Vesuvio is cool - it's a little claustrophobic for my taste - tons of people and low ceilings, but it has tons of personality. If you are in North Beach, it's definitely worth having a drink in here for the historic reasons that Skizero mentions.

touristy? sure. being across Jack Kerouac Alley from City Lights, this joint is going to attract a fair number of aging hispters, old hippies, and younger folk already ingrained in the so-called alternative literature. still, the bar is a good time. inside it looks like a relic from the Summer of Love, lots of orange and yellow hues and tye-died stained glass. pictures are all over the place: images of counter-culture characters and Beat Writers. I should say the bar has an interesting shape, almost oval, with a second floor that looks down on the first. i spent nearly every evening of my trip to Frisco having a few anchor steams in this joint, sitting almost parallel to their John Wilkes Boothe on the second floor. was a pleasure drinking beer surrounded by the visages of my favorite literary heroes. even more, i couldn't contain my joy at being in the bar where Jack Kerouac went and tied one on instead of traveling to meet Henry Miller. plus Vesuvio opens at 6am. you can't beat having a first beer while all the Joe and Joanne Workers are heading to the office.