Presidio Social Club

If you have ever won­dered where, in this city of hip­sters and hip­pies, are the WASPs, look no fur­ther. They're at the Pre­sidio Social Club, a new(ish) restau­rant in the beau­ti­ful­ly ren­o­vat­ed for­mer offi­cers' club in the Pre­sidio. Enter the din­ing room and behold! You're at the coun­try club. Men in blue but­ton downs neat­ly tucked into pressed khakis, women wear­ing pearl ear­rings and head­bands, blonde chil­dren still dressed in their school uni­forms. Nev­er in San Fran­cis­co have I seen so many East Coast-style WASPs in one place. It comes as no sur­prise that gin is fea­tured promi­nent­ly on the cock­tail menu. While their affin­i­ty for gin is well doc­u­ment­ed (see Cheev­er, John), WASPs are not known for their culi­nary sense of adven­ture, and the din­ner menu focus­es on updat­ed com­fort food—a slop­py joe made from Kobe beef brisket, white ched­dar mac and cheese, chick­en pot pie on Tues­days. The food at Pre­sidio Social Club isn't bad. It's not espe­cial­ly great, either. The fried okra, a hard dish to pull off above the Mason-Dixon line, is per­fect, but it feels a lit­tle exot­ic on a menu so fix­at­ed on Amer­i­can clas­sics. The night I went we were run­ning late for an event at the Palace of Fine Arts and so didn't get to try what looked like the best thing on the menu: cup­cakes made to order, brought to your table with a side of frost­ing for you to apply your­self. The next time I feel the need to observe the endan­gered WASP in its restored native habi­tat, I'll go back to Pre­sidio Social Club and try the cupcakes.