Blush, a sophisticated wine bar on Castro Street with terrific small-plate food

Amid the countless gay bars and taverns around the famed intersection of Castro and 18th streets, Blush (476 Castro St., 415-558-0893) is a bit of a departure. This low-keyed, intimate wine bar and small-plates restaurant sofas and small wood tables is a great spot to sample wines by the bottle or glass (there are roughly 50 varieties by the pour, with an overall emphasis on California but with plenty of wines from Argentina, Chile, Italy, France, Spain, and Australia) and snack on well-prepared tapas and light cuisine - excellent cheese and charcuterie plates, Kumamoto oysters on the half shell, artisan pizzas, smoked trout salad, and so on. The crowd is mixed, but given the location, you can well-expect a good many gays and lesbians sipping and noshing here each night.