Beer Boulevard

Draft beer choices at Toronado

I mis-tweeted.  It was actually the Men’s Journal (October 5) that crowed about 30th Street being “easily the nation’s best beer boulevard,” not Food & Wine. (Food & Wine did its gushing about San Diego’s beer scene in June.) Still the latest publicity inspired me and a couple of friends to stop merely talking about doing a 30th Street pub crawl and actually do it this past Saturday night. What we learned:

Hamilton's

– that Hamilton’s and Toronado are NOT overrated as temples of the brewing arts. When we arrived at Toronado (4026 30th) shortly before 7, it was jammed with a noisy, young, and happy-looking crowd, some reverently studying the menu of more than 50 beers on tap. The offshoot of a San Francisco enterprise of the same name, Toronado opened less than a year and a half ago.  In contrast, Hamilton’s (1531 30th) claims to rank among the oldest bars in the city. (Once known as Sparky’s, it was reincarnated into its present form about three years ago and named in honor of the African-American neighbor who was long refused admission because of his skin color.) As at Toronado, the choice of beers on tap was head-spinning. The jukebox, pool tables, shuffleboard (!), and interesting menu added to the merriment.

– that it’s a stretch to talk about pub-crawling, Hamilton’s, and Toronado in the same breath.  Hamilton’s is so far south it’s almost Golden Hill. As you walk north on 30th, you pass through blocks and blocks that are purely residential. 

Only at Upas Street does 30th begin to have a more urban vibe.  Mind you, it’s nothing like the Gaslamp, but the mile and a half between Upas and Adams Avenue includes a number of establishments boasting provocative beer offerings (Toronado among them). Peter Rowe in the Union compiled a nice rundown on them (“Hops Spots“) in the Union-Tribune in July of 2008.

My friends and I also spent some time at the Linkery, where we drank more beer and tucked into some of the self-consciously local provender for which the Linkery is famous. I know some folks complain about the mandatory 18% service charge and slow service, but our waitress was quick and pleasant, and our sausages and eggplant lasagna and lamb were all tasty.