San Francisco/SoMa

From World travel guide

SoMa, short for South of Market, is the area south of Market Street and east of the Mission. It is San Francisco's urban renewal district.

Once home to warehouses and dilapidated Victorian houses, SoMa saw an artistic and club culture revival in the 1980s. By the time of the Internet boom of the 1990s, the "live-work" buildings of this area had become prime real estate, and the artists and musicians who had made it cool could no longer afford the sky-high rentals.

With the burst of the dot.com bubble, SoMa has become somewhat more affordable, but has also lost many of the businesses that made the area attractive during the boom. Some of the best clubs are still in SoMA - a taxi is recommended. Parts of the area can be a bit dangerous after dark, and there frankly is not much beyond the Metreon and Moscone for tourists to see.

Contents 1 See 2 Eat 3 Drink 3.1 Bars 4 Sleep 4.1 Clubs

See

• The Sony Metreon entertainment complex. Check out the IMAX theater or a store devoted soley to the Sony Playstation video game system. There is also a "Dave and Busters" style video game parlor where you can drink and play virtual bowling. http://www.metreon.com/
• Moscone Center (for conferences) http://www.moscone.com/
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art http://www.sfmoma.org
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts http://www.ybca.org
• Yerba Buena Gardens
• Zeum http://www.zeum.org/
• San Francisco Giants Stadium - SBC park - One of the building projects that revitalized this area, the stadium is an imposing brick edifice that has all the necessary modern amenities, such as beer and wifi. It looks out upon San Francisco Bay, which makes a fine backdrop for those Barry Bonds home runs. http://www.sbcpark.com/
• South Park This is a charming quiet park in the middle of the hustle and bustle of industrial SOMA. Eat at any of the small restaurants around the edges, they are all pretty good.
• Dore Alley This street hosts the Up Your Alley Fair. It is the warm up event for the famous Folsom Street Fair. Held the last Sunday in July, this preview is smaller, wilder, more local, but no less crowded and just as fun.
• The Folsom Street Fair. This annual event, held on the last Sunday in Septemeber, features Leather, Bondage, Rubber and other Fetish and BDSM activities. Stretching over a mile you will find wall-to-wall dance clubs, bands, and booths where you can shop for a whip or learn about safe sex. It started out as an underground event to protest the gentrification of SoMa. It is organized by a non-profit to raise funds for many SF area charities. It's a world class event, and the third largest outdoor event in California. With a suggested donation is $5, it's quite a bargain today. For more info see: http://www.folsomstreetfair.org/

Eat

• Red's Java Hut.
• Brainwash. 1122 Folsom @ Langton (between 7th and 8th Streets), 415.255.4866. Hours of operation: Monday - Thursday (8 am - 12 am), Friday (8 am - 1 am), Saturday (7:30 am - 1 am), Sunday (7:30 am - 12 am). It's a Laundromat! It's a Cafe! It's a pub! It's all of the above. A fine place to do your laundry while grabbing a beer, some lunch, playing a little pinball, surfing the net, chatting with your friends, or watching a live show. http://www.brainwash.com
• Home Menu, 1565 Mission (at South Van Ness), 861-3173 (fax 861-6788). Mo-Fr 10a-10p, Sa 10a-9p, Su 10a-4p. Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine (review is for Vietnamese). Stir-cooked dishes with barbecued meats and fresh vegetables. Chef may ignore your order if he thinks you'll like something else better, and when he does the food is excellent for the price. Soups, rice porridge, pho available. Accessible, not vegetarian aware, no MSG, beer, Chinese pop instrumentals, bright lighting, free delivery. $3.50-$6.75 apps/salads, $5.75-7.50 rice plates, $6.50-$8.50 entrees. http://www.homemenusf.com/

Drink

• Jillians, 101 4th Street, Inside the Sony Metreon. This upscale sports bar has a huge video wall great for watching sports. There are also 8 well kept pool tables for something to do. This bar becomes a dance club on Friday and Saturday nights with a strict dress code -- nice shoes required. http://www.jillians.com/club_detail.asp?club_id=41

Bars

• Eagle's Drift Inn.
• Hotel Utah.

Sleep

• Villa Soma, San Francisco Offers fully furnished rooms at a daily or weekly basis. located in the South of Market district of San Francisco. Free Local Calls! DSL Lines! In Room Color Satellite TV with VCR! $20 per day.

Clubs

Many of San Francisco's best dance clubs are in SoMa.

• Music City San Francisco Rudy Colombini's Center for the Performing Arts http://www.musiccitysf.com Music museum, cafe, nightclub, and performing arts space.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Rock and Roll Museum http://www.rockhallsf.com Departures daily. See exhibits focused on musicians from San Francisco and who changed the San Francisco music scene.
• The Cat Club
• DNA Lounge, 375 11th Street(near Folsom). The DNA Lounge is a 2-story club which often caters to the geekier "digerati" crowd. One of the founders is Jamie Zawinski, a former Netscape superstar and Internet nabob. Events feature themed electronica dance nights (Industrial, Techno, Trance, etc) and live bands (Nina Hagen and Yngwe Malmsteen are coming soon). There is usally a cover between $3 and $25 (for the bands). http://www.dnalounge.com/
• The Stud 9th & Harrison. Fun semi-dingy club. Don't miss Trannyshack, Tuesdays at midnight. Very worth the sleep deprivation at work the next day.
• The End Up 5th & Harrison. An SF institution. Essentially doesn't close on the weekend, and thus where people 'end up'. Great old school SF house music. The crowd is known to be a bit on the druggy side. (That's probably why they can dance all weekend?) Unexpected outdoor patio/waterfall space to chill.
• Mezzinine Mission & Jessie. Where all the shirtless buff cicuity gay boys go. A crowd that desperately tries to clone themselves into invisibility. Great sound system. If you like cheesy techno and disco diva wailing music, this is the place.
• 1015 1015 Folsom. Lines all night outside during the weekend. Always drama. Another bridge and tunnel 20 something meat market.

This article is still a stub and needs your attention. Plunge forward and help it grow!