Night+Day San Francisco

In his publisher's note, Alan S. Davis calls his series of travel books extraordinary guides for extraordinary travelers(italics his), and suggests that we [n]ever settle for the ordinary (underlining his). Clearly, he means business, and to that end he's recruited Julianne Balmain and Kate Chynoweth — authors of Office Kama Sutra and The Risks of Sunbathing Topless, respectively — to pen the guide. Although it's stuffed with insider-y capsule reviews of restaurants, bars, and attractions, Night+Day stands apart by breaking the city into Hot & Cool, Hip, and Classic. Each section comes with a handy map to let you know when you've strayed out of a hip area (such as the Mission District) and into somewhere cool (SOMA) or, God forbid, classic (Fisherman's Wharf). (Areas like Noe Valley and the Sunset are ignored, at least on the maps.) Even better are the suggested itineraries; a hipster with a Sunday to kill is led to a service at Glide Memorial, cocktails at the Dogpatch Saloon, a show at Cafe du Nord, and late-night drinking at the Endup. The guide also provides some helpful tips, such as this addendum to the breathless Power Exchange blurb: "Men interested in women would be wise to bring a date." Can't argue with that either. (Although I can argue with the authors' insistence that only "lame" tourists call the city "Frisco." Believing a rule like that shows your age.)