BART Stop Spotlight: Civic Center

This is a fantastic opera house. I’ve only ever seen opera in San Francisco, so my frame of reference is kind of skewed. Please forgive me if the features I cite here are just standard for every opera house. I dig the big screens for the supertitles and the really classy architecture. However, my favorite part of the Opera House is the extreme slant of the aisles in the nosebleeds. You really feel like you might tumble to your death when you duck out to grab a drink from the bar. It’s like, extreme culture.

If you’ve got money to burn and you really want to show off, you can’t go wrong with Absinthe. They change their menu so frequently that it’s difficult to recommend anything, but I’ve never eaten there and been disappointed. They are rock stars about making sure that you don’t miss your show, staggering seating into 15 minute increments. The service is perfect, and if you want to drink something that tastes like black licorice in order to impress your friends, go ahead and have their namesake drink. Plus, any place with a seperate cheese menu is aces in my book.

My favorite restaurant in San Francisco, hands down. You’d think that your best bet for quality seafood would be down on Fisherman’s Wharf, but you’d think wrong. Classy and delicious, without costing too much. It’s a great way to kick off a night of culture. For people who don’t dig on fish, they do steak and burgers and they always look good going past the table. I’ve never had them, because the fish is out of sight. If they have it, get the swordfish with the lemon and caper butter. Worth BARTing into the city just to eat here. It’s pricey without making your wallet cry. You can have a great meal for under $150 for two people without trying too hard.

THE place to go for live music in The City. Sure, there are little clubs like Bimbos and Slims, and larger venues like The Great American Music Hall, but Bill Graham is the best. It’s rocking some serious history of…uhh…rocking. You can find something great to see every week, and because it’s so close to BART you don’t have to worry about parking.