Shopping & Services >>

• Best Comic Book Store
  Isotope Comic Book Lounge
  Nestled in the clean, budding center of Hayes Valley sits the Isotope Comic Book Lounge. Stylish and upbeat proprietor James Sime has created a welcoming and unique atmosphere (something between an upscale art gallery and Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory) complete with knowledgeable and helpful... More >>
• Readers' Poll Winners (1 Comment)
  Comic Book Store Isotope comic book lounge Best Massage The Barber Lounge Best Manicures/Pedicures The Barber Lounge Best Hair Salon Dekko Best Lingerie Store Alla Prima Best Men's Clothing Macy's Best Women's Clothing Ambiance Best Laundromat BrainWash Best Shoe Store Shoe Biz Best... More >>
• Best Tintin Resource
  Kar'ikter
  Anyone who grew up thrilling to the adventures of boy globetrotter Tintin and his snarky fox terrier Snowy will delight in the doodads and curios offered at this emporium of primary-colored Euro-adolescent paraphernalia. Created by Belgian artist Hergé in 1929, Tintin starred in a series... More >>
• Best Children's Store
  Thursday's Child
  Shopping at Thursday's Child is like poking around in an overstuffed closet and finding one unexpected treasure after another. Every nook and cranny of this tiny, dimly lit basement-level kids' boutique is packed with stuff: toys, dolls, stuffed animals, myriad doodads and knickknacks, and,... More >>
• Best Homemade Gifts
  Laku
  Upon entering this delicate store, the question of "homemade by who?" is quickly put to rest. For the owner, Yaeko Yamashita, is often seen with the tools of her trade in hand (ball of yarn, needles), fashioning new products between helping shoppers. Yamashita, a designer from Tokyo who opened... More >>
• Best Magic Shop
  The Sword and Rose
  This teeny gem of a specialty shop is bound to appeal to all sorts, from run-of-the-mill Harry Potter fans to neo-pagans who spell "magic" with a K. Even if you're not necessarily in search of an alembic for your own philosopher's stone or driftwood wands and other love-spell ephemera, the... More >>
• Best Record Store (1 Comment)
  Aquarius
  Before there was this whole digital music distribution stuff, there was Aquarius Records. The store has been around since 1970, and despite the crumbling of the bricks 'n' mortar CD shop industry, it has retained a loyal following of geeky music lovers over the years. Aquarius' niche has always... More >>
• Best Place to Smash an SFPD Car
  Piñata Art Studio & Gallery
  So you've always wanted to bash the hell out of a patrol car with a stick? Take your anarchic instincts to Piñata Art Studio & Gallery. The front window of this Excelsior treasure is filled with paper princesses, but the real charm is in the custom piñatas. Choose from a... More >>
• Best Place to Fill a Piñata
  Heartfelt
  Candy may be the traditional piñata stuffer, but Heartfelt has so many garish trinkets, alluring tchotchkes, cool gewgaws, and tiny toys that's it's hard to resist a low-priced, high-volume shopping spree before everyone beats the hell out of the next paper bull or superhero. The store... More >>
• Best Source for Glass Dildos
  Glass Dildo Me
  Why would you spend up to $300 on a sex toy made of glass from this new high-end boutique in the TenderNob? Because bacteria won't grow on it, it'll last forever, it's a cinch to clean, it can easily be heated in water or cooled in the fridge, and it can double as a suggestively shaped... More >>
• Best Folsom Street Fair Prep
  Mr. S Leather
  You can't say San Francisco falls into easy categories. On the one hand, you have Rainbow Grocery, with its vegan-friendly wonderland of dolphin-free, fair-trade goodness; just a few blocks away is Mr. S, a hallowed space devoted almost entirely to the allure of things made from dead cows.... More >>
• Best Striptease Lessons (2 Comments)
  The Sacred Art of the Striptease
  In a go, go, go world that sometimes seems to be an endless treadmill of deadlines and bill paying, we can often forget that we're fundamentally sensual beings. If you've been denying that inner sexpot coiled inside you, try taking a class with the Sacred Art of the Striptease. Owner and... More >>
• Best Reason to Get an STD
  Magnet
  For the record, we're not huge fans of hanging out at STD clinics (though we hear it isn't a bad scene if you're into sloppy seconds). However! Unlike the farcically inefficient City Clinic with its weird ticketing system and Eastern Bloc decor, Magnet offers free testing that doesn't feel like... More >>
• Best Pussy Tamers (1 Comment)
  My Furry Friend
  Want to train your tabby so you can dress it in a funny outfit and entertain the neighbors like you're Siegfried or Roy? Call the trainers at My Furry Friend. All right, they prefer to be called cat behaviorists, and they won't teach kitty to growl or fetch the newspaper. But they can get your... More >>
• Best Place to Get Pins Stuck in You
  American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  For certain ailments, it's best to hit up Western doctors and get their prescriptions for chalky pills. Other times, only a more holistic cure can help with what ails you. From depression to joint pain to the common cold, the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine offers remedies... More >>
