Three ways to conquer your gift list without leaving the neighborhood

Shopping North Beach

By Michelle Tea

THERE'S SOMETHING POSTCARDY about holiday shopping in North Beach, and it's not just that the place is teeming with tourists. With an unlikely flock of parrots screeching overhead, cable cars clattering down the street, and a history that includes outlaw poets, boozing queers, and the nation's first topless dancer, North Beach is a quintessential San Francisco enclave. And like other huge swaths of San Francisco, it eschews corporate chain shops in favor of independent boutiques peddling everything from designer Japanese toys to secondhand dulcimers to tattoos.

Off to one side of main drag Columbus Avenue winds narrow Grant Avenue, stuffed to the curb with places to spend your money. Though there are lots of spots catering to the dressy glitz and glamour of girldom, if you're on a budget, head to Ruby Doll's (1318 Grant, SF. 415-834-9762, www.rubygirl.com). The counter is bulked up with faux designer sunglasses, sparkling rhinestone bracelets, and fluttering peacock-feather earrings. Curio cabinets hold tiny treasures – glass perfume bottles, glittering brooches. The trendy clothes on the racks are often anywhere from 20 to 40 percent off. And there are cheapo bins to paw through if, say, you're determined to find a fuchsia mesh pullover for under $15.

Continuing down Grant, bop into 101 Music (1414 Grant, SF. 415-392-6369), whose windows are lined with kitschy rock memorabilia – all for sale – such as Ramones lunchboxes, Elvis nesting dolls, and Jim Morrison toy cars. Crates of $5 vinyl offer anything from the Who to Billy Idol, and, inside, every string instrument in existence dangles from the ceiling, above racks of three-for-$25 CDs. Plus, there's a harmonica case right at the counter. "It's a blues part of town," the dude working the register says, shrugging.

Across the street, Lola (1415 Grant, SF. 415-781-1817) has gift-wrapping options galore as well as tons of exotically scented candles – the ultimate gift for the person for whom you have no idea what to buy. And I'm talking high-class scents here, no headache-inducing wild-cherry stink bombs. These candles smell like pomegranate, milk, guavapeel, kapalua, yuzu, and dewberry. Plus, Lola's well stocked in urban baby wear – hip-hop-inspired rompers, plastic sushi bibs, the works.

Over on Powell Street, fall into Double Punch (1821 Powell, SF. 415-399-9785, www.doublepunch.com), purveyor of Japanese toys and assorted pop and graffiti art, and find everything from hilariously adorable $2 stocking stuffers to $200 skateboards designed by artist Kaws. The All You Need Is ... Sticker Graphics Box ($50) is an awesome yellow plastic case containing a bunch of stickers, a poster, and a book on sticker graphics; $110 gets you a stuffed replica of the Warhol banana that graced the cover of that Velvet Underground album (the peel unzips!); and the place is brimming with cheapo toys depicting animals of the sickeningly cute or fanged-and-evil variety.

Heading back to Columbus, you'll want to keep in mind that the gift that keeps on giving is not a Sports Illustrated subscription – it's a tattoo. And Lyle Tuttle Tattooing (841 Columbus, SF. 415-775-4991, www.lyletuttletattooing.com), staffed with wicked talented artistes, sells gift certificates that begin at $80 and end only at the limits of your wallet or the recipient's pain threshold. Then finish your North Beach shopping spree with a required trip into City Lights (261 Columbus, SF. 415-362-8193, www.citylights.com; I recommend the chapbook and zine alcove) and refuel with a coffee from XOX Truffles (754 Columbus, SF. 415-421-4814; free homemade chocolate truffle with purchase!). Or maybe you're starving and need an enchanting dinner at Cafe Divine (1600 Stockton, SF. 415-986-3414)? Or a famous focaccia sandwich from Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store (566 Columbus, SF. 415-362-0536). Or maybe it's a good, stiff, sailor-issue cocktail you require, from the notorious Spec's (12 Saroyan Pl., SF. 415-421-4112)? Whatever it is, in North Beach you've got choices.