In case you haven't heard, The Simpsons Movie he ruled the box office this weekend, proving that America's favorite animated family is as popular as ever. So with the help of everyone's favorite toy/sensation on the interwebs, Simpsonize Me, we present to you the stars of the Food Network, simpsonized.

Mario Batali:

Rachael Ray:

Alton Brown:

Emeril:

Bobby Flay:

Giada De Laurentiis:

Guy Fieri:

Around the Menuniverse, it's been a very entertainment-centric week.

MP: Boston shared first-date destinations and showed us how to turn a banana into a Jello shot.

MP: Chicago found a forty-year anniversary party and looked forward to the upcoming television season.

MP: Philly met the king of tailgates and enjoyed some salsa made by the Wild Thing.

Guys of San Francisco, are you sick of hearing about all those great estrogen-heavy events and openings that you have trouble participating in?

Fear not, ye men who subscribe to Daily Candy. Enter Thrillist San Francisco, just the thing for finding the hot spots and best deals around our fair city:

Thrillist is a daily email for guys, by guys, covering the things that guys care about -- from the police auction unloading drug-runners' confiscated 'Vettes, to the swanky, open bar event where you'll either pull the girl of your dreams, or be 86'd when "ti many martunis" cause you to upend the shrimp tray, then continue eating shrimp.

We know you already know what's up in SF -- we just want you to know more. We promise the places we put you on to will make your mother shudder. If they don't, you might need a new mother.

Seriously though, Thrillist is a really great resource for uncovering hidden cheap eats and getting the jump on new restaurant openings (among other things), so we heartily recommend subscribing to the newsletter; we're already on the list.

Get Ready for Thrillist SF [Thrillist]

We're big fans of Alton Brown, so we had to post this video of his appearance on Letterman a while back. In promoting his 2003 book, "Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen", Brown decided to share some creative highly unorthodox uses for household products in cooking. He shared homemade 12-hour yogurt, a cheese-wire-keyring slicer, a trashcan smoker, a record player icing machine, and our personal favorite, the charcoal starter steak searer. Have no idea what we're talking about? Watch the video.

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Restaurants in the Sunset.

• Dragonfly, 420 Judah St (At 9th Ave), 415-661-7755

• Ha's Restaurant, 2333 Irving St (Btwn 24th & 25th Ave), 415-665-6033

• Lakeside Cafe, 2529 Ocean Ave ( Btwn 19th Ave & Junipero Serra Blvd), 415-337-0359

• Noriega Teriyaki House, 1755 Noriega St (At 25th Ave), 415-664-7766

• Olive Garden, 3251 20th Ave (Near Stonestown Galleria), 415-661-6770

• Seniore's Pizza, 2415 19th Ave (At Taraval St), 415-661-2222

• Thai Cottage, 4041 Judah St (Btwn 45th & 46th Ave), 415-566-5311

• The San Francisco Drunken Dining Guide, brought to by Gridskipper. On the list (among others): Pizza Orgasmica, El Farolito and Grubstake. Not on the list: Taqueria San Jose and the always fine Mel's Drive-In, but all in all, a pretty darn good list. [Gridskipper SF]

• Many North Beach goers have found a Nua favorite wine bar/restaurant. [Bay Area Bites]

• Now he's done it. Bauer's take on the LA dining scene has (predictably) sparked some controversy. [Eater LA, Between Meals]

• Happy National Cheesecake Day! [The Grinder]

This weekend, in the wake of tragedy and waning business, Hoss Zaré served his last meals at his eponymous Napa bistro. However, Zaré's Persian-Californian cuisine will only be put on hold as he reassesses the shattered world around him.

In the first half of 2007 Zaré nearly simultaneously lost both of his parents; his father was murdered in his native Iran and his mother passed soon thereafter. With his restaurant struggling through as it was--he admits he didn't do sufficient research on Napa--he finally decided to concede (temporary) defeat:

“It was a tough decision, but I realized it didn’t make sense to invest in building a new restaurant and not get income for 12 months of the year,” he said. He had decided to close Zaré next November, but then moved the closing date up, so that he can take some time off before he moves on to his next restaurant venture. “I was losing my passion,” he said. “For the first time, I’m taking six months off. I’m going to travel in Europe, visit restaurants, get new ideas.” He is unable to return to Iran, he noted.

