Alison Pebworth

Freshly sculpted facial hair at the YBCA event

​Where: Comstock Saloon, 155 Columbus (at Kearny), 617-0071

When: Mon., August 15, 7 p.m. contestant registration, competition at 8 p.m.

Cost: $5 Boothby cocktails, sidecars, and tastes of St. George Single Malt Whiskey

The rundown: Most contests like to measure attributes like wits, might, courage, or speed, but San Francisco-based artist Chris Sollars along with Comstock Saloon are hosting an usual competition to find a hirsute hero to set the standard for facial hair.

Whiskey & Waxing is described as an event "celebrating local hairy talent on the old Barbary Coast." Winning requires not only facial hair form, but also the ability to sip whiskey or tea. The gauntlet has been thrown!

More >>

Photos by W. Blake Gray

​One of the idiosyncrasies of drinking at baseball games is that the obvious choice -- beer -- is almost always the worst value. Our friend paid $9 for a small-looking plastic cup of Anchor Steam; a six-pack at BevMo is $8. But beer isn't the only thing on tap at AT&T Park.

We weren't planning to get a ballpark mojito until we noticed the tap system in a thatch-roofed booth behind center field. Then we had to try it.

"Are these muddled?" we ask the guy behind the counter. "$10.50," he says. That's not even a 50 percent markup over bar prices. We pay the money and take our chances.

More >>

Philip Harper

​Where: Ozumo, 161 Steuart at Howard (Monday); La Mar Cebicheria, Pier 1 1/2 at Embarcadero (Tuesday)

When: 6:30-8 p.m. Monday; 6-8 p.m. Tuesday

How much: $40 Monday; $40 advance, $45 at the door Tuesday

In the tiny world of English speakers who love sake, Philip Harper is a superstar. Next  week you have two chances to taste his wares.

An Oxford graduate who moved to Japan in 1988 to teach English, Harper fell in love with sake the traditional way: by drinking it. He took a job at Ume no Yado brewery in 1991 and worked there for 10 years, getting only two days off: one for his wedding, another for his honeymoon. He broke his hand in a car accident one day and still showed up for work.


More >>

Darts and old British stuff at the Pig and Whistle

​Let's face it, San Francisco: We wish we had lost the Revolutionary War.

Hurray, we have the Tea Party! Wouldn't you really rather be in the EU? Then, when Oklahoma and Kansas and Alabama get together to elect President Bachmann, we could all move to the Languedoc or the Algarve or even Lithuania -- anywhere, really -- without needing a visa.

So while everybody else is out celebrating Independence Day -- a typically crappy non-British movie; did Will Smith really deal with an alien invasion using only his fists? -- a certain cranky crowd will seek refuge in the cool, musty, environs of a pub that serves room-temperature beer and knows what bubble and squeak is.

Here are the five best places to regret George Washington's leadership.

More >>

Steven Liles

Martin Cate summons up the tiki gods with his volcano bowl.

​Where: Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building (at Embarcadero)

When: Wed., May 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Cost: $40 online, tickets via Eventbrite; 21 and over

The Rundown: Spring is in full bloom, and CUESA and the United States Bartenders' Guild are celebrating with another popular Farmers' Market Cocktail Happy Hours. Fresh off a 2011 SF Weekly Best Of award for "Best Place to Drink Farm-Fresh Cocktails," the event is bigger and better in every way -- from a dramatically larger space to more bountiful beverages. Ticket price includes three full-size cocktails and a dozen samples of Pacific Rim-inspired creations. It's a trip to the farmers' market and a bar crawl all in one!

More >>

​When Martin Cate opened Smuggler's Cove in December 2009, he initiated the Rumbustion Society, a master class in rum. Rumbustion is to rum what Julio Bermejo's Blue Agave Club at Tommy's Mexican is to tequila. Finishing the third level (200 different rums, quite a feat!) brings not only glory, but also a free trip to a rum distillery to make their own.

