By Kimberly Chun

One of my favorite regularly rotating yet impromptu installations of San Francisco street art has to be here, around McAllister Street, near Fillmore: the residents of this Victorian flat like to change it up, using all that wasted space in front of their dwelling to dangle and display their zany, all-weather creations. Seasonal - and playful (and almost beating out the huge, teddy bear-and-flower-embellished pro-peace, anti-Dubya installation/political soapbox that once covered the front of a blue house near Webster and Hayes, which, I've heard, was shut down by the Man).

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Ruby, Yerba Buena Gardens

Tell us about your look: "If it's on sale, buy it. Yes!"

Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

EVENTS

Wednesday, August 5th - SFBG's BEST OF THE BAY PARTY at Mezzanine
Our 35th Annual Best of the Bay hit July 29th, with a whole slew of newly awarded "bests" in this city of neverending delights (I have a few write-ups in there myself). Now it's time for the BEST OF THE BAY 2009 DANCE PARTY at Mezzanine. Free before 9pm (and just $10 after), Broke-Ass Stuart is the night's Master of Ceremonies, "Best Of" winners receive awards earlier in a private event, then celebrate after with live music from the likes of Sila & The Afrofunk Experience and J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science, plus DJ sets from Paul Paul & Lucky (Saturday Night Soul Party) and Stanley Frank (Chilidog), and dance performances by Project EM (Funkanometry SF). Come party with us - and honor the food and drink that made it into this year's issue!

21 and over
Doors at 8pm; FREE until 9pm, $10 after 9pm
Mezzanine, 444 Jessie at Mint (enter on Mission between 5th/6th Sts)
www.sfbg.com/bobparty
www.mezzaninesf.com/calendar.asp

August 6-9: SF Chefs.Food.Wine (calling food, wine and spirits lovers)
It's here... this week. Destined to be one of our biggest food and drink events, you'll want to say you were there when... for the 1st annual SF Chefs.Food.Wine event, an urban 'food and drink classic' in Union Square tents and various nearby restaurants. Since I first wrote about it, many more big names have been added to the roster, including Tyler Florence as host to Thursday's Opening Night Reception. Hit the tents for day-long tastings from the Bay Area's best food, wine, beer, and spirits vendors, plus chef demos, book signings and cocktail competition. Good luck choosing from over 20 sessions/panels/classes each day covering subjects like chocolate, sushi, oysters, cheese, eggs, making the perfect coffee, beer brewing, trends in wine and cocktails, marketing, design and service, food reviewing and more. Here's an example of just a few:

By Mayka Mei

The numbers are in, and they are epic, FTW! USA Today reports that over 125,000 pale nerds, booth babes, masked avengers, and Robert Pattinson fans descended upon San Diego for what it describes as "the premier pop-culture convention."

Comic-Con returned for its landmark 40th year to the San Diego Convention Center last month, drawing in record-breaking crowds over a period of four days. What once started as an obscure event in an obscure basement has grown into reason enough for San Diego city officials to consider expanding the already huge convention center.

One can only pity the naive bachelorette party who planned its weekend outing in downtown San Diego on Friday night. Literally every corner of downtown San Diego displayed something Con-related. Comic artists painted Homer Simpson's Duff-loving face across the windows of trendy Australian grill Bondi. Open tables weren't easy to come by, with crowds of Con-goers lining the streets in search of cheap and quick post-Con food. The weekend alone rakes in thousands of dollars through San Diego's restaurants, hotels, and shopping, though not so much for the tourist trap petty cabs.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Elena, Yerba Buena Gardens

Tell us about your look: "The coolest clothes are the ones that no one else has."

Amy Monroe shares her favorite unusual, overlooked, and underappreciated wines. Check out her previous installment here.

Today is one of those days when it’s easy to daydream and hard to work. From my window, I can see everything in high definition Technicolor. The port of Alameda and the Berkeley hills are etched against a sky of uninterrupted Wedgewood blue. A clean white sailboat cuts a straight line path through the smooth waters of the bay. Sunshine glints off the windshields of cars rolling across the bridge toward Treasure Island. There are precious few days when San Francisco shrugs off its cloak of fog and shows its striking face in stark, detailed relief. That today is one of them makes it easy to think about cutting out of the office early to kick back on the deck with a glass of wine. Not red, no. Let me say emphatically, today is a white wine kind of day.