Zaré shuts its doors [The Napa Valley Register]
Bistro Zaré [Official Site]

Michael Bauer dropped a somewhat disappointing one-and-a-half stars upon Peruvian restaurant Essencia yesterday. The upscale Hayes Valley joint, run by Anne Gingrass-Paik (one of the original chefs at Postrio), takes one too many overpriced and ill-advised forays into modern Peruvian-Californian cuisine for Bauer's sensibilities:

While I love the idea of giving cuisines an interpretive twist, in this case the twists take a wrong turn, beginning with the bread. The three or four irregular chunks of baguette tossed on a saucer look like leftovers. I first thought it was a mistake and cut the kitchen some slack, but after the third visit, I realized that was the way it was supposed to be. Why?

And why is the kampachi ceviche ($12) doused with so much mustard-yellow hot pepper sauce that it destroys everything but the texture? Dish after dish, I wondered why.

Essencia's upscale Peruvian fare is hit-and-miss [SFGate]
Essencia [Official Site]

• But for wine tasting, some recommend skipping the crowded Napa Valley in favor of the Paso Robles region. [Forbes]

• Crossroads Cafe gets the Bargain Bites spotlight this week, and for good reason: grilled cheese and tomato on griddled sourdough sounds pretty delicious. [SFGate]

• A new Frjtz opened its doors in the Mission. [Zagat Buzz]

• The California Department of Public Health issued a notice about ginger imported from China, so unless you enjoy pesticides, you probably want to avoid ginger for a bit. [KTVU]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Italian restaurants of all shapes and sizes.

• Bambino's Ristorante, 945 Cole St (At Carl St), 415-731-1343

• Brindisi Cucina Di Mare, 88 Belden Pl (Btwn Kearny & Montgomery, Pine & Bush), 415-593-8000

• Cafe Tiramisu, 28 Belden Pl (Btwn Kearny & Montgomery, Pine & Bush), 415-421-7044

• Il Fornaio, 1265 Battery St (At Greenwich St), 415-986-0100

• Ottimista Enoteca-Cafe, 1838 Union St (Btwn Laguna & Octavia St), 415-674-8400

• Pane e Vino, 1715 Union St (At Gough St), 415-346-2111

In one of the more entertaining news items of the week, Aquafina announced that its labels will clearly state that their bottled product is really just tap water. According to the AP report, a group called Corporate Accountability International is in the midst of a water crusade of sorts, intent on getting bottled water companies to stop misleading the public when it comes to water sources. With Aquafina's newfound admission, it seems they've slayed their biggest adversary; Aquafina (owned by PepsiCo) is the most prominent bottled water brand in the country. Up next: Dasani:

The corporate accountability group is also pressing for similar concessions from The Coca-Cola Co, which owns the Dasani water brand.

Dasani's Web site says that Dasani comes from local water supplies and is then filtered.

"We don't believe that consumers are confused about the source of Dasani water," Coca-Cola spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said. "The label clearly states that it is purified water."

Regardless of what happens to Dasani, the Aquafina label bombshell will surely make consumers think twice about shelling out $2 for a bottle of water that could just as easily come from the sink. Will this affect your bottled-water-buying ways?

Aquafina Labels: It's Tap Water [Forbes]

OK, maybe just in the food and wine world.

In any case, it seems that people either loathe or love the pink wine. Particularly now that it's summertime, the rosé debate rages on, strong as ever. For many, rosé is a cooling poolside beverage or the perfect complement to a relaxing al fresco dinner, yet to others, like Times wine blogger Eric Asimov, it's just not that great.

