Archive for the ‘food and drink’ Category

2010 San Francisco International Chocolate Salon a Huge Success

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Throngs were waiting to get into the Festival Pavilion up at Fort Mason this AM – as promised, it’s the massive TasteTV San Francisco International Chocolate Salon.

Perhaps a bit more expensive and upscale compared with the outdoor Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival. (Speaking of which, the 15th Annual of that popular event is coming up September 11-12, 2010.)

Anyway, there are tons of people at the Salon, but the lines for samples aren’t too long at all.

Here it is from the inside:

Stirling Confections’ $25 truffle bars are a hit, once again.

And KOFY TV 20 is there doing something or other – they’re Everywhere You Want To Be these days. (Perhaps KOFY’s recent affiliation with noted Wikipedian Beth Spotswood is starting to pay off…)

It’s so totally worth it. See you next year!

Chocolate Salon! Chocolate Salon! Chocolate Salon! Coming to SF on March 20th

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

If you pony up $25 right now, then you can look forward to feeling like Homer Simpson in the Land of Chocolate come Saturday, March 20th.

Yes, the massive TasteTV San Francisco International Chocolate Salon is back for 2010 up at Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavillion.

It’s going to be mega. 

Be on the lookout for choco body paint:

There’ll be samples a plenty so check the sked and map out your journey before you go cocoa-crazy. (It’ll tide you over ’til the 15th  annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival up at the Wharf in late Summer 2010, anyway) See you there at Ft. Mason on the 20th.

All the deets, after the jump.

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Yelp Drinks Week 2010 Coming to the West Bay, East Bay, South Bay: Booze Half Off

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

From Laura at the Uptown Almanac comes news of Yelp Drinks Week 2010, a solid week of discounted, “hand-crafted” (no robots, no no no) drinks available at selected joints.

San Francisco: March 1-7

Silicon Valley / San Hoser: March 8-14

East Bay: March 15-21

Soon, you’ll be able to get a $1 cans of Olympia at Oakland’s Kingfish Pub or a “Yelp, I Need Somebody”(?) at San Francisco’s Four Seasons for $7.50 – your choice. Just mention the Y-word and then order away. Deets below.

Here’s the flyer for SF:

Of course there are a few rules:

“Yeah, boyeeeee! Who’s up for a sweet Bay Area-wide happy hour?!?

For three weeks in March, Yelp brings you YELP DRINKS, where you’ll get a chance to sip on lip-smackingly good adult libations at locations that locals love all over the Bay Area! Participating bars and restaurants will feature up to 3 delicious, hand-crafted cocktails for 50% off throughout the promotion. Nothing like saving a few ducks while you get crunk, huh?

San Francisco Yelp Drinks Week: Monday, March 1st – Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Silicon Valley Yelp Drinks Week: Monday, March 8th – Sunday, March 14th, 2010

East Bay Yelp Drinks Week: Monday, March 15th – Sunday, March 21st, 2010

A few quick notes:

1) Though we’re calling this a happy hour, it’s better – Yelp Drinks prices are good all day Monday through all day Sunday *while supplies last.
2) Please tip on the regular price of the drinks.
3) And please, consume responsibly!”

All the places, after the jump

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Thumbs Down on the $5 Deli Trio Pannido from Jack in the Box

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

I’m still wired from the caffeine from the thirsty-two ouncer of diet soda I got in order to earn my free Deli Trio Pannido today. Now maybe Jack’s New Grilled Sandwiches go for $3.99 in your neck of the woods, but they’re $4.99 in my part of the 415 and they’re just not worth it, IMO.

That’s something to keep in mind when they’re not just giving them away.

You might enjoy their ever so slightly racy commercial better than the samwich tho. (It prompted one punter to lament, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Oh well.)

Anyway, J in the B is trying to produce something besides the same old fast food, so let’s give them credit for that.

Giant Chinese AT-AT Cranes Have Now Become Symbols of Oakland

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The Rockridge Trader Joe ’s at 5727 College Ave is now using this giant model of the giant container cranes of the Port of Oakland to symbolize the City of Oakland.

Well played, Rockridge TJ’s.

