I can't believe it's not the Mission!
The Tenderloin is packed with great new (and old) nightlife haunts.

By Charles Anders

WHEN THE BIGFOOT Lodge opened six months ago, people were amazed. It wasn't the wild log-cabin decor that shocked them, but the location on Polk Street. Bartender and DJ Spencer recalls people asking "Why are you doing this here? Why wouldn't you want to do this in the Mission or the Haight? "

The Tenderloin neighborhood around Polk used to be one of the city's hippest areas and a major bar-crawling destination back in the early 1980s. It fell from favor during the past decade, but now the neighborhood is stealing back some of the Mission's thunder, thanks to a bevy of new bars and some recharged old favorites. "We're looking at a little Polk Street renaissance," Spencer says.

The new drinkeries are so hot that Mission dwellers are flocking to Polk Gulch. One Mission gal named Daphne says she visited the Hemlock Tavern recently and found half the people on her block had shown up there as well. "Why is half of the Mission coming up here?" she asks.

Some complain the influx of guzzlers is too straight and dilutes the hood's traditional queer culture. Others raise the specter of invading yuppies like rampaging Visigoths. But most welcome the new venue choices and the friendly mix of people at those spots. "It'll always be gay," insists Fuji, a student of the Polk Street environs. Here are some of the places that are currently lighting up the neighborhood.

Divas Love it or hate it, this bar is the city's best-known tranny bar and a major fixture of the hood. Its reputation as a pickup bar for transgender sex workers sometimes draws an odd crowd, but regulars extol it as the city's best tranny hookup spot. Every week or so, an e-mail flame war erupts on T.G. message boards between Divas' true believers and those who choke on the bar's overenthusiastic fog machine and creepy atmosphere. A recent Sunday-evening visit found a group of nontransgender patrons nursing drinks and staring into space without much of a party vibe. On Friday and Saturday nights, gals dance on the second floor in front of the giant mirror befitting a true diva's vanity. 1081 Post, S.F. (415) 928-6006.

Lush Lounge Golden chicks and saints hang from the ceiling and walls in this flamboyant piano bar whose decor redefines "over-the-top." Matinee idols beam at the disco balls and glittering fixtures, and a tiny balcony stage with a piano and microphone overlooks the main bar. People flock from as far away as San Jose to check out the professional singers, who include such luminaries as Veronica Klaus and Doug Woods. And the Wednesday-night amateur hour has become a favorite among would-be torch singers jaded by karaoke. Many of the bar's regulars seem to be queer, but habitués insist the place is mixed. Recently, many trannies have traipsed across the street from Divas to this bar, but the tranny contingent here remains small. Apparently it's more fun to be a diva than a lush. 1092 Post, S.F. (415) 771-2022.

Hemlock Tavern "It doesn't try too hard," one regular raves about this unpretentious night spot. Unlike other newcomers, the bar has "sloppy" decor that looks wholly improvised, including the giant swordfish and animal heads on the wall. The lack of house lights and rounded bar contribute to the relaxed atmosphere. Indie rock and alt-country bands play in the back, but the bar's eclectic jukebox also wins raves. There's even a small enclosed room for smokers. "It's just a regular straight-up drinking bar," bartender Peter says. Fans say this is the sort of bar that used to spring up all the time in San Francisco 10 years ago, a place where punks and freaks can make new friends. 1131 Polk, S.F. (415) 923-0923.

Jezebels Joint This bar recently reopened after a hiatus and seems to have reinvented itself as a Goth and rock club. In its original incarnation, Jezebels billed itself as the bar for "doms, daddies and trannies" and boasted a coterie of sex workers and porn stars among its customers. This time around, though, Jezebels has started selling clothing during the day, mixing booze with retail in a veritable cocktail of consumerism. And the bar now has special nights, which seem to cast a wide net in terms of musical tastes. For example, Saturday is "death rock, old wave and new wave" night. Four nights a week, manager Jeff Ross screens independent films at Microcinema. The doms and trannies have gotten lost in the mix, and the daddies are probably home changing diapers. The customers remain eclectic, however: on a recent Saturday, one man dressed all in black announced himself as an "international jewel thief." The small dance floor was packed with Goths dancing to the Smiths, plus a couple of gravitationally confused club kids. 510 Larkin, S.F. (415) 345-9832.

Julip It's obviously a bar owned by interior decorators, and yet it works. The owners of Mission favorite Dalva recently opened Julip to showcase their other business, an interior decorating salon called Interior Per Dieux. (Trivia note: Dalva and Julip are both titles of books by Jim Harrison.) The Virgin Mary swaddles the Baby Jesus on one wall, while huge mirrors look down on the bar. The first thing that strikes you on entering Julip is how dark and shiny it is – aged wood and wrought iron adorn every surface. The bar looks like the hull of a sea-worn ship. Julip showcases different DJs and styles of music every night, including future jazz, broken beat, and 2-step on Thursday nights, "hip hop happy hour" plus a mix of Afro-Latin and hip hop later on Friday nights, club music on Saturday nights, and soul jazz, electrofunk, punk, and metal on Juke Joint Sundays. The young bar has already attracted tons of media interest, including one "crazy guy on speed" claiming to be a reporter for another weekly paper, who pulled out a tape recorder and demanded to know the price of a cherry Coke, according to bartender Colby. Monday-evening DJ Wisdom reassures me it's not a yuppie bar despite its fancy furnishings. "Not yet," he adds. 839 Geary, S.F. (415) 474-3216.

Bigfoot Lodge Promotional postcards proclaim this new bar to be "California's favorite log-cabin cocktail lounge." The log-cabin ethos includes fake logs on the walls and faux fires over the bar and at the far end of the room. The walls bear animal heads larger than the ones at the Hemlock, and a giant statue of Sasquatch ferociously watches the proceedings. DJs spin "a veritable potpourri of palatable pop" tending mostly toward rock, bartender Spencer says. Fans praise the friendly and intimate atmosphere. The fire may be make-believe, but there's still warmth to be found in this little house on the Polk prairie. "We have so much atmosphere here, we have our own weather," Spencer claims. The place has but one rule, he says: "If you hear bigfoot talking, you're cut off at the bar." 1750 Polk, S.F. (415) 440-2355.

Kimo's Like Divas, Kimo's is a neighborhood landmark that boasts a long-standing loyal clientele. But unlike Divas, Kimo's has been adapting and attracting a new crowd with punk rock concerts in its upstairs space. The downstairs area features a plain but warm wood decor and houseplants, with a crew of thirty- and fortysomething gay men who seem almost as much fixtures as the plants are. They grumble about the straight kids the bar has succeeded in attracting lately, but for now at least Kimo's has the best of both worlds. 1351 Polk, S.F. (415) 885-4535.

An Sibin Once the Irish pub Mulligans, An Sibin reopened two years ago as a DJ bar. Featuring "high energy hip hop" on Tuesdays, funk-jazz-soul-disco on Wednesdays, house on Thursdays, pop on Fridays, and a rotating set of parties on Saturday nights, the bar attracts a mix of freaks and alternative party people. The fourth Saturday of every month is Smoke and Mirrors, a Goth night where the denizens of darkness overcome their usual aloofness and even occasionally pick one another up. The main part of the bar is plain with white walls, but the back room is dark and perfect for bumping to drum and bass music with your friends or potential lovers. 1176 Sutter, S.F. (415) 929-1992.

Charles Anders is the author of The Lazy Crossdresser (Greenery Press) and host of the spoken word series Writers with Drinks.