It's going to be a busy, warm, and wily weekend. First, the Asian Heritage Street Festival, which takes place on Saturday, May 17 from 11:00AM to 6:00AM, around Japantown will result in the following closures from 3:00AM. to 10:00PM: * Post Street from Fillmore Street to Laguna Street * Webster Street from Sutter Street to d."Geary Boulevard * Intersection of Webster and Post What's more, the 2-Clement, 3-Jackson, and 22-Fillmore lines "may be affected."......

No! Due to the awesome unseasonably cold weather the Bay Area has experienced over the last few months, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of Sonoma County's $400 million vino crop has succumbed to frost damage according to an NBC 4. (An aside: love NBC 4! Most entertaining newscast in the history of the world, ever!) The crisp and energizing weather has also affected vineyards in Mendocino and Lake counties, "where damage to the......

Well, this is amusing and slightly erotic. And, yes, kids, it's almost over a year old, but for your entertainment, foodies of the Bay Area, check out the Sunday Drinker Wine Review. Joanne Weir should totally have this guy on her show. It would be a good balance. (We love Joanne Weir for reasons we can't really explain or understand.) Anyway, be sure to check out more wine reviews here. And if wine isn't......

Photo by Phillyist's Matt Johnson, SkyscraperSunset.com, December 19, 2007. Phillyist explored an impending implosion and lived to tell the tale.Gothamist marveled at the city's new NYC-branded condom campaign - especially the use of a Toronto landmark in the advertising. (Also, fun fact: Gothamist turned five years old yesterday.)Tired of the worldwide Scientology protests? Torontoist totally isn't: they covered the big downtown protest the day it happened, and followed up with an examination of all......

We knew we'd rope you in with the use of the word porn! "I didn't know there are so many chocolate places," our husband said as we collectively eyed The Chocolate Guide Western Edition, billed by some as "chocolate porn". Learning can be sooo much fun. This guide easily earns a spot on our lifestyle and travel bookshelves because it covers chocolate based info that Lonely Planet, Zagat, Rick Steves, and other guides miss.......

We came back from taking down the recycling yesterday evening to find we had locked ourselves out of our apartment. "Noooo!!" [Insert Emo Darth Vader ballad here. Warning -- audio.] We dialed the apartment manager on the call-box but got his voice mail. Lucky for us, the manager, who wouldn't be back until 10:00, called our s.o., who wouldn't be back until 8:00, and our s.o. called our friend who lives a few blocks away.......

Ragnar left Sweden to join the SF Symphony as Chorus director in March this year. And did we throw a welcome party for him? Did we ring his door with a cauliflower casserole and a bottle of wine to ease his arrival in the neighborhood? Nope. Nada. We must have been booked when he threw his housewarming or something, but so far, search for him here and you'll find only one single measly hit. Luckily......

-- "Punk Rock Karaoke": Damnit all to hell. We can't believe that we have to miss this: members of the Adolescents, Bad Religion, and NOFX perform live while "singers" drunkenly slur along, karaoke-style. But you shouldn't miss it! Starts tonight at 9 p.m. at 111 Minna Gallery; $10. -- Red Poppy Art House Holiday Exhibit & Art Sale: According to the Poppy, "this show will feature works from such artists as Addie Shevlin, Todd......

Why, what a delightful holiday refreshment table shot. Found in our Flickr page, and taken at some festive party this weekend, it has all of the staples of an imminent San Francisco gathering: hummus (thank you for remembering the olive oil drizzle!); simple crudité orbiting a coffee mug used to hold, ugh, dip (a most vile word for such a critical item); wine; chives used to accent; whimsically out-of-season platter holding the baked goods;......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

Judging from the range of performers this week, there is something for everyone. Starting first, in our weekly recommendations, is New Zealand singer-songwriter, Brooke Fraser. Prior to this post, we knew nothing about this accomplished 19 year-old but a quick visit to her MySpace page and we were hooked. Tuesday, you can catch this gorgeous, pop-writing sensation at Cafe du Nord. If not, download her latest release, Albertine on iTunes. Wednesday, we are welcoming......

Care to avoid be ridiculed by your Thanksgiving hosts following your departure after din din? Good. Then pay attention. (For those of you who have T-Day hosts who regularly gulp Chuck Shaw or Yellowtail, ew, feel free to ignore this post. You're screwed anyway.) Here's what NOT to bring to Thanksgiving dinner: Cabernet Sauvignon (for the love of God, don't bring Cab) Merlot Petite Sirah Chardonnay (unless there is a crab dish) The varietals above......

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: (There are no major standouts this week) Please Let Us Know What You Think About: 1. Amy Winehouse - Frank: Winehouse doesn't have much luck - her last single, "Rehab," was so deliciously repetitive that it apparently drove her into exhaustion rehab. Will her next single be "Fuck Me Pumps" or "Amy Amy Amy"? We hope that nothing gets......

Without a doubt, we think that every Australian in San Francisco was at Bottom of the Hill last Wednesday to rock it out with Australia's hit band, Eskimo Joe. We speculated when we first walked in but weren't positive - the "background" music was too loud to actually positively i.d. an accent. Halfway through the show the lead singer, Kavyen Temperley, asked for all the Australians in the house to scream. We were the only......

