San Francisco Steelers bar crawl

If Sunday was any barometer, expect Candlestick Park to be absolutely mobbed with Steelers fans tonight ... from the moment we got of the Powell St. stop of the BART train, we've seen Steelers fans around every corner of San Francisco, from Chinatown to North Beach to the Mission

We stopped at two Steelers bars last night that were packed with Pittsburgh partisans getting jacked up for today's game like it was Christmas Eve and cheering full throat for the Chargers to beat Baltimore. First stop, Giordano Bros. in North Beach -- a.k.a Primanti's West -- where they serve an even better version of Pittsburgh's iconic sandwich.

This might be heretical to say, but this one was better -- better bread, better meat, better fries. The only thing they missed on was the slaw. Primanti's slaw is better.

Call Arnold Slick ...

Moving on to Shanghai Kelly's, the oldest Steelers bar in town. While Giordano Bros. was specifically founded to be a Steelers bar, it happened more organically at Kelly's, where a bunch of black & gold residents gradually took over the place ...

In the middle is Det. Daniel Honan of the City of Pittsburgh police sex crimes squad. He's with Patrolman Michael Stolzman of the Oakland Police. The two gentlemen became friends after Stolzman was part of a delegation of Oakland officers that flew out for the funerals of Pittsburgh Police officers Paul J. Sciullo II, Stephen J. Mayhle and Eric G. Kelly two and a half years ago. 

Now tacked up at Kelly's.