San Francisco - the fabulous City by the Bay, and second home to journey agent. OK, so the weather's not so crash hot (especially when you see the fog rolling in every late afternoon in summer), but the warmth of the gay men in this city more than makes up for it. So grab a copy of one of the local gay papers, and a street map, and LET'S GO !

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Becks Motor Lodge 2222 Market St (between Sanchez/Noe). Ph (415) 621-8212. Price: $
As the name implies, Becks is a run-of-the-mill motor inn - the 3 levels of rooms surround the car parking lot that opens onto Market Street. Rooms are basic with a mini-fridge and private bathroom. But the advantage is that it's right in the gay heart of San Francisco, the Castro area. Beware of strange nocturnal visitors along the balconies which run alongside the rooms (especially during summer).

Grosvenor House 899 Pine St (on Mason). Ph (415) 421-1899. Price: $$ journey agent's SF favourite. Located in Nob Hill (a.k.a. "Snob Hill"), the best part of downtown, Grosvenor House has 19 floors of suite apartments ranging from studios to 2 bedroom apartments. Recently refurbished, rooms include a kitchenette, fridge, lounge sofa and private bathroom. If you're lucky enough to get a high floor you'll probably have a great view of the downtown buildings and Bay at night. The staff are gay-friendly (if not a little run off their feet at times), and the touring shows often accommodate their cast and crew here while in SF. From here it's a short (downhill) walk to Union Square, or over to Chinatown and North Beach's Italian and Beat Generation cafes/bars.

The Westin St. Francis 335 Powell St. Ph (415) 397-7000. Price: $$$
If you really want to live in the lap of luxury, then the St Francis on Union Square (right in the midst of the best retail therapy in SF) is the place for you.  Gerald Ford was almost assassinated here. And one of the doormen / bellhops is the spitting image of Kevin Costner (drool).

OK, so a guys gotta eat. And San Francisco has it well covered, from the humble beefcake er, beef burger to five star dining. journey agent recommends the following favourite places to fill that hole.

Pasta Pomodoro 2304 Market St. (at 16th St.) Ph:(415) 558-8123 Price: $
Located all over SF, there is one in the Castro right across from Gold's Gym so you can pump it and then carbo load it with the muscle marys. This place is always busy and doesn't take bookings (or call in advance and order a takeout). Wicked pastas like Rigatoni bolognaise to healthy pasta if you're trying to avoid enrolling at Jenny Craig's, and great salads to boot.

Hot 'n' Hunky 4039 18th St (nr Hartford). Price: $
OK so this might not be too healthy but it's open later and sure beats eating McShit, and it's in the Castro. Gourmet burgers to order, and journey agent likes nothing more than to have something Hot 'n' Hunky before bedtime.

Café Flore 2298 Market St (at Noe). Price: $  
A very popular cafe for the Castro scene queens who like to sit in the outside courtyard where the most coveted tables are (avoid the narrow line of bench tables running along the Market St side under the awning - "no man's land" where you can't show off that glorious suntan from Sydney Mardi Gras). The coffee and food are reasonable, although they insist on using paper plates. Cheap, cheerful, and sometimes cruisy. On recent visits, there were so many laptops in use it looked like a PC product show.

Baghdad Café 2295 Market St (at 16th). Price: $
The place to go after a long hard one (nightclubbing that is), Baghdad is open 24 hours. The food and service have gotten better since earlier visits too.

Tony Roma's Ellis St (nr Powell St / Union Square). Price: $+
Yee-haa! Saddle up and ride on down for ribs and burgers. Try the journey agent favourite, the Carolina Honeys baby back ribs. Go for the food, and not the interior design which is usual 80's steakhouse decor. Large servings if you're a size queen.

Patio Café 531 Castro (nr 18th St). Price: $+
Well the patio area has been rebuilt and enlarged with a see-thru roof. This place is packed and buzzing for weekend brunch and is very gay. Get there early or be prepared to wait.

Café Luna Peina opposite the Patio Café on Castro St. Price: $+
journey agent prefers Luna Peina over the Patio Café (better food), but it also gets as busy for weekend brunch. Run from one to the other and see which has the shorter line !

2223 Market at 2223 Market St (of course!). Price: $$
One of the better restaurants in the Castro, a.k.a. Wild Palms, or That Restaurant With No Name. Serving California cuisine. Noisy and gay with a bar area, making this a good place to meet friends.