Ray Isle, the senior wine editor at Food & Wine, responded to Asimov's sentiments on his own blog. He agreed that for some reason, there is a great deal "insipid" rosé wines floating around the vinosphere, but there is hope:

And I think part of their appeal is that they don't attract attention. It's perhaps the ur-complement wine, by which I mean that its role is to make something else—food, a spring day, your date, your dog, whatever—seem more appealing somehow.

As for us, rosé evokes memories of eating tapas in the middle of the afternoon on the Catalonian coast, with Mediterranean winds shaving sprinkles off the water and onto the mainland. With some fresh seafood, some tomato bread and maybe some jamon, the rosé will complete a relaxing afternoon escape from the grind of the work week.

Just make sure it's a good one.

Good Rosés [Tasting Room]
What to Do with Rosé [Tasting Room]
Rosé Reluctance [The Pour]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: All around town.

• Belden Taverna, 52 Belden Pl (Btwn Kearny & Montgomery, Pine & Bush), 415-986-8887

• Bissap Baobab, 2323 Mission St (Btwn 19th & 20th St), 415-826-9287

• Isa, 3324 Steiner St (At Lombard St), 415-567-9588

• Lark Creek Steak, 845 Market St (Btwn 4th & 5th St), 415-593-4100

• Little Star Pizza, 846 Divisadero St (Btwn McAllister & Fulton St), 415-441-1118

• Sauce, 131 Gough St (Btwn Oak & Page St), 415-252-1369

"Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life."
--George Bernard Shaw, who was born on this date (July 26th) exactly 151 years ago

Frisson [MenuPages]
Frisson [Official Site]

[Photo courtesy: Flickr/Thomas Hawk]

In any case, Nigerian food, unlike its Eastern African counterparts, remains a rare commodity in the restaurant world, but Berkeley can now boast to have a rare representative. Luckily, Patricia Unterman's review of the just-opened Lagosia sheds a lot of light--for us at least--on the wonders and idiosyncracies of Nigerian cuisine:

[A dining companion] professionally pulled off a wad of gluey iyan (pounded white yam), rolled it into a ball, flattened it with her fingers and used it as a scoop for efo, a spinach and goat stew. I dropped my knife and fork and did the same thing.

This single change in the delivery system expanded the flavor, texture and tactile pleasure of eating the saucy, gently spicy dishes at Lagosia, a handsome new West African restaurant in Berkeley.

As for the actual dishes, here's what stood out:
• Scotch eggs ($4): "hard-boiled eggs encased in ground sausage, deep fried, cut into wedges and served with a sweet mayonnaise and mustard sauce"
• Suya ($6.95): "West African chicken kebabs in a spicy, ground peanut crust"
• Efo ($12.95): "... reminded me of an Indian spinach curry but with tender, mild, long-cooked goat"
• Jollof rice ($12.95): "A plate of aromatic, buttery red rice ... topped with spice-rubbed barbecued chicken with luscious fire-blackened skin"

Lagosia a nice intro to Nigerian cuisine [Examiner]
Nigerian Cuisine [Wikipedia]
Lagosia [Official Site]

Food Philosophy Video #3: Crab Rolls at Fisherman's Wharf [YouTube]
Nick's Lighthouse [MenuPages]
Nick's Lighthouse [Official Site]

Our favorite list and map blog, the always fun Gridskipper, has released a short list of San Francisco's best hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The list of six includes Split Pea Seduction (representing the ritz and glamour that is Sixth Street), Specs 12 Adler Museum, Connecticut Yankee, Sam Woh, Ryoko and Emmy's Spaghetti Shack.

We can't argue with the picks, but since we also have a penchant for diving, we've got a couple additions:

• Saigon Sandwiches: There must be a bahn mi place on the list and SS is our choice for a spicy combo sandwich.

• Jai Yun: Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's unlike the others on the list, but fits the moniker of "hole in the wall" restaurant (but not "dive"). It's one of those places you wouldn't know about unless you knew.

• Java House: Not so much a whole in the wall as a shack on the pier, Java House has been serving up burgers, dogs and beer to its faithful for as long we remember.

• Yamo: The Burmese gem on 18th and Mission has developed quite the following, particularly on Chowhound.

