(image courtesy of Dan Berkes and SFGTV2) Sexual outlaws and neighborhood invaders, beware! We're back with the story of Hole in the Wall Saloon and its proposed 1.5-block relocation in the lovely SOMA neighborhood. You thought this was over? You thought wrong! Jakkee Bryson, neighborhood activist, is back in action and scheduled to appear before the Board of Appeals this evening (Wednesday, April 7) at 5PM. Location is the same as before: City Hall,......

We would go, but we're located in Eastern SOMA. And one day, by the will of God, we shall destroy Western SOMA. Mwah hah hah. But for those of you who live in Western SOMA, wherever that border begins/ends, there will be a meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Bessie Carmichael Elementary School at 55 Sherman. Some of you might be interested since a certain SOMA resident, Jakkee Bryson, is trying to have......

There's nothing like outsiders pointing out what's wrong with your city in their news publication. Today's "Reasons Why San Francisco Sucks" article is brought to you by the LA Times: Last call for many classic S.F. Bars. In the article, they talk about the closures of many SF faves, such as John Barleycorn, Bobby's Owl Tree, Moose's and Washington Square Bar & Grill among others. Really, just reading the article made us depressed. Some were......

Want to help save Hole in the Wall Saloon from the spindly claws of old Mrs. Crabtree? Of course you do. It takes place soon, so head over to City Hall now, folks. ...

South of Market is home to one of the largest networks (with the fewest dropped calls?) of queer-friendly businesses in San Francisco. It has been this way for decades and doesn't appear to be changing. Or is it?...

As local, national, and worldwide print publishing continues to take a brutal, Christ-like thrashing -- take, for example, the San Jose Mercury News' recent layoffs and a 30% drop in the San Francisco Chronicle's daily circulation -- the time-honored watering hole for "crusty but benign" journos, it seems, has also taken a beating. The Market Watch report above tries to brings this point home, reminiscing with Michael McCourt from The Washbag, which closed this......

Congratulations, Oakland (29th), Fremont (32nd), and San Francisco (34th) -- you made it on the top 50 drunkest cities in the U.S. list. At least, according to the December issue of the body dysmorphia-inducing rag Men's Health Magazine. The rankings are based on alcohol-related liver deaths, "binge drinking data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," FBI-culled drunk driving arrest numbers, death-related auto accidents that involved booze, and "grades given to cities......

We love Gridskipper's edge as of late. Take, for example, today's revealing top 8 San Francisco bars with the "crappiest crowds." Rankings 8, 7, 6, and 5 are Beauty Bar, Medjool, Swig, and R Bar, respectively. In all fairness, you need to visit good ol' Gridie to find out just who made the top four. (Also, regarding the number-one spot, we've never visited the sorta chic spot but have heard mixed reviews. Is it......

It's back on, folks. The Harvey Milk Club endorsement vote happens tomorrow. Again. If you remember their last meeting, voting members caught the vapors, pulled out clumps of their own hair, ran around in circles, cried -- fun hysteria like that. Ever since that childish display of local politicking, all sides have been more or less civil and relatively respectful of one another. It goes without say how disappointed we are in both sides.......

Sure Jager makes things all surreal, tequila makes you do things you normally wouldn't do, and whiskey makes things all sh---kicking but if you really want something that brings the crazy, there's absinthe. Absinthe was a drink popular at the turn of the last century but was banned supposedly for "making people insane" and by insane we mean too fin de siècle, you know-- into impressionism, dressing colorfully, chopping of one of their ears, and being gay. But now it's making a comeback, thanks to a heroic lawyer who got the prohibition in the U.S. revoked and thanks to that lawyer, a distillery in Alameda is going to start making some. Hell, if people thought they needed it to make it through the turn of the last century how do they expect us to make it through this turn of the century?...

