Scene from a San Francisco institution - Lefty O'Doul's

After seeing the band with the digeridoo while scouting for a spot to grab some dinner, I looked up past the band to see a sign for Lefty O'Doul's.

Lefty's - located 1 block off posh Union Square - is a tavern opened 51 years ago by guess who, Lefty O'Doul. O'Doul was an interesting character - he made the major leagues as a pitcher, then as an outfielder, then managed for a while developing players like Joe DiMaggio. He also was instrumental in the creation of the Japanese professional baseball league. (Learn more at Lefty's wikipedia page.)

His place was kind of dive-y, as you can see in the picture, but in true San Francisco style, the place was very memorable. The walls are a virtual San Francisco baseball hall of fame (covered with pictures of O'Doul and other San Francisco baseball icons), the food was good, and Lefty's had a two person jazz band playing. I'm not sure if any other city would have a dive-y sports bar with live jazz located 1 block off of the most expensive real estate in the city, but I sure appreciate San francisco even more for it.