Back in high school, we had an English teacher who really drilled the Transcendentalists into our brains, especially that one Thoreau Emerson quote: "Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." What can we say? It still makes us think. Like about restaurants that have hardly changed in at least 20 years (the amount we can vouch for, since that's when we moved here from Southern California) if not 35 -- Juan's Place, in Berkeley. We......

It's here, it's here! Pinot on the River. The Russian River, that is. Starting today and running through Sunday, Pinot Noir will be the focus in the Russian River Valley this weekend. Russian River Vineyards in Forestville plays host to this year's fest featuring top Pinot producers from the area. Enjoy wine-tasting, seminars, tours, and delicious culinary treats. The events kick off with dinner tonight. Online tickets are unfortunately no longer available. (You snooze,......

Anyways, Sean saw this, failed to see any humor in it, and made his offer to be the money bags to everyone's favorite "hunky-hipster attorney". Again, we don't know if this is true or what the what is with the story. It could be a joke, a crazy rumor, or something Sean and Matt jokingly talked about while drinking some wine and discussing the finer points of Costas Gravas's L'Aveu. ...

-- Tastes of the City: Help raise money for the George Mark Children's House in San Leandro by attending this culinary bash. Young and "philanthropic-minded" guys and gals meet and mingle while binge eating on food and wine from such places as Andalu, Jack Falstaff, and more. Goes from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Forum at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; $60. (!) -- Mathematicians, Madame Blavatsky Overdrive, and Odd Nosdam:......

We had an interview lined up, and were instructed to call his hotel at the agreed time, and ask to be transferred to Christopher Hampton. What? The guy won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons, won a Tony award for the libretto of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of Sunset Boulevard, wrote the script for, and directed tons of movies involving Leonardo di Caprio, Richard Gere or Gérard Depardieu, and he......

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. Standouts: 1. Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails Red Wine (w/ Bonus DVD): Hands down, one of the best CD's of 2007. Eskimo Joe released "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" as their debut single in the US in August. Their CD already went quadruple platinum in Australia (it was released in 2006). The quiet application of the piano combined with the melodramatic......

San Francisco's fastest-growing neighborhood might not be as accessible to live in as we're led to believe. So far the burgeoning hood has an offbeat Safeway; a smattering of wine and food spots; something called a "dental spa"; and most critical to any new, culturally viable neighborhood, two overpriced pet supply boutiques within three blocks of each other, where you can buy rover organic pet foods, style treatments, and more: South Paw (on Brannan......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

This Saturday at the San Francisco Embarcadero Hyatt Regency from noon-4 p.m., you can join KGO Radio and the Mendocino Wine Growers Foundation in celebration of the wines and other good stuff from Mendocino County. The event, called "Wine By The Bay 2007,", is $35 if you buy your ticket now; it'll be ten buck more ($45) at the door. What's exciting to us is that Friend of SFist, Destination Dinners' Lisa Diamond, is scheduled to be interviewed by KGO's Gene Burns during the event for his "Dining Around" program....

Last week's winner, the SF Weekly. Hey, someone spilled alcohol on our issue! Or at least we hope it's only alcohol.... We're now only gingerly turning the pages. Please don't be pee. Letters: Someone hates Chris Daly. You can't talk to MUNI head Nat Ford when he's in the john? (Cartoon at left.) Cover article: The Treasure Island Music Fest is gonna be awesome!!!!!!! (We have got to remember to pick up tickets for it......

-- Did you call your district supervisor to halt the Blue Angels today? Neither did we. [IndyBay] -- Obama was here, or something. [BeyondChron, Oakland Tribune] -- San Francisco's Next Top Transbay Terminal. [Chron] -- San Jose mom allows boyfriend to murder her six-year-old son, helps him bury son. [SJ Merc] -- Your local alt weeklies weigh in on Britney's depressing performance. Sigh. [ASD, SFBG] -- McGoldrick all cranky about advertising on or near the......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

You know you've made it in San Francisco as a marginalized group when you start getting in fights with other marginalized groups -- so a local bisexual advocacy/social group is under fire for their policies excluding certain transgender persons. Namely, the Chasing Amy Social Club (which you may remember from Gay Pride this year, complaining about the lack of bi visibility at the Pride Parade) has gotten called out by local literary doyenne and transgender......

Okay, so when we first saw this store open on our beloved 4th Street in Berkeley, we were horrified. Judging a book entirely by its cover, we wouldn't even go near the place. Napa Style. Seriously? Like, can't we just drive to Napa and buy stuff? We need it packaged, sorted, and Disneyfied for us? This had to be a tourist trap. We, even when we travel, never ever consider ourselves a tourist. Sniff.......

One of the last times we went to the Bubble Lounge, we saw two hot women sitting on a certain former mayor's lap. Maybe it was the va-va-voom sexy red cushy sofas and seats, combined with the brick interiors, dim lighting and pulsing DJ beats? Or that a high proportion of women seem to show tasteful cleavage when working or chillin' at the Bubble Lounge? Simply put, folks seem to have a good time......

-- All About Eve: Brutal, drunk, rapid-fire dialogue; famous lines ("Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," etc.); and a backstage story told so, so, so well make this '50s film more than just a camp classic. Starring Bette Davis. Screens tonight at 7 p.m. at the Castro Theatre, Castro & Market Streets; $9.50. -- Rush: Canadian rock flows freely at 7:30 p.m., Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Pkwy, (Mountain View); $29.50-$79.50.......