The legendary Cafe Flore might find its way to the obit page of the B.A.R. soon. Why? Because if it doesn't "get permission to have the option to serve food 24 hrs a day, to have the option to have amplified entertainment to allow a background DJ," or to get the chance to serve booze until 2 am, the place might zip up and never call again according to SaveCafeFlore. Noes! Look, Cafe Flore......

In North Beach fights breakout and mild vandalism occurs after bars close at 2 a.m. This chaos, typical for any city, makes some of our sensitive city dwellers cranky before bedtime. Or whatever. So, the City Planning Commissioners somehow got it into their heads that closing pizza parlors on the the Broadway strip, pizzerias that normally stay open until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., before 2 a.m. will solve a slew of problems. According to the Examiner:...

Our ride home from the Caltrain station takes us through the strange, anarchy-prone intersection of Division, 10th, Brannan and Potrero streets. The other night, as we gasped for air while sprinting for the green light on our 40-Year-Old Virgin-style commuter bike, we had an unfortunate encounter with a bug. Bitter experience tells us that when a cyclist feels the splat of a gnat on the back of the throat, there is little to be done......

San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved municipal ID cards to SF inhabitants yesterday. These (hopefully adorable) new cards can be used by anyone here, it seems -- U.S. resident or not. Tommy Ammiano introduced the legislation, which, according to the Chronicle, "would require companies holding city contracts to accept the municipal card as a legitimate form of identification." (So does that mean they can be used to get into bars? Sweet.) Ammiano also claims......

With just a short time frame to impress a packed house, (filled with Vanessa Carlton fans) Graham Colton had no easy feat. There weren't bars or booze (or anything else) to distract the audience from listening to the opening act. Hell, everyone was seated and listening attentively. My friend leaned over to me and asked if we were at a school assembly because it was so quiet. (Guaranteed there would have been more talking at......

Granted that most you fresh food philosophers won't even know what we're talking about right now; you can thank your delicate palates and/or lactose intolerance for that. Feel free to tune into Check, Please! Bay Area while we warn the rest of the others about the following fast-food danger. General Mills has recalled five million frozen pizzas under the Totino’s Pizza and Jeno’s Pizza brands this morning. It appears that the Totino's recall is......

-- Barry Bonds: your San Francisco diva. [SFGate] -- Halloween in SF was a "a dead zone" [Examiner, SFGate] -- 19th Avenue -- now less deadly. [SFist] -- SF hotel bars. Which one is your favorite? (Hint: St. Regis) [Gridskipper] -- Ban rent control? [BeyondChon] -- Doc 420, the medical marijuana doctor. [ABC7] -- Awesome: the "SWL 337" Planning Challenge. [Curbed SF] -- Eeeeeeeeee! Can you feel it in the air? Hannah Montana has......

We have sad news for barflies everywhere—the bar John Barylecorn's will close this weekend after a desperate attempt at keeping it open. The bar became in trouble when local restaurateur Luisa Hanson purchased the building that held the bar and told the owners she was not looking to keep the place open. A campaign was started to save it, complete with petitions, a Great Pub Toast, and proposed legislation from Aaron Peskin but it was all to no avail. ...

After getting heat from the Catholic Church and death-by-fiery-car-crash-worthy Bill O'Reilly, Archbishop George Niederauer officially apologized for giving communion to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This is insane. Gay bars have been serving daiquiris to and sparing flaky bumps to closeted priests and assorted Catholics for years. And yet, a few gays can't come to their house of worship for a little body of Christ and some merlot? Such hypocrisy we'll never understand.......

At left: barf We couldn't get though this article about today's bust of the East Bay operation Tainted Inc., which produced "marijuana-laced candies, cookies, ice cream, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, granola bars and brownies," without gagging. (We can't even re-read that sentence.) Why? Because the taste to pot is vile. We know that after time one starts to develop a taste for the drugs to which they are addicted, but we can't see that......

