Volume 139, Issue 7
BY KATHLEEN DONOVAN
Editor
PHOTOS BY DAN ELDRIDGE |
Face it: With finals almost over, workhorse students are aching to get out and party. We surveyed 200 students to find out where to go and what to do.
Hip-hop clubs were overwhelmingly popular, with Kelly’s Mission Rock Resort and Jillian’s taking top positions for both best club and best dancing.
The nightclub at Kelly’s Mission Rock Resort, near SBC Ballpark, regularly has hip-hop shows and dancing. Like Jillian's, the dress code is strict so leave your basketball jerseys at home. Jillian’s, located at the Metreon, was a surprise.
The cover charges are steep and the crowd is older. The cover charge at Jillian’s ranges from $10 to $20. The club caters to off-duty law enforcement, even holding a “Badge Night” on Mondays for police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and military personnel.
“It is a much older and cooler crowd,” says Sonya Sarcos, a San Francisco State University student.
More popular than Jillian’s and Kelly’s Mission Rock Resort is City Nights. It is a behemoth with several floors, three bars and five go-go cages. It is an 18 and over club and the age range skews young here.
For those who don’t care for giant nightclubs with loud pulsating beats, Zeitgeist offers a back patio and cheap drinks. At this rough-and-tumble Mission district bar, gruff bartenders serve Pabst for $2.50.
Zeitgeist’s crowd is heavy with rockers, cyclists and bikers. “I never know what’s going to walk in the door, darlin’,” says bartender Eric Zebeda.
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Frequent visits by the Tamale Lady, a woman who goes from bar to bar selling tamales, is a highlight, according to patrons.
Holy Cow in SOMA offers the best happy hour, according to the survey. Drinks are half-priced on Thursdays from 9 p.m. to midnight and $3 “Juiced Specials” are available on Friday nights from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The students chose Holy Cow as a favorite to start the night, because it has no cover charge.
Weeknights in the city would be dead if all San Franciscans were as responsible as our students, who reported they are most likely be found at home, the gym or the library on Monday through Thursday.
There is always a good crowd at Popscene, an 18 and over dance night located at 330 Ritch St. Unlike
City Nights, Popscene hosts a mixed crowd age-wise and offers a full bar with good, albeit pricey, drinks.
So good luck with finals and enjoy your summer. You will surely meet some classmates when you head out to the clubs. Our students spend an average of eight nights a month out on the town.
e-mail: a_e@theguardsman.com
Paulette Bleam contributed to this report.