San Francisco Surf City? You don’t think of SF as a surf mecca, with its cold weather and lack of surf. But wait! San Francisco DOES have surf and it actually has some nice weather in September and October . There’s Ocean Beach, the Clift House, the Beach Chalet… and even some real surfers. Chris (sometimes surfer ) calls the SF Avenues near the beach his home along with a number of other surf groups with Pollo Del Mar and its leader Ferenc probably the leading promoter of San Francisco as a legit surf town. … And right where the ‘ Ocean meets Western Civilization’ at 45th Av and Taraval is a little hidden gem of a night spot calleld the Riptide. Not only is the name apropo but the place makes for a great little music venue. As the Zagat guide describes it’s part Tahoe ski lodge with its dark wood and part funky quaint bar tucked away in a cute little neighborhood at land’s end. Never had been there before and glad I went.
Golden State
San Francisco Surf City, Movie Mecca? Vintage Venues Live!
Sorry, an interior photo of Riptide just can’t capture the feel of the place. You’d need a wideangle to capture the double bar, fireplace in back , moosehead on the wall, etc… Surf meccas Huntington Beach and Santa Curz may not have any original haunts like this. And Riptide is the real thing, having its beginnings in 1941 with little changed over the years, it would appear. Now, nostalgic pictures line the walls. The split, or double bar is very unusal and adds to the character , much like Trad’r Sam’s round tiki bar (1937) not far down the avenues. And Polo Del Mar really brought it all together with its latest surf sounds. Whoever thought this one out for a surf venue was right on. Hope the boys come back soon, or some other surf groups, though it would be tough to top Ferenc and the boys.. maybe their friends the Meshugga Beach Party would come closest for a local Bay Area band…. check out Pollo Del Mar here… Nokie Edwards of the Ventures sits in with Pollo del Mar in Tokyo, Japan, a hotbed for surf music.
Even older than the Riptide is the Balboa Theater (1926). We tired to cram it all in this Sat. nite 11/12/11 , running from Riptide 5 minutes up the road to here but Sutro had just finished its last run of the night
so can’t really highlight the interior of the classic pre – deco theater nor the new documentary about the famed Sutro Baths, once another highlight of San Francisco’s Lands End, with its huge heated pools and colorful spectacles, just up the road from another Ocean Beach gen, Playland at the Beach, Sutro burned down years ago and Playland closed in the early 70s but the memories live on. In fact, a woman , now in her 80s, who worked at Sutro for years was able to collect so much memorabilia the producers of a previous movie about Playland came to her recently to ask her to take part in the new film about the Sutro baths. We’ll have to give it another try before it closes. And what better venue than the Balboa, not more than a mile from where it all happened…
That’s the neat thing about this night.. being able to witness such events in such perfect and appropriate vintage settings! Check out Riptide and the Balboa along with Pollo Del Mar and Sutro, the latter you may have to catch at a less exciting venue. 
The Best of American & Foreign Films Posters. Book 2. From the Classic and Film Noir to Deco and Avant-Garde. 4th Edition. (World best films posters)