By Kimberly Chun

Sighted in the Mission District, pasted on a wall near Thrift Town: a not so loving shout-out to Milton Friedman. I am interested in seeing more from this series, "People I'm Really Hating These Days."

By Susan White

”El Gran General” by Oscar Camilo de las Flores

When presented with the art of Oscar Camilo de las Flores, cooking is typically not the first thing that comes to mind. “El Gran General,” for example, depicts a menacing black and white figure clad in a collage of decaying, gruesome objects – an effect that many would find disturbing, if not unappetizing. Culinary artist Afreen Wahaab, however, begs to differ. She finds much figurative “color in [de las Flores'] black and white,” enough to inspire entire dishes, which she presented at the Paul Mahder Gallery on July 23.

This tendency to find beauty in everything triggered Afreen’s regular food and art pairing exhibitions. A self-professed lover of history, philosophy, and, of course, art, Afreen uses these disciplines to fuel her creativity in the kitchen, often using the works of her favorite artists as a starting point for her palettes.

By Kimberly Chun

We all know downtown Alameda is mega-cute -- it's like Mayberry with Ole's Waffles, Pampered Pup hot dogs, a major tiki fixation, and some cute boutiques. The ultra-adorable, gift-laden, and kid-friendly Space Happy (1354 Park St., Alameda, 510-301-6733) carries my new favorite card line: Offensive and Delightful. Hey, greeting card humor ain't what's cracked up to be - so here comes LA's O+D to the rescue with its lightly profanity-sprinkled keeping-it-real offerings. Charmingly designed - and snarkily hilarious: here are some of faves.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Barbara, Union and Gough

Tell us about your look: "I got these boots in Mexico, where I live, for $6."

Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

DEALS
50-cent oysters at Zuppa's happy hour
Now here's an oyster deal: 50 cents per bivalve every weekday during Zuppa's happy hour, when most consider $1 a discount. Here you can nurse $4 beers and wines and eat $3 flat bread or marinated olives or $5 arancini with your oysters. At that price, you can order more.
Mon-Fri, 5-7pm
564 4th Street
415-777-5900
www.zuppa-sf.com

------------

OPENINGS
A little night music at Coda: the Mission's new jazz supperclub
Levende Lounge has transformed into Coda, a supper club/live jazz venue, utilizing the striking lofty, brick-walled space with tables set up in full view of the stage. Wine on tap and cocktails flow as you watch national and local acts like Jazz Mafia (Tuesdays) and Lavay Smith, almost all under $12. Paired with six nights a week of jazz (an option we don't have enough of in SF), is a menu rife with tempting eats: coffee-crusted pork loin with Jameson cream sauce, creamy polenta topped with mascarpone, mustard-crusted lamb loin with salsa verde, or pecan pie tarts with Jack Daniel's caramel sauce. A sexy evening for the senses.
1710 Mission Street
415-551-2362
www.codalive.com

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EVENTS

Monthly cocktail dinners at Beretta
Beretta has become such a fixture in our local food scene that the pairing of thin-crust pizzas with artisan cocktails seems a given. With Dinner and Cocktails series, which began Monday, they explore other culinary realms paired with exquisite cocktails and spirits in their basement, limited to 30 people so it feels more like a private dinner with friends. Sign up on their Web site's email list to get notifications of future dinners - this one features tequila and Mexican food - hosted by Beretta's bartenders and industry guests. With tequila tastings, cocktails, appetizers to start, then a family-style feast, it's a dream dinner party where you don't have do any of the work.
8/10 - 6:30pm
$60 all-inclusive (food, drink, tax, tip)
1199 Valencia Street
415-695-1199
www.berettasf.com

By Kimberly Chun

An artifact from another age ... well, from late '08. Spotted at around Divisadero and Bush (near the corner where some wag reworked the "Bush" street sign to read "Puppet").

The Jah Warrior Shelter Hi-Fi crew -- Rocker T, Irie Dole, I-vier, and Jah Yzer -- photographed for our cover by Jeffery Cross.

Editor's Note: People like getting high. Whether to just shake off the busy day with a joint or cocktail, or to break free of normal sensory reality and explore the wild beyond, drugs have always been part of the human experience, shaping our societies for good, ill, or a complex and fascinating mixture of both.

