Best of San Francisco

Brain Wash Cafe and Laundromat 1122 Folsom (at Langton), 255-4866, www.brainwash.com

This South of Market hangout gets our vote as the coolest cybercafe this side of Amsterdam. What else can you say about a place where you can chow down on buffalo wings or Chinese chicken salad after stuffing your dirty laundry into a washer? You can also surf the Net, play one of the pinball machines in the back, or enjoy a brewski from the cafe/bar's selection of eight beers on draft. Kicking back is a virtue here, if you'd prefer just to sit beneath the exposed-beam ceilings and listen to funky background music. The budget conscious should not miss "happy hour," from 4 to 7 p.m. daily, which gets you a dollar off anything in the cafe -- American cuisine, specializing in burgers and sandwiches, with most entrees costing less than $8 -- when you wash a load of clothes. As a fun place to pass the time while the jeans go through the spin cycle, Brain Wash is a no-brainer.