" />San Francisco Guide to Eating

Name: Asia SF

Address: 201 9th St.

It goes without saying that when it comes to restaurants, San Francisco is a pretty unique kind of city. No other city can claim to have as many places that are "Only in ____", and perhaps one of the strongest testaments to this is restaurant/bar, Asia SF. MetroWize correspondent Alexis J. takes a closer look at this one of a kind San Francisco spot.

A friend of mine once told me that a good trick to play on a straight guy would be to take him to Asia SF, without telling him the "truth," watch him salivate over the hot, made up waitresses in the restaurant, then tell him nonchalantly that the girls he was lusting after were really guys. Although if he'd been living in San Francisco for a while, I'm not sure how surprised he'd really be - you kind of get used to those types of gender bender issues. The "truth" about Asia SF (and probably a lot of the reason it's gained popularity) is that those hot, made up waitresses in the restaurant are really transgendered guys. (That's the PC way to say it, right?)

Aside from the obvious "dude looks like a lady," and "man, I feel like a woman" references, Asia SF is really more of an experience than it is a place for fine dining, or a typical night out on the town. The restaurant is kind of expensive - $48 for their higher-end prix fixe menu - which includes first course, second course, and dessert. They also have an a la carte menu. And they include cute bonuses for the high price you're paying - things like personalized menus, depending on with prix fix you get. But in spite of all that, I don't think the food is the reason anyone goes there. It's more like the price you have to pay to see the ladies do their signature performance on the bar once an hour.

Then, there's also the opportunity for you do do your signature performance, if you take advantage of the club downstairs. Which is kind of an added bonus, because you can get your weekend partying all done in one spot! Dinner, dance, drinks, entertainment.

I heard someone say once that they thought a high percentage of the people in the place were there for bachelorette parties. So if the transgendered servers, high priced food, good drinks and hot beats didn't already give it away - this isn't really a low restaurant hang out. And it's probably not going to end up being your go-to neighborhood bar. Go once for the experience and then decide how you feel about it. One thing's for sure - guys, girls, whatever - you'll probably come away with a crush on one of the dancers.