Wow. That was horrific. Don't get us wrong: We are not (that much of) a food snob, one who loudly sings the praises of "The Laundry," the latest obscure Mission District restaurant, or, far more obnoxious, an Oakland food truck. Aside from gastronomic trends that we enjoy, and then enjoy making fun of others for enjoying, we have a profound fondness for any sodium-rich treat that reminds us of our upbringing — e.g., Jeno's Pizza Rolls, Ding-Dongs. So it was with much anticipation that we headed out the door today and into San Francisco's Union Square to buy ourselves Jack in the Box's latest concoction, the Bacon Shake. Boy, was that a tummy error. more ›

More taquerias should be inspired by Taco Bell. No, not by the fast-food chain's suspect ingredients or testosterone-fueled ad campaigns, but for the unique gastronomic constructs that Taco Bell uses to produce their food-like menu items. Take, for example, this (delicious) monstrosity filled with Fritos. Taqueria La Cumbre on Valencia Street recently started making something sorta, kinda, barely similar: Nachos in a Roll (i.e., a tortilla chip-stuffed burrito), a treat brought to our attention by noted neighborhood blog, Mission Mission. See, for only $5, you can get nachos stuffed inside a flour tortilla with either grilled chicken, steak or vegetarian along with beans, cheese guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. So basically a burrito with chips inside. And yet? Much more. more ›

Filmmaker Kaleo La Belle's Beyond This Place, which was screened last night at the Castro Theatre with a live musical score by Sufjan Stevens and Ray Raposa of Castanets, is an affecting portrayal of a broken relationship between father and son, an intimate family portrait that also acts as a microcosm into the consequences of that not-so-distant psychedelic age when acid was still revolutionary and children fled to communes to live without rules. more ›

Welcome to Corner Store Food Critic, where we select an item typically found at any number of corner stores in San Francisco, bring said item home in a carefully wrapped bag, and then taste it in private. Seeing as how that, in a pinch, many of us eat entire meals bought solely at barely-lit corner markets and liquor stores, we now see it as our duty to examine the crud you shove down your throat during moments of drunken weakness or sheer hunger/laziness. more ›

This fairly new coffeeshop in the tenderloin opened to a bit of controversy but is now off on smooth sailing toward deliciousness. I don't know, it's Friday Thursday, cut me some slack. The Soyrizo Breakfast Sandwich is filled with tofu scramble, melty vegan cheese, and delicious spicy soyrizo on an english muffin and all that's fine and dandy but then they throw that mother in a panini grill and what comes out is a beast. That panini grill must be a cousin of that toaster oven who can talk because there is certainly magic afoot. more ›

Proving that, regardless of accolades and fame, no noted chef is safe, Michael Bauer nixed the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton today from the esteemed four-star club. In fact, he downgraded it to 2.5 stars. Gulp. Bauer proclaims: more ›

Noted food critic Josh Sens of San Francisco Magazine recently compared noted chef Michael Mina to Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, one of the worst-reviewed musicals of all time. Sens writes: more ›

by Erick Pressman Back in December, there was a bit of a panic attack moment that was had. It turned out that on the same night Wild 94.9 threw their epic Wild Jam concert featuring Chris Brown and Drake, local stoner rockers Om played the Independent with Lichens and a local band Barn Owl. more ›

A Woman Beater, a Phenom, a Pleasant Surprise, and a One Hit Wonder: SFist's Erick Pressman reports back from Thursday night's Wild 94.9's Wild Jam at HP Pavilion. by Erick Pressman more ›

Berkeley composer John Adams's oratorio El Niño had its US premiere at Davies Symphony Hall ten years ago next month. The reviews were unanimously enthusiastic. El Niño, like Handel's Messiah, is a musical setting of the Nativity. Sellars and Adams compiled the texts from some more eclectic sources though, adding South American poetry and apocryphal gospels to the mix, and we'll let Adams himself tell the story. The man composes wicked music, and the man blogs. more ›

We mentioned yesterday that Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer would update a review with zero stars for cuisine today. His target: Morton's Steakhouse on Union Square. Ahem: "When I finally did start on my main course, I realized I needed to offer a second apology to any food I've criticized in the past year; by comparison, everything I've had at other places was French Laundry quality. The steak was burned and acrid, and the lobster tail was mushy, as if it had been frozen and thawed multiple times." And it just gets better worse. Check out a rare zero star food review from Bauer. (Over on Yelp, we should point out, the steakhouse scored 3.5 stars.) more ›

It was pointed out to us that the seating at Exit Theater down in the Tenderloin is reminiscent of one of those Medieval Times restaurants, where suburban crowds are treated to Applebee’s quality dishes while being entertained by jousting, juggling, and bawdy wenches of “olde.” Never having indulged in one of these places (it’s on the list), this writer simply had to take the observer’s word for it. However, considering the play we were watching in preview, it was an interesting observation. Based on Oakland writer Peter S. Beagle's 1997 collection of short stories of the same name, Giant Bones, the latest work by prolific local playwright/director Stuart Bousel, weaves together four tales set in a medieval-like fantasy world of remarkable depth and texture. more ›

Your SFist Editor does not enjoy burritos. Alas. For our money and tongue, they're just too large, gloppy, tinfoil-y and overloaded. Also, we were forced to eat them twice a week in our youth, so we don't care much for the popular Mexican roll in our adulthood. But, Brad of Meowmix does. Very much so. And he's found a new one to share with you: HRD's Spicy Kim Chee Burrito. From the makers of the Mongolian Beef Cheesesteak Sandwich, the Spicy Kim Chee is filled with Kim chee, korean bbq pork, sour cream, kiwi salsa, and white rice. And it's large. Very large. Read more about it at Meowmix. more ›