• Best Chiropractor
  Latch, So & Hwang Chiropractic
  And they said the only good crack in the 'Loin came from the corner hustler. The expert hands of the professional back crackers at Latch, So & Hwang will give your spine a much-needed shift to ease everything from sharp shooting pain to chronic headaches, tiredness, and achy tension. The... More >>
• Best Local Organic Skincare Line
  Juice Beauty
  If you're going organic with what you put inside your body, you might as well keep pesticides and chemicals away from your skin, too. The locally produced Juice Beauty products are as green as they get, using fresh-squeezed, organic juice as the base for creams and cleaners that won't harm your... More >>
• Best Fancy Spa-and-Yoga Combo
  International Orange
  Maybe it's not as revolutionary as when someone combined peanut butter with chocolate, but the union of spa and yoga is not as common as you may think. In San Francisco, International Orange in the Upper Fillmore is one of those not-so-easy-to-find places that offers both pampering and... More >>
• Best Cannabis Club (2 Comments)
  The Vapor Room
  The name evokes the notorious Sunset Strip nightclub the Viper Room. Yet the Vapor Room is so named for championing the use of vaporizers to consume marijuana in a kinder, gentler way. The dispensary prides itself on its compassion services, which include complimentary massage sessions from a... More >>
• Best Plant Nursery
  Sloat Garden Center
  Global warming ensures that it is not quite so unbearably foggy, cold, and desolate out by Sloat Garden Center's original location as it was nearly a half-century ago at its inception. But it's still just plain good sense to wear a layer or three out to this nursery, located near the Pacific... More >>
• Best Way to Help the World from Your Desk
  Kiva
  On Kiva's Web site, a mere $25 contribution via PayPal or credit card into a microloan can help a cattle breeder to buy a new calf in Azerbaijan, or indigenous women in Mexico to invest in thread and dye to embroider textiles. Started by a Bay Area couple inspired by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel... More >>
• Best Store for Guilt-Free Handicrafts (1 Comment)
  Global Exchange
  Each Laotian scarf, pair of Malian earrings, Indian block-print tablecloth, and bar of Bolivian chocolate has proudly come to this Noe Valley store via fair trade. Translation: They were made by artisans or farmers who received a living wage in a worker-owned co-op or farm where they have... More >>
• Best Fashionable But Not-Too-Snobby Hair Salon
  Urban Roots
  Dishing the gory details of your love life to your stylist usually makes exorbitantly priced cuts well worth the money — but talking over all the other clients' mindless chatter and the noisy salon equipment can be tough, so why not go somewhere where you can be the center of attention?... More >>
• Best Place for a Man to Get a Dyke Haircut
  Barberella Hair Lounge
  There's nothing wrong with straight guys who want to look like k.d. lang. After all, she has great hair and no shortage of girlfriends. In fact, dykes often end up with coifs hetero men would love to have, but it's just too awkward for them to approach a well-groomed lesbian hottie walking her... More >>
• Best Fish and Flower Shop
  6th Avenue Aquarium
  Part florist, part pet shop, this chaotic, cramped spot is lined with all kinds of fascinating aquatic creatures you never knew you wanted to take home. It is not unusual for kids to leave begging their parents for a pet dragon eel, Pacman frog, or Atlantic stingray. And the small flower shop at... More >>
• Best Literary Service for Slacker Parents
  SF Public Library Dial-a-Story
  So you're a careerist who got knocked up and now the dirty little attention freak won't go to bed without a story. We have a solution: Just dial the San Francisco Public Library and hand your pint-sized monster the phone. A comforting-sounding woman answers, and tells a three-minute-or-so story;... More >>
• Best Newsstand (1 Comment)
  Smoke Signals
  Today, average edgy urban dwellers can hardly step out of their live/work spaces without tripping over a copy of L'Uomo Vogue or Flaunt. Ask them where to acquire amoral European gossip rags or troubled leaflets from the French-Canadian intelligentsia, however, and they're likely to,... More >>
• Best Video Store
  Le Video
  The rise of Netflix has picked off plenty of mom-and-pop video stores. The laziness factor of getting movies delivered to your door even affects the most thoughtfully curated shops like Le Video, which, as its name suggests, is owned by an actual French proprietor. And while Netflix may have the... More >>
• Best Camera Store
  Adolph Gasser
  Yes, the shop's name is somewhat unfortunate and doesn't help at all with imagery, but Mr. Gasser didn't choose his name and it isn't his fault (unless, of course, he isn't actually a real person). The large, independent store is a worthwhile place to visit for camera concerns — it's also... More >>
• Best Online Views of S.F.
