Vesuvio

NileGuide Expert tip:

Play it cool, hep cat, and order the Absinthe. They do it right here, pouring it over a sugar cube and then lighting the cube on fire so it drizzles into your drink.

Description:

• This historic but still hip little pub palace features stained glass, funky seats, and photos galore of the literary beatniks who once spent their pay (most likely from City Lights Publishers, just next door) on booze and loose women inside. At the corner of Jack Kerouac alley and Columbus Ave, it's premier location at the downtown edge of North Beach suggests it should be hopping all the time, but in fact its the perfect place to take a notebook, grab a pint and wax poetic, inspired by the beat of the beats that still lingers in the walls. Or do your waxing outloud with some friends in the sweet wraparound 2nd floor, where the tables at the front feature a downright uplifting view of the mad cats in strait jacket suits making their way from the Financial District to the Gentlemens' Clubs down Broadway.
  
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