Just as the navy blue blanket of holiday ennui prepares to envelope your carcass—remember: if you still single for the holidays, you're an abomination—Food & Wine releases its 50 Best Bars in America list. And what a list it is, liberally featuring noted San Francisco watering holes set to sooth your soul. (Think high-end bars, not delightful ratholes.) Which bars, exactly? Let's see:
Comstock Saloon, 155 Columbus Avenue [Ed. note: You SFist editor's all-time favorite.]:
"Star bartenders Jonny Raglin...and Jeff Hollinger run this 1900s-style bar, where they serve period-appropriate cocktails and snacks like whiskey-cured gravlax on rye toast with dill sour cream."
Beretta, 1199 Valencia [Some bartenders there don't like when you order vodka-based drinks. Blame it on Mission attitude.]
"At this upscale pizzeria with a late-night cocktail lounge, Ryan Fitzgerald serves fantastic drinks like the Dolores Park Swizzle (rum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters)."
Bar Agricole, 355 11th Street [Delicious, albeit small, drinks. Great grub as well.]
"Rhum agricole-lover Thad Vogler, who designed the menus for Beretta and the Slanted Door co-owns this airy, rustic-industrial tavern."
The Alembic, 1725 Haight
"Daniel Hyatt runs the bar at this gastropub. He offers a terrific list of 'After-Dinner Libations' like brandies and Scotches and 'Daytime' drinks like mint juleps."
The Slanted Door, 1 Ferry Building #3
"Many of the Slanted Door’s drinks—such as Jennifer Colliau’s limey Badminton Cooler—are designed to complement chef Charles Phan’s modern Vietnamese food. "
Smuggler's Cove, 650 Gough [Winner of SFist's Best Bar in S.F. poll.]
"Although this bar looks kitschy (tikimania!), mixologist-owner Martin Cate stocks over 200 rums and serves traditional drinks of the Caribbean islands and Prohibition-era Havana."
Both Berkeley and Oakland failed to place anywhere on Food & Wine's esteemed list.