Media portrayals of drug use tend toward the extremes, telling either dark tales of dysfunction or else celebrating some counterculture. But we at the Guardian take a more nuanced view, recognizing the often-subtle role that narcotics and their related hysteria play in a wide variety of human endeavors.

That's why the Guardian's Drug Issue isn't contained in a single section, but laced throughout the paper, from Paul Krassner's op-ed on the early acid pioneers all the way back to Dennis Harvey's list of the top freakouts on film.

In the news section, we explore the growing movement to decriminalize marijuana, rising meth-related emergencies among women, and drug use at Burning Man. Super Ego takes a muddled journey to the bathroom stall, flashing back to the alphabet soup of yesterday's dance floors, while in Lit, we hunt for shrooms and hallucinatory reading, and take a hard look at addiction in Bayshore. And in music, Shady Nate shares the purple you can drink.

Enjoy the trip, and we'll see you on the other side. (Steve Jones)

>> Chronic debate: Marijuana decriminalization moves forward on several fronts

>> Fewer young people using drugs: When it comes to illicit substances, SF's kids are alright.

>> Cranked up: Are party girls starting to catch up with the boys?

>> Packing for the trip: The art of taking drugs to -- and at -- Burning Man

>> LSD as gateway drug: Paul Krassner reflects on acid pioneers

>> Confessions of a Bo-Fessional: Leanin' on codeine and promethazine with Shady Nate and Livewire

>> Alphabet soup: A brief meditation on the recent history of club drugs

>> The elephant in the shroom: It's time to start being realistic about magic mushrooms

>> This land is Methland: A new book tracks a drug through America's cracks and faultlines

>> Drunk on words: 12 hallucinogenic novels and 8 inebriated memory pieces

>> Made in USA: Under the overpass, Righteous Dopefiend finds a different kind of San Francisco drug story

>> Mothership connections: George Clinton has used, not abused, drugs

>> Letts dance: Tracy Letts' play August: Osage County makes family dysfunction fun again

>> Time passages: Taking a listen to Coil's music to take drugs to

>> This is your film on drugs: One film critic's top movie freakout scenes

>> Hittin' the tube: A&E's Intervention -- do junkies ever watch it?

>> Intoxicated rhythms: Recordings by musicians under the influence

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Bernadette, Union and Octavia

Tell us about your look: "I like to be unique and different from everyone else."

Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

EVENT
Saturday, 8/22 - SF Street Food Festival
Head to Folsom, between 25th and 26th, in front of La Cocina, for a one-day street food fest featuring some our city's best... and, yes, presented by La Cocina. Each vendor playfully submits a "Bite", or amuse bouche-like appetizer, a "Forks and Fingers" main dish, and a beverage (order all, one, mix and match). Kasa Indian, La Mar, Delfina, Poleng, Heaven's Dog/Out the Door, Aziza, Laiola, El Buen Comer, Bi-Rite Creamery and more, show off a diverse range of eats in street fare format... and nothing is priced over $8. Stop by for a bite, or stay for hours of indulgence. There's passes (from $25-150) giving you a whole range of tasting options. While listening to street musicians or taking in street art, sip a peach/sage shrub from Absinthe. Head over to the beer/wine/spirits garden with Chaac Mool's Yucatecan milk and cinnamon braised pork sandwich in hand. Snack on Estrellita's Salvadoran plantain cake before a funnel cake with strawberries and cream from Endless Summer Sweets. Bid in the Silent Auction with some pretty sweet items like "Chef for a day at Chez Panisse" or "Pig Butchery in your home with Ryan Farr". Nice. Note that this is a sister event to the upcoming Eat Real Festival happening in Oakland August 28-30. Celebrate and support San Fran's dynamic food and drink and ever growing street food community all while benefiting La Cocina... sounds like a perfect Saturday.
Sat/22
11am-7pm
Folsom between 25th and 26th, SF.
www.sfstreetfoodfest.com

