Belinda’s Club

Hispanic after-​work bar has a Máquina Tocadiscos.

After entering Belinda’s I didn’t see much that required the extra fortification. The alcohol inside presented a valuable commodity for this area of the neighborhood. Sure, someone could climb through the window, open the door from the inside and carry away the pool table, juke box or a bottle of Alize but I didn’t see that type of Thomas-​Crowne-​Affair commitment or coordination on the part of the bar’s clientele.
Looking in from the street passed the pool table and the jukebox, my eyes met with a rectangle of light which made the promise of a backyard patio. However, as I entered the bar my dreams of an enclosed concrete backyard were met with the evitable disappointment of a halogen light bulb hanging «high-​noon» over the 2^nd pool table.
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I was sad I forgot what this place was called. Luckily, I walked by the other night and happened to look up in time to see the name again.
One night after making it to happy hour at El Rio, we decided we needed to eat at Mi Lindo Peru after. On the way there, we realized there would be a wait so we sent the Peruvian up ahead to work her magic and the rest of us ducked into Belinda’s Club because, well, it was a bar.
The bartender seemed rather surprised to see us (we did make the bar more ethnically diverse) but once K ordered her second michelada, she treated us like regulars. I sat quietly at the bar and drank my Corona. N wanted to hear «Bidi Bidi Bom Bom» and sang it loudly while looking for it on the jukebox. She has a great singing voice. The men of Belinda’s did their darndest to help her but it was not there. Unfortunately, «Dreaming of You» was.
During this time, K and V spotted a lone bike and wanted to take it out. After some communication problems, they found out who the owner was and he was fine with them going for a ride so off they went up Mission. In heels.
More friends arrived and I had another Corona while discussing real estate, tiling, upcoming shows and trips to Tahoe. N danced away behind me.
K and V returned with the bike, we finished our drinks and said goodbye to our new friends. When we got to Mi Lindo Peru, the Peruvian was seated and food started coming out immediately. See, magic. Turned out, we’d been at Belinda’s for less than 30 minutes.