North Beach has a certain magic to it. The neon lights and the strip show barkers blend with the San Francisco night and the smell of garlic, creating something old school and current, ancient and timely.

A great bar is more than just a place to drink. It’s a secondary character in stories of romance, regret, radiance, and redemption that transpire nightly throughout every town in the world.The Edinburgh Castle is one of these great bars.

I’m too old to go to Delirium now. The tightly packed bar area and the sweaty, sticky, smelly dance floor are too much for me, even if the drinks are incredibly cheap. But spending too much time and making poor decisions at Delirium is a right of passage for anyone who’s nighttime lives are passed in the Mission.

Socrates died from drinking hemlock. He was too smart for his own fucking good, and they killed him for it. Those in power tried him and sentenced him to death by drinking a beverage laced with that poisonous plant.