Washington Square Bar and Grill

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The Washington Square Bar and Grill was a landmark restaurant adjoining Washington Square in San Francisco, California's North Beach neighborhood. Known widely as the Washbag, so named by columnist Herb Caen as a play on words, it was a favorite gathering place for a generation of writers, politicians, musicians, and social elite.[1][2]

The restaurant was opened in 1973 by local Ed Moose, a former dispatcher and reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,[3] along with partner Sam Dietsch. Moose organized a softball team, the Lapins Sauvages, composed of famous and influential people who were regular restaurant patrons. Caen often wrote of the team's exploits in his newspaper columns, describing its travels to play in major stadiums in various locations around the world.[3] In 1989 author Ron Fimrite,[4] another of the softball team members, wrote The Square: the Story of a Saloon, describing the restaurant's place in San Francisco's cocktail culture.[5]

In 1992 Moose opened a larger restaurant, Moose's, on the opposite side of the square.[6][7] The Washbag was sold to new partners in 2000 and eventually closed on January 1, 2008.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b C.W. Nevius. "Romancing the not-long-gone Washbag", San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-08. 
  2. ^ Rob Morse. "Ah, it's just like old times at the old Washbag", San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 
  3. ^ a b Alan Liddle. "Moose and partners put 'Washbag' on the block for $1M", Nation's Restaurant News, August 24, 1987. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 
  4. ^ "Ron Fimrite", via. 
  5. ^ Ron Fimrite (1989). The Square: the Story of a Saloon. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas. 
  6. ^ C.W. Nevius. "Welcome, Stranger: Golfers have never had to look hard to find a good time in Baghdad by the Bay", Sports Illustrated, June 16, 1998. 
  7. ^ Alan Liddle. "Executive chef-partner, new menu breathe life into SF's Moose's", Nation's Restaurant News, October 20, 1997. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.