Staggering Through Fog, a weekly attempt at piecing together what may or may not have happened at the bars of San Francisco recently. By Andrew Lowder. Cover charges always make us suspicious. If a place wants cash up front, there's usually a pretty good chance that they don't deserve it. Just once, we'd like to see a place that time stamps your hand and then charges you on a scale depending on how long you......

A weekly foray into the gentlemanly pursuit and spirited consumption of delicious beverages. In other words, a bar review column. By Andrew Lowder. Gentrification sucks. There, I said it. Actually, it's not a very controversial thing to say, is it? No one likes the idea of seeing their beloved, dirty, artistic crap-hole bulldozed over to make way for a Seattle's Best Coffee and a Quiznos. The only good thing about the dot-com crash of '99......

A weekly attempt at fighting off the shakes long enough to relay valuable information about the San Francisco bar scene. By Andrew Lowder. In a recent interview, 41-year-old superstar DJ Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook credited his overall good health and success to booze. During each and every one of the hundreds of DJ sets he's done over the years, he imbibes a large jug of vodka and orange juice, which he credits with "giving him......

A once-a-week trip and fall into the Champagne pyramid known as the San Francisco bar scene. By Andrew Lowder At the risk of turning this column into I Love the '90s, remember when we couldn't get enough of anything Australian? You could take medical waste, slap a Koala bear on the front of it, get some muscle-bound Yabbo to shout 'OY!!' next to it and people would be lining up around the KMart to buy......

Our in-house alki staggers out of Il Piratta....

A weekly roundup of the bar scene, by Andrew Louder....

Weekly drinking review....

A weekly whiskey-stained, slurred-spoken ode to joy upon the bar scene of San Francisco by Andrew Lowder. Webster's defines 'Swanky' as "Ostentatious and fashionably elegant". Nine nights out of ten, I avoid those concepts like a meet and greet at a leper colony, but every once in awhile, like when those not blessed enough to live here are visiting, you just gotta pull out all the stops and pretend that you live the swanky lifestyle......

Andrew Louder covers Cama....

Andrew Lowder introduces the Rickshaw Stop....

[ Ed. Note: Special contributor Andrew Lowder submits his first weekly scribble on a napkin about all things drink, drank and drunk.] San Francisco is easily and without a doubt one of the truly great drinking towns in the world. Having lived in SF for about 4 years in the mid 90s and then moving away until recently, this particular EssEffist rubbed its shaking, hungover hands together with great anticipation at the very idea of moving back to the city that spends TWICE the national average on booze per person ($730 per person/year). That's right, raise a toast in pride that your city puts New York to shame (a laughable $450) in the oft-overlooked statistic of knowing how to properly spend our money. But so as not to be like the bartender that won't start pouring your beer until he's told you his life story, let's just dive right in to one of the establishments that called us back to the bay area with its barely coherent, slurred 'siren song'. The Kilowatt, 16th and Albion - Even better now that it's not used as a music venue so much. The crowd and bartenders are always super friendly and the drinks are usually overpoured ever so slightly. An early evening started here watching a RedWings or Pistons game can turn into a confusing and dizzy dusk in the blink of an eye. Sure, it can get a little crowded, but if you time it right that shouldn't be much of a problem. Of course, suggestions for upcoming excursions are always welcome so tell us what you think makes for a great bar and we'll get right on it, just as soon as the hangover subsides... Liver.....out!...