This is a relayed post from a real up-and-coming a$$hole:

editors note*** i really like the HA-RA on Geary. It doesn't get any "divier" however, it's a little too close to whiskey thieves for my taste,
and I've been keeping this one in my back pocket for awhile.


The next SFDBO event?


The Tunnel Top on Bush street down town.

What makes a dive bar? indoor smoking? A non functioning outdoor sign? Maybe a constant loop of what looks like a home made kung fu movie? Actually, it looks like a porn, but despite all the touching, nobody gets naked, so I'm guessing its kung fu. Top of the Hill has all those things and less! Much less! Especially if what you were looking for was enough space to feel comfortable, or if you were looking for clean glasses. Best of luck finding it if you've never been there, the windows facing bush street are boarded up, and the sign doesn't work. While the United States wages preemptive wars, the owners of Tunnel Top appear to be preemptively shutting down due to health code violations. Let's get there before the board of health gets in and makes it official!

Bring your liver, and a round of Cipro! for more fun, check out their website at www.tunneltop.com

for even less information!
601 Bush Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
415-986-8900
Monday - Saturday 5PM - 2AM

Not for the kids

Our third meeting at Mr. Bings got a good turnout, so thanks to all of you who braved the streets of North Beach to test the divee-ness that is Mr. Bings. Here are some photos to recap the highlights:


Melissa, John, and Brad braved the smell of urinal cake to get to the bar and order drinks.

Bryan shows off his purchase from the handy bathroom vending machine.

See all of you next week to do it all over again! We'll be posting the location soon, so check back.

DBO 3: With a Vengance

Sorry for the late post. The rainy weather has semi-dampened my spirits. But speaking of spirts...how about another dive bar adventure?

Jeff "el jefe" (left) has passed the torch onto his good friend Matt (right).

Seeing how successful the last two events have been, Matt has toiled over the important decision of picking a new bar for this month. Not wanting to disappoint, Matt decided to go with a bar familiar to some but loved by many.

We are now headed to Mr. Bings.
201 Columbus Ave (Cross Street: Pacific Avenue)
San Francisco, CA 94133-4508
(415) 362-1545

Now if you have never tried to roll dice for drinks, you are in for a treat. If the bartender is feeling frisky, as is most common in this neighborhood, you might be able to challenge him/her to a game of liar's dice. Who knows, you may actually win...in which case you walk away with your dignity and possibly a free drink.

And if you happen to feel frisky yourself, you can hop across the street to a venue of ill-repute. Talk about the ultimate dive bar!!

Again, sorry for the late post.
There will be no cancellations this month (Elizabeth).

-blissfully ignorant

SF D-BO Event #2

After an extremely successful exploratory effort in Chinatown, we will now be moving to the Loin.

Yes. You heard it right.

All of you too-scared-to-wander-outside-your-neighborhood fancy-pants people suck down a snifter of courage; the Tenderloin is not to be missed. And with its great (and numerous) eateries and plentiful parking, having a lousy time is never an option.

At the last event, Lizzi (last month's fearless leader) chose Jeff as successor. And with that title comes only one responsibility...to choose next month's event location.

And now for the unveiling.

Whiskey Thieves
839 Geary St
(corner of Hyde and Geary)
October 19 - 7:00 pm

As the name states, come prepared to try an elusive rye, bourbon, or scotch. Even if you have a hard time stomaching grain alcohol, I think by the mere suggestion of the bar...you must try one. Also, for those of you who have allergies to smoke (me), take a pill or something. Smokers (balls and co.) rejoice. You will be able to blow smoke in my face and test my doctor's ability to diagnose and prescribe medication. And for the rest of you who don't smoke and don't enjoy smoky bars, it appears the only reason it is legal to smoke in this bar is the extremely advanced ventilation system, which makes it so you can actually see the person you are talking to.

Get pumped, get ready. See you at SF D-BO 2.

*edit - There is a pool table and parking structure next door.

The Votes Are In

What a surprise, everybody likes to go to bars on a Thursday night! Our first SFDBO event was a success marked by a good turnout, and two great dive-bars that included all of the dive-bar criteria that a person could want. For all of you that didn't make it, we started the night at Lipo and then headed across the street to the Buddha Bar for a change of scenery. Here are some highlights:

The word "Penis" prominently displayed is always an indicator of a classy joint.

At the Buddha Bar, there was a healthy crop of black mold in the men's bathroom.