• Delicious Mission taqueria of your choice. It's not a dive list unless there's a Mexican joint somewhere.

What other hole in the wall places should be on the list? We welcome your comments. For more dives, check out Dive, the best food blog for local holes in the wall.

SF's Best Hole in the Wall Restaurants [Gridskipper SF]

[Photo courtesy: the conspicuously absent Dive]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Neighborhood Chinese restaurants.

• Abacus, 2078 Hayes St (At Cole St), 415-387-2828

• Ben Wah, 2786 California St (At Divisadero St), 415-921-0188

• Brandy Ho's, 217 Columbus Ave (At Pacific Ave), 415-788-7527

• Four Seas Restaurant, 731 Grant Ave (Btwn Sacramento & Clay St), 415-989-8188

• Hai Sun, 3137 Laguna St (Btwn Greenwich & Lombard St), 415-346-4792

• Lichee Garden, 1416 Powell St (Btwn Broadway & Vallejo St), 415-397-2290

• Mayflower Seafood, 6255 Geary Blvd (At 27th Ave), 415-387-8338

• Yum Yum House, 581 Valencia St (At 17th St), 415-861-8698

• A new book details an actor's relentless pursuit of top-notch wine and food in a new Italian life. Sounds like a must-read for both food enthusiasts and "L.A. Law" fans. Either way. [Jalapeno Girl]

• Manresa, arguably the second best restaurant in California, has been cooking bugs and moths ... for its biodynamic garden. [Chez Pim]

• There's a new website (www.bringsome.com) that helps expats find those precious, precious items that can be found in abundance at home (wherever that may be) but not in their current country. For example, there's one user by the name of mikenstn that wants a carton of Virginia Slims quite badly. [Gridskipper]

• This isn't food-related, but it's internet-related and drink-related. Yesterday, some of you web-surfer folk may have noticed that some of your favorite websites (Yelp, Technorati, Craigslist, Typepad et al.) were down for a period of time. At the time, it was assumed that the problem was related to yesterday's power outages in the Financial District (the affected sites all use datacenter 365 Main). Well, the truth is that it's because a drunk person "went beserk and f***ed up a lot of stuff." No, really. [Valleywag]

• Michael Bauer's take on Grant Achatz. [Between Meals]

The former Havana restaurant location, which was Mexican restaurant La Joya for less than a month, became Vietnamese Hue L'Amour in October. Hue, which closed earlier this month, was owned by the husband-and-wife team Doanh Huynh and Dao Diep. His family owns Huynh Vietnamese restaurants in Oakland (381 15th St.) and Walnut Creek (1512 Locust St.).

The Chatterbox [Tablehopper]
Inside Scoop [SFGate, last item]
Vignette [MenuPages]
Vignette [Official Site]
Hue L'amour [MenuPages]

It's not the biggest photo or the best quality, but the picture (right) of Barneys New York's storefront depicts an homage of sorts to the great Alice Waters. Aside from an innate adoration of her general brilliance (we're guessing), the real reason for the sign is the newfound partnership/synergy between Chez Panisse/the Water Empire and Barneys.

Barneys recently hosted a summer solstice dinner at their Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan to "raise awareness of the work of the Chez Panisse Foundation and to celebrate the launch of [Chez Panisse] partners and collaborators, dosa and Heath Ceramics." Both dosa and Heath products will now be sold at Barneys stores. For those of you unfamiliar with the CP partners, it is well-worth perusing the websites of dosa (clothes) and Heath (ceramic tableware, tiles). Both companies follow the Chez Panisse model of handcrafted techiniques, socially/environmentally responsible business practices and above all, excellent products.

