Destination San Francisco: Treasure Island Music Festival

Straddling the cities of San Francisco and Oakland along the Bay Bridge is the small community of Treasure Island, the “Magic Isle” built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Expo, a west coast World’s Fair. Although officially a neighborhood of San Francisco, the area feels like a remote locale buried by time and the famous San Francisco fog. On Oct. 17 and 18 this small community – home to cargo ships, warehouses and film stages – becomes an event destination for the Treasure Island Music Festival. The lineup includes top billed acts like Deadmau5, Chvrches, The National, FKA Twigs and The War on Drugs among the 30+ groups performing throughout the weekend. Besides great music, the festival delivers a carnival-style atmosphere with surprises like roaming performers, art installations and a 60-foot Ferris wheel.

Bundle up with a flood of music lovers as chilly winds shudder past the Golden Gate and over Alcatraz before testing the resolve of the Treasure Island crowd. Set times are staggered between two stages so audiences can catch every act from noon until headliners’ 9 pm sets. Check out the schedule to plan your day. Shuttles from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (accessible by BART and MUNI at Civic Center; parking is also available) run a continuous loop to and from the island starting at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday. You can board the bus without a ticket and purchase your festival pass on the island. Beware of long wait-times for a shuttle back to the city if you stay until the end of the day. Parking on Treasure Island is only available if you’ve purchased a parking pass in advance.

DO:

Interested in spending more time on the island? Take a winery tour on the island’s condensed district of urban wineries and vineyards. Rent a bike at City Cycle and join this year’s last installment of Sunday Streets in the Mission on Oct. 16. This is CycLAvia, SF-style: a takeover of neighborhood streets by human-powered transportation in a people-friendly environment. Show up in the Mission a few days early to catch the San Francisco International Short Film Festival at the Roxie on Oct. 15 – 17. 

Ready to check out the East Bay? Friday Nights @OMCA, the Oakland Museum of California, bring local coffee roasters, organic farmers and brewers for a demo and tasting series called “Makers and Tasters” through the month of October. Other Friday Nights @ OMCA events, like DJs, dance lessons, Dia de los Muertos art at the museum, and live bands, vary by the week. Food trucks from Off the Grid provide a rotating slate of SF’s best street food.

EAT:

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured restaurant Nopalito is a Mexican restaurant that defies the show’s title. The restaurant hangs its hat on fresh local and sustainable organic ingredients, offering mostly gluten free meals. They feature a casual dining room and translate seasonal ingredients into recipes with a south-of-the-border twist. For a sushi bar on the Pacific’s doorstep, Michael Mina’s Pabu in the Financial District “combines rustic, old-world Japanese charm with modern, urban sophistication.” As the only brewpub in the Inner Sunset of San Francisco that features a fusion chophouse menu, Social Kitchen and Brewery’s focus is the role that beer plays in food and pairs certain beers with complementary foods to enhance the flavors. Brewmaster Kim Sturdavant says his beers are “Approachable, interesting, and complex.” Not to mention eminently drinkable.

DRINK:

Ready to imbibe and step into a bar that traces back to 1858?  Elixir Saloon is the Mission’s oldest juice joint but stays up to date with a Bloody Mary that GQ named one of America’s top 20 cocktails. The saloon transforms from a bright happy hour bar with jukeboxes and real dart boards into a red velvet curtain nightclub every night to keep up with the changing faces of the Mission itself.

Raymond Chandler-esque side streets and steep hills got you longing for a vintage 1920s cocktail lounge? Take a trip to Bourbon & Branch, the quintessential dimly lit speakeasy in SF. Make a reservation online or through your hotel concierge, ring the buzzer, give the password, and enjoy. The specials change as often as the bartenders, and regulars may not remember the name of the drink, but there’s a cucumber cocktail that’s highly recommended. Opt for a scotch or bourbon flight instead if you want to stick with the easy-to-swallow theme. Haven’t had enough of deep digging for drinking treasures? Buried in the basement of the Hearst building, Local Edition is inspired by its location in the Examiner’s print room and the journalist-drinkers of the 1950s. The bar, frequented by young, educated professionals, offers twists on classic cocktails with a good selection of craft beers as well as decanter service for your favorite spirit, courtesy of craft distillers.

Kick it up an echelon at The Press Club, a luxurious wine tasting cellar at the foot of the Four Seasons Hotel. Regulars rave about how the DJ enhances the classy, sophisticated vibe. Try the small tasting menu to complement the extensive fine wine and beer selection.

STAY:

Just off of Union Square, one of San Francisco’s coolest budget options is the storefront boutique Hotel Bijou, a property that shines a light on SF as a cinematic star. With rooms themed around films featuring the city as a character (and a tiny cinema with screenings of those films nightly), you’ll be exploring the city before you leave the hotel’s four walls. If the very name of the Tenderloin doesn’t strike fear into your heart, you’ll love the “mid-century motor lodge with a rock and roll soul” that is the Phoenix Hotel. Named one of America’s coolest hipster hotels by Travel + Leisure in 2012, you’ll want to take advantage of the rare SF amenity of free parking and the in-house bar and restaurant.

An elite boutique destination hotel inspired by Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Hotel Adagio opened as the El Cortez Hotel in 1929. The interior maintains some of the original architecture with a contemporary edge in the sleek lobby. Sticking with one-of-a-kind architectural themes, Clift is just an up-hill walk towards Nob Hill. The luxury boutique hotel is home to the famous Redwood Room in its wood-paneled splendor after a Starck remodel with signature lounge furniture. Sitting in the room itself is a consummate pleasure. The adjacent Velvet Room restaurant is hardly less dramatic, draped with massive red velvet curtains and lit with hand-blown Murano glass lamps.

Located in the St. Regis Museum Tower, a 42-story, 484-foot skyscraper in SoMA, St. Regis is convenient to Yerba Buena Gardens, Moscone Center, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Expect the five-star experience: rooms are modern and spacious, and the level of hospitality and service is the hallmark of old world class.

Treasure Island Music Festival takes place Oct. 17-18. Tickets are available here