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I know what you're thinking: Holy crap! Mother's Day is this Sunday! After you finish freaking out about how to thank the woman who brought you into the world (card? flowers? fancy bath soap?), you might want to consider taking her to one of the gazillion area restaurants offering special Mother's Day menus. One word: brunch! As always, OpenTable has lots and lots of ideas to choose from. Check out the a la carte brunch at Portero Hill's Baraka (288 Connecticut) featuring Lobster Tartine, Lamb Skewers, House Cured Salmon Gravlax, and French Toast. And for those of you who really love your mothers (kidding), check out the "luxury" three-course brunch at Campton Place (340 Stockton) for $58 per person or the special wine-paired lunch menu ($65) at Luce (888 Howard in the InterContinental Hotel) in SoMa. In any case, if mommy dearest lives nearby, you have no excuses.

-- Brian Bernbaum

SEXISM rears its foodie head -- moms get foofoo desserts, dads get crispy-beer-battered onion rings with roast green chile sauce. It may be an "unprecedented move in its 43-year-history" (Read: the recession hits T.G.I. Friday's), but the underlying message is as old as the hills.

Full press release behind the cut. --Meredith Brody

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Did you know that the San Francisco By Area leads the nation in the number of certified green restaurants (more than 100) in any metropolitan area? Some are no-brainers like Cafe Gratitude and Chez Panisse, but who would have thought a booze-soaked near dive like Blondie's Bar and a local mixologist hangout like Elixir would be on the green bandwagon too? Part of the greening effort has been lead by the non-profit Thimmakka, a group that does outreach work in the area, and currently they're leading the first ever Green Restaurant Contest. Who's the Greenest of Them All? asks people (and restaurants themselves) to nominate local eateries that are pushing the environmental envelope. Anyone can participate and the contest runs until May 31. Winners in 15 different categories will be announced June 24, after being judged by a panel of specialists. So if you think you know a place worthy of the green designation, head on over to the website and do some nominating, pronto.

-- Brian Bernbaum

It's not just the high price of gas (and milk, and bread) that's giving us gas. I always cringe when Michael Pollan tells us, gravely, that food should cost more than it does (so that it can be grown and raised sustainably). What a riot! But now even spoiled self-indulgent foodies are feeling the pinch. --Meredith Brody

Photo credit: Slate

Ben & Jerry's celebrates its 30th birthday with another free ice cream celebration tomorrow. Too bad the summer weather won't hold but you can find the free licks (and long lines) near you by visiting their website. -- Jennifer Maerz

It's no secret that the mixologists at Alembic Bar (1725 Haight at Cole) take their booze seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they're willing to test their mettle against the drinking public. That's where famous 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book comes in. One of the first bartender's bibles published after the repeal of prohibition, the book contains roughly 750 drink recipes ranging from familiar to absolutely unheard of. The idea of the Savoy Cocktail Night (held the last Tuesday of the month -- tomorrow night) is simple: drinkers belly up to the bar and try to confound the barkeeps by choosing the craziest drink they can find from book's pages, which the Alembic folks have been busy recreating behind the scenes. You may end up lapping at a cocktail full of bitters, sweet vermouth, or egg whites, but at least you didn't end up with another vodka tonic.

-- Brian Bernbaum

For all the remiss Jews out there who didn't celebrate Passover this year: first of all, your mother would be ashamed of you. Second, there is a way to allay some of that soul-rending guilt and eat great food in the bargain: tonight is the last night of the special Passover-inspired menu at Delfina (3621 18th Street). It's no seder. Hell, it isn't even kosher, but the local Italian spot has been dishing up an ala carte menu of seasonal Passover-ish dishes all week. It's a rotating cast, but you can bet on a nice hot bowl of matzoh ball soup ($8) and at least one (maybe more) of the following dishes, in addition to their regular menu: Jewish-style artichokes with lemon and mint ($10), and Niman Ranch beef brisket with horseradish creme fraiche ($24). Call 552-4055 for reservations. I know what you're thinking: eight bucks for a bowl of soup? You call that a good price?

-- Brian Bernbaum

Purveyors of the Korean-style Chinese specialty comfort food known as za zang myun, Zazang (2340 Geary at Baker) is a tiny but charming restaurant plunked down on an indiscriminate block of Geary lorded over by the Kaiser Permanente medical complex. Za zang myun could not-too-imprecisely be called the spaghetti of the east, consisting of a pile of chewy, hand-pulled wheat noodles served swimming in an sturdy, ink-black sauce made from beef broth, black bean paste (hence the color), vegetables and either pork or -- in the popular seafood version -- squid and shrimp. While the color can be off-putting, the sauce is very mellow, which is where, I suspect, the correlation to comfort food comes in. In fact, I usually require a nice big squirt of cock sauce (heh) to amp up the heat level. Also, the price is right: at $4.95, a steaming bowl of za zang myun is one of the better lunch deals in town. And while many Koreans would probably call me crazy for saying this, while I really, really love the namesake dish, it isn't the real reason I go to places like Zazang ... follow the jump to find out the shocking truth!