Heath [Official Site]
dosa [Official Site]
The Chez Panisse Foundation [Official Site]

Michael Bauer, who has been known to discuss the wonders of New York dining, chronicles his trip to Los Angeles in this morning's Chronicle. Like a good San Franciscan, he takes the obligatory jabs at our rivals to the south ("What's the best way to determine the success of a restaurant in Los Angeles? Count the number of valet parking attendants outside.") as he takes us on a tour of the City of Angels with Los Angeles magazine restaurant critic Patric Kuh. The entire article is a fascinating read, rife with thought-out, logical comparisons between the two cities:

In the Bay Area, food is the driving force of successful restaurants. But in L.A., instead of paying attention to what's on the plate, just about everyone is rubbernecking to see who's in the house. Wasn't that Jake Gyllenhaal I saw at Cut, and Jason Biggs at Mozza?

Unlike San Francisco, where tourists constitute a hefty percentage of the patrons at popular places, the Los Angeles dining scene is fueled by locals. The city is so spread out, for example, that it's difficult for conventioneers downtown to get to the top restaurants without renting a car or paying their monthly mortgage payment for a taxi. People have to drive to get anywhere, so restaurants become destinations, with elaborate interiors and high prices.

Bauer briefly reviews the following Los Angeles restaurants in his article: BLD, Cut, Spago, Hatfield's, Patina, Jar, Pizzeria Mozza, Providence, La Terza and Lucques. [SFGate]

The Tablehopper in the Windy City and more reviews after the jump.

While Mr. Bauer went south, Ms. Tablehopper headed to the Midwest and took aim at Chicago's Avec. As seems to be a trend in Chicago--that town of nouveau dining--Avec is a quintessentially "forward" space with food to match:

This modern and minimalist restaurant is a like a long shotgun space, a wooden rectangular box sporting a Scando-sauna look: large slats of wood along the walls and floors, angular wood communal tables with bench seating, and a glowing installation of green wine bottles along the far back wall.

The rest: the Chowhounds have some surprisingly negative reports on A16 but not Oakland's Oliveto, 7x7 checks out Sebo, and down in the 'Loin, JATBAR hits up Saigon Sandwiches, "the most famous Vietnamese sandwich joint in the Bay Area."

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Restaurants on the water, or thereabouts.

• Bistro Boudin, 160 Jefferson St (At Taylor St), 415-928-1849

• Boulettes Larder, 1 Ferry Building (At The Embarcadero & Market St), 415-399-1155

• Butterfly, Pier 33 (At Bay St), 415-864-8999

• LuLu Petite, 1 Ferry Building (At The Embarcadero & Market St), 415-362-7019

• Neptune's Palace, Pier 39 (At The Embarcaderot), 415-434-2260

• One Market, 1 Market St (At The Embarcadero), 415-777-5577

• Teatro ZinZanni , Pier 29 (At The Embarcadero & Battery St), 415-438-2668

• Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Cafe, 1 Ferry Building (At The Embarcadero & Market St), 415-288-8630

• Wednesday, July 25th: At the W Hotel, XYZ continues its tradition of Sip and Splurge. It's decadent, rewarding and has something for everyone, from rare champagne paired with tuna carpaccio to vin santo paired with chocolate hazelnut cake.

• Saturday, July 28th: Every Saturday, Jack Falstaff's Executive Chef Jonnatan Leiva goes to the Farmers Market, whips up something nice from the day's finds and then shares his bounty. Tastings are a mere $5 and wine pairings are just $3. More information, including reservations, can be found on the official website.

• Wednesday, August 1st: The first Wednesday of the month means wine class at the Fifth Floor. For the August edition, Sommelier Emily Wine (real name) is putting together Wine and Cheese 101. Room in the class goes quickly, so hop to it.

• Saturday, August 18th and Sunday, August 19th: It's a cooking class ... for singles. TWO presents Hot Summer Nights. It's $80 a pop. Saturday is for the straights and Sunday is for the gays. People attending probably won't want to mix up the days. That'd be quite the waste of $80. But it would be a good story.

• And while we're in the area, an FYI: the restaurant at ballplayer haunt Roe is currently undergoing renovations, but the club is still up and running.

In yesterday's post on Between Meals, Chronicle food god Michael Bauer waxes poetic on the Bay Area's progressive nature when it comes to sustainable fish and organic produce. As he points out, this is a big deal elsewhere in the United States, but not so much in the Bay, where it's not all that unusual.

