for almost a week, starting tomorrow, but I don't have the week off work. So I'd like to give him a map, a guide book, a huge BART ticket and some cool suggestions of things to do while I'm slaving away at the 9 to 5 so I can assuage some of the bad hostess feeling.

He can take BART or the F-line that runs by my work. Unfortunately, my truck is stick and with the hills in SF, I think driving is not recommended.

Musee Mechanique, City Lights and the Alternative Press Expo are already on the agenda. Squidlist seems to be full of nighttime stuff only right now. I don't think any of the traditional seal lions or Alcatraz are hip enough or camp enough to entertain him.

Pointers? Advice? Resources? I'm really bad at faking the "I'm a cool San Franciscan" on short notice and I'm trying to impress.

Thanks in advance!

posted by Gucky to sports, hobbies, & recreation (23 comments total)

I don't know that much about SF, but I do know that Amoeba Music is a must for any "record hound."
posted by boomchicka at 12:05 PM on April 5, 2005

I'll second the recommendation for Amoeba. Aquarius Records is also well worth visiting.
posted by klausness at 12:11 PM on April 5, 2005

Hey! I just clicked on the Aquarius link and saw a guy I went to high school with! Small world...

Seriously, just dump your friend off on Valencia and 16th and tell him to start with the Roxie and then wander towards the higher numbered streets. That should entertain him for a few weeks. There are umpteentrillion (conservative estimate) used bookstores, cafes, weird stores, etc.
posted by cali at 12:30 PM on April 5, 2005

If he's into movies, he should look for anything Rick Prelinger is doing in the area, especially if he's screening ephemeral films or his own compilation/assessment of the American self-concept, Panorama Ephemera. IMO Prelinger's presentations are consitently thoughtful and thought-provoking.
posted by Tuwa at 12:38 PM on April 5, 2005

On second thought, maybe he should start at Needles and Pens (if he likes zines) or.... oh, I don't know. Is it possible to be bored in this town? I doubt it.
posted by cali at 12:40 PM on April 5, 2005

Drop him off (or tell him how to get to) the Amoeba Music on Haight. From there, he can walk West and encounter any number of funky stores, as well as the Red Vic theater, where he can pick up a schedule and see if there might be something worth checking out while he's staying there.

Also, I would send him to Green Apple Books, which is a used record and book-lover's paradise; while he's there he can wander around Clement Street (SF's other Chinatown) and get some yummy Dim Sum. If its a nice day he can walk to Golden Gate Park, too.
posted by googly at 12:56 PM on April 5, 2005

I'd recommend SFMOMA and the Asian Art Museum.
Would Ripley's Believe It or Not at Fisherman's Wharf be camp enough?
And then there's the exhibit at the Masonic Auditorium...The Universe Within (link contains images of plastinated human remains), which I can't say I *enjoyed* exactly, but which provides much material for thought.
posted by Morrigan at 1:37 PM on April 5, 2005

It's opening day today! Get some tickets through the sfgiants.com "doubleplay" window, or through stubhub.com. The exploratorium is uber-cool - get him a reservation for the tactile gallery. Don't underestimate the Alcatraz tour for coolness.
posted by jasper411 at 1:47 PM on April 5, 2005

Green Apple is the best. You might also send him across the waters to Berkeley, where he can hit the other Aquarius, Rasputin and Moe's, as well as journey over to the Pacific Film Archive to see what's playing.

There's also the SFMOMA, galleries at 49 Geary and the Palace of the Legion of Honor (where he can, if he chooses, recreate scenes from Hitchcock's Vertigo).
posted by judith at 1:52 PM on April 5, 2005

Is Modern Times bookstore on Valencia still around?
posted by matildaben at 1:55 PM on April 5, 2005

Looks like it, matildaben. So cool.
posted by Gucky at 2:00 PM on April 5, 2005

Oh, I just discovered adult sight seeing tours!, including the sf sex tour! How cool is that?
posted by jasper411 at 2:07 PM on April 5, 2005

yeah. mission district, the castro and the haight are hugely walkable. Mission has the added bonus of being accessible by BART (and kicking ass).

That's three days right theree:

stuff to see in the mish:

Zeitgeist for a morning eye-opener
dave egger's "store" -- 721 valencia.
aquarius records (already mentioned)
underground shoe store
dolores park
mad thrift store circuit (thrift town to rocket retro to rainbow thrift to new 2 u to whatever the hell else is there now)
a billion crap stores with cool bootleg junk
the pork store (is this what it's called? it's on 22nd or so and is kinda a euro sidewalk cafe -- the windows open outwards -- great coffee)
roxie theater

he can walk up either 24th to Noe Valley/Castro or 16th to Castro -- cool stuff to see on both those streets.