A nice shot of all the SFDBO members at Lipo.

For more photos, click on the flckr photo box on the sidebar. Also, it would be great to see some comments about the first meeting in the comments area below this post. Tell everybody what you thought of the bars.

Also, we're pretty sure that we need an official tag for the club so that we can add our lovely motif to the bathroom wall of future SFDBO meeting places. Start working on it, and we'll add the best one to the front page of this site.

Time Change to 7pm

After a heated discussion, some of us agreed that 8pm might be a little late for some people on a weeknight. Pretend it's fall already and arrive 1 hour earlier.

If your schedule is so tight that you have to be there at 8, don't fret. We'll all still be there.

Hammered...or at least well lubricated.

The Results Are In.

Lizzi has submitted her idea for the September SF-DBO event.

Li Po

Now before I tell you about the bar, let me tell you a little something about the Man. Yes, that's right, Li Po was actually a Chinese philosopher/poet who lived in the Tang dynasty. He apparently loved his wine, and enjoyed a carefree life while travelling all over China.

His most famous poem, Drinking Alone under the Moon, describes his feeble attempts to cajole the moon into sharing some spirits and good company. But to no avail, it ends with a separation:

We separate apart after getting drunk

Forever will we keep this unfettered friendship
Till we meet again far in the Milky Way

Sounds like many a familiar night during bachelorhood.

Li Po eventually died a vagabond, a wanderer, but he died happy...from alcohol poisoning.

So, onto the event.

where: Li Po - 916 Grant
when: 8pm
why: why not?

See you there - SF D-BO staff

Lizzy, Lizzie, or ?

Sorry Lizzy, I just realized what a crappy friend I am. I don't even know how to spell your name properly.

With that out of the way...

Lizzy (I'm going with that for now) come on down. You're the next contestant on "Pick Your Dive Bar." Since you were not able to attend the inaugural SF D-BO event, we want you to decide where we will go for the next event. I know this is a lot of responsibility but remember this:

No matter what bar you choose, it will be a perfect dive bar. It's really a win-win situation. If you pick a bar that everybody loves, you win. If you pick a bar everybody thinks is smelly and has weird people, you win...because after all, we are going to dive bars.

Third Thursday of the Month

So here is my suggestion.

Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November, I wouldn't want the SF D-BO meeting to coincide with it. Therefore, SF D-BO will now commence on the third Thursday of every month.

In fact, there is no federal holiday that lands on the third Thursday of any month, so you may now even consider SF D-BO a new monthly holiday.

Aub Zam Zam - 8.25.06 @ 11pm

Aub Zam Zam

Since we came up with the idea in a dive bar, we thought why not consider this the inagural D-BO event.

And while there were only three individuals in attendance, we still seemed to overwhelm the bar and bartender with our witty quips and charm. Ok, maybe we didn't overwhelm anyone with our three-strong group. But we did dominate a little mousy gentleman that tried to use the ATM machine.

Zamzam, as we like to refer to it, is an unpretentious ex-martini bar with a respectable selection of alcohol. I am always impressed to see a few bottles of Hangar One vodka discreetly displayed. And I did catch a glimpse of the Imperia vodka bottle immediately when I entered. The last place I saw that stuff was in St. Petersburg, Russia.

There really isn't too much to report as far as the event was concerned. With such and impromptu event and two Punahou classmates, you pretty much talk about other Punahou classmates.

Suffice to say, the next event might be a little larger as far as people are concerned. However, before that happens, there needs to be some serious planning and reasearch (in the car on the way to Lee's going away party).

We'll keep you posted.

SF D-BO?

After completely gorging ourselves on cheap noodles, we decided to head over to a dive bar in the Haight known as Aub Zam Zam (we just call it zamzam). Over a couple of Stellas and a Hangar One Raspberry on the rocks, Ginny came up with a smashing idea for a monthly gathering.

Every month one person will choose a dive bar for us to invade, preferably pouncing on an unsuspecting bar and bartender. The event will take place around the same time every month and the venue will be posted here.

This is basically a good excuse for a monthly gathering of good friends. It really is just too difficult, both to schedule and economically, for somebody to throw a party every month. And what better way to see and explore the nightlife of San Francisco than bunnyhopping through semi-subterranean saloons and speakeasys.

Welcome to the San Francisco Dive Bar Organization (SF D-BO)