Over on his Inside Scoop side blog, the Chronicle's insatiable food critic is taking a deeper look at Nopa, one of his perennial favorites today. In the five years it has been open in the (ahem) North of Panhandle neighborhood, he says, the restaurant has, "channeled the spirit of the area more than any other existing business." We here at the SFist Western Branch office, a stone's throw from Nopa on Divisadero, won't argue about the restaurant's quality and welcoming neighborhood vibe, but we'd be remiss if we didn't point out the food critic neglected to disclose one important detail: His guilty fried chicken addiction. more ›

Normally we'd hold comment on Willie Brown's foodie thoughts until the end of the week, but today's Inside Scoop column, in which our crispy former Mayor goes in search of the Bay Area's best fried chicken, is just too good to pass up. Fried chicken is a dish rich with cultural history, as you know, so Willie tests the gourmet poulet at four local establishments: "Two that are African American owned and two that aren't." Behold, his shocking conclusion: more ›

This more of a love letter to our favorite neighborhood place for a special occasion rather than a review. We can't claim to be impartial: we dig the place. Every visit we've had to Firefly, up on 24th Street near Douglas, has been special in its own way. Like the time the neighborhood lost power and we ate by candlelight. Or the awful time that we tried to fly to the east coast, waited in the airport all day, and were then bumped to a subsequent day flight--Firefly took us on short notice and made a horrible day palatable. more ›

A reader attending the Oracle OpenWorld convention, who wants to be credited as "someone who's there," passed along these pictures of the scene under the tents on Howard Street. Yes, people, they closed off your city block so attendees could eat roast beef and fried chicken in wax-lined paper boxes in peace. The Howard Street tent apparently seats "thousands." Keep their conventioneering stomachs in mind as you get diverted onto Mission Street, everyone! more ›

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Although we usually fancy ourselves seasonal eaters, we feel there is really no one marked season for chicken wings ($7.50 for 12 pieces) at San Tung in the Inner Sunset. It's juicy, tasty, and filling eating any time of the year. There is other food at San Tung, but it's really all about the chicken. more ›

Madden's in the Hall Of Fame. The Raiders have committed their first false start penalties. The NFL's 2006 Preseason is underway. Let's move with all due speed to present the members of your San Francisco 49ers' 2006 Draft class. more ›

First off, we suppose we should mention July 4. After all, it's only American, right? And everyone has a picnic, right? But before you go off all half-cocked and over-marinated, check out what Biggles has to say over at Meathenge, all right? On the other hand, maybe some of you aren't grillers. In that case, listen to Food Musing's Grandma, who has some good advice on that very picnicky dish, fried chicken. And Celeste has some musings on independence and party planning over at Chopstick Cinema. Lastly, Wayne from 101 Cookbooks writes about his lunch at the White House, which, regardless of your opinion of the occcupants (at any time), is just about as perfect a pairing of the Fourth of July and food as you can get. more ›

Last week's tie winners, the Bay Guardian and the East Bay Express! For some reason, though, the only weekly that's updated its site for this week is the Metro, so we're going with their cover as the picture this week. Sorry for the linklessness, folks. more ›

t's time for American Football Spectacular's bowl preview! Assisted by red wine, our American college football consultant Doug "MC Fried Chicken" Mungin, and the sheer will to succeed, we push ever forward to bring you these scintillating projections. more ›

Weekly recap of the foodie scene. more ›

Madden's in the Hall Of Fame. The Raiders have committed their first false start penalties. The NFL's 2006 Preseason is underway. Let's move with all due speed to present the members of your San Francisco 49ers' 2006 Draft class. more ›