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Photo by Virginia Miller

NEW OPENING
Zog's Dogs in FiDi
Whether you work downtown or not, it's worth getting a meal from brand new Zog's Dogs, opened by Jesse Herzog (hence the "zog") who still works his day job but started this stand out of sheer passion for dogs and sausages. Meat runs in his blood... his family line goes back to 1850 in SF where his ancestors started their own butcher shop. Zog's grills plenty of dogs (including corn dogs), kielbasa, German frankfurters, hot links... all $3-$4.40. But let's talk about the specialty menu. For an 'upgrade' of $5-$6, there's The Matrix, where bacon is cleverly layered inside the bun rather than wrapped around the dog (never fear: they've got it that way, too), so it maintains its crispiness while still imparting piggy flavor. The Prop 8 Dog is two dogs in one bun. Need I say more? The aptly named Moral Conundrum is a quite satisfying veggie dog wrapped in bacon... so you will have to make a moral decision on this one. If I had to choose, I love the garlicky herbs redolent in The Bobo organic sausage, nicely nestled in a wheat bun. But I especially enjoyed the scorching Mexico, which, with a Mission district nod, is wrapped in bacon, smothered in grilled onions, jalapenos and a touch of mayo. The usual mustards, onions and relishes are there to add on, but I couldn't stop pumping their Curry Ketchup.
Monday-Friday 10am-6:30pm
Saturday 11am-4p
1 Post, SF.
415-391-7071
www.zogs-dogs.com

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Karen, Union and Laguna

Tell us about your look: "I got this jacket from my sister."

In which documentarian/rabble-rouser Michael Moore -- the trailer calls him "the most feared filmmaker in America" -- takes on the economic crisis:

Looks better than Sicko (2007), eh? Capitalism: A Love Story opens Oct 2.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Cheryl, Union and Fillmore

Tell us about your look: "Almost all my clothes are secondhand. I got this scarf from Crossroads."

By Kimberly Chun

Sighted unexpectedly close to the sidewalk at 24th and Folsom in the Mission District.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Danielle, Union and Fillmore

Tell us about your look: "This outfit is comfy." (Danielle's friend Joel: "Danielle was voted best dressed at our business school this year!")

By Virginia Miller of www.theperfectspotsf.com. See her previous installment of Appetite here.

Re-capping SF Chefs.Food.Wine.: In conversation with Andrew Freeman and Dominic Phillips, masterminds behind the event

Andrew Freeman (left) & Kevin Westlye (bottom center) with the Mayor and friends Photo courtesy of Andrew Freeman & Co.

Imagine your favorite bartenders, chefs, and wineries under one massive tent in Union Square serving unlimited amounts of food and drink. Envision your favorite writers or TV personalities leading classes or cooking for a gala. Picture Grand Tastings where one never has to wait for a bite or a drink (a rarity, I know) and one can even talk to chefs, bartenders and winemakers while sampling their wares. Throw in evening parties (with DJs like Chef Hubert Keller) where music, food and drink flow into the night. Pack it all in to one weekend and you have an idea of what rollicking good time was had at SF Chefs.Food.Wine., which took place August 6-9.

Talking with the masterminds behind this event gave me a deeper appreciation for how smoothly this first year event ran. Without a clear vision, endless hours of planning and work by a team of dedicated experts, this would not have been the case. Two years in the making, SF Chefs.Food.Wine. was the first ever urban food and wine classic. Those who've been to other food and drink events know you often come away hungry from so-called "tastings", spending more time waiting for food to appear than eating it. Here, everyone stayed well fed, satiated and aglow. I talked to person after person who said they couldn't wait to go again next year or that it was a better value than a number of cheaper (and less exciting) food events combined.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Karine, Laguna and Union

Tell us about your look: "I only shop at thrift stores."

By Amy Monroe

Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first: the exterior of Horatius is ugly. That someone chose to paint the monolithic restaurant/market space on Kansas Street a mismatched combination of industrial gray and bright blue is both aesthetically displeasing and undeniably ingenious. Because even though it may be an eyesore, there’s certainly no way you can miss the newest addition to Potrero Hill’s food scene, which is a good thing given its tough location across the street from Starbucks and around the corner from Whole Foods -- both of which could be considered its competitors. Sort of. Horatius defines itself in a myriad of ways. By turns it is a bistro, a wine bar, a gallery, a market, a coffee shop, an event space, and a cooking school. How does it feel to patronize a place with so many identities? That’s what I wanted to find out.

