A 213 in the 415

by Industry

�I left my heart in San Francisco�� � Frank Sinatra

Ah yes, San Francisco, the golden gate bridge, fisherman�s wharf, clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, and cable cars, some of the many things that attract people to come and visit this hustling bustling metropolis. Although I have visited this great city many times previously, I never did have an opportunity to go Korean clubbing before. Now was my chance.

Although there is no official Koreatown in SF, there is a Korean community of restaurants and shops that reside amongst other Asian shops. It�s more of an Asiantown than a Koreatown I guess. All the clubs of San Francisco seemed to be clumped together near the Bay Bridge. One of these clubs is a Korean club by the name of Bellagio. This establishment has definitely survived the test of time by being in business for over ten years, albeit it has gone through several name changes. From the front, you would never expect it to be a club. Quite modest looking, it does not have all the grandeur of LA Korean clubs. Once you step inside, it is familiar d�cor; a dance floor in the middle and booths all around surrounded by several noh-rae-bangs. Painted on the walls of some of the noh-rae-bangs is Egyptian art from the eighties. I say eighties because all of the art is painted with phosphorescent paint giving the room a glow like no other. The rest of the club is fairly modest with the standard velour booths. The inside is not too big or too small and gives a cozy feel to your stay.

 As the night proceeded the first thing I noticed was the sincerity. Unlike some LA clubs where the staff and management sometimes give you the feeling like they�re doing you a favor,  the people of Bellagio were very courteous, cheery, and even smiled all the time like they just got some. Our waiter, �Dumbo,� asked if I was willing to be booked. I told him that I wasn�t really interested. With that, he tapped me on my back and told me that if I changed my mind, just raise the candle, and he would oblige as quickly as possible. Even for the ladies, the attitude is much more respectful. At no point in time did I see a girl get dragged by the waiter to a table to be booked.

 Although the club was somewhat empty when we initially arrived, it quickly filled up to near capacity by about 11:00. What really tickled my fancy was that about 60 percent of the patrons were in fact woman. Yeah, I know, it�s not an impressive ratio, but I wasn�t complaining. The only issue that I can complain about was the DJ. Hopefully, the situation was the resident DJ was sick and his understudy had to fill in because he was the only thing that was killing my buzz. It wasn�t his choice of music. That was actually pretty good. A nice mix of predominantly hip hop, switched with sets of Korean, trance, and slow jams. What did ruin the groove was his style of mixing. Someone needs to get this guy a metronome because he surely has no clue of keeping a beat. He�s lucky he played my jams. As the night came to a close, we polished off our booze and exited with the blessing of our waiter and the manager Jason.

 Even though the bay may not have the sheer number of Korean nighttime establishments like LA may offer, for this SoCal local that spent a weekend up north, I would definitely say that it is more quality than quantity. So if you�re planning to visit the Bay area and want to get a good night of partying in, be sure to check out Bellagio. A diamond in the rough for this Ktownian.                                          Write Comments