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After reading and writing about the offal exploits of Incanto Chef Chris Cosentino for so long, it was with astronomically high expectations and a dash of apprehension that I finally sat down for dinner at the famed Noe Valley restaurant. Indeed, any man who gets off on serving raw venison liver is a force to be reckoned with. On the other hand, I didn't trudge all the way up Church Street's particularly heart-breaking hill to eat pasta. With that in mind, I present chilis and bones (pictured above), by far the most delicious surprise of the night. According to our server, it's a dish usually served as part of Cosentino's annual Head to Tail Dinner. But lest you think that being a food blogger scores any special treatment, my dining companion is, as they say, "in the business." Like the name suggests, the dish consists of roughly foot-long lengths of meaty tuna spine grilled with a ton of chili, garlic, peppers, capers and mint. "The chef suggests eating them like ribs," our server said, laying down extra napkins. And so we did. We gnawed on those spicy bones like a couple of starving wild dogs.

After the jump: Pig trotters, roasted lamb neck, and more ...

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Sharpen your knives and spike up your faux-hawk because Top Chef 5 is coming to town! The open casting call is happening until 2:00 p.m. today at Postrio (545 Post). Just think, if chosen you too could be the subject of ridiculous commercial break insta-polls. So which chef will you be? The villian? The sweet but tough underdog? The nerdy molecular gastronomist? Don't let the fear of being the first contestant thrown off the show stop you! Get over there and give good TV.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Brush up on your sake knowledge next Wednesday, April 23 at Yoshi’s San Francisco (1330 Fillmore at Eddy) Sake Reception and Dinner, hosted by sake brewer extraordinaire Naotaka Miyasaki. Starting at 6:00 p.m., guests are invited to gobble appetizers from Yoshi’s elegant menu and kick back with selections of Masumi sake during a meet and greet reception with Mr. Miyasaki himself. Then at 7:30 the main event gets underway with a seven-course Japanese dinner, paired, of course, with plenty of sake selections. $25 for reception; $125 for reception and dinner. Call 655-5600 for reservations.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Passover celebrants will find an unlikely spot to pass the Seder this year: FiDi Italian eatery Perbacco (230 California) is going kosher for its first annual Passover Night (PDF), next Tuesday, April 22. Legendary chef and author Joyce Goldstein teams up with Perbacco’s Chef Staffan Terje for a night of Passover-inspired culinary feats from the pages of Goldstein’s book "Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen.” With kosher wines paired with scrumptious dishes like Italian-style chopped duck liver (Fegato di Anatra alle Uova Sode), Veal breast stuffed with peppers and an omelet, and Passover hazelnut sponge cake (Pan di Spagna alle Nocciole), this Passover dinner is a far cry from matzoh and bitter herbs. $49 per person. Call 955-0663 for reservations. Space is limited.

-- Brian Bernbaum

While the block of 16th Street around South Van Ness in the dicey heart of the Mission may seem an unlikely spot to find excellent, upscale Italian served in a sophisticated and downright chic setting, Bar Bambino (2931 16th St) has been doing just that, snagging critical accolades right and left along the way. Promising to further ramp up its reputation, Bambino is set to launch the first in a series of monthly wine and cheese tastings, starting this Sunday April 20. The spring-centric offerings include fresh goat and sheep’s milk cheeses paired with wine selections and ample doses of wisdom by owner Christopher Losa. The event runs 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; $45 per person. Call 701-VINO (8466) for reservations.

-- Brian Bernbaum

Oakland's Oliveto (5655 College Ave.) has combined two of my favorite food obsessions -- risotto and balsamic vinegar -- into a single night of family-style Italian decadence with their annual Risotto Dinners, happening this Wednesday and Thursday. It's a five-course affair that acts as both a showcase for a a range of aceto balsamico (like wine, it improves with age) and a sort of rich payback for all the customers who bug them about the absence of risotto on their menu the rest of the year.

Check out the menu after the jump ....

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Despite their versatility, staying-power and lifelong endorsement by one of the manliest presidents in American history, there's always been something just a tad, well, girly about Jelly Belly jelly beans. I suspect it stems directly from a combination of the word 'jelly' itself and the miniature cuteness of the things. After all, any candy that can be comfortably eaten by the dozen can't be very manly. That said, these new flavors really balance things out. My favorites: war medal, groin pull, gun powder, gravel, blood, and how can you not love the taste of fear? If only it were true. (via Serious Eats)

-- Brian Bernbaum