Blessed Be Tommy’s Joynt, the Last San Francisco Hof Brau, RESY 2021

 

One late evening in 2005, my roommate and her situationship picked me up outside Greyhound at the old Transbay Terminal on Mission and First. I had just crossed the street from buying a Swisher cigar at Walgreens. I jumped into the back of the SUV and proceeded to gut the cigar innards and replace them with some of that pre-dispensary-no-seeds-no-stems-no-sticks. By the time we reached the Hard Knox Cafe on Third Street, we were properly famished. But, they were closed. The situationship, born and raised in the City, knew of one place that was always open late on the weekends and always had a table available. We reached Van Ness Avenue. I couldn’t tell if the mist was coming from releasing the hot box or the fog rolling down the avenue, but I looked up and was met by a blindingly lit building: Tommy’s Joynt.