Need a reason to step into Schoggi (besides the excellent Swiss chocolate and hot cocoa Yelpers have been raving about)? How about a $25 gift card care of your favorite Weekly? It's been a long time since we gave anything away online, sooo. . .the first two to comment get one each. --Janine Kahn

Note: Please leave a valid e-mail address so we can contact you and find out where to mail these babies. Thanks.

In this week's Ask A Mexican Special YouTube Edicion, one spicy senorita wants to know what the best Mexican beer is. Our hero doesn't drink beer, but he does have an answer (and a...marriage proposal? Dang, this Mexican is quick!) for the lass. --Janine Kahn

By Catherine McCulloch

I’m rooting for this "underdog" restaurant located in San Francisco's Inner Sunset. Underdog is an organic sausage joint with good vibes and an eco-friendly message - that, and the menu is predominately vegetarian/vegetarian-vegan.

The owner of the place says her inspiration for the restaurant grew out of a desire to find a cheap vegan meal in her neighborhood. And -bam!- Underdog was born. Now you can go to the Sunset and get a vegetarian/vegan hot dog with all the fixings for $3.95. Not a bad price for a nutritious-delicious and totally vegan meal!

Now let me tell you why I’m a fan of team Underdog. First off, the restaurant is adorable and seems well cared for. Its interior is clean and the walls are dressed up with cute posters, including pamphlets listing the benefits of organic eating. Second, there is a vegan working behind the counter. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a vegan restaurant where most of the servers can’t even tell me what vegan means! The people working at Underdog really support the restaurant and its organic message.

Here’s a sneak peek at the food fare...

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Is it just me, or are those inescapable Sonic promos for their scary limited-time-only ice cream treats like the Banana Split Blast and the current Fried Ice Cream Blast, helpfully further explained as “product consists of soft serve, rather than fried ice cream,” eerily like the all-in-a-huge-cup food of the future, as seen in WALL-E?

But in WALL-E, the stuff renders its populace huge and soft, with vestigial arms and legs, no longer walking but floating in individual flying machines around their spaceship home. (One wonders why there was no meal-in-a-cup tie-in at Burger King, or McDonald’s. Or, hey, Sonic, “America’s Drive-In,” where staying in your individual driving machine is encouraged.) Sucking down a concoction of “a creamy, crunchy blend of vanilla soft serve, cinnamon crisps, caramel and whipped topping,” nutritional info not available -- but the Banana Split Blast clocked in at 560 calories, of which 140 were fat, and 76 grams of sugar -- wouldn’t do that, would it? –Meredith Brody

If you work in the Financial District, chances are you've reached the end of your rope more than once when it comes to lunch options: falafel, soup, sandwich, burrito -- and repeat, ad infinitum. But don't forget that the Ferry Building is really only a few blocks away, and while there's enough precious, high-priced foodstuffs to choke a gourmand over there, there are also excellent, healthy routine-busters like the Lunch Hour Chef Series. Hosted by CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) and Parties that Cook, it's a Friday series of one-hour hands-on cooking lessons -- sandwich and salad, nothing too complex. The ingredients come from the Farmers Market, and when the cooking is all done, you can eat there or take it back to the office. The next lesson is happening this Friday, August 1, from noon to 1:00 p.m. The menu goes like this: Grilled chicken sandwich with marinated artichokes and lemony hummus (substitute grilled vegetables for the vegetarian option); arugula salad with grilled peaches, gorgonzola cheese and candied pecans; $25 per person. Buy advance tickets here.

-- Brian Bernbaum

The closest Bennigan’s may be in Santa Clara, and the only other California location in San Diego. (When the Bennigan’s website introduced the new Jameson BBQ grilled items for a limited time only, they had no idea just how limited that time might be.) And there are no Steak & Ale restaurants in California at all. You may have no use in your gastronomic life for a fake Irish bar and grill, or an ersatz old English country inn. But pity, at least, their thousands of employees, as their jobs disappear and trigger more catastrophe in the economy. In Santa Clara, it seems, workers showed up on Tuesday to find the places shuttered. Surprise! And good luck for locals finding another place in the area open until midnight.

But as restaurant chains in the “casual dining” category, one step above fast food, go under, with more to come, can the fine-dining sector be far behind? They’re being similarly “squeezed in all directions,” and in San Francisco, it’s not just the high minimum wage, sky-rocketing food prices, and eaters scared of high prices at the table and at the pump to contend with, there’s the healthcare mandate, sometimes showing up as a surcharge on your bill. Gather ye foie gras and panna cotta while ye may. —Meredith Brody

Around Town:

Potrero Hill baked good newbie Baked. (1415 18th St.) opened a few weeks ago, and the big question (besides "how many cupcakes can I stuff in my mouth?") is: What's with the period at the end of the name? "It's just baked, period. Like, that's all there is, baked goods," says co-owner Tina Fisher, who opened the bakery with partner Andrea Ortega. "We were just throwing out silly names. My friends jumped right on it. Plus, the name itself has a nice double meaning, especially here in San Francisco. It will be good for T-shirt sales down the road." But hawking T-shirts takes a definite back seat to the goods themselves: Baked. specializes in sweetbreads, coffeecakes, and cookies, with a focus on reasonable prices. Most everything costs below $2. "We also have two of the best cookies around," Fisher continues. "Peanut butter chocolate chip, with Reese's peanut butter cups in it, and chocolate cappuccino chip. Aside from the occasional cheddar scone, we don't do any savories. No croissants. We're going for the dessert crowd." Go ahead, awaken your inner stoner. Baked. is open Monday through Wednesday 7:30 to 3:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7:30 to 2:30 p.m., then 4:30 to 8 p.m. For more info call 415-826-9455.