  MapJack
  MapJack is a little start-up company that has blanketed S.F., just like Google Earth, with a free, very fine service: streetside imagery. But unlike Google, MapJack offers pictures that are so clear and vibrant they'll make you want to turn off the computer and go outside. Like a glossy travel... More >>
• Best Mac Repair Shop
  PowerBook Guy
  When the time-released self-destruct mechanism built into all PowerBooks and iPods inevitably kicks in (typically about three to four hours after you simultaneously try to write a best-selling novel, watch high-definition pornography, lay down some beats on your digital sequencer, keep up with... More >>
• Best Lighting & Knife- Sharpening Store
  Yuri's Lights and Beyond
  It's a great shop that offers its patrons the inexplicable. For instance, with Yuri's Lights and Beyond, you have a store where you can buy a lamp or get that fleamarket find completely refurbished and — through a referral — even installed. Or maybe you don't need a lamp, a light, or... More >>
• Best Interior Design Store
  Flipp
  Flipp was created for city folk who dwell in studios, in-law units, or cramped one-bedrooms. (The name is an acronym for Fashionable Living in Petite Places.) Owner Dan Kowalski stocks the sort of minimalist, one-of-a-kind pieces that don't demand an extra wing or a sprawling back forty: vases,... More >>
• Best Hand-Printed Fabrics
  Anne Kirk Textiles
  Top-quality craftsmanship is getting tougher to find. But if you're designing the interior of your home or business, and want that old-world look that you can get only with hand-printed fabrics, you're in luck. San Francisco is fortunate to have Anne Kirk Textiles, one of the last places in the... More >>
• Best Vintage Furniture Deals
  X-21's basement
  Valencia Street is the easy choice for vintage furniture shopping — for all you high-income-tax bracketers with two grand to drop on bar stools. For those of us with antique tastes and thrift-store budgets, bargain tables and chairs are a little harder to find. Luckily, then, X-21 has a... More >>
• Best Chair Restoration
  Ah Sam
  Thousands of torn, worn, rent, bent, fractured, mangled, or otherwise broken woven-cane chairs have enjoyed new lives since Ah Sam opened for business in Hang Ah Alley. The firm's long tradition of superb craftsmanship has been responsible for the hand-tooled rebirth of countless wicker... More >>
• Best Epic Kitchen Vintage Supply Store
  Cookin'
  Cookin' is an overstuffed cookware anomaly. Filled with funky latte bowls, 1970s Time/Life cookbooks, vintage Le Creuset, and copper pots just like your mom used to use, this is a great place to rummage away an afternoon. Its cantankerous owner — a lady who spends a great deal of time... More >>
• Best Espresso Machines
  Thomas E. Cara Ltd.
  Tucked away among the antique shops and prequake brick buildings of Jackson Square, Thomas E. Cara specializes in one thing and one thing only: gorgeous, shiny, imported contraptions absolutely devoted to the brewing of espresso. The business opened on Grant Avenue 62 years ago when World War II... More >>
• Best Mix of Art and Clothing
  Brown Bear
  Lots of stores in the city have tried to master the elusive combination of modern art and vintage clothing. Most end up looking trashy on both counts: either the clothes or the art aren't good enough. Brown Bear has found the magic balance. Inside the store's Edwardian exterior, the space has a... More >>
• Best Laundromat
  Fiesta Wash & Dry
  For Laundromat purists, Fiesta Wash & Dry has the best machines in the city. But it's also the number of machines that impress. The 45 washers can handle larger loads that cycle in quicker times. Once your clothes are done, there's no waiting around, because one of the 50 dryers is always... More >>
• Best T-Shirt Shop
  Bang On
  There's a line from a movie you can't stop repeating. Or a girlfriend whose birthday gift you just can't figure out. Or a phone number you want broadcast for all to see. If any of these situations sound familiar, your prayers have been answered, thanks to Bang On. Originally started in Vancouver... More >>
• Best Thrift Store
  Out of the Closet
  At Out of the Closet's magenta-colored San Francisco locations, you can unearth the full range of secondhand clothing from "Wear to a job interview" to "Wear if you want to ensure you'll soon be needing a job interview." These aren't the only thrift stores in the city where you can walk in... More >>
• Best Vintage Clothing Store
  Schauplatz
  Tucked in a long narrow store along the Mission's main shopping corridor is a haven for top-quality vintage clothing that'll surely make you stand out from the crowd. Whether you're looking for a dress for a party, a cozy but stylish jacket to protect you from the chilly San Francisco wind, or a... More >>
• Best Locally Designed Clothing
  Martha Egan