Once he gets to the castro:
Castro Theater
Novelty Shops
Fancy Lunch Foods
Lucky 13 for a midday drink.
(uh. that's all i got for the castro. i didn't spend much time there -- too pricey)

From the castro he can walk over to the hill between upper and lower haight, and, in taking a left, can go hit the hippie side, where he'll find:

Amoeba
Haight/Ashbury
Tattoo shops selling bongs
Art galleries selling bongs
Bong shops selling bongs
The Red Vic
All sorts of fancy pants boutique clothing and shoe shops.
Kid Robot (TOYS TOYS TOYS for adults only, really, because they cost a ridiculous amount of money and don't really do anything but stand there in your cubicle)
Pubs to grab a supper at.

He can then either continue on to Golden Gate Park, and if he really wants to trek it, go all the way to the end to see the bison and then ocean beach, or he can loop back down the other side of haight street, cross divis, and find himself in lower haight, which is more nouveau hippie. Good eats here, some record shops, etc. good place to hop on a bus and get down to market and the bart station.

that should at least be an entire day and will give him a good idea of where he wants to explore more of. Museums I recommend are : Yerba Buena, SFMOMA, and New Langton Arts.
posted by fishfucker at 2:21 PM on April 5, 2005

polk -> fisherman's wharf -> north beach -> chinatown -> union sq. is another good circuit. if he walks on the major streets, he's gonna see cool stuff to check out.
posted by fishfucker at 2:22 PM on April 5, 2005

Don't forget to provide neat places to eat/stop for a drink. It can be frustrating to find good food in cities with a surfeit of restaurants -- lots of choices, but sometimes hard to tell which are rip-offs, which are gems, which are overpriced. And then you invariably hear that you settled for something so-so when some fantastic little joint was right around the corner and you didn't know it.

(Granted, I'm pretty food-centric. But my guests seem to think that it's cool that I make sure that they have a couple of reliable places in whichever neighborhood to find food that's worth their while.)
posted by desuetude at 2:27 PM on April 5, 2005

If he really likes movies and music, it should take about a week to get him to leave Amoeba Music. I know I never manage to spend less than 4 hours at the one here in LA.
posted by rooftop secrets at 2:41 PM on April 5, 2005

Oakland's staggeringly beautiful Paramount Theater (photos) is an Art Deco movie palace. It's easy to get to on BART.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:44 PM on April 5, 2005

If he's into comics (if APE's on the menu, I'm guessing he's not averse,) then the Cartoon Art Museum and Isotope.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:05 PM on April 5, 2005

Dave Eggers' pirate store is at 826 Valencia.

He could also hit Berkeley for a day.
posted by rfordh at 3:24 PM on April 5, 2005

i wonder where i got 721 from?
posted by fishfucker at 5:05 PM on April 5, 2005

fishfucker already fishmentioned it, but: The Castro Theater
posted by Kevin1911 at 6:52 PM on April 5, 2005

That's a good list, fishfucker. I'll add some obscure tips.

San Francisco is best experienced on foot. Unless it's straight-up raining or the wind is really high, it's best to see the city with a bus pass and a comfortable pair of shoes. Always wear layers. Always.

Walk, for example, from 24th st and Castro, in Noe Valley, down the hill into the Mission. Take side streets, etc, as you wish, but just keep moving downhill. Sooner or later you'll hit Mission Street. Turn left there and you'll be heading north, back toward town. For blocks and blocks you have your pick of dozens of great little Mexican restaurants, many with, let's see, profound indigenous flavor. And most very cheap. There's also a few swank places there, too, since the late 90s.

The cool thing about the San Francisco I remember, (and I lived there for about 12 years, until July of last year) is that its charms are free for the taking.

The best preparation I can recommend for you, who would be a pretender to the throne of SF hipness, would be to design the days with lots of walking, and the evening with exquisite food.

If he has money, Izzy's Steaks & Chops is the kind of place you can have drinks at for an hour, and then have a great meal and more drinks. Three Seasons is in the same hood. I won't include a list of SF restaurants.

Don't forget: San Francisco's hills must not be hidden from our guests, but celebrated. Walking suits the city best.
posted by squirrel at 10:41 PM on April 5, 2005

If he does hit Berkeley for a day, Saturday is the natural one to hit Telegraph. The Paramount Theater, linked above, doesn't have movies all the time so check the schedule first. (Personally, I find it hard to imagine that he could run out of SF in only a week.)
posted by Aknaton at 11:20 PM on April 5, 2005