Things San Franciscans Like: Thematic Bars

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San Francisco is not L.A. and don't let anyone catch you thinking it is, but there is one thing that the denizens of both cities love, and that thing is walking onto a set.

In L.A., this usually happens on the Warner Bros. back lot, but in San Francisco it always happens at Rickhouse, Bloodhound, The Parlor, Bourbon & Branch, Kozy Kar, The Tonga Room and Butter.

San Franciscans like their bars the way they would like their plays (if they went to any play besides Wicked): heavily themed.

With the exception of Kozy Kar, where the décor falls somewhere between hideous and Miami Vice and where only one more 'K' word is needed to change the theme completely, Butter where you can pretend to live in a trailer, and The Tonga Room where it rains indoors, the themed bars of San Francisco seem to rely heavily on San Franciscans' love of all things vaguely turn of the century (not this one).

Suspenders, VESTS!, unfinished wood paneling, lights so dim that you can't see three feet in front of you and the occasional password all perpetuate the myth that San Franciscans can only really enjoy drinking when they think it's the Prohibition, and apparently during the Prohibition it was very dark indoors, and everyone was a badass, because if they drank like a San Franciscan drinks they were pretty much breaking the law 24/7.

Thankfully, with these speakeasys springing up on every corner, it's almost out of the question that a San Franciscan will have to go a night without drinking like it's illegal.

Themed bars in San Francisco are like Disneyland for adults: long lines and lots of role-playing, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because for some, drinking seven Kentucky Bucks just isn't enough of an escape, they need to travel back in time too, and if you're not The Time Traveler's Wife's husband, pretty much the best way to accomplish this is to sit down with the 45-page drink novella at Bourbon & Branch.