More notable is the new movement of "going green," and how the movement is not just limited to high-profile restaurants (he gives the example of Acme Chophouse), but also the little guys. Green restaurants don't limit their special ways to the dining room. According to Thimmakka, they " produce less air pollution, help reduce health care costs, use less paper, cut down less trees, help reduce our landfill fees, and use less toxic chemicals at their facilities." Official green restaurants are recognizable by the special logo (above right) in the window or door.

For those of you interested, here's the complete list of Thimmakka Certified Green Restaurants and here are the San Francisco representatives:

Acre Cafe
Adelita
Blondie's Bar
City Blend Cafe
Crissy Fields Center Cafe
Desiree
Elixir
La Cocina
Ramblas Tapas Bar
Roti
San Miguel Restaurant
Taste of the Himalayas
Warming Hut Restaurant
White Star

Thimmakka Certified Green Restaurants [Official Site]
The Bay Area's Green pastures [Between Meals]

This is the tart tatin from Le P'tit Laurent, the newest venture from Laurent Legendre, the man behind the successful Clementine. The little French bistro is located in the ever-growing Glen Park restaurant row [sidenote: Glen Park is totally the new Noe Valley, FYI], near the corner of Chenery and Diamond.

Thus far, reviews have been pretty positive across the board, both on Yelp and Chowhound. We're offically intrigued.

As always, send menus to us via email or fax (415.358.5770).

Le P'tit Laurent, 699 Chenery St (Btwn Carrie St & Diamond St), (415) 334-3235

[Photo courtesy: Yelper David G.]

A new study has revealed several juicy (no pun intended) tidbits about soda and you, and it turns out that there is evidence that suggests soda can be unhealthy. Though some soda-supporters are making a sensical argument that the scientific study merely prompts the question "is it the soda or the soda drinker?" (i.e., soda consumption is just one of many bad habits of unhealthy people), the wide ranging research project that studied about 3,500 men and women revealed the following tidbits, among others:

• "Frequent diet soda drinkers might save calories, but they face the same higher risk of heart disease and diabetes as people who drink sugary soft drinks every day"

• "[The study] found an association between daily soft drink consumption and an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome ... people with metabolic syndrome have a combination of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, such as high blood pressure and elevated triglycerides."

• "'In this group of middle-aged adults, consumption of just one or more soft drinks per day seemed to increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50 percent,' whether the drink was artificially sweetened or not, [senior author of the Framingham Heart Study Doctor] Vasan said."

• "When compared to those who drank fewer than one soft drink daily, participants who drank one or more a day had about a 30 percent greater risk of developing new-onset diabetes, being overweight and having low levels of good cholesterol."

We guess it's true what they say about soda: you do it just for the taste of it. At least we now know why polar bears are well on their way to extinction. Feel free to add your own bad jokes in the comments section.

Diet Soda No Safer [SFGate]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: All types of trendy.

• 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar, 1550 Hyde St (At Pacific Ave), 415-775-1550

• Bix, 56 Gold St (Btwn Montgomery & Sansome St), 415-433-6300

• Brick, 1085 Sutter St (At Larkin St), 415-441-4232

• bushi-tei, 1638 Post St (At Laguna St), 415-440-4959

• CAV Wine Bar, 1666 Market St (Btwn Franklin & Gough St), 415-437-1770

• Chaya Brasserie, 132 The Embarcadero (Btwn Howard & Mission St), 415-777-8688

• Jardiniere, 300 Grove St (At Franklin St), 415-861-5555

• Le Colonial, 20 Cosmo Pl, Off Taylor St (Btwn Post & Sutter St), 415-931-3600

• MoMo's, 760 2nd St ( At King St), 415-227-8660

• Sutra, 100 Brannan St (At The Embarcadero), 415-593-5900

• Sam from Becks & Posh presents a guide for showing foreign visitors San Francisco's best dining and drinking destinations. It's like the food bible for tourists. [Becks & Posh]

