Bernal Heights Castro Chinatown Cole Valley Downtown Embarcadero Hayes Valley Lower Haight Lower Polk/Van Ness Marina Mission Nob Hill & Russian Hill Noe Valley North Beach Pacific Heights Potrero Hill Richmond Soma Sunset Upper Haight Upper Polk/Van Ness Western Addition ..d i s t r i c t ....s p o t l i g h t A Local's Paradise The Pleasures of the Upper Haight by Tamar Love Bordered by Stanyan on the west and Central on the east, the Upper Haight is a splendid agora of thrift shops, ethnic restaurants, specialty stores and hip couture--plus miles and miles of tie-dyed fabric. Even though it's no longer 1968, the Summer of Love is alive and well on Haight Street, where locals in search of a bargain or a tasty bite thread past stunned tourists, glassy-eyed junkies, twitchy street people, Marin runaways, trendy teens and packs of leather-studded dogs, all the while hearing a faint, ubiquitous murmur: buds? doses? we got the kind bud... Those with a sense of history will remember the Haight as a hippie haven during the late 60s and early 70s, a wonderland of psychedelics, free love and local celebrities like Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, whose Ashbury and Waller house was featured prominently on the cover of the first issue of Rolling Stone. That wonderland is resurrected every June at the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair, an annual institution since 1978, where food and trinket vendors vie with musicians for the attention of the thousand-plus attendees, a surreal combination of yuppies, punks, hippies, dot-commers, suburbanites and stoners. But the Haight isn't just about hippies and dope: it's also about dollars. Spending them, anyway. You can unload a pretty penny at Shoe Biz, a haute reseller of Camper, Wosh, Diesel and other fancy-yet-frivolous footwear. Don't be afraid of attitude: the charming staff will make you feel like a swan even if you're an ugly duckling. The same is true at Ambiance, where you can find gorgeous dresses, diaphanous gowns, sweet suits and snazzy separates galore, along with all the glitzy, glamorous accessories you could ever want. Pocketbook a bit light? Check out the jewelry counter for affordable, stunning beads and bangles. Pocketbook really light? Head over to Wasteland, a hip consignment/secondhand/thrift store selling faux fur coats, lush kimono, broken-in Levi's and funky little T-shirts amidst an atmosphere of urban funk and sprightly creativity. Take your old clothes with you when you go: Wasteland will give you a good price for them--if your togs are hip enough. After you've outfitted yourself, stop in at Planetweavers, a quirky little gift shop that sells wooden musical instruments, cards, books, candles, jewelry and other UNICEF-sponsored goods, or Mendels Art Supplies, where you can find everything from feathers to fun fur. One of the most frequented shops, the Ashbury Tobacco Center is legendary for its beautifully crafted glass bongs ... uh ... water pipes, a Haight tradition. You can also browse through a rich selection of tobaccos, pipe stems and papers. If you have any money left, spend it at Amoeba Music, where you'll find a vast selection of music from all genres, or at The Booksmith, a local independent that hosts an excellent monthly reading series. If you're all about food and fun, the Haight is your place. Cha Cha Cha is still the best place in SF for tapas, despite the crowd and the wait. Make sure to get the potatoes, the garlic shrimp and the fried plantains--and don't forget the sangria. If burritos are more your thing, head to Balazo, home of the biggest, cheapest tastiest burrito outside the Mission, or go across the street to Sweet Heat, Balazo's zippier cousin, where you can get a scallop burrito with a spicy-tangy chile sauce and a premium margarita that will knock your socks off. Other ethnic eateries include Masawa, arguably the best Eritrian food in town, and Truly Mediterranean, a quickie-shawerma chain diner. Or try everyone's perennial favorite, All You Knead, where the scruffy-looking booths don't deter customers from scarfing down hearty omelets or massive veggie burritos. If you're in the mood for something light, try the People's Café, purveyor of fine coffees and tasty little salads. People watching is a big bonus: the café's large plate-glass windows afford an unparalleled view of the street. After dinner, catch a movie at the Red Vic Movie House, a super-cheap repertory theater showing foreign, art and cult movies nightly, or sip a martini at Club Deluxe while you listen to hot local swing and rockabilly. locations... The Grateful Dead's House 710 Ashbury St. (Ashbury @ Waller) Haight-Ashbury Street Fair 952 Ashbury St. (between Piedmont and Clifford) 415.661.8025 haightstreetfair.org Shoe Biz 1446 Haight St. (between Ashbury and Masonic) 415.861.3005 Ambiance 1458 Haight St. (between Ashbury and Masonic) 415.552.5095 Wasteland 1660 Haight St. (Haight @ Cole) 415.863.3150 Planetweavers 1573 Haight St. (Haight @ Clayton) 415.864.4415 Mendel's Art Supplies 1556 Haight St. (between Clayton and Ashbury) 415.621.1287 Ashbury Tobacco Center 1524 Haight St. (Haight @ Ashbury) 415.552.5556 Amoeba Music 1855 Haight St. (Haight @ Stanyan) 415.831.1200 amoebamusic.com The Booksmith 1644 Haight St. (Haight @ Belvedere) 415.863.8688 booksmith.com Cha Cha Cha 1801 Haight St. (Haight @ Shrader) 415.386.5758 Balazo 1654 Haight St. (Haight @ Belvedere) 415.864.8608 Sweet Heat 1725 Haight St. (Haight @ Cole) 415.387.8845 Masawa 1538 Haight St. (Haight @ Ashbury) 415.621.4129 Truly Mediterranean 1724 Haght St. (Haight @ Cole) 415.751.7482 All You Knead 1466 Haight St. (Haight @ Masonic) 415.552.4550 People's Café 1419 Haight St. (Haight @ Masonic) 415.553.8842 Red Vic Movie House 1727 Haight St. (between Cole and Shrader) 415.668.3994 redvicmoviehouse.com Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St. (Haight @ Ashbury) 415.552.6949 clubdeluxe.com ..p a s t ....a r t i c l e s - Name of Article - Year of the Snake (Chinatown) Two Views to a Hill (Potrero Hill) Scenic Treasures Abound (Marina) Take A Closer Look (Bayview) Treasures in a Tourist Trap (Fisherman's Wharf) Scaling New Heights (Nob Hill) Ocean's Reach (Ocean Beach) The Next Portal (West Portal) Ode to the Portola (Portola) The Ultimate Sunday Stroll (Glen Park) Ever Upward (Excelsior) A Little Italy of the Mind (North Beach) Downtown But Not Uptight (Downtown) Diamonds Of Duboce (Duboce Triangle) Tender Moments (Civic Center/Tenderloin) Hot to Trot (Tenderloin) Cruisin' Clement Street (Clement Street) Finding The G-Spot (Mission) Dreaming of life by the Bay (San Francisco) Caffeine Heights (Bernal Heights) Sunset Salvation (The Sunset) Western Inhibitions (Western Addition)

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