Email Author Katy St. Clair

2009 Stories by Katy St. Clair

• Tea Party Politics at Samovar Tea Lounge

  published December 30, 2009

  Sometimes it's nice to see how the other half lives. And by the other half, I mean those folks who go out and enjoy themselves without imbibing... More >>

• Bouncer’s Christmas Carol

  published December 23, 2009

  It's rare to find someone who looks Dickensian in San Francisco, but I did. For the two or three people reading this who don't have a master's... More >>

• The smell of fear, beer, and sausages at Gestalt

  published December 16, 2009

  There's something about naming your bar after a social or psychological term that strikes people's fancy in this town. We've got Amnesia,... More >>

• Bottomless mimosas and lobotomized jocks

  published December 2, 2009

  Anyone who says you can't learn anything from hanging out in bars is nuts. I've built up my vocabulary from digging into the origins of drink... More >>

• Winning the West with Haute Hooch at Rickhouse

  published November 25, 2009

  When I first walked into new downtown bar Rickhouse, I thought, finally, someone gets it. The decor was incredible. Instead of slick,... More >>

• The Irish and the Inventor

  published November 18, 2009

  At first I thought I'd come upon some sort of urban fishing experiment. I was in an alley off Grant Street, walking toward the Irish Bank, when... More >>

• Beat It at Vesuvio Cafe

  published November 11, 2009

  I don't spend enough time in North Beach. Part of the reason is geographical. It seems to be in the Bermuda Triangle of my ramblings, and I... More >>

• Don’t try the pineapple truffles

  published November 4, 2009

  I do social work for a developmentally disabled client who loves to play pool. I'll call her Sylvia. She also likes bars, although she only... More >>

• Taking flight, back to the nest

  published October 28, 2009

  I dumped my bags down with a thud and sat in the exact same seat I'd taken a week before at the Mission Bar and Grill at SFO. A week ago I was... More >>

• Bouncer’s Five-Year Anniversary Quiz

  published October 14, 2009

  Happy birthday, Bouncer! Five years of stickin’ it to the Man, exposing the wrongs of City Hall, and generally being a thorn in the side... More >>

• Back to school, samurai-style

  published October 7, 2009

  Everyone likes a good revenge movie. They are tops on my list, especially old samurai flicks. The best ones take place after the warrior system... More >>

• Gloomy Bloom’s brings out the cynic

  published September 30, 2009

  There comes a time in everyone's life when you try to be less cynical. Less sarcastic. Less glass-half-empty. Less of a douche. For one thing,... More >>

• Dive Bar Time Bandits

  published September 23, 2009

  In case you didn't know, it is possible to travel into the future. All you need are twin babies and a vessel that can go faster than the speed... More >>

• Spare Changes in Faith

  published September 9, 2009

  Lately I've been wondering if my strict adherence to atheism is really the correct way to go. There comes a time when logic gets the best of... More >>

• The Sneaky Teat and Other Sucking Trends

  published September 2, 2009

  It's always interesting to see what strange trends will emerge in American culture. I'm not talking about new dances, looks, or catchphrases.... More >>

• The Googly-Eyed Beholder

  published August 26, 2009

  Here's a question college professors love to throw out: What is art? I take refuge in Frank Zappa's general attitude about the stuff: I know it... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  The Regulars

  published August 19, 2009

  Bars and their patrons have a symbiotic relationship. Bar owners need customers, and customers need their bars. These are the regulars, those... More >>

• Bad Memories in Little Chinatown

  published August 12, 2009

  Why do negative memories stay with us longer than positive ones? I was recently walking through Chinatown, and remembered being there with my... More >>

• Aunt Charlie and Uncle Newsom

  published August 5, 2009

  So I'm walking down Taylor Street in the Tenderloin, gingerly passing the drugged-out and the drunken, when I see this guy walking toward me,... More >>

• Ken Will Help You Move

  published July 29, 2009

  As the saying goes, you really know who your friends are when you need to move house. Ken is my friend, then, because he has helped me move... More >>

• 23 Ways to Stray

  published July 22, 2009

  On one of my trips down to my family's cradle of civilization, South Pasadena, I looked through my grandmother's yearbooks. She was in high... More >>

• Clueless in the Castro

  published July 15, 2009

  Whenever something big happens in the realm of pop culture, I can't help but head to the Castro. I know that every television within a four-block... More >>

• Zen and the Art of Nose Maintenance

  published July 8, 2009

  I've recently been reading a lot about Zen Buddhism, a subject I'd avoided for most of my life. Asian religious thought seemed like such a... More >>

• German stereotype engineering at Schroeder’s

  published July 1, 2009

  I was recently on my annual vacation with my mother. We ended up in western Wyoming, floating down the Snake River with an American guide and... More >>

• Spying the generation gaffes at MoMo's

  published June 24, 2009

  As I write this, I am sitting on a big sofa in a big atrium in a big hotel in Grand Teton National Park. There is a big picture window that... More >>