Heart and Dagger Saloon

I love this bar- as a SF transplant- it's my favorite...I hate to compare it to zeitgeist, but in a way it does compare because of the outside picnic table area that is larger than the inside, the black  80's/90s alternative music vibe and music playing, relaxed attitude of the customers and workers, but I think there is less I'm too cool for you attitude at heart n' dagger. Typical prices, good selection of beers, ciders and liquors,  dog friendly (and they now are more strict about keeping them on leash, which is a bummer because my dog is better off leash, but makes complete sense as a**holes who don't have their dog under control have probably caused trouble which is why they have to enforce it...). They are so dog friendly, they don't allow people to bring the buffalo wings in from next door (which is good, someone's watching out for pups ...douchebags will feed your pet food without asking and chicken is dangerous for dogs!)

The staff is cool- when I came for the first time a few years ago I was worried that they were gonna have the cooler than you attitude they do at zeitgeist- but they don't.  The crowd is completely mixed- gay/straight/transgendered...preppy, rocker, hipster, douchebag, sportsfan (people who think they are on sports teams and only wear football or baseball uniform shirts and hats as if they are on the team)...you name it...they're there, and oddly with alcohol I've never seem a fight break out...people seem to get along well. Bring cash because as with most dive bars it's cash only (they also have an ATM). Music is good. My only complaint is the men's bathroom's lack of privacy- guess though it wouldn't qualify as a dive bar if it didn't have an inch gap and actually had a lock- I can't knock off a star for that though, because they are my favorite bar in Oakland.

"Oh, he's very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude."

-- from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

A visit to Heart & Dagger often reminds me of these words. As watering holes go, it may not be for every body, but it has a strikingly wide array of fans. And for us fans, it holds a piece of our hearts.

The vibe is casual (read: 'divey'), distinctly Oakland, with a wild edge befitting a David Lynch film. A biker bar only 'modestly' gentrified by neo-Oaklandites/wannabees/over-incomed geeks, to which I confess a partial complicity.  

The playground segments into roughly three arenas:  (1) Bar area, where the bees get their honey -- and the barkeeps, both efficient and commanding, do a great job keeping the drones and workers happy. Beer specials and shots of liquor are an excellent value, especially during HH, when my lovely Bulliet Manhattans are especially generous. (2) Patio, definitely favored by the dog-partnered and smoking clientele, and seems to collect the more regular patrons. Gossip is overheard, smiles are witnessed, wafting cigarette smoke is inhaled. Water from two giant ThermosTM coolers is free and easily accessed for both two and four-legged visitors back here.

And then there is (3), the pool table.  Where I learned, thanks to tutelage from billiards Maestro M and a few tips from other regulars, to now actually almost *not* suck at pool-playing.  Back to (3) in a bit.

For the bar en masse though: at its heart of gold though does push the tip of its dagger, as visits here have not always been a feel-good utopian experience. I've seen people verbally insulted or kicked out for debatable reasons by the staff (actually mostly by just one staff member -- they seem to work only one day a week, blessings); heard obnoxious comments by bigots drunk and loud; spied sketchy characters sporting knives in their back pocket, and witnessed a few "lively" disagreements over 8-ball. Admittedly, H&D is an onion with many layers, and not all those layers are pretty.  The trifling edginess is in reality as much an allure as a downer, and a metaphor and microcosm of our world and city and a reminder that good or bad you're still a part of it so why not be a positive part or at the very least learn how to deal with it?

In reality, I don't wax all philosophic like that when I visit here. Which brings us back to (3):  I do, truly, enjoy the regular pool players, and the competition and camaraderie I'm fortunate to have shared.  I'm a square peg for several reasons in H&D, but the bonding with other such pegs or non-pegs is the reason I love to visit. And on those visits, I get to practice my shot, nurse my bourbon, and inhale the simple sideways joys that life has to offer.

Can one sum up H&D in a single catchphrase?  "All for one, one for all, just watch your wallet and drink." "You don't have to be a biker to come, but it don't hurt if you are one." "A bar of inimitable substance and a multitude of substances."

Nah ... screw that. Heart and Dagger defies an easy Yelp review description. And I'm guessing they like it that way. Just be chill, be respectful, be unorthodox, be free, and be yourself. It's not to be analyzed. Just enjoyed.

I drink too much.  

I came to that realization, drunk, during a disappointing pizza experience (why the fuck my bf drove us all the way to oakland for pizza who knows?)   What to do at 11pm on weeknight, drunk, concerned about how you will pay for Betty Ford and in Oakland?

Heart and Dagger saloon.

Sure, my boyfriend tells me he loves pizza more than me. Get me drink.

Thank the Lord in Heaven he volunteered to DD.