Is there nothing you can't get in the Tenderloin? A toothless smile, a mental vacation, an Uncle named Leona, and best of all,

, a classic of sleazy downtown glamour. This stall-size bar is where it's at for the underground club kids of today, but it also attracts enough unique Tenderloin locals and curious where-the-hell-did-they-come-from visitors to make it ground zero for nightly one-of-a-kind adventures (keep your wallet in your sock). On weekends, Aunt Charlie’s hosts the amazing Hot Boxxx Girls, tongue-stunning drag performers who've been around the block enough to know you wouldn't know what to do with them if you had the chance. And on Thursdays freaky denizens of the club underground come down for the Tubesteak Connection, DJ Bus Station John's night of old-school bathhouse disco grooves. Other nights see either incredibly nubile scenesters rocking the rocky turntables or street performers on a bender or both. Probably both. If it ain 't here, basically, you probably have to save for it.

Best of San Francisco ® 2006: Lose Yourself in the City SF Weekly Readers Poll Voted Aunt Charlie's Lounge

Drag shows can still feel punk as fuck in the right setting. A dive bar barely the size of a long bathroom line is an ideal space in which to crowd a bevy of bejeweled biddies as they strut the catwalk for your crumpled dollar bills. There's something wonderfully surreal about the aura at Aunt Charlie's, whether it's the eclectic parade of Hot Boxx Girls of all ages (and talent levels), the potent charm of the cheap drinks, or the sense that the place is a flytrap sticking a colorful cross-section of city life inside its hallowed walls. As well known as the events here may have become, they still make you feel like you're walking into a John Waters film.