Bloom's Saloon

1318 18th St. (at Missouri), 552-6707

As spring heats up, a young person's mind turns to ... beer, of course, preferably drunk outside. If you're tired of waiting in line at Zeitgeist with all the other sun-and-suds worshippers, head on over to this distinctively tiled Potrero Hill watering hole with stupendous views of the bay, the Bay Bridge, and downtown San Francisco decked out in sunny splendor. Potrero Hill is one of those great neighborhoods that feel like a window into the past, and the facade of this saloon brings to mind Sam Spade and Dashiell Hammett. Inside, the spot is nominally a sports bar, but when the weather is nice enough, the staff opens up the back deck, a lovely spot to relax and reflect on all the human ingenuity that went into building the monstrous bridge, or simply to soak up the rays in one of the city's sunniest neighborhoods. And if the weather's not cooperative, there's still the vista; just grab a table in the back and watch the fog creep in.