Blowfish Sushi 2170 Bryant St (nr 20th). Ph (415) 285-3848. Price: $$  
This place is sushi heaven. Hang out at the bar with the happening younger clientele and then gorge yourself on Japanese delights in a busy room full of Japanese cartoon characters and knick knacks.

Zuni Café 1658 Market St. Ph (415) 552-2522. Price: $$+ 
Mix it with the movers and shakers in this restaurant halfway between the Castro and downtown, guaranteed to be chic and glamorous. There's a huge bar to be seen at, and a speciality Oyster Bar. Valet park the Ford Mustang Convertible rental, take the AMEX and take a hot looking guy.

Bouchon 6534 Washington St. (at Madison), Yountville (Napa Wine Country). Ph (707) 944-8037. Price: $$
Bouchon looks like it was carved out of Paris and plonked right into the Napa Wine Country. Fantastic service and French bistro food at very reasonable prices. Definitely book as it's worth the drive to Napa alone to experience the food here !

Black Cat (& BlueBar) 501 Broadway (at Kearny), North Beach. Price: $$
A newish arrival in the restaurant scene of North Beach run by local celebrity chef Reed Heron. After a number of visits here the place is still very popular and very chi-chi. An eclectic menu mixing French/Italian and Asian items on the menu (I think "pan-Asian" might be the P.C. term to use). This place rocks, and even more so with the very kewl BlueBar jazz club downstairs - live jazz at 11pm seven nights with bar food and cocktails. Fork out for the cover charge (or tell the doorman if you've eaten upstairs & try to get a deal), sink into a comfy armchair, and get wasted in style.

Domaine Chandon 1 California Drive (at Highway 29), Yountville. Ph: (707) 944-2280.
Price: $$ - $$$
Arrive sober and leave here buzzed a.k.a. Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous. This is the only Domaine Chandon in the world apart from the one in Melbourne, Australia (and the original in France). Come just for the tasting or knock yourself out at the restaurant. And don't ask for a Stollie Bollie as journey agent did one time.

Chez Panisse 1517 Shattuck Ave. (between Cedar and Vine), Berkeley. Ph: (510) 548-5525.
Price: $$$
If you're a real foodaholic then you have to make the pilgrimage to this temple of gastronomy to experience California Cuisine at it's best. Run by the famous Alice Waters (the Martha Stewart of food), this is THE place to impress friends, the boyf, lover, mistress (or master). The set menu price in the downstairs formal restaurant gets pricier each day through the week, or you can eat upstairs in the cheaper cafe. journey agent suggests going the whole hog and booking well in advance for a table downstairs.

Lark Creek Inn 234 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, Marin County Ph (415) 924-7766. Price: $$ - $$$ Wow, another temple to California cuisine! Run by the much awarded Bradley Ogden and situated in a Victorian house amongst the redwood trees in Marin County. Worth the drive - forget the budget and charge the AMEX card. What no AMEX? Have your sugar daddy take you.

Coming from Sydney which just about parties all night, journey agent found a little adjustment in order as most SF bars close at 2.00 am, and dance clubs may stop serving alcohol also at 2.00 am. If you're a non-smoker, then you'll find California to be heaven - state law prohibits smoking in all bars and restaurants.

Tip: Always carry photo id when drinking/clubbing & be prepared to be "carded" (so nice to know that bouncers think we all look under 21 !)

Detour 2348 Market St (between Castro / Noe). Closes @ 2am
This Castro bar is WICKED. A basic black interior, with a pool table up front, the rest of the bar room is divided by a hurricane wire fence. Very urban jungle with hot cruisy men with an "edge", great music, cheap beer & spirits, hunky barmen, and go-go boys on Saturday nights. What more could you ask for? Check out the subliminal laser sign by the DJ's booth on the way to the bathroom. journey agent's favourite bar in SF.

Universe / Pleasuredome 177 Townsend @ 3rd This large club space is UNIVERSE on Saturday nights, opening at 9.30pm til whatever time Sunday morning. On Sunday nights, it becomes PLEASUREDOME, open from 9pm 'til 6am Monday. A big dance floor for size queens and more hard house and techno music and hardly any of what Mme Wanda calls "handbag" (i.e. campy disco tunes with words). Still the most popular dance club on a Saturday night in SF. Get trashed here & then retire to Baghdad cafe in the Castro for a nosh up. The bar stops serving alcohol at 2am even though the club remains open !

