Guys Night Out
Updated: July 24, 2009
Ah, a night out with the fellas. You and your buddies are all modern, sensitive, sophisticated individuals, but once the women-folk are gone, you become a pack of ravenous, overly competitive neanderthals, eager to tear flesh, guzzle booze and satisfy all the urges you're barely able to suppress. Here's a list of the best places for men to be men--no easy task in this most un-macho of cities--leaving out only strip clubs, both for good taste and because you already know where those are. (Photo: Dude feeding frenzy at a recent butchery-BBQ bonanza at Bloodhound)
Macho Fun
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Bloodhound
Write a review1145 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103 (map)
Decked out in rugged wood, animal skulls and deer antlers--a good place for a PETA mixer this is not--this urban hunting lodge bar is about as manly a watering hole as you'll find. Hairy-chested libations like Sazeracs or Moose Drool Ale make good quenchers after a few rounds of pool or virtual animal slaughter on the Big Buck Hunter arcade, but it's during the frequent butchery and BBQ events with Ryan Farr of 4505 meats, when a whole pig or even a steer is cleavered apart and roasted outside in the alley, that this bar really lives up to its name.
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Jackson Arms Shooting Range
Read Reviews152 Utah Ave, South San Francisco, CA 94080 (map)
We're all anti-gun here, but at this South City firing range, where you and the fellas can rent a wide variety of pistols, rifles and ammo, plus get all the equipment and instruction you'll need to safely shoot stuff, guns are a lot of fun. As a perfect pre-amble to the drinks you'll need later to steady your nerves, Jackson Arms is open till 9pm every night except Sunday. Just don't come Monday--that's Ladies Night--unless you want to meet some serious femme fatales.
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Red's Java House
Read ReviewsPier 30, San Francisco, CA 94105 (map)
You and your crew headed to the ballpark? Stop by this dilapidated bay-side shack for great views, fat burgers and $3 beers before the game--you can eat and drink for two hours here for what you'd spend on one beer-and-fries run at AT&T.
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Buckshot Bar and Gameroom
Read Reviews3828 Geary Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118 (map)
The undisputed bar-game capital of San Francisco, this Richmond dive is the place for guys who like to bond through athletic competition without breaking a sweat. The bar's got pool, darts, the Big Buck Hunter arcade game, shuffleboard, board games and, amazingly, Skee-Ball; it's like Chucky Cheese for grown men, with $2 Tecates.
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La Trappe
Write a review800 Greenwich St, San Francisco, CA 94133 (map)
From the wooden church pews in the cool stone cellar of this Belgian beer temple in North Beach, you and your homies can worship any one of the 100+ meticulously crafted, esoteric European brews available ... or pound them like the shirtless meatheads of Lake Havasu; up to you. And since all men love breakfast food served at the wrong time of day, grab a buttery Belgian waffle upstairs on your way out.
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Cigar Bar and Grill
Read Reviews850 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94133 (map)
This spot is extremely man-centric--a humidor full of stogies you can fire up wherever you like, pool tables, baby-back ribs, live music and, of course, a full bar. And, because of the beautiful Spanish villa-style outdoor patio and great North Beach location, it also attracts something else you and your buddies might be looking for: women.
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MR. The Barbershop
Read Reviews560 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94111 (map)
Barbershops have always been bastions of male bonding, but this FiDi spot takes it to another level, providing a bar, a gigantic TV, couches and plenty of boys club atmosphere. Meet the fellas here for a beer, a ballgame, and an old-school shave or cut--she can't be mad at you if you come home looking better than when you left.
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