  San Francisco is packed with talented designers, but what makes Martha Egan's vintage-inspired clothing and accessories stand out are the amazing fabrics she uses. Whatever design you can think of — boldly patterned cottons, diaphanous silks, richly embroidered velvets — Egan likely... More >>
• Best Lingerie
  Dark Garden
  If you think corsets are synonymous with wispy Victorian waifs plagued with a proclivity for fainting, you obviously haven't been to Dark Garden. The couture retailer is the one-stop shop for your décolletage, but this ain't no frilly peekaboo shit. It specializes in custom-made corsets,... More >>
• Best Jewelry Store (1 Comment)
  Claudia Kussano Jewelry Design
  If you are the kind of person who's irritated by people grabbing your hand at parties and cooing, "Where did you get that ring?" you should think twice before purchasing jewelry by Claudia Kussano. The Mission-based jeweler was trained as an artist in her native Brazil, which may explain the... More >>
• Best Architectural Bookstore
  William Stout
  If you're an architect, designer, or a lover of all things architecture and design, you already know about this bookstore. But for the uninitiated, or at least the new to town, here's a place to add to your "gotta-go now" list. With both new and antiquarian books featuring the like of... More >>
• Best Used Bookstore
  Adobe Book Shop
  Beneath the clutter, the disorganization, and the insane library of titles at Adobe, you'll find a highly sophisticated venue for artists, poets, musicians, and other jobless literates. Persian carpets underfoot and a delicious, moldy-aired sense of antiquity evoke the spirit of knowledge, and... More >>
• Best Author Appearances (4 Comments)
  The Booksmith
  When bookstores vanish, so do their author appearances, a point that was sadly hammered home in 2006 when A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books crapped out. City-bound authors, however, weren't out of luck, given that the Booksmith was ready and willing to add to its already stellar speaker... More >>
• Best No-Brow Art Bookstore And Gallery
  Park Life
  Park Life is a quirky independent bookstore and gallery (and publisher, and gift store, andandand) in the Inner Richmond. All merchandise in this funky little store is carefully and lovingly chosen. From books on outsider artist Henry Darger, recent offerings from the likes of Barry McGee,... More >>
• Best Place to Learn from (Sort of) Famous Artists
  Intersection for the Arts Intersection Institute
  Don't you wish you could go back to school? Art school, a writing program, or something creative? That would be great! You could finally get out some of those ... ideas, or whatever, that run through your head driving you crazy. It's sad, though — you don't have time. Gotta work. Gotta... More >>
• Best Cooking Class
  First Class Cooking
  If the last time you took a cooking class was during junior year home ec, it may be time to visit Emily Dellas. The self-taught foodie has spent the past four years teaching locals recipes from around the globe, all in the casual setting of her spacious Pacific Heights home. For a very... More >>
• Best Shoe Shine
  Dennis Franklin, aka Dr. D
  Don't let the sign fool you: "Warning: I have an attitude and I know how to use it." If Franklin's suggestive pointing at your leather shoes doesn't lure you into the chair, the Miles Davis or Cannonball Adderley streaming out of the two amps running off a car battery certainly will. Step up to... More >>
• Best Muni Line to Ride as an End in and of Itself
  The F-Line Trolley
  In as gay-friendly a city as San Francisco, it's only fitting that everyone has the chance to bellow the lyrics of a Judy Garland song: "Clang, clang, clang went the trolley!" The F-Line trolleys — which shuttle foreign tourists, domestic tourists, and the occasional local between Pier 39... More >>
• Best Home-OfficeAlternative
  Citizen Space
  If you're one of the lucky bastards who get to work from home, or if you just constantly whine about how hard it is to meet people in San Francisco, we implore you to pay a visit to Citizen Space. This grassroots "co-working" community is a collaborative area in which freelancers, telecommuters,... More >>
• Best Place to Get Wood
  MacBeath Hardwood
  Non-woodworkers stand to get the most out of a visit to MacBeath Hardwood, because they're often unaware of the effect wood's aroma compounds can have on the mood. As you walk past the small white outbuilding that serves as a sales office into the warehouse containing many of the exotic woods... More >>
• Best Divorce Kits
  Divorce Kits & Notary Public Service
  With this year's recession, more married people will become broke, stressed out, and easily annoyed. They'll fight, scheme, tire of each other, and lose hope. Pondering the next logical step, malcontent husbands and wives will encounter an ironic hurdle: the same poverty that caused them to want... More >>