What Rumbustion's first three grads (Ron Roumas, Mark Holt, and John Boatwright) came up with at Portland's House Spirits is Triumvirate. More >>

Carina Ost

The fried-banana-and-Nutella Challah at 'Cha Boy. Pickles: bad. Pickle juice: good.

​Through San Francisco's Bada Bing! landscape of strippers and cannolis runs an alleyway with a bar that defies geographic guidelines. Hipsters in jean jackets and dark-rimmed glasses sing along to the Pixies and the Smiths on the jukebox, while frat boys get a straight and simple "Nope!" from bartenders when they attempt to order a Long Island Iced or Tokyo Tea. Arrive at 15 Romolo in North Beach late on a Friday and you won't find many embellishments, just the aforementioned people-watching, artisanal cocktails, and a kitchen that serves until 1 a.m.

SF Weekly

​There's a burger that comes with peanut butter and bacon if you order it Yo-Mama style, but SFoodie felt compelled to try the Challah at 'Cha Boy (challah with fried bananas and Nutella), with the very unkosher addition of bacon and the very kosher addition of pickles, bizarre to say the least (this from someone who has eaten bacon-wrapped matzo balls). We removed the pickles, and actually appreciated their residual tang in the sandwich.

More >>

Hammer time: Steve Schneider.

​This week San Francisco welcomes two hammer-wielding warriors: Thor, the god of thunder, and Steve Schneider, the god of crushed ice.

Schneider, from New York's Employees Only bar, will be guest bartending at Beretta and Delarosa. The 27-year-old's story could easily be the subject of a graphic novel.

Schneider enlisted in the Marines after 9/11, but his life took a dramatic turn after an accident left him in a coma with traumatic head injuries. Life-saving brain surgery put three plates in his skull and a distinctive trademark scar on his hairline. Schneider regained his motor skills; he picked up a shift at a bar in Maryland near his rehabilitation clinic. When it was determined that he was no longer able to do his job in the Marines, he was discharged, at which point he embraced the challenge of working at the bar. Schneider describes it as "a terrible bar, smelly, slinging 'disco shots,' but it was high-volume," which taught him speed, eventually preparing him to win D.C.'s Fastest Bartender Competition in 2009. He was soon working at New York's Macao Trading Co., then Employees Only, successfully making the switch from dive to craft bar.More >>

Hey, look, it's all your new friends.

​Where: Arguello and Jackson

When: 2 p.m.

Cost: Free

The rundown: This Sunday, a local hiking enthusiast will hide bottles of Two-Buck Chuck in the Presidio woods, in an attempt to make hiking "more fun and spontaneous." SFoodie has mixed feelings. On one hand, it's not like hiking is some bitter medicine that needs a Trader Joe's sugar lump to wash down. On the other hand, it sounds kind of cute, like an Easter egg hunt for the over-12 set (though it might be less cute with bottles of rye). Also, we're somewhat charmed by this rundown of the day's events: "If the park rangers or the squirrels do not find and drink the wine, we will have some after about two hours of hiking." That's pretty much the whole story. Two hours of wine hunting, followed by drinking with your new friends. The organizer suggests you bring cheese.

Tamales by the Bay

​A Taste of Tamales by the Bay

Where: San Francisco Design Center, 101 Henry Adams (at Alameda)

When: Sun., April 17, noon-4:30 p.m.

Cost: $45 ($50 after today)

The rundown: This Sunday is a big day for single-food celebrations, as the Chocolate Salon and A Taste of Tamales by the Bay test your sweet and savory allegiances. If you can't make up your mind, maybe we can help. While the chocolate event is a nationwide touring affair, the tamale one features all local vendors. The Chocolate Salon offers the delicate refinement of wine pairings, but you can get rip-roaring on tequila at Tamales by the Bay. Oh, and the tamale event costs twice as much, but its proceeds support the Benchmark Institute's social justice programs. Come Sunday, where you gonna be?

Tickets at the event website

New York refugee Jesse Hirsch tweets at @Jesse_Hirsch. Follow SFoodie at @sfoodie, and like us on Facebook.