aaron c beals

Last night, we hopped a cab out to haight & ashbury. If you don’t know why this area is significant, google it.

It was all I thought it would be and more… The hippie vibe is still strong, and I finally found out where all the Phishheads went once the band broke up.

There were a bunch of music shops, including Amoeba Records (good store, but high prices) and a guitar store (very cool, good selection). And there were a handful of smoke shops selling equipment “for tobacco use only”. Shocking.

I had a moment of reminiscence as I looked around at the dreadheaded 20- and 30-somethings, and I got to thinking. What I liked about the scene was the laid-back atmosphere, the general love for your fellow man, and a willingness to share. Violence was low, if not non-existent. But over time, I started to realize that the laid-back tendencies were tied to general apathy, or in cases where people did feel passionately about something, a general unwillingness to “think big” about getting the message out there.

I also noticed that the selfishness inherent in mankind was starting to show through — in the end, people were out for themselves. This ugly side shined through most clearly in the (unfortunately sizable) drug culture within the scene. Increasingly, people weren’t there for the music, art, or community … They were there to make themselves feel good. It was a shift from focus on others to focus on self.

Anyhow, back to the Haight. We saw the house (710 Ashbury) where the Grateful Dead lived and played, and then walked down to the Magnolia brewpub.

Honestly, from the food to the beer to the atmosphere to the eloquently-written menus, this was hands-down one of the best brewpubs I have ever been to. I had a sampler of flights and then a pint of cask-conditioned Dark Star Mild. Outstanding. Laura had a homemade root beer. For food: buffalo wings as an appetizer, steak and moules frites for dinner, and a cheese plate for dessert. This place was it… the dream… my goal. They even use organic and local ingredients — sustainability!! Some day more people will start caring about sustainability. They’ll have to.