Tip: Bargain queens: Check the retail stores in the Castro for free club flyers and discount entry passes which can be a bargain queen's dee-lite. e.g. a Universe entry pass will allow FREE entry before 11pm on a Saturday night - get there early, get a passout stamp, stay for a drink then leave & cruise the other bars in the area  before returning for free re-entry (beware of a line at the door though)...that's at least a US$12 saving !!

Powerhouse 1347 Folsom St
When this SOMA (South Of MArket) bar opened a few years ago it was a very popular Leather bar. Not that it still isn't but it's now more relaxed and attracts a lot more Levi's and T-shirt guys, and Mme Wanda finds it very easy on the eye (especially the barmen). Check out the back "terrace" area for action if you're game, but don't be there at closing time when the lights come up and the barmen is yelling at you to "reel it in" ! (December '99 update: the back terrace has gone, and a teensey-weensey "smoking room" has been installed at the back. Better hot foot it down to BlowBuddies for action!)

My Place 1225 Folsom St (between 8th/9th)
"My Place" can be very cruisy on a Saturday night - it has a backroom that is too creepy for even Mme Wanda to venture into for a look-see. A bit of a hole in the wall (not to be confused with the nearby bar called Hole in the Wall), it attracts a generally older crowd, although journey agent has seen some hot skinheads here. Close to the Powerhouse bar, making these bars good to visit before heading back to UNIVERSE on a Saturday night...

Loading Dock 1525 Mission St (between 11th and Lafayette Sts)
This long narrow bar has become SF's 'premier Leather Bar' (their words, not ours) since opening a couple of years ago, taking over from the infamous Eagle Bar (398 12th St @ Harrison). Friday and Saturday nights have a strict leather dress code enforced. Saunter on in and be immediately checked out if you're new in town. The further down the back you go, the more "atmospheric" it gets. Not recommended for the namby-pamby boys or inexperienced.

N' Touch 1548 Polk St @ Sacramento
If you're looking for an Asian guy, or you're an Asian guy looking to meet Americans, then maybe this is the bar for you. N' Touch has a dance floor and plays some of the girliest handbag music. journey agent recommends Wednesday nights, around 10pm when it's busy but there's room to cruise and smooze, and there's no cover charge. Friday and Saturday nights are very popular, with a line outside after 10pm (and like a sardine can inside).

MASS 1015 Folsom @ 6th  This once-a-month dance party attracts big crowds of gay boys to its Sunday T-dances from 6pm 'til midnight, playing hot handbag and groovy dance tracks. Pickup a flyer in the Castro for cheaper entry.

When you're tired of sightseeing, clubbing and snapping up bargains, take some time out for some R & R

Gold's Gym 2301 Market St (Castro area)
Recently renovated, Market St Gym has been taken over by the Gold's Gym franchise. It still gets journey agent's Golden Seal of Approval for a good place to pump up and hang out. And there's a great "JIZZ-cuzzi" in the refurbished locker room area.

The Muscle System 2275 Market St (Castro area)
A.k.a. Muscle Sisters or Muscle Sissies. Located upstairs above some stores, you can get a good view in through the big glass window from across the street on Market St. Unlike Gold's Gym just down a block, Muscle Systems attracts an older and more masculine, rougher crowd of guys (and there's nothing wrong with that !)...they like to workout without shirts or tank tops so you can get close and see the beads of sweat rolling off their pumped up hairy pecs... (cold shower time !)

EROS 2051 Market St (at Church, opposite Safeway supermarket)
This sex club is really a bath-house (but isn't called one as such) - there's a steamroom, dry sauna and showers. The "playrooms" and mazes are all open so there are no "private" areas as such. The staff are friendly and the men are diverse in race, body shapes, looks and likes. journey agent gives them the thumbs up for a well run and hygenic club! Be warned that they close at midnight Sun thru Thurs, and Fri & Sat it's open 'til 4am (last entry is one hour prior to closing time), so the early birds get the biggest worms.

