After a morning at Anchor Brewing Kelleigh and I headed to the center of the 60's counter culture movement The Haight-Ashbury district. Like most who consider themselves open minded, but were too young to experience the hippie movement we ventured to the Haight-Ashbury to explore the center of the 60's universe. The world has changed in 40 years and so has this little area of San Fran. The streets are now lined with shops that have commercialized the past and offer every tourist the opportunity to take a piece (peace) of it home. There were the hold overs from the 60's wandering the streets, along with twenty somethings wishing those good ole folk music, free lovin, pot smokin days would come back in full force. What I was searching for was a mind altering beer experience but unfortunately that's where we hit our first snag. Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery was down and out for business. They were in the middle of a big remodel and wouldn't open for another week. However all was not lost. The beauty of the situation was we were were less than a mile from the Toronado, one of the nations best beer bars.
The Toronado has been in business for 21 years and it feels like it. This place was not a cute gastropub or trendy beer spot, plain and simple it's a bar. Th
e walls are covered with b
eer paraphernalia from over the years, shelves are filled with the appropriate glassware and tap handles line the wall behind the bar. The atmosphere is appropriately old. This is the way you want a classic bar to feel. I could of spent the entire day here trading stores with the locals and enjoying the liquid pleasures but Kelleigh and I still had an afternoon of city exp
lorat
ion ahead of us. With a tight schedule I had to limit myself to two beers. My hop freak side got the best of me so Pliny the Elder was the first pour followed by El Toro's Deuce. The shock was that both were only $4.50 a pint. I wonder if there is a way to transport this place back to Philadelphia? The time at the Toronodo ended all too quick and the honeymoon tour was back on the road.
The remainder of our time in San Francisco was spent doing all the standard tourist activities. We had fantastic meals, took in the night life, shopped and spent way too much cash. I did manage to get in two more beer stops. One evening we made our way to Gordon Biersch and during an afternoon we picked up a few bottles from City Beer Store. City Beer Store's selection was small but, as expected, they did have a nice line up of west coast beers along with a few beers on draft. Essentially it's a small beer bar in a bottle shop. Don't expect to see that combo in PA any time soon. Overall the west coast experience was incredible. Next stop, Hawaii.
The Toronado has been in business for 21 years and it feels like it. This place was not a cute gastropub or trendy beer spot, plain and simple it's a bar. Th
e walls are covered with b
eer paraphernalia from over the years, shelves are filled with the appropriate glassware and tap handles line the wall behind the bar. The atmosphere is appropriately old. This is the way you want a classic bar to feel. I could of spent the entire day here trading stores with the locals and enjoying the liquid pleasures but Kelleigh and I still had an afternoon of city exp
lorat
ion ahead of us. With a tight schedule I had to limit myself to two beers. My hop freak side got the best of me so Pliny the Elder was the first pour followed by El Toro's Deuce. The shock was that both were only $4.50 a pint. I wonder if there is a way to transport this place back to Philadelphia? The time at the Toronodo ended all too quick and the honeymoon tour was back on the road.The remainder of our time in San Francisco was spent doing all the standard tourist activities. We had fantastic meals, took in the night life, shopped and spent way too much cash. I did manage to get in two more beer stops. One evening we made our way to Gordon Biersch and during an afternoon we picked up a few bottles from City Beer Store. City Beer Store's selection was small but, as expected, they did have a nice line up of west coast beers along with a few beers on draft. Essentially it's a small beer bar in a bottle shop. Don't expect to see that combo in PA any time soon. Overall the west coast experience was incredible. Next stop, Hawaii.
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