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Part happy hour, part educational workshop, Cocktail Ambassadors' "edutainment" mixology classes certainly take their booze seriously, which isn't to say there's not a fair amount of actual drinking involved. Nonetheless, you'll probably leave not only copping a pleasant buzz, but knowing how to mix a better drink next time you're entertaining, and how to buy a better bottle next time you're perusing the liquor store, another step on the road to becoming a full-fledged bon vivant. It won't come as a surprise then to find out that the man behind Cocktail Ambassadors is Elixir owner H. Joseph Ehrmann. The next, and last class scheduled until mid-September, is called Farmers Market Summer Cocktails, and it's happening this Thursday, July 31, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the San Francisco Bay Club (150 Greenwich); $85 for non-members; $75 for members. Buy tickets in advance.

-- Brian Bernbaum

The expensive little West African berry known as miracle fruit (synsepalum dulcificum) has been getting some great press ever since "flavor tripping parties" popped onto the media radar. Geared toward showcasing the fruit's unique ability to twist your taste buds' perception of sour flavors for an hour and-a-half or so, the parties are a big hit in New York City, and thankfully some enterprising San Franciscans have heeded the call.

This Monday Temple nightclub (540 Howard at First St.) in SoMa will host its very own Flavor Tripping Party. Here's the skinny: for $25 guests will get a berry and a specially selected buffet of ho-hum food items that will, according to reports, all taste like ambrosia while your mouth is under the influence: stout beer tastes like chocolate milkshake, grapefruit tastes like candy, goat cheese tastes like cake frosting, the driest merlot tastes like Manischewitz. Sound too good to be true? Check it out for yourself: Monday, August 4, at 8:00 p.m. Buy advance tickets online.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Southern Italian winery Mastroberardino is definitely the hot ticket in town this week. I guess when you fly all the way from Campania, you want to hit as many parties as possible. First there was the tasting at Biondivino Wine Boutique on Monday, and on Wednesday night, July 30, Mastroberardino emissary Stephan Maccia will be on hand at Nob Hill Italian spot Acquerello (1722 Sacramento) for A Dinner with the Wines of Mastroberardino. A wide range of wines will be flowing, paired with a meal by Acquerello's Chef Suzette Gresham-Tognetti. Standing reception starts at 6:30 p.m.; dinner at 7:00 p.m. $180 per person. For reservations call 415-567-5432.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Being an efficient wine-o, reason suggests, means going to a winery.

Appallingly, however, becoming sloshed at one of California’s 2,700 wineries used to be an exercise in inefficiency...

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Attention barflies: If simply drinking alcohol isn’t enough for you anymore, consider making your own cocktails. And sure, any old copy of The Bartender’s Bible will do in a jam, but drunks with a little more ambition will find plenty of new territory to explore tonight, July 28, at Fresh Fruit In Your Glass: Cocktails and the Farmers Market, at Cantina Gallery (580 Sutter at Mason). Hosted by Cantina’s own barkeep Duggan McDonnell and La Cocina Community Kitchen, this workshop will teach the basics of using all sorts of fresh farmers market fruits and Latin spirits to mix up intense summer drinks. The crash course includes instruction on three to five different drinks, and how to pair them with select nibbles. It runs 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. and tickets cost $125 per person (partially tax-deductible). Online sales have ended, but tickets may be available at the door. Call 415-824-2729 for more info.

-- Brian Bernbaum

A taste of southern Italian wine is on deck tonight, July 28, at Biondivino Wine Boutique (1415 Green at Polk) where they'll be hosting Stephan Maccia of long-famed (established way back in 1750) Campania/Irpinia winery Mastroberardino, which has helped revitalize some of Campania's ancient varietals like Fiano and Aglianico. Tonight they'll be pouring eight wines from the Mastroberardino catalog, including their 2007 Fiano di Avellino DOCG and 2007 Lacrimarosa Campania IGT. The tasting runs from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; $15. For more info. call 415-673-2320.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Trans fats are now no longer a choice. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Friday to phase out the use of trans fats statewide, making California the first state to do so.

Before the law, restaurant owners in San Francisco that did not use trans fats could apply for a badge -- as awarded by the San Francisco Department of Public Health -- as part of a participatory program that began earlier this month.

Linked to heart disease, diabetes and obesity, trans fats in foods will no longer be allowed on restaurant menus by 2010, and all retail baked goods in 2011. Packaged foods are exempt.

National fast foods chains such as McDonald’s, KFC and Taco Bell have already begun to change to accommodate for consumer concern. Those in violation of the new law will face fines up to $1,000. (Which is just a drop in the bucket for these chains, but hey, it's a start.)

Heart disease due to low-density lipoproteins, or “bad” cholesterol, is the leading cause of death in California. -Edward Paik

Drinking can lead to feelings of regret and guilt. However, after tying one on at Elixir, at least the demise of the planet is not one of the pangs you will feel the next day. In addition to the usual fare, Elixir serves a variety of certified organic liquors, wines and beers, some of which are produced locally.

I like to drink vodka on the rocks, and anyone who has ever tried to drink, say, Kamchatka all on it's lonesome, knows that the better the quality of vodka the less mixers you feel compelled to throw in it. Elixir offers Square One organic vodka, both the regular kind and a cucumber variety that is great on it's own.

The drink that had both myself and my friend repeating on a loop "This is so good- sip, sip- this is so good", however, was a cocktail called the Country Thyme.

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