1950s
Beatniks
Goal
Rejectmaterialism
andconformity; embrace
drugs and spirituality.
Spiritual home
North
Beach, SanFrancisco, in
theVesuviobar and the
City Lightsbookshop.
Currentmembership
At least one: at 95,
City Lights poet and
co-founder Lawrence
Ferlinghetti is still
going strong.
Hells
Angels
Goal
Brotherhood,
tattoos, theopen road,
fist fights.
Spiritual home
South
Oakland, home to the
group’s first clubhouse.
Currentmembership
Quitebig,withover 100
chapters in29countries,
but no longer very scary.
1960s
Hippies
Goal
Peace, love and rock
’n’ roll.
Spiritual home
Haight-
Ashbury, SanFrancisco,
homeof theSummer of
Love in ’67.
Currentmembership
A
few survivorswhodon’t
knowwhat year it is now.
Most succumbed to the
lureof destructivedrugs
and/orReaganomics.
BlackPanthers
Goal
Civil rights for
African-Americans;
revolutionary socialism.
Spiritual home
North
Oakland,where the
movementwas founded
in 1966.
Currentmembership
None. Dissolved in 1982.
1970s
Nudists
Goal
Normalising the
nakedbody.
Spiritual home
The
intersectionofMarket and
Castro, SanFrancisco.
Currentmembership
Only
the severely clothes-
intolerant. SanFrancisco
passedapublic
nudityban in
2012.
1980s
Yuppies
Goal
Wealth,
material gain.
Spiritual home
The
Financial District, San
Francisco.
Currentmembership
Almost everybody
inSanFrancisco,
even if they
don’t know
it yet.
1990s
Techies
Goal
Cyber domination.
Spiritual home
Silicon
Valley, althoughnoneof
them actually live there.
Currentmembership
Enormous. They canbe
seenpilingontoFacebook
andGoogle shuttlebuses
everymorning.
Stoners
Goal
The legalisation
of cannabis.
Spiritual home
OaksterdamUniversity,
Oakland,whichoffers
“quality training for the
cannabis industry”.
Membership
Large,
but heldbackby a lack
ofmotivation.
2000s
Hipsters
Goal
Tobecool.
Spiritual home
Mission
district, SanFrancisco.
Membership
Pricedout of
SanFrancisco, booming in
Oakland.
2010s
Hacktivists
Goal
Hackingcomputer
systems topromote free
speech andhuman rights.
Spiritual home
“Anarchisticeducational
hackerspace”Noisebridge
in theMissiondistrict.
Currentmembership
They are legion,
apparently.
Anarchists
Goal
Smashing
the system.
Spiritual home
Downtown
Oakland.
Current
membership
Down from2011,
when thousandsof
Occupyprotesters
temporarily shut
downOakland’sport.
Locavores
Goal
Topromote a
diet basedon locally
produced, sustainable
food, usually organic
and vegan.
Spiritual home
Berkeley
- theworldcapital of
dietary restrictions.
Membership
Enormous.
You almost risk your
lifeby servingmilk in
Berkeley, let alonemeat.
Reserve
a table
here…
06
Thegangguide
07
Eccentricityandnonconformityare intheBayArea’sblood.Buttheregion
doesn’tspeakwithasinglevoice; instead itconsistsofnumeroustribes,
eachwiththeirownmeansandwaysofsticking ittotheman.Here’sa
chronologicalguidetoBayAreasubcultures...
GaryDanko
Time and again,Gary
Danko tops local chef
popularity contests, so it’s
hard to get a seat inhis
cosy, costly Fisherman’s
Wharf restaurant -but it’s
worth it. If you’re feeling
flushconsiderDanko’s
showstopping signature
dish, the roastMaine
lobsterwithpotatopurée,
black trumpetmushrooms,
edamame and tarragon.
garydanko.com
BrownSugarKitchen
WhenTanyaHollandopened
BrownSugarKitchen in a
gritty corner ofOakland in
2008, shenever thought
her takeon soul foodwould
behailed for helping to
revitalise thearea. She
drawsonher African-
Americanheritage and
Frenchculinary training
tocreatedishes such as
oyster po-boy sandwiches
andcreoleBBQ shrimpwith
baby spinach.
brownsugarkitchen.com
TheTroubleCoffee&
CoconutClub
In2014, no food is trendier
than toast. Yes, toast. Posh,
artisanal bread, sliced an
inch thick andcoated in
sugary goodness. Thecraze
began in thisdauntinglyhip
Outer Sunset caféwhere
ownerGiuliettaCarrelli
put cinnamon toast on the
menubecause shefinds
it comforting in troubled
times, hence thename.
troublecoffee.com
n
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