Well loyal readers, after a good bit of international travel we returned to our quest to visit the oldest bar in all 50 states. Recently, we made an impromptu trip out to the West Coast to hit the oldest bar in California, the Saloon in San Francisco. The Saloon was our 31st state’s oldest bar and it didn’t disappoint. Located in San Francisco’s North Beach area and in the Chinatown district, it was a cool dive renowned for being a live entertainment venue. We rolled in on a lazy Wednesday afternoon and the place had a trio cranking out some smooth tunes. Our bartender, Erica, made us some delicious Old Fashions and Screwdrivers. But, since it was National Negroni Week we naturally had to have one of those, as well. The bar is cash only, and no food service, but Erica, the music, and friendly locals and tourists made for a relaxing afternoon after a long early morning flight from Maryland.
Besides stopping at the Saloon we had an amazing 24 hours in San Francisco. During our whirlwind stay we rode cable cars; drove down crooked Lombard Street; took a San Francisco Bay cruise; saw Alcatraz up close, the Painted Ladies, and the sunset dipping beneath the Golden Gate Bridge; and checked out the same Golden Gate up close on foot.
Besides hitting all the touristy spots, we also had time to stumble into two great watering holes. We found Flores while killing a couple hours waiting to check into our motel. Behind the bar at Flores was Gaspar. Gaspar welcomed us to his establishment as family, and took great care of us. The food was excellent and the drinks were, too. Stop in and say “Hi” to Gaspar if you ever get to San Francisco. The other notable tavern was The Brazen Head, which was conveniently located just across the street from our motel. This Brazen Head patterns itself after The Brazen Head in Dublin, reputed to be one of the world’s oldest taverns dating back to 1198. The Brazen Head was a very classy tavern with real mixologists tending bar. The customers around the bar were very friendly and we quickly became acquainted with a number of them. They were very interested in our quest to visit states’ oldest bars, and they were very generous in treating us to rounds of drinks. We thank them all for their kindness. All in all we found everyone we met in San Francisco to be extremely hospitable and helpful to us out-of-towners.
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