Entertainment in USA
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Excalibur
Arthurian legends notwithstanding, this medieval caricature, complete with crayon-colored towers and a faux drawbridge, epitomizes gaudy Vegas. Excalibur could have resembled an elegant English castle, but its designers decided to go the kitschy route instead, which is just fine with the cheapskate frat boys and families with rambunctious young kids who stay here.
reviewed
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B
74th Street Ale House
A sibling to the Hilltop Ale House in Queen Anne, this is the kind of place that, if you lived nearby, you’d find yourself in several times a week. It’s immediately comfortable, to the point that you feel like an instant regular – plus there are dozens of outstanding beers on tap, and the food is miles above usual pub standards. The goat cheese salad ($9) is rightly famous.
reviewed
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C
Radio City Music Hall
This glittering art deco masterpiece is a great place to see a show. Many throwback acts (eg Dolly Parton, Santana) take the stage, but newer names like Arcade Fire play, too.
reviewed
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D
Zumanity
Billed as ‘another side of Cirque du Soleil, ’ this human zoo amps up the energy, contorted acrobatics and flirtatious eroticism of the troupe’s other risk-taking Strip shows. It won’t take your breath away, though. So what’s the hook? Maybe it’s the curvilinear thrust stage, uninhibited costumes or the aphrodisiacal cocktail menu.
reviewed
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E
'Cesca
Though it’s renowned for its upscale Italian fare, the cozy front lounge and bar area here are also worth a trek. With lots of dark wood, some romantic tables and a large free-floating bar in the center of the room, the front area of ’Cesca is handsome in a gentlemen’s smoking lounge sort of way. There’s an impressive list of wines by the glass, plus great bar food.
reviewed
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F
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Easily the most fun you can have at the movies: sing along with Grease, quote along with Princess Bride, or listen to professional hecklers skewer whatever movie they feel like mocking as part of the Master Pancake series. All that, and you can have food and drink delivered right to your seat.
reviewed
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G
Magicopolis
Not only aspiring Harry Potters will enjoy the comedy-laced sleight-of-hand, levitation and other illusions performed by Steve Spills and cohorts in this intimate space. Escapes from reality last about 90 minutes, and there's even a small shop for all your wizard supplies.
reviewed
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H
Rodeo Bar & Grill
New York’s best Texas-style honkytonk is in Murray Hill? Good shows of country, bluegrass and rockabilly are staged nightly for a foot-tappin’ Manhattan crowd. There are creative margaritas and plenty of steaks, fajitas, burgers and veggie dishes, too.
reviewed
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I
Albatross
A block north of University Ave, Albatross is one of the most inviting and friendly pubs in the entire Bay Area. Some serious darts are played here, and poker games and Trivial Pursuit will be going on around many of the worn out tables.
reviewed
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J
Noc Noc
Who’s there? Nearsighted graffiti artists, anarchist bike messengers moonlighting as electronica DJs, and other characters straight out of an R Crumb comic, that’s who. The sake cocktails will knock you off your stool.
reviewed
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Hollywood Bowl
This historic natural amphitheater is the LA Phil's summer home and also a stellar place to catch big-name rock, jazz, blues and pop acts. Come early for a preshow picnic (alcohol is allowed).
reviewed
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L
Men of Sapphire
You can get one-on-one action with the Men of Sapphire, including Mr Nevada and other beefy men who strip and give lap dances upstairs at Sapphire.
reviewed
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M
San Francisco Giants
April to October, you can catch one of the 81 home games of SF’s National League baseball team in this intimate ballpark, which changes its name with every telecom merger. The Giants pack in huge crowds and often make the playoffs, but haven’t won the baseball big tomato, the World Series, since 1954 (the team called New York home in those days). Games are frequently sold out, but season-ticket holders often sell unwanted tickets through the team’s Double Play Ticket Window on the website; it’s also worth checking internet auctions like eBay.com and craigslist.org. A behind-the-scenes tour (415-972-2400; tickets $12.50; nongame days at 10:30am & 2:30pm) includes v…
reviewed
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Bitter Bar
In places like NYC, LA and San Francisco, prohibition-era cocktails have gone from back alley whispers of the impossibly hip to mainstream in a few short years. Boulder now has their version, and who cares if it's set in modern pan-Asian environs. These cocktails, and the rums, whiskeys, tequilas and gins used to alchemize, are the best sips in town.