The video begins in full bullshit mode similar to an episode of Barefoot Contessa (e.g., the one where Ina Garten pretends to break into her gay male friends' tacky Hamptons home to surprise them with truffle mac & cheese and ugly hydrangea arrangements; but the entire thing is so obviously and painfully fake, making it one of the most uncomfortable episodes of anything the Food Network has to offer), then redeems itself by turning into The West Wing (i.e., Newsom darting down long hallways, walking out of the camera's view.) more ›

When your editor is in a rank mood, we forgo our daily lunch of lemon wedges and a Correctol, and instead head to Little Skillet for a chicken and waffle box. That is, until today. After reading Meowmix's gushing review of HRD's Mongolian Beef Cheesesteak, we had to give it a shot. more ›

by Ben Kasman more ›

After checking out SF Sketchfest's Celebrity Autobiography at Cobb's on Saturday night -- a glorious evening of comedians reading bizarre autobiographies of equally bizarre celebrities -- it's easy to see how Rachel Dratch held her own with Tina Fey, Will Farrell and Amy Poehler for years on Saturday Night Live. The former 30 Rock actress is hysterically funny. Not to mention mesmerizing on stage. Even while performing with the a taller and testosterone-rich trio of Steve Schirripa, Fred Willard and Jason Segel (replacing Neil Patrick Harris, who canceled) during a ho-hum Jonas Brothers autobiography reading, Dratch killed it as the "bonus Jonas." more ›

by Taryn Harrington Grass Widow was just another band, another Myspace Top 8, until I read a recent article in Color Magazine with Shaybe Sartin from the Fresh & Onlys. He considered the all-girl punk meets sweet trio as an influential local band. To Sartin , Grass Widow isn’t getting the attention they deserve. more ›

by Moses Namkung Intrigued by the opportunities to photograph Metric frontwoman Emily Haines and to finally see Vampire Weekend live, we headed out to Oracle Arena to experience Live 105's Not So Silent Night last Friday. The evening, sold out for days, featured a five-band bill weighted towards neo/prog-rock with 30 Seconds to Mars, Muse, and (ugh) AFI also on the program. more ›

by Taryn Harrington Ty Segall played at Café Du Nord on Saturday night to a small and rain soaked crowd. Still, Segall made up for its low attendance. For even in a smaller crowd, the energy from his lo-fi, 60s influenced garage rock was infectious. more ›

by Moses Namkung more ›

That's right. SFist classed up its act last Friday when we jumped into a cab, threw our hair back, and deadpanned to the driver, "Take us to the Ritz." Yes, we went to the famed and supposedly inaccessible Mobil Five-Star awarded The Ritz-Carlton Bar and Dining Room, and thank God we did. It was remarkable -- surprisingly so. more ›

by Moses Namkung more ›

Jan Wahl, the greatest wide-brim hat wearing Bay Area on-air talent of all time, gives Sacha Baron Cohen's , the film version of his popular fictional gay Austrian fashion reporter, a dismal review. Claiming that it enforces stereotypes of gay men, Wahl chides the satire for its "gross-out sex jokes," saying that it "will cause all kinds of bad things to children who are already bullied. ... it will cause real problems that we will not hear about and will not happen in the Bay Area." Which, yes, it will be a rich source of material insofar as playground taunting goes. Anyway, Wahl goes on to give the film no hats. "NO hats?!?!" the stunned KCBS reporter exclaims. That's right, no hats. Listen to the review in its entirety here.) more ›

'Monday Munchies' returns. Yay! Also, if you can't afford to eat / be seen at Waterbar, calm down and listen: We have a review of Jollibee's, ready for your reading pleasure later this week. Until then, enjoy this.

by Tiffany Maleshefsk The very ritzy-ish Waterbar, normally way out of our wallet’s reach, offers a prix fixe menu on Mondays called Shellfish & Champagne. And their prix fixe menu, which is billed as a "deal" even though it's still out of reach for many of us, is a tad more reasonable. For $60, eaters get three courses and three flutes of champagne. Or, go for the bargain-basement deal three courses for $40 (sans champagne).

We recently tested out the Shellfish & Champagne menu when the shellfish of the evening was Dungeness crab (our absolute favorite). And to keep things interesting, we brought a pal who didn’t need to restrict herself to the prix fixe menu.

Here’s a blow-by-blow of how the meal went down. more ›

People seem to either love opera or feel like they should love it. For the would be lovers of operas the inaccessibility of the genre (even when the lyrics are in English, deciphering them can be tough) has been lessened recently by things such as projected lyrics, and opportunities to see good productions at local movie theaters or ball parks. Perhaps the best way to become an actual opera lover is to see a world-class production of the most accessible opera for American audiences: Porgy and Bess which currently playing at the SF opera. more ›

by Moses Namkung more ›

In the middle of his second consecutive sellout show at Bottom of the Hill on Tuesday, Jens Lekman gave his own "gentle response to all the Prop 8 bullshit going on": his standout song, "Postcard to Nina". Between verses, the Swede explained an anecdote relating to the song: a story about the time he was in Berlin and briefly became heterosexual for his lesbian friend Nina, who introduced him to her father as her boyfriend because, of course, she didn't want her father to know about her girlfriend. Got that? more ›

San Francisco guitarist Johnathan Rice said as he strummed the opening to "See Fernando" to kick off the evening, "it may not be legal for all of us to marry... but it isn't illegal for all of us to be in love with Jenny Lewis!" Don't rub it in, Johnny. We know you're dating her. more ›

by Moses Namkung more ›