National Reminder: Dining Out For Life (today)
It's an annual fundraiser for local HIV/AIDS organizations, when many restaurants donate 25% of your final bill. On April 26, you'll have a chance to participate by having a meal in one of the following metropolitan areas: San Francisco; San Jose; San Diego; Phoenix; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Kansas City; Chicago; Minneapolis; Tulsa; Memphis; Birmingham; Indianapolis; Asheville; Charleston, S.C.; Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and Boston (plus several others). www.diningoutforlife.com
Note: For San Francisco diners, you can currently find Opentable reservations for two around 7pm at the following recommended restaurants: Alamo Square Grill; Dosa on Valencia; Foreign Cinema; Mission Beach Cafe; and Radius. Help support San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Stop AIDS Project!
Local Food Pick
Sweet Maple
2101 Sutter St. (at Steiner St.)
San Francisco, CA 94115
Two words: Millionaire's Bacon. It's thick-cut with a peppery rub and sweet maple syrup glaze. The bacon turns out to be a great add-on to standard fare like omelettes, benedicts, and deep-fried french toast. You can even get your drink on with Drake's beer or champagne mimosas. 4 stars - 308 reviews
Previous San Francisco picks: Radius; Limon Rotisserie; Art's Cafe; Little Star Pizza; Yamo; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Humphry Slocombe; Tu Lan; Foreign Cinema; Zanze's Cheesecake; San Tung; Katana-Ya; A La Turca; Boxing Room; Frances; Saigon Sandwich; Brenda's French Soul Food; Park Tavern; Broken Record; Rosamunde Sausage Grill; Curry Up Now; Yasukochi's Sweet Stop; Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen; Firefly; Red Door Cafe; L'Ardoise Bistro; Pluto's; My Tofu House; Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous; Walzwerk; Good Luck Dim Sum; Amber India; Sotto Mare.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Curry Up Now (San Mateo); Little Lucca Sandwich Shop & Deli (Burlingame/South SF); Falafel's Drive In (San Jose); Sunny Bowl (Mountain View); Back A Yard Caribbean Grill (Menlo Park); Pluto's (Palo Alto/San Jose); Ramen Dojo/Ramen Parlor (San Mateo); Amber India (Mountain View/San Jose/Palo Alto).
Previous East Bay picks: Little Star Pizza (Albany); Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen (Berkeley); Asmara (Oakland); Keanu's Island Kine Food (Vacaville); Tara's Organic Ice Cream (Berkeley/Oakland); Pluto's (Chico/Davis/Sacramento/
Previous North Bay picks: Bouchon Bakery (Yountville); Della Fattoria Bakery (Petaluma); Sol Food (San Rafael); Stumptown Brewery (Guerneville); Moustache Baked Goods (Healdsburg).
Local Bar Pick
El Rio
3158 Mission St. (at Precita Ave.)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Near the base of Bernal Hill sits the very lively El Rio. Its main draw is the immense back patio, which cooks up free BBQ (Fridays and Sundays) and oysters on the half shell (Fridays). As with any dive bar, the draft beer menu offers ample options, and the happy-hour specials - $3 draft or well drinks - bring in the crowds. 4 stars - 487 reviews
Previous San Francisco pick: Blackbird
Previous East Bay pick: The Trappist
Local History
Luther Burbank (1849-1926)
The 13th of 15 children, he stopped formal education after elementary school and used his inheritance at 21 to start a 17-acre farm. There, he developed and sold the rights to the Burbank potato for $150; today, a variant (the Russet Burbank) is the world's most cultivated potato. Mr. Burbank used his money to move from Massachusetts to Santa Rosa. Inspired by Charles Darwin's work, he experimented with crossbreeding to create hundreds of new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals. The most successful include the Shasta daisy and Santa Rosa plum. Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Home & Gardens and Luther Burbank Savings Bank, Sebastopol's Luther Burbank Farm, Stanford's Burbank House, and San Jose's Luther Burbank School District are examples of his legacy.