Click to expand

Death Throes of Partying Poleng Lounge – State College, PA Comes to NOPA

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Sleepy Fulton Street betwixt Masonic and Central has been looking like something like State College, PA, where college kids from the country’s number one party school hang out ’til all hours. It all has to do with the final days of the Poleng Lounge (located in the place that used to house Storyville).

Last night almost looked like SoMA:

Last night’s shindig:

“Let’s get together to celebrate the death and destruction of the things that we love, and cope in the best way possible: By getting trashed and making terrible life choices… like dancing topless, and sleeping with 18-year-old filipino chicks from Daly City.

There will be $5 Jungle Juice that is like 3 drinks shrunk down to one drink that tastes like skittles. There will be $3 drafts. There will be lots and lots of whiskey.

THIS EVENT IS 18+!!! Bring your little sister, that hair-scene kid you made out with once at Blow Up, the skater kids you see at Delirium and house parties, and ONLY at Delirium and house parties”

Party on, Poleng Lounge.

RITZ Fudge-Covered Limited Edition Crackers – DO NOT WANT

Friday, January 29th, 2010

To reiterate, DO NOT WANT.

This is right up there with Domino’s Oreo-heavy Dessert Pizza.

But go get these bland, boring, and completely forgettable snacks if you want, San Francisco. Use them with spinich or crab dip, if you’d like – the Super Bowl’s coming soon, of course. While supplies last…

For a limited time only…

The Bay Area’s Best Chinese Restaurants, Per the Top100 Awards for 2010

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Via Tim at 8Asians.com and, ultimately, Brittney Gilbert, who catalogs interesting bay area-related blog posts for CBS5, comes news of the 2010 Top100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA Awards straight out of Las Vegas, NV.

How did the bay area do? Well, You Make The Call. San Francisco’s Ana Mandara placed highest in our vicinity. (Isn’t this mostly a Vietnamese place? Yes. How does that square? I don’t know.)

No matter, the polarizing Panda Country Kitchen on Geary is also on the list – possibly worth checking out based upon the name alone.  

Pork belly, pork belly, pork belly from AM:

via evadedave

Your bay area winners:

Top 100 Overall Excellence Winners (USA)

Ana Mandara 891 Beach St. San Francisco CA

Chef Chu’s 喜福居 1067 N San Antonio Rd. Los Altos CA

Cheung Hing Chinese Restaurant 祥兴烧腊小馆 2339 Noriega St. San Francisco CA

Moonstar Restaurant月星宮 383 Gellert Blvd. Daly City CA

New China Delight 百家宴酒家 360 Castro St. Mountain View CA 

Panda Country Kitchen五粮液 4737 Geary Blvd. San Francisco CA

Vip Coffee & Cake Shop 嘉賓閣 671 Broadway San Francisco CA

Full list after the jump.

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Haight Ashbury Hearts Texas-Based Whole Foods – New Store Coming to Stanyan

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Didn’t make it to the entire meeting of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council yesterday but everything seemed pretty copacetic from what I could see.  A representative from Whole Foods made a presentation about their proposed store at 690 Stanyan. Then came the Q and A:

Will they have organic food? Yes. Will they have stuff on sale sometimes? Yes. That’s how it went.

Attention developers – this is the kind of get-together you need to hold before you can begin developing in San Francisco. Paying thousands of dollars a year to nearby community groups, as Sutro Tower, Inc. does, might also help but outreach meetings like these are mandatory. Just saying.

The next stop is a rubber stamp from the Planning Commission on January 28th. Then you can look forward to having a place to shop for Thanksgiving in Autumn. 

Hooray!

A New Whole Foods at 690 Stanyan – The Spate in the Haight, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday!

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

It’s all going down this Thursday, January 14th, 2010, at the Park Branch Library on Page Street in the Upper Haight – representatives from Whole Foods will be on hand to discuss their proposed new store at Stanyan and Haight.

Get some history on this projecto here, courtesy of Curbed SF. And read “the whole story” from purported “fossil”Calvin Welch right here

The proposed residences upstairs are no longer in the works but there’s still lots to argue about. Grab your pink popcorn and show up at the library at 7:00 PM for the next Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Community Meeting:

See you there!*

*At the meeting, not at Whole Foods, which is too rich for my blood.