It also offers monthly classes at $35 per person, which buys you the knowhow to mix two drinks that would make a Mad Man weep. You'll leave with three recipes and a gift from the barkeeps. Check the website for dates.
reviewed
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O
Broken Spoke
If you are ready for a little Texas two-steppin’, there is only one place you should dream of going: the Broken Spoke. This is country-and-western nirvana – a totally authentic Texas dancehall that’s been in business since 1964. Here you’ll find dudes in boots and Wranglers two-stepping around a crowded dance floor alongside hipsters, college students and slackers; many consider it an essential Austin experience. (You’ll know you’ve arrived when you spot a big old oak tree propping up an old wagon wheel out front.)
reviewed
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P
Green Mill
You can sit in Al Capone’s favorite spot at the timeless Green Mill, a true cocktail lounge that comes complete with curved leather booths and colorful tales about mob henchmen who owned shares in the place (a trap door behind the bar leads to tunnels where they hid their bootlegged booze). Little has changed in over 70 years – the club still books top local and national jazz acts. On Sunday night it hosts a nationally known poetry slam, where would-be poets try out their best work on the openly skeptical crowd.
reviewed
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Q
Irish Kevin’s
One of the most popular megabars on Duval, Kevin’s has a pretty good entertainment formula pinned down: nightly live acts that are a cross between a folk singer, radio shock jock and pep-rally cheerleader. The crowd consistently goes ape-poo for acoustic covers of ’80s favorites. Basically, this is a good place to see 50 women from New Jersey do tequila shots, scream ‘Livin’ On a Prayer’ at the top of their lungs and then inexplicably sob into their Michelob. It’s more fun than it sounds.
reviewed
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Park
The party may have moved elsewhere but the Park, with its multiple rooms and over-the-top design, has lost none of its appeal. The main dining room boasts a stand of 30-ft-tall bamboo and wide glass doors leading into the garden. There’s also a Penthouse and loungey Red Room with fireplace – festive spaces that open only on weekend nights (at 11pm); there’s no cover, but expect lines.
reviewed
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Fox Oakland Theatre
Downtown Oakland has plenty of buildings adorned with art nouveau or art deco details; unfortunately, many now stand empty and are in need of care, particularly those further out from City Center. One success story is the 1928 Fox Oakland Theatre, once the largest cinema west of Chicago. A two-year renovation ended in 2009, and now the theater hosts the likes of Sonic Youth and Kylie Minogue; it also houses the Oakland School of the Arts.
reviewed
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Zeitgeist Bar
When temperatures rise, bikers and hipsters converge on Zeitgeist's huge outdoor beer garden for 40 brews on tap and late-night tamales.
reviewed
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Vesuvio
Guy walks into a bar, roars and leaves. Without missing a beat, the bartender says to the next customer, ‘Welcome to Vesuvio, honey – what can I get you?’ It takes a lot more than a barbaric yawp to get Vesuvio’s regulars to glance up from their microbrewed beers. Kerouac blew off Henry Miller to go on a bender here, and after knocking back a couple with neighborhood characters, you’ll get why.
reviewed
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Buck Owens' Crystal Palace
This venue, off Hwy 99 at the Rosedale Hwy exit, is a must-stop for country music fans. Looking like it belongs in Branson, Missouri, the flashy, Disney-esque joint is fun nonetheless. It regularly hosts touring country acts and Buck himself plays here every Friday and Saturday at 19:30 (around US$6, reserve in advance to assure seating). Memorabilia lines the hallways too. The overpriced food is OK but nothing special.
reviewed
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V
Ritual Coffee Roasters
Blue Bottle and Ritual Roasters are the two big names in SF’s ‘Third Wave’ coffee movement, which esteems coffee as highly – and artfully – as fine chocolate and grand cru wine. We love bringing our laptop to Ritual’s Mission location to get jacked and eavesdrop on tattooed bikers, internet pros and coffee aficionados, but lament the loss of electrical outlets at some tables.
reviewed
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W
Sundown Saloon
Only come here if you can stomach outhouse chic bathrooms, throwback tunes, an impossible-to-distinguish odor upon descent into the basement, pick-up shouting (it's straight impossible to hear in late night), vicious competition on the shuffle board or pool tables (free 'til 10pm) and waking up hungover from the cheap Pabst Blue Ribbon ($6 pitchers).
Every town needs an 'end up bar,' and you will end up here.
reviewed
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Florida Room at the Delano
‘Wanna buy me an eight-dollar beer?’ asks an out-of-towner, gazing awestruck at the sheer mass of model-types packed into this den of iniquity. The Florida Room is as exclusive as they get, plus a popular dancehall/samba piano lounge for local scenesters who eschew the tourist trap megaclubs further down the beach. Show up before 11pm or be on the list (or be Lenny Kravitz – who helped design this place) to get in.
reviewed
