The Lush

It looks like the LUSTY LADY will be getting a second life at the hands of Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield. The pair, who reopened Tosca Cafe in October, have taken over the space of the former worker-owned strip club in North Beach, which sadly closed in September. Scoop reports…

There is a brand-new brewery in Berkeley, focused exclusively on sour beers, called THE RARE BARREL. Berkeleyside first caught the story last year, and now SF Weekly notes that they are open for business. Eater reports that the owners are Jay Goodwin (formerly of Orange County’s The Bruery), his…

As we mentioned last week, the new bar project from Jeff Lyon and Phil West, THIRD RAIL, is now open. The pair previously worked at Range, and the name actually comes from a cocktail on the Range bar menu (you’ll find it here too). The design of the bar…

Just in time for those holiday libations, we caught a Tweet that CASK has opened a second location, this time in SoMa’s Rincon Center. The new location is offering many of the same spirits as the original location, as well as more than 300 bottles of wine, many of…

Looking to learn more about what distinguishes a good value wine from a simply cheap one? Check out this class at ~18 REASONS~ from the engaging Vinny Eng on Wednesday January 22nd from 7pm-9pm. He’ll be discussing the differences between good value wines and cheap ones, as well as…

Down in Dogpatch, THIRD RAIL is getting ready to open on Thursday December 12th. The new bar from Jeff Lyon and Phil West of Range has a transit vibe, with a long railway shape, a large clock, and booths designed to echo train compartments. We got a preview of the…

Ummm, I am not quite sure to make of this post on Tenderlife that the HA-RA CLUB is up for sale. Nooooo! Rick the owner is full of amazing stories. I remember Carl the bartender was as salty and mean as they come, so delightfully cranky until he decided he…

There is a very cool new bar project afoot in Fort Mason: the LONG NOW SALON, from the Long Now Foundation, a group committed to fostering long-term thinking. The salon recently signed local bar maven Jennifer Colliau (of the Charles Phan Group) on to run the show, according to Scoop.…

A new bar is opening in early 2014 in Uptown a couple of blocks from The Fox and near the Flora/Duende corner: DREXL, which is all about becoming a neighborhood hangout. I spoke with partner Demetrius “Deech” Chapin-Rienzo (a partner in Vintage 415), and he is opening the bar…

On Wednesday December 4th, catch a bubbly tasting at ~WILLIAM CROSS WINE MERCHANTS~, featuring pours from Billecart-Salmon and some other winners, like Ettore Germano. The tasting is from 6pm-9pm, and flights include five pours. Cost is $20 per flight. Then, on Thursday December 5th, head to ~ARLEQUIN WINE MERCHANT~ for…