Previous San Francisco history: John Geary; Samuel Brannan; Michael O'Shaughnessy; Jasper O'Farrell; Frank McCoppin; Thomas Hayes; Francisco de Haro; Jose Bernal; David Broderick; Henry Haight; John Townsend; Cyril Magnin; Jose Arguello; Keiko Fukuda; John Le Conte; Eugene Schmitz; Theodore Judah
Previous Peninsula/South Bay history: Millbrae; Tanforan Racetrack; T. Jack Foster; Leland Stanford; Milpitas; Donald Tresidder; Josiah Belden
Previous East Bay history: Charles Tilden; William Hayward; John Fremont; Mariano Vallejo; Ygnacio Martinez; Henry Kaiser
Previous North Bay history: Cotati; Charles Fairfax
Bay Area Charity
FabMo Creativity Center
Started in 1997, this Mountain View-based nonprofit is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization that diverts fabrics to Bay Area artisans and teachers. FabMo also hosts an annual art boutique and a variety of workshops. www.fabmo.org
Previous organizations Randy's Guide has spotlighted and donated: Common Ground Relief, LYRIC, Aldea Inc., Glide Memorial, City CarShare, Maitri, Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Urban Forest, Farm Sanctuary, Bay Area Community Services, Blue Energy, My New Red Shoes, College Track, Foundation for the People of Burma, Vital Life Services, Little Angel Fund, San Francisco Health Services Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Bay Localize, San Francisco Women Against Rape, Sustainable Conservation, Ashoka, Old Skool Cafe, Darfur Sister Schools, Rebuilding Together San Francisco, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Urban Solutions, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Shanti, Curry Without Worry, SF Neighborhood Theater Foundation, La Cocina, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California, The Bike Kitchen, First Graduate, Lazarex Cancer Foundation (Amy C), and KQED (88.5 FM).
Bay Area Weekend Highs
Today's April showers will give way to sunshine and a warming trend over the next few days.
Coast: upper-50s (Thu-Fri); low-60s (Sat); mid-60s (Sun)
Downtown SF: low-60s (Thu); mid-60s (Fri); upper-60s (Sat); low-70s (Sun)
Bay: low-60s (Thu); upper-60s (Fri); low-70s (Sat); upper-70s (Sun)
South Bay: low-60s (Thu); upper-60s (Fri); low-70s (Sat); low-80s (Sun)
Inland East Bay: low-60s (Thu); low-70s (Fri); mid-70s (Sat); low-80s (Sun)
North Bay: low-60s (Thu); low-70s (Fri); mid-80s (Sat-Sun)
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
1. Outer Richmond
- Dutch Queen's Day Festival: Saturday, 9:30am-5pm
- Lands End Center Opening: Saturday, 11am-2pm
Party with the Dutch! Meet at 9:30am for a bike ride from My Dutch Bike (near Montgomery Station) to Golden Gate Park. Or, nosh on some Dutch pastries, soak in live music by Dutch artists, and behold the opening of the Dutch Windmill and Millwrights Cottage. While you're in the Avenues, stop by the new Lands End Center, which celebrates its grand opening with live music and guided walks. www.sfdutch.com www.parksconservancy.com
2. Treasure Island
- Sailing Center: Saturday, 11am-4pm
- Flea Market: Saturday-Sunday, 10am-4pm
Free sailboat rides, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding are the highlights for the opening day festivities at the Treasure Island Sailing Center. Live music and games, along with BBQ for purchase, flesh out the event. The monthly flea market, located on the west-facing Great Lawn, is celebrating its one-year anniversary with live bands, art studio tours, and a BMX stunt show. RSVP at http://sf.funcheap.com/treasure-island-flea-free-admission-funcheap for free admission. www.tisailing.org www.treasureislandflea.com
3. Embarcadero
- Red Bull Bike Festival: Saturday, 11am-4pm
- Ferry Building Farmers Market: Saturday, 8am-2pm
Fixed-gear bikes will be competing in a velodrome, which is a steeply banked oval track with two straightaways and two 180-degree circular bends. Sounds intense! The top 15 riders from this year will compete against the top 10 riders from last year. Sponsors include Chrome Bags, Specialized Bicycles, and SF Bike Coalition. Stop by the weekly farmers' market at the Ferry Building, which promises a full presentation of prepared foods, artisan products, and local produce. www.redbullusa.com/rideNstyle www.cuesa.org
Bay Area Freebie of the Week
Many Bay Area museums are free next week. The listings are for San Francisco museums, unless otherwise noted.
- Tuesday: de Young; Legion of Honor; Conservatory of Flowers; Cartoon Art Museum; SFMOMA; Contemporary Jewish; YBCA
- Wednesday: Bay Area Discovery Museum (Sausalito); SF Zoo; Exploratorium; GLBT History Museum
- Thursday: Pez Museum (Burlingame); Berkeley Art Museum; Chinese Historical Society
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