• By looking to pass a bill that increases corn subsidies, Nancy Pelosi is experiencing the wrath of food activists. Don't mess with them, Nancy. They're scary. [The Grinder]

• As usual, Zagat's got the first look inside a new restaurant. This time, Cow Hollow's Palmetto. [Zagat Buzz]

• Nothing says delicious like oven cleaner in your ballpark french fries. Yum! [With Leather]

• Very sad news from Chicago: Alinea's Grant Achatz, easily one of the best chefs in the country, has been diagnosed with cancer. Here's wishing him a speedy recovery. [Diner's Journal]

In case you haven't noticed, it's summer, and from our several years of Los Angeles living, we can't think of many more quintessentially summer food items than fish tacos. They're light, refreshing and cheap, yet simultaneously satiate your cravings for greasy fried food and/or Mexican food. It's almost as if fish tacos are some sort of super food.

We digress.

For some reason, first-class fish tacos (despite their southern California copiousness and their easy preparation) are oddly scarce in the Bay Area. But there are delicious--though maybe not as good as our southern neighbors--fish tacos to be found in th city. So, with the help of our handy Find-A-Food apparatus, we're going fish taco-ing, after the jump. Join us, would you?

La Corneta Taqueria ($3.50): You have the option of grilled prawns or grilled salmon. Plus, for a dollar more, they'll load on beans, rice, meat, cheese, cucumber, sour cream, lettuse, tomato and salsa. Which is a lot.

Circolo: They usually aren't on the regular dinner menu, but Circolo's tempura fish tacos (with aji amarillo) grace the Happy Hour menu; you'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal in town than the trendy Mission spot's dollar tacos.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher ($9.99): The price tag may or may not surprise you, based on your familiarity with the Ferry Building, but Taylor's puts out a pretty good grilled mahi mahi version. Plus, the cilantro sour cream will leave cilantrophiles wanting more.

Nick's Crispy Tacos ($3.25): Nick represents SoCal well with his "pescado baja style fried fish" with lime mayo. And they ain't soft.

Fresca: We had to put at least one upscale place on the list. Fresca's tacos feature battered and fried Mahi Mahi over soft corn tortillas, avocado Peruvian chile Aioli, cabbage and pickled onions with canario beans

[Photo courtesy: iExplore]

Instead of waiting until this afternoon's Blog Roundup, we thought it best to pass along this little tidbit from the folks over at SFist sooner than later.

You can submit entries at SFist for a dinner reception at the Michelin-rated Maverick. The reception, which is tomorrow evening, will celebrate the release of Eric Gower's new book, "The Breakaway Cook." Tickets are $35 for most folks, but if you win SFist's little contest, you can indulge in the prix fixe menu (complete with wine pairings) for free. Feeling luck?

What? More Contests? Win Dinner With The Breakaway Cook! [SFist]
Maverick [MenuPages]
Maverick [Official Site]

• Several dozens of doughnuts were harmed in Friday's 4.2 quake. [Examiner]

• Picnic tables and a divey facade are just part of the charm at Thee Parkside. [SFGate]

• A restaurant in New York's Long Beach community has begun to serve a variation of our very own cioppino. [NY Times]

• What to do with Spaniards? What to do? [Chowhound]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Neighborhood Thai places.

• Bambuddha Lounge, 601 Eddy St (Btwn Larkin & Polk St), 415-885-5088

• Banana House, 321 Kearny St (At Bush St), 415-981-9399

• Bangkok Best, 301 Kearny St (At Bush St), 415-362-2216

• Bangkok Noodles & Thai BBQ, 110 Powell St (At Ellis St), 415-397-2199

• Be My Guest Thai Bistro, 951 Clement St (At 11th Ave), 415-386-1942

• BKK, 1022 Bush St (Btwn Jones & Leavenworth St), 415-441-8150

• Crepe and Curry, 5 Embarcadero Ctr, 415-772-9900

• Sukhothai, 1319 9th Ave (At Irving St), 415-564-7722

• Swatdee Thai, 4166 24th St (Btwn Castro & Diamond St), 415-824-8070

• Thai Place II, 312 Divisadero St ( Btwn Page & Oak St), 415-552-6881

• The Grand Pu Bah, 88 Division St (At Townsend St), 415-255-8199

• G'skip provides a list of destinations in the Mission that are sure to seal the deal. Now we're not sure that the Mission is the best neighborhood for business dining, but ... oh. [Gridskipper SF]

