STEPPIN’ OUT
The Jazz Age Junkie is from San Francisco, so she blathers on about places that are close to home. That is not to say that there aren’t many other wonderful places for jazz babies to haunt in their splendiferous jazz age habiliments.
San Francisco
This city – The Jazz Age Junkie likes to call it The City with a capital C, but it is also known as Fog City, City by the Bay, Baghdad by the Bay, SF, the 415, the Golden City, the City of Love, or Frisco* – is a mecca of watering holes with a Jazz Age vibe, here are some of the best in no particular order.
*During Gold Rush days, famous San Francisco eccentric, Emperor Norton, passed a law against calling San Francisco “Frisco.” This idea caught on and in 1953, Herb Caen, famous San Francisco curmudgeon, wrote a book entitled, “Don’t Call It Frisco.” Personally I don’t understand the aversion to Frisco, it doesn’t sound insulting to me, but I can sympathize with those who find it disrespectful when uttered by outsiders. On the other hand, I don’t feel like obeying the unwritten law. To me Frisco is a term of endearment like calling someone you love “Sweetie.”**
** I know I’m practically the only one who feels this way, so please don’t bother to tell me how wrong I am. Thank you.
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Stookey’s Club Moderne
895 Bush Street
Stookey’s doesn’t date back to the actual Jazz Age, but…
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Osso Steakhouse
1177 California Street
With Tamara de Lempicka reproductions on the walls, black and…
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The House of Shields
39 New Montgomery Street
A speakeasy during Prohibition, The House of Shields was once…
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Top of the Mark at the Mark Hopkins
California & Mason
The Top of the Mark was designed by Timothy Pflueger,…
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The Verdi Club
2424 Mariposa Street
The Verdi Club has been a San Francisco institution since…
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Far East Cafe
631 Grant Avenue
The Far East Cafe opened in 1920 and still has…
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The Dawn Club
10 Annie Street
Just a few steps off Market street is a jazz…
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The Orbit Room
1900 Market Street
With its Zig Zag Moderne facade and smattering of Art…
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Zam Zam
1633 Haight Street
Opened at the tail end of the Art Deco Era,…
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Bix
56 Gold Street
With an intriguing collection of artworks on the walls and…
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Sam’s Grill and Seafood Restaurant
374 Bush Street
The waiters here wear tuxedos and the tables wear white…
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Tadich Grill
240 California Street
Tadich Grill, the oldest continuously run restaurant in California is…
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LeParc Bistro Bar
185 Sutter Street
Located just off Union Square, LeParc Bistro Bar is in…
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Bimbo’s 365 Club
1025 Columbus Avenue
The Art Deco style of Bimbo’s makes it a grand…
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Starlite – the Beacon Grand’s 21st Floor
450 Powell
Harry Denton’s Starlight Room has been reinvented with a modern…
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Li Po Lounge
916 Grant Avenue
It might be just a dive bar, but it’s a…
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Tosca Cafe
242 Columbus Avenue
Tosca Cafe stayed afloat during Prohibition by floating the Tosca…
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John’s Grill
63 Ellis Street
If it was good enough for Sam Spade, it’s more…
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The Redwood Room in the Clift Hotel
495 Geary Street
The Redwood Room opened on December 6, 1933, the day…
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The Speakeasy SF
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It’s a Speakeasy, so I can’t give you the address.…
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The Gold Bar Whiskey Distillery Tasting Room
Treasure Island Administration Building
1 Avenue of the Palms, Treasure Island
The Gold Bar offers cocktail mixology classes with a dash…
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The Pied Piper Bar and Lounge
2 New Montgomery Street
There’s a Maxfield Parrish painting above the bar here. What…
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Schroeder’s Restaurant
240 Front Street
Schroeder’s is a Bavarian style beer hall, founded in 1893,…
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The Buena Vista
2765 Hyde Street
The Buena Vista has been a saloon since 1916 and…
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Comstock Saloon
155 Columbus Avenue
Founded in 1907, restored to its original glory in 2010,…