Lets get back to why I started this whole blog to begin with. Hospitality Design, and more importantly what works, what doesn't, who is in the know, to whom you might see at these spots, and my favorite part the subtle stories about certain dates or gentleman callers that take place during my search for the best/worst designs.
Lets progress:
The Black Horse
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
1514 Union St(between Franklin St & Van Ness)
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 928-2414
Let me just get this out of the way to begin with. Yes gentleman, size matters! If you have heard that it doesn't please check your references again. They may be faulty. There are only a couple reasons why a woman would say that to you: 1. You have been with this girl for some time, possibly dating/ possibly marriage. She is not saying that because she is trying to make you feel better about yourself, although if she is nice she is sparing your feelings. It is quite the opposite, she is saying it because she is making herself feel better that she has stuck with a guy of your stature for this long. (*wink) 2. You are hooking up and in order for her to avoid your pitiful inadequacies, self esteem issues, or a night of hugging her pillow as she listens to you in the fetal position sobbing like a 4 yr old school boy in the corner, she says it doesn't matter. 3. Or lastly, regardless of what happened between the two of you, she is going to tease you to no end, behind your back and to your co-workers, once you are no longer intimate.
In the Know: Now with that said, take everything I just said and disregard it (for a moment). At the Blackhorse it is all about size, and trust me when I say, the smaller the better! I can count the maximum occupancy on my 'lil fingers and toes, and that includes standing room. The 
bar divides the space in half, roughly 2-3ish feet on either side. Behind the bar is a small (do I even need to say that if the whole thing is small?) service station, a place to make a delicious cheese platter and/or a samich (sandwich for all those properly edumakated folks), and of course an old school bath tub filled with cans. The decor is what you would expect to find at any local London pub, including but not limited to pictures of London, beer posters, hanging steins and my personal favorite "Rules of Behavior." Now I feel as though these rules should just be common knowledge for any bar but apparently the good ol' days of male chivalry (you must give your seat to a lady if she doesn't have one) and female courtesy (ladies no one wants to hear what you have to say on your cell phone, especially about the guy you met outside your apartment at 3 in the morning and how he isn't calling you back....) have completely been ignored. Blackhorse, way to make us face our issues with claustrophobia and behavioural patterns all in one swoop. That is why we (the 'we' refers to me and my other personality) totally heart you!
bar divides the space in half, roughly 2-3ish feet on either side. Behind the bar is a small (do I even need to say that if the whole thing is small?) service station, a place to make a delicious cheese platter and/or a samich (sandwich for all those properly edumakated folks), and of course an old school bath tub filled with cans. The decor is what you would expect to find at any local London pub, including but not limited to pictures of London, beer posters, hanging steins and my personal favorite "Rules of Behavior." Now I feel as though these rules should just be common knowledge for any bar but apparently the good ol' days of male chivalry (you must give your seat to a lady if she doesn't have one) and female courtesy (ladies no one wants to hear what you have to say on your cell phone, especially about the guy you met outside your apartment at 3 in the morning and how he isn't calling you back....) have completely been ignored. Blackhorse, way to make us face our issues with claustrophobia and behavioural patterns all in one swoop. That is why we (the 'we' refers to me and my other personality) totally heart you!Behind the Bar: My favorite thing about going to certain bars is having a friend be a bartender. On top of receiveing cheap to free drinks all night, they always give me the honest, inside scoop on what works and what makes them seceretly want to burn the establishment down. More often than not they want to do the later but that generally goes hand-and-and with hating the owners of the place or knowing that they are working for people that are dumber than they are and resent them or the bar even more. (*not that that has ever happened to me...um....ya....) I am very happy to report that neither of those are an issue at this place. My friend loves the owner and loves the small space he works in. So really there are no negatives for this section. (might actually be a first!)
Who is Who: This bar might be considered located in the Marina, but it is far from a Marina crowd. (Thank god!) The couple times I have been there the patrons are nothing but laid back people that just want to enjoy a cozy spot with some friends. I might go as far as to say this could be one of the best bars in the city. I wouldn't go that far, of course, because I am a synical and selfish. I mean if you can only fit 20ish people in this bar, why the heck would I want to tell the masses to go there?