Stepping through the glass entry is a little like stepping through the looking glass. Suddenly, in a stark and unexpected contrast to its hulking exterior, the inside of Horatius is a light-filled, rustic-meets-modern oasis that is warm and charming in spite of its cavernous size. To the left of the entrance is the bistro, which doubles as a demo kitchen for cooking classes, which are held on Monday and Tuesday nights. Above the glass topped display case full of house made sandwiches, wraps, and parfaits are suspended three sleek flat panel TVs, which -- although a bit incongruous to the décor -- are ultimately unobtrusive. The bistro serves breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed Sunday) and dinner Wednesday through Saturday. On my first visit, I paid $1.75 for a cup of Haney & Sons English Breakfast tea and then wandered to the back, where I spent a good half hour poring over the impossibly gorgeous -- and in some cases (Fisherman’s salt?) highly superfluous -- items for sale, most of which are artfully tucked into wooden cubbies or antique benches doubling as display tables. As I slowly inspected the collection of pretty(if pricey) soaps, candles, dishtowels, and chocolates, a couple of staff members acknowledged me with eye contact, but otherwise seemed content to let me browse. Among the wares I considered (OK, coveted) was a set of beautifully handmade Peruvian dishes, but at $24 for a single salad bowl, the price was just too steep.

By Steven T. Jones

Will Burning Man send us a take-down notice for my unauthorized use of this photo of myself?

As I prepare for my seventh trip to Burning Man this weekend, I came across a fascinating discussion about restrictions on the use of photography from the event. Electronic Freedom Foundation fired the first shot, criticizing Burning Man for controlling the use of images from the event, and BM’s Andie Grace responded with a long defense of their reasons for doing so, and lively discussions ensued on other blogs.

I’ve written quite a bit about Burning Man over the years, including a piece called "Burning Brand" that touches on some of these issues. I also have a contract to write a book about the event (look for “The Tribes of Burning Man” next year), so I wrestle with the restrictions on the use of images from the event more than most people.

But for now, I’m going to keep my opinions to myself and just appreciate the great debate that has ensued. What do you think?

By Laura Swanbeck

Hyuk-jin (Sam-dong Song), the lead in Daytime Drinking, must have a liver made of steel. During the first of many late-night drinking binges, complete with soju, the traditional Korean alcohol of choice, Hyuk-jin’s buddies persuade him to take a trip with them to Jeongseong to help him recover from his recent break up. Once out of Seoul, Hyuk-jin discovers that his friends, all nursing hangovers, have forgotten him and left him to contend with the harsh climate, his loneliness, and a slew of eccentric travelers along the way. Veering into a heightened reality in the grand tradition of Jim Jarmusch, Daytime Drinking finds its leading man toyed with by a temperamental girl, force-fed drinks, drugged, robbed, hit on by a trucker, and verbally abused by a plethora of tourists. Despite this exercise in emotional sadism, director Young-Seok Noh (who also wrote, edited, and produced) has clearly invested a lot even if his contrived film’s initial jolt of energy inevitably peters out, drained like the myriad bottles of soju.

Daytime Drinking is now playing at the Four Star.

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Kristy, Octavia and Union

Tell us about your look: "I have 17 red purses!"

By Nicole Gluckstern

All photos by Lincoln and Sevi Frager

Though the official written language of Bulgaria, the EU’s most recent (with Romania) addition, is Cyrillic, there is one word which pops up quite frequently in Roman script and that word is "Non-Stop."

Non-Stop tobacco kiosks and snack stands dot the city streets, and even the sole combination toilet/shower stall at the campsite near Belogradchik is, the proprietor assures me, also non-stop. It hadn’t occurred to me it would be
otherwise, but I am grateful for the clarification. What isn’t really non-stop in a lot of Western Bulgaria, much of which is decidedly rural, is the nightlife, particularly in mellow Melnik, a village of about 300 permanent inhabitants, located in the extreme south, just ten miles from the Greek border.

Melnik

In Melnik, everyone gets pretty well tucked into bed by 10 p.m., but during the day, the single main street hums with activity -- the clattering plates and bad pop music accompaniment of mehana meals spilling out onto shaded terraces, the clicking high heels of Sofian socialites with photographers in tow, the patient footpads of well-fed strays who follow in their wake. And what has brought us here, the socialites, the strays, and me? Certainly not the ticky-tacky T-shirt and postcards shops which also line the cobbly street, nor even the dramatic folded ridges of tawny cliffs which tower above and around the scattered red roofs and white walls of modest Melnik domiciles, but rather it is the regionally unique wines which really put Melnik on the map -- and have been doing so for centuries.

It’s been suggested, in fact, that this outermost tip of the Thracian empire was the first wine-producing region in all of Europe. First or not, there’s no doubt that the Mel-niks have been at it for quite awhile -- and I’ve come here to find out for myself what all the fuss is about.

