For many years (say, between 1973, when Ed Moose opened it, and 1996) it seemed that no
Herb Caen column was complete without a reference to "the Washbag," the nickname Caen himself had coined for the Washington Square Bar & Grill. Moose was himself a former newspaperman (a reporter for the
St. Louis Post & Dispatch), and his old-fashioned bar and grill welcomed writers, politicians, neighborhood characters, and anybody interested in straightforward American cooking and even more straightforward drinking. (Caen liked to hang out over two or three icy vodka martinis, which he referred to as "Vitamin V".)
Moose and his wife Mary opened another place across Washington Square, Moose's, in 1992, but hung on to the Washbag until 2002, when it was sold to new owners, who made a mistake after a few years when they painted it cerulean and re-named it the Cobalt Tavern. (Many refer to this as the Washbag's "blue period.") The Washbag had seemed nearly as much an SF institution as Tadich's, Sam's, or Le Central, to name a few, and the never-an-SF-institution Cobalt Tavern closed down on New Year's Day of 2008, leaving a void in the heart of North Beach.
But have no fear: Liam Tiernan and Susan Tiernan, ex-husband-and-wife who still remain co-owners of
Tiernan's Irish Pub down on Fisherman's Wharf, and who are longtime Washbag fanciers, have seen the light and performed a resurrection. They rebuilt the place, but you'd never know it. The timeless feeling, polished wood, gleaming brass, white tablecloths, is just the same. They re-hired longtime bartender Michael McCourt; created a rotating roster of pianists to tinkle the ivories at night, and organized jazz groups for Saturday and Sunday brunch; and opened a week ago Monday, March 2, to general cheers.