• A food blogger gets an (excellent) article published in the Chron. The blogsphere is confused as to whether or not they should direct snarkiness toward it. [SFist]

• When the timing between courses is all messed up, who is really at fault in the restaurant? [Between Meals]

• Even McDonald's gets priced out of some cities. [Grub St]

MP: Boston experienced a big finale of her own this week--an evicted restaurant--as well as two things that are clearly the products of a mischievous wizard's erroneous spell: octopus ice cream and a doughnut-hawking supermodel.

MP: Chicago revealed a much-anticipated ending and then coped with the disappointment of something that was too hyped-up.

Finally, MP: Philly (rife with rabble-rousers of his own) celebrated a book not written by JK Rowling. Because you know, there are other books in the world.

*We made this part up. Rowling actually ends the book suddenly and prematurely. The cut to the black screen makes you check your TiVo, and you are left wondering what exactly happened.

Every Friday, we provide you with the best--and the worst--user reviews from the week. The following reviews are real, valid, submitted, unedited (except where marked) reviews from our various sites.

When it comes to user reviews, we've made it no secret that we encourage the sharing details that may be helpful to the common restaurant-goer. The bulk of our reviews discuss aspects of the restaurant that nearly everyone notices and cares about: atmosphere, service, cost, portion size and of course, the food itself. Sometimes, we get reviews that are helpful in other ways, like pointing out that there is a line on weekend mornings for Mama's:

Standing in line is worth the wait on Sunday morning for a memorable homemade breakfast experience. Very San Francisco.

omg! the meal my friends and i had was crazy. imperial rolls, chicken salad, roasted crab, garlic noodles, and fbi. nothing could have been better. even the prices are better than the other crab houses in the city. in short, best place for crab.

Most disturbing of all we discovered photos of Hindu deities in restrooms.

Crazy ice cream flavors aren't just for Iron Chefs.

As part of the epic celebration/promotion of the upcoming Simpsons movie, Ben & Jerry's will share a very special creation with the masses at the film's Springfield, VT premiere: a Homer-inspired beer and doughnut ice cream:

The flavor, called Duff & D'oh-Nuts, is described by the company as a combination of chocolate and cream stout ice creams with glazed chocolate doughnuts. Homer Simpson, the overweight, dopey father in the longstanding popular Fox cartoon, has a penchant for beer and doughnuts.

What's the oddest ice cream flavor you've tasted?

Ben & Jerry's delivers Homerific ice cream [Times Argus]

Here at MenuPages, we are constantly updating our vast menu database. Every morning, we'll highlight five or so menu updates to bring you the latest in San Francisco culinary upheaval.

Today's updates: Or, grade-A restaurants.

• Absinthe, 398 Hayes St (At Gough St), 415-551-1590

• Acme Chophouse, 24 Willie Mays Plaza (At Pac Bell Park), 415-644-0240

• Alioto's, 8 Fisherman's Wharf (At Jefferson & Taylor St), 415-673-0183

• Ame, 689 Mission St (At 3rd St), 415-284-4040

• Americano, 8 Mission St (At The Embarcadero), 415-278-3777

• Antica Trattoria, 2400 Polk St (At Union St), 415-928-5797

• Aziza, 5800 Geary Blvd (At 22nd Ave), 415-752-2222

Nothing says classic San Francisco like simple seafood, prepared in a simple seafood joint, so what better way to cap off your Thursday than with this Savory San Francisco video of the one and only Swan Oyster Depot?

Swan Oyster Depot [Savory SF]
Swan Oyster Depot [MenuPages]