By Kimberly Chun

Spotted in an empty storefront with a "for lease" sign on Market at Montgomery.

By Mayka Mei

So you follow them on Twitter because it would be too obvious to friend them on Facebook. Well, now you have more of a reason to stalk your favorite San Francisco creatives, and the end of the rainbow leads to free shades and a party.

Hayes Valley boutique, Acrimony, will be kicking off Super in the City, an all-out scavenger hunt, on September 1. They've pooled together 40 of San Francisco's local celebrities to each wear a pair of Italy's trendy SUPER sunglasses throughout this (hopefully) sunny September. The innovative icons -- including SelfEdge's Kiya Babzani, Thrillist's Nick Elliott, and BlowUp's Ava Berlin -- will be posting clues to their whereabouts on Acrimony's Twitter (ShopAcrimony). Get yourself to the hot spot on time and you win the SUPERs!

The sunglasses are much more than sunglasses, though, of course. First off, they're worn by the likes of KanYe West, Gwen Stefani, and the Kills. Second, and probably more importantly because who cares what everyone else is wearing, they're your ticket into an exclusive party hosted by Acrimony, Vice, and SUPER. Exact time and location are confidential. Obviously.

So there you have it. Follow the Twitter and take the shades off of someone's face. Consider it having your cake and eating it, too, since your current pair of sunglasses probably didn't earn you enough street credit to get past any velvet ropes previously.

Super in the City. Scavenger hunt. Twitter. SUPERs. Golden ticket. I hope they play R. Kelly's "Superman High."

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Lindsey, Webster and Union

Tell us about your look: "My style is eclectic. I like to mix some classic pieces and then some more trendy pieces together."

SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. See the previous Look of the Day here.

Today's Look: Natasha, Charlton and Union

Tell us about your look: "We're trying to get our new store White Label going and we stock all the latest fashion. This outfit is from there."

By Marke B. Photos by Hunky Beau

One heck of el jugo de zanahoria

Yesterday afternoon, I came to with a fierce craving for Mexico's wonderfully traditional hangover cure: chilaquiles. So me and Hunky Beau hopped on the Aprilia and zoomed out to the Chava's in the Mission for a heaping plateful of tortilla chips fried and scrambled with eggs, peppers, and salsa -- yum. But really, it was the ginormous four-dollar tinted gobletful of fresh-squeezed carrot juice that snapped me out of my "dancing like a fool all night at the EndUp at DJ Ruben Mancias' Devotion party" haze. Seriously, they could have served this as a shareable favorite at the old Trader Vic's. Highly recommended if you're ever in the same position.

An eager model demonstrates

Chava's
2839 Mission near 24th St.
(415) 282-0283

Every week, Virginia Miller of personalized itinerary service and monthly food, drink, and travel newsletter, www.theperfectspotsf.com, shares foodie news, events, and deals. View the last installment here.

MJ, with Mary, at Doc's Clock. Photos by Virginia Miller

EARLY TAKES on new OPENINGS

Three Papayas at Doc's Clock
Guardian readers are no stranger to Doc's Clock, a longtime favorite dive bar of many of us, where they pour it strong and keep it real. There's been something special afoot at Doc's on Sunday afternoons the last few weeks -- you can get your Bible reading in over a Bloody Mary as Three Papayas (aka Chef Ta-Wei Lin) cooks up Vietnamese brunch. Open your Bibles to Papayas' menu and choose from around five huge entrees (all $8) like papaya salad, a Vietnamese crepe (vegetarian or with pork and shrimp), or the Bunny Chao, a hollowed-out (bread filling piled neatly on the side) loaf of bread stuffed with green lentils, veggies and cardamom-pods. Lin keeps the plates exciting with an array of garnishes and in-season fruits like figs, passion fruit and papayas, of course. Doc's capable bartenders take care of the drinks. Ryan bartends on Sundays and his Bloody Mary ($8) is killer: sometimes he grills juicy tri-tip and crisp asparagus for a meaty, peppery version (vegetarians can stick with non-carnivorous asparagus). Sit at Doc's bar with a fresh plate of Vietnamese creativity on your Michael Jackson (Jackson 5 era) placemat, and you'll wish every Sunday was this chill.
12-4pm Sundays
2575 Mission Street
415-824-3627
http://twitter.com/threepapayas