Amidst a Bay Area bar scene often flawed by overhype and overcrowding, on of my favorite ways to pass a Sunday morning is a visit to Zeitgeist. The Mission stalwart’s biker bar decor and rowdy, crowded late night scene cede to a calming quiet with sleepy-eyed early shift bartenders, and lemony sun spilling across the patio beer garden. Doors open at 9am, and until 11 or so, you and your crew can pretty much have the place to yourself.
You don’t have a wait to play game after game of pool at the red-felted table. The click of cues and the echoing roll of successfully sunken balls provide a meditative percussion, a sweet simple sound to start a day of lazy leisure.
And that crimson cloth constantly reminds you to order up another tall, tangy, justifiably celebrated Zeitgeist Bloody Mary. An awakening kick of pickle juice, a scold of grated of horseradish and a side-salad’s worth of briny vegetable garnishes make it seem sufficiently virtuous for pre-noon imbibing.
