SFist Reprint

Your team of Sherpas to guide you to the top of drunk mountain. Or more plainly, a bar review column by your loyal barrespondent, Drew.

One thing is for sure, we love us some neighborhood bars. You can tell within 3 or 4 seconds whether or not any bar in this city was made for people from around the corner or for people from across town. There's an unmistakable 'localness' that certain places have. And even if our mere presence is jerking with that vibe a little bit, most neighborhood bars will remain that way no matter what. It's not something done on purpose, so it's not something that can be controlled. 'Neighborhoodiness' is a force to be reckoned with, and easily overpowers any damage caused by our interloping.

Place Pigalle in Hayes Valley is one of the great neighborhood bars in the entire city. It's dark, it's friendly, and even when it gets crowded later on in the evening, it still maintains a certain charm. There's no liquor license, so you'll have to make do with beer, wine and sake, but trust us, after awhile (and several sakes) you won't even notice. The bar staff always seems top notch and the regulars that inhabit the right side stools are incredibly eager for conversation (sometimes a little too eager if you just want to be left alone).

As for their drink selection, there's a lot of places around that serve Chimay nowadays, but Pigalle's been at it for a while now and it shows. Along with a very selective and delicious set of beers on tap, they also have many nice wine choices and some premium sakes too. So while the drink selections are swanky, the environment is not, and there ain't nothin' wrong with that. At least, not in this neighborhood.

Liver...Out!!!