Aspiring painters of urban village scenes would do well to get themselves to Bernal Heights at once. From the armada of sandwich boards and the pony-tailed guy enjoying a pensive cup of coffee at Progressive Grounds, to the verdant street trees and the pair of rowdy sidewalk philosophers holding court near the eastern end of the block, it’s quite the bustling display along Cortland Ave. Private lives seem a low priority here, as even the back yards of local bars, cafés, and restaurants are open for business. Sidewalk rest stops are a big calling card on Cortland between Andover and Bennington, the heart of Bernal Heights’ vibrant commercial district. There are benches in front of restaurants (Valentina Ristorante), benches in front of salons (Bernal Heights Nail Care), benches in front of markets (The Good Life Grocery), benches in front of saloons (Wild Side West). The result: A remarkable feeling of community, evinced by how it appears as if everyone might actually know everyone else’s name. It’s like a West Coast version of Andy Griffith’s Mayberry...only on Cortland, there’s no Barney Fife. Auditions may or may not be held regularly at Skip’s Tavern and Wild Side West for the role of Otis the Harmless Town Drunk....

That headline doesn't seem like anything new, but this model appears to be of a different eating-disorder variety. (Think The Insider-anorexic, not Anna Wintour anorexic) ...

Seeing as how they have nothing else going on, this week the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote on a city proclamation honoring John Barleycorn Pub, calling for its preservation. The bar is set to close, and as already mentioned on Yelp, your local watering hole plays a large part in the aesthetics and feel of a neighborhood, so it's a good idea to pay attention to when these things start closing down around you....

One day we're planning a going-away party there, and then -- ta-da! -- it's gone. Wired workers' favorite watering hole and one of the last dive's around the Eastern SOMA area, the Eagle Drift-In Lounge was a good place for cheap booze, comfy booth seating, playing a game of darts, or to catch our favorite pregnant smoking bartender making a drink, waiting for that call from CPS....

Labor Day may mark the end of summer for most, but for TV fans, it's the beginning of the Fall TV season that really signals the end of summer and its often crappy TV offerings. Instead, we've got the return of OLD crappy shows and new (possibly) crappy shows to look forward to. Like tonight, when Fox jumps the gun on all the other networks with its Fall season premieres of "Prison Break" and......

Cabbies are upset. Again. What's else is new? But: This time the crankypants are concerned about limousines and towncars that illegally -- illegally? oh please -- pick up passengers at hotels, bars, clubs, or wherever to grab extra cash. Makes sense on the higher-end autos part. But as cabbies scrounge for customers -- or so we've often heard them complain -- they hate seeing other (and fancier) modes of transportation swipe passengers. According to......

We had a good time going through the recipes and eating stories in Street Food, the new book by wunderkind Tom Kine - that is, when we got over the insane jealousy. He got a book contract to travel for three months and eat all he could! How do we get something like that? We're excited to try his takes on bolani (Afghan flat bread) and Kadu (roast pumpkin paste), which he got from......

-- Barefoot Nellies: "The Bay Area's finest all-gal bluegrass band" headline at one of the Bay Area's finest bars, Amnesia, starting at 8:30 p.m., 853 Valencia; free. -- Killer of Sheep (1977): Charles Burnett's masterwork about a slaughterhouse worker/father and his family living in Watts, LA screens tonight at 7:15 p.m. 9:15 at The Red Vic, 1727 Haight (at Cole). -- Ryan Auffenberg: Local, tender singer-songwriter performs in the Mission. So does Clare Burson.......

-- Sixth Street did not explode. [Chron] -- Neither did Hayward. [CBS5] -- Friday's party for Barry, Bonds/Newsom connection. [GNS] -- Pigeon crap on bridges falling down, falling down, falling down... [Chron] -- Microsoft going after Yahoo? [EWEEK] -- On-air chats with Jessica Aguirre, who already knows how much you want to fuck her with your monster cock, gentlemen, so go easy on her. [Chron] -- Alleged San Mateo blue square to stand trial.......

Oh, man. Timing is everything. This is better than gum. This is better than energy bars. Today we were given Advil Liqui-gels when coming out of Embarcadero Station....