You know I like my chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
Bay Area Food Pick
568 Sacramento St. (at Montgomery St.)
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 983-0102
If sausage dogs or double cheeseburgers aren't your thing, Wexler's may be a more refined option for your Labor Day BBQ cravings. Bourbon banana cream pie, Scotch eggs, and smoked short rib are some of the menu highlights. 4 stars - 473 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; Sweet Maple; Shanghai Dumpling King; Super Duper; Kokkari Estiatorio; Olea; Bodega Bistro; The Chairman Truck; Molinari Delicatessen; Wayfare Tavern.
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); Nini's Coffee Shop (San Mateo); Kabab and Curry's (Santa Clara); Fiddler's Green (Millbrae).
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); Super Duper (Mill Valley); The Pelican Inn (Muir Beach); Garden Grill (Guerneville).
Previous Other picks: Shoki Ramen House (Sacramento); Built to Grill (Portland).
Bay Area Bar Pick
1933 Davis St.
Building 177
San Leandro, CA 94577
Tucked deep into a shopping center anchored by Walmart and Home Depot, Drake's has started to make a name for itself among the Bay Area beer community. Its barrel house is open Wednesday-Sunday with anywhere from a dozen to two dozen selections on tap. You can fill growlers or pick up six-packs and kegs. Bring in some food, and score an outside table for an urban picnic. For city folks without cars, Drake's is about a 30-minute walk (or 10-minute bike ride) from the San Leandro BART station. 4-1/2 stars - 52 reviews
Previous San Francisco picks: Blackbird; El Rio; Rickhouse; Southern Pacific Brewing; The Hidden Vine; Vesuvio; The Pig & Whistle; Biergarten; Martuni's; Tosca Cafe.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay pick: Antonio's Nut House (Palo Alto); The Oasis Beer Garden (Menlo Park).
Previous East Bay pick: The Trappist (Oakland); Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon (Oakland); The Turf Club (Hayward); Jupiter (Berkeley); St. George Spirits (Alameda).
Previous North Bay pick: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma); Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg).
Previous Other pick: New Deal Distillery (Portland).
Bay Area History
John McLaren
(1846-1943)
The Scotsman switched his focus from dairy farming to horticulture, then moved to the Bay Area where he worked on the Leland Stanford estate and San Mateo's Coyote Point. Most importantly, though, he served as Golden Gate Park Superintendent in San Francisco for 53 years. Mr. McLaren presided over the hiring of several hundred gardeners, planting of thousands of trees, construction of the Dutch and Murphy's windmills, and the preservation of the western edge from ocean waves and sand. McLaren Park, McLaren Avenue (in Seacliff District), and Golden Gate Park's McLaren Lodge (where he passed away at age 96) are named after him.
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; Herb Caen; James Phelan; Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Angelo Rossi; Charles Brenham; Warren Hellman.
Previous Peninsula/South Bay history: Millbrae; Tanforan Racetrack; T. Jack Foster; Leland Stanford; Milpitas; Donald Tresidder; Josiah Belden; Hiram Morgan Hill; Simon Mezes.
Previous East Bay history: Charles Tilden; William Hayward; John Fremont; Mariano Vallejo; Ygnacio Martinez; Henry Kaiser; Anthony Chabot; Thomas Caldecott; Laurentine Hamilton; Joel Clayton.
Previous North Bay history: Cotati; Charles Fairfax; Luther Burbank; William Richardson; Oscar and James Shafter; George Guerne.
Previous Other history: Francis Pettygrove (Portland).
Bay Area Charity
Based in San Francisco since 2006, this organization provides emotional and psychological support to Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, service members, and their families. Estimates are that one out of six troops returning from the wars will have psychological trauma.
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), KQED (88.5 FM), FabMo Creativity Center; and now Duboce/Valencia Fire Relief.
Bay Area Holiday Weekend Highs
The fall weather pattern is starting to develop, as San Francisco has seen a number of days in the 70s and 80s this past week. Look for that to continue. Sunday looks to be the warmest day.
~ Thursday, Sunday-Monday ~
Coast: low-60s
SF: low-70s
Bay: upper-70s
North Bay: mid-80s
South Bay: mid-80s
Inland East Bay: upper-80s
~ Friday-Saturday ~
Coast: upper-50s
SF: upper-60s
Bay: low-70s
North Bay: mid-70s
South Bay: upper-70s
Inland East Bay: upper-70s
Bay Area Free Activities of the Week
Sunday, 1-3:30pm
Catch the West Little League Champions on a parade through downtown Petaluma. They were one win away from the Little League World Series, and during one game scored ten runs in the final inning to tie up the score. Free hot dogs and pie will be available at Walnut Park after the player introductions and City proclamation. All donations will benefit the Uganda Little League team.
2. Outdoor Theater
SF Mime Troupe: Saturday-Monday 2pm
SF Shakespeare Festival: Saturday-Monday 2pm
Tony Award-winning SF Mime Troupe enters its 53rd season with For the Greater Good, or the Last Election. It'll be held this holiday weekend at San Francisco's Dolores Park. Sit close to hear the witty commentary. If you want to brave the Presidio's Main Post grounds, the SF Shakespeare Festival presents Henry V. Off the Grid food trucks will be on site for Sunday's performance.
Monday, 8am-4pm
38th annual. Ten races, including the professionals at 3pm, will race starting at Levi's Plaza and loop a one-mile stretch along Battery, Sansome, Vallejo, Front, Green, and Greenwich. They will be going fast.
