To live in San Francisco is to know that there are about a million things to do on any given night. In addition to thousands of restaurants (they say that with the rate of restaurants opening and closing, you could eat at a different restaurant every single day and never repeat), there are several museums with an array of fascinating exhibits, small venues reserved for concerts (actually, the correct term is “shows”) and of course

there is always the obligatory meet-market at your choice of bar, to which there are too many to name. And all of these options are available in a 7×7 mile radius, in your choice of a couple dozen neighborhoods. To choose what to do every night presents quite the mind-boggling conundrum. You can imagine the brain-racking I had to do while figuring out what to do on a date night, not to mention only spending $40, as to say San Francisco is an expensive city is the understatement of the year. Generally speaking, I could be a cheap date – I don’t have to drink and will eat just about anything. But if I’m going on a first date, a guy better be spending more than $40 on me. However, I started to think about an audience that may not be so concerned with the price of date, but more the content. Alas, I settled on a theme: The Hipster’s First Date.

The infamous “Mission” district of San Francisco is home to thousands of young people who all want to be different (which of course means they all look the same, act the same and are interested in the same music, art and other various activities) and dress like they only have five dollars to their name, yet their entire outfit probably costs more than your car payment. There are, of course, those that really don’t have a trust fund at their finger tips – so I kept them in the back of my mind while planning my $40 date night.

My gal pal Sam, to whom I will refer as my date, found a popular bar in the Mission that offered a $5 entrance fee to their coveted upstairs show room before 10p.m. for a special Saturday night DJ set. Disc Jockeys are very cool in the hipster world, almost like going to see an actual band perform. I have to admit that I appreciate a talented DJ as well, so thus began the evolving of my date night theme.

With $40 cash in hand, my date and I set out towards the Mission around 8:30p.m. We provided a buffer, because finding a parking spot in the city is like hoping to find a girls bathroom line in a bar less than 12 deep – don’t hold your breath. As we expected, parking took approximately a half hour, although still leaving us plenty of time to execute the date night plan. First on the agenda: dinner. How did we choose, you may ask? The Mission is known for its eclectic menu of restaurants, from very cheap to almost unaffordable. Luckily, there are delicious choices at both ends of the spectrum, especially in the Mexican genre. Enter Taqueria El Buen Sabor: fast, cheap and easy (a man’s dream date, don’t you think?). Here my date and I ordered two Cokes, tacos and a quesadilla, which we were physically unable to finish because of the sheer size of the portions. Our dinners cost? $17. Our satisfaction? Priceless.

Now onto the entertainment portion of our evening. We sauntered over to Elbo Room, a Mission staple since the Prohibition era and generally a safe pick for a good time. My date and I each paid our $5 ticket fee and made our way upstairs to a dimly lit room with benches and small tables surrounding a nice sized dance floor. First stop? The bar. $3.50 Dos Equis? Sure, why not? Beers in hand, we posted up at a vacant table and proceeded to enjoy the talented DJ play her set, as some danced erratically and others laughed and whispered quietly on the outskirts. My date and I proceeded to people watch, and it was there that she affectionately coined the term “Critters” for those unwashed Hipsters in our midst (I mean seriously, people – can’t you take a shower? Or if you really did shower, can you please groom yourself so other people know that you showered?).

We finished our beer and decided to join the dancers, shaking our rears to a wonderfully remixed rendition of an 80′s song, whose title was just out of my grasp and yet I knew all of the lyrics. We stayed for a few obligatory songs and then descended back to the main floor of the establishment. And there, sitting by itself in a back corner, was a photo booth; the beeline we made was inevitable. The price? $5. We had $8 – it was a no brainer, and less than five minutes later, we had a memento of our evening together; a photographic piece of evidence was now in our possession. As we walked out of Elbo Room, and made our way to the car, our date was hereby rendered complete (although if you do attempt this date with someone you’re interested in, please feel free to try and get said person to go home with you, no judgement – actually more power to you if you succeed).

For less than $40 ($37 to be exact), I proved that it is indeed possible to go out and have a nice time in San Francisco without going into debt. Use this as a guide to a first date, second date, or fifty-third date. Hell, even use this guide as proof that you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy what a big city has to offer, whether it be with a significant other or a group of friends.

Happy dating, hipsters. Just make sure to shower, if not for yourself, then for your date.

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