Why Tipping Twenty Percent Is the Bare Minimum
We’ll skip the warm-up. You came here with a question, and we have an answer. Twenty percent minimum. A tip is part of how bartenders get paid, and under California law it belongs to the employees, never the house. At Silver Fox Lounge, the Pacific Beach dive bar at 1833 Garnet Avenue, twenty percent is […]
Beer Before Liquor: The Math Doesn’t Math
Everybody learned the rhyme before they learned to drink. No. “Beer before liquor, never been sicker” is a rhyme, not a rule. A standard shot holds about as much alcohol as a 12-ounce beer, so switching to shots usually means more alcohol, faster. A controlled 2019 test of drink order (beer and wine) found order […]
A Field Guide to Bar Etiquette You Should Have Learned at Home
Somebody should have taught you this. Maybe they tried. Maybe you weren’t listening. Either way, here we are. Good bar etiquette comes down to a few rules: know your order before you reach the bar, get the bartender’s attention without waving cash, tip twenty percent, keep your volume in check, wait your turn at the […]
The Five Types of People You Meet at Silver Fox
Every bar has a cast. Ours has been in rehearsal since 1975. Walk into any bar long enough and you’ll meet the same five people: the Regulars, the Tourists, the Birthday Groups, the First Dates and the Solo Drinkers. At Silver Fox Lounge, the family-owned dive bar at 1833 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, we’ve […]
A Defense of the American Dive Bar
Sooner or later, somebody is going to call us a dive. We’d like to say thank you in advance. A dive bar is an unpretentious, inexpensive neighborhood bar that earned its regulars instead of designing for them. The bar sense of the word dates to American English by 1871, perhaps because such bars sat in […]
An Open Love Letter to the Regular at the End of the Bar
Table of Contents What Is a Bar Regular? You Know the One What They Actually Do Here What They Get Wrong About the Regular So, About That Seat The Close Frequently Asked Questions An Open Love Letter to the Regular at the End of the Bar A Silver Fox Lounge Manifesto Every real bar has […]
An Open Love Letter to Our Bartenders, You Beautiful Bastards
Table of Contents How Should You Treat a Bartender? What They Actually Do The Bartender Code The Four Types of Customers Why Ours Are the Best So, About the Employee Roast Series The Close Frequently Asked Questions An Open Love Letter to Our Bartenders, You Beautiful Bastards A Silver Fox Lounge Manifesto This one’s for […]
For The Dads That Earned The Stool – A Silver Fox Lounge Manifesto
Looking for a low-key Father’s Day in Pacific Beach? The Silver Fox Lounge at 1833 Garnet Avenue gives Dad the opposite of a forced brunch — a good drink, a quiet stool, and an afternoon that asks nothing of him. Open 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., 365 days a year since 1975. FAQ’s Q: What’s […]
The 6 AM Club at Silver Fox Lounge: Inside Pacific Beach’s Sunrise Ritual (Since 1975)
Table of Contents What Is the 6 AM Club at the Silver Fox Lounge? A License Most Bars in California Can’t Touch The Bar Below the Street What 6:01 a.m. on a Tuesday Looks Like Who Wears the Bracelet The 13-Hour Happy Hour Nobody Tells You About What the Pandemic Did to the Ritual […]
The Silver Fox Lounge Isn’t Trying to Save Pacific Beach. It’s Just Refusing to Abide.
Walk into the Silver Fox Lounge on a Tuesday night and you’ll see The Mayor* in his corner booth. Same spot he’s occupied since 1990 something. He’ll light up and hug you quickly followed by a story if you’re a regular: just a smile and a nod you if you’re not. Either way, he’ll […]