BlowBuddies 933 Harrison St (between 5th/6th). Ph (415) 863-HEAD
This men only venue is hot and wicked - an "adventure park" where YOU may be the ride ! Starting off with the very low key exterior and entrance, once inside and past the line you'll be greeted by the friendly and efficient guys who work here. There's a coat check, well equipped bathrooms with mouthwash, and a video / chill out room with free coffee and peanuts served out of a wall-mounted urinal (every hostess should have one). Inside the 4 cruise areas it's subdued lighting (and they play the best music to boot) and equipped with all the usual "extras". A new mezzanine area has been added. There's also an outdoor area at the back - catch a breath of fresh air & a cigar. Usually open from Thursday through Sunday nights only, with Wednesday nights being special "theme" nights (see journey agent's Tip). Friday and Saturday this place pumps, but Sunday night can be good early (arrive by 9pm). BlowBuddies attracts a diverse crowd of local men and visitors alike, from muscle dudes to skinheads to leathermen. There is an "acceptable dress code" enforced and it's also a NO COLOGNE ZONE - most guys cruise around shirtless in denim jeans on the regular (non-theme) nights.

Tip: First visit to BlowBuddies take photo id so you can join up for a small fee. Each Wednesday night of the month is a special theme night: e.g. Leather Buddies, Underwear Buddies, Golden Shower Buddies (check local gay press or website or call for details and dates).

journey agent believes that half the fun of visiting a new city is the Retail Therapy experience - being able to pickup up those goodies that the guys back home would do anything (hopefully) to get their hands on !

San Francisco is a real mecca for shopaholics. Still one of the best bargains is in Levi's jeans which are cheapest at MERVYN'S California department store (2675 Geary Blvd @ Masonic Ave) which can be up to another US$25 less than the so-called jean discounters on Market St and downtown. If it's US label designers you're after, then don't go past MARSHALL'S (downstairs basement @ 901 Market St, nr the San Francisco Shopping Centre). They stock heavily discounted lines in Calvin Klein, Hilfiger, Polo Sport, Donna Karen, etc - sports shirts, jeans, sports wear, underwear: most people miss this store altogether as it's below street level. Go to ABERCROMBIE & FITCH (ground level, San Francisco Shopping Centre, Market St) to see the latest in-store wall size posters of fresh-faced wholesome guys, snapped by Bruce Weber. Their all-American Boy style clothing isn't bad either, although for some strange reason they always only have the big sizes in stock. MACY'S men's store on Union Square, although pricey, is worth a visit for the huge departments devoted to each of the American designer labels. Downtown SF also boasts some really kewl stores - retail therapy a la 21st Century! Check out the new LEVI'S store on Union Square, with it's hi-tech industrial interiors and the customisation floor. Here they have stand-in tubs and industrial clothes dryers so you can wear your new jeans in water to shrink-to-fit, and a whole section that will customise your denim with laser artwork, embroidery etc. The new SONY METREON Centre (on 4th and Mission) has a Sony Theatres multiplex, Discovery Channel store, Sony electronics store and the first Microsoft SF concept store. For urban-jungle wear and recycled clothing, trek over to the HAIGHT-ASHBURY district. There aren't too many hippies hanging out on the streets these days, but the cafes and clothing stores are really kewl. FETISH STUFF: For leather and S&M equipment, visit MR S Leather (310 7th Street, ph (415) 863-7764)   or their website. They stock the largest and most imaginative range of leather and S&M stuff that journey agent has ever seen. The staff are friendly and helpful too. Buy one of their catalogues which is sure to provoke some conversation when you leave it on the coffee table ! For uniforms, see BUTLER'S UNIFORMS (347 9th St) where you can be outfitted as a SF Police Officer, CHiP Officer or for the kinky hard-core fetishists, a US mailman's uniform...

The guys from Abercrombie & Fitch

If you really feel the urge to do the tourist thing, then journey agent recommends these top sights:

SF Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard streets). The recently opened SF MoMA looks great and is well worth a visit.

The Golden Gate Bridge If you drive over, check the back seat first in case Tom Cruise the vampire is there (see the closing scene of "Interview With A Vampire").

Sausalito Catch the ferry from downtown or drive over the Golden Gate on Hwy 101 North. A really picturesque town on the Marin County side of SF Bay.

Napa Valley Take a day trip combined with dinner and make Patsy & Edina proud. See the EAT  section for some suggestions.

For further info on San Francisco, journey agent recommends these sources:

this page was last updated on 14/10/2001