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10 Things to Do This Weekend for Under $10

Windsurf @ Amnesia on Friday​Not all summer music fests require sizable chunks of your paycheck. This weekend, two budget music shindigs blanket San Francisco, championing alternatives to both mainstream music and mainstream admission prices. San Francisco's Doomed and Homo a Go Go are just two of ... More >>

10 Things to Do This Weekend for Under $10

Photo by Shauna Regan www.shaunaregan.comAlland Byallo (see Sunday)​The weekend's here. Time to pull out all the stops without pulling out all the cash. Our picks for time off on the cheap below.Involved, Socially @ Triple Base Gallery (Friday) "Triple Base's 'Involved, Socially' uses video instal ... More >>

Deep-Fried Butter: Ultimate State Fair Gross-Out or Stroke of Genius?

paul79uf/FlickrImagine the possibilities.​We'll have to wait and see if the latest fatty food from the State Fair of Texas -- deep-fried butter -- ever becomes the subject of a food eating contest in the Joey Chestnut style. Chances are that watching anyone eat a deep-fried butter stick may ma ... More >>

The Secret to Making Deep-Fried Butter

Jean SmartIt's not like you toss hunks of butter into a Fry Daddy.​The announcement last month by organizers of the State Fair of Texas that deep-fried butter would be an entry for the category of best food caused a lot of folks to wonder how -- and why -- the butter bombs were created in the ... More >>

Etsy Hosts a Free Drinkfest (and Craft Fair) Next Week, the Handmade Ho-Down

HawkGerber Ink/FlickrLetterpress coaster offered up on Etsy.​Online craftmatic emporium Etsy is presenting its first-ever craft fair and drinkfest - the Handmade Ho-Down -- next Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m.-midnight, at 1015 Folsom (1015 Folsom at Seventh St.). The 21-and-up event is definitely no ... More >>

The Indie Verdict

HawkGerber Ink/FlickrLetterpress coaster offered up on Etsy.​Online craftmatic emporium Etsy is presenting its first-ever craft fair and drinkfest - the Handmade Ho-Down -- next Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m.-midnight, at 1015 Folsom (1015 Folsom at Seventh St.). The 21-and-up event is definitely no ... More >>

Pie Contest the Heart of Sunday's Castro County Fair

Anna in NY/FlickrThere'll be separate pie-offs for amateurs and pros like Mission Pie (above).​A Gleek-off, pie-baking contest, and Sarah Palin carnival "tea bag toss" are all on the bill for this Sunday's Castro County Fair at the S.F. Armory. Fair proceeds benefit the AIDS Emergency Fund. Am ... More >>

CUESA's Urban Eats County Fair Promises Plenty of S.F. Flavor

​We harbor pleasant memories of childhood visits to the state fair: prize hogs, pink and bristly, bulging from their pens, ribbon-worthy layer cakes, and all manner of fried foods served on sticks, tucked into greasy waxed-paper wrappings. On June 20, we will revisit those summer excursions ... More >>

Kauffman's Five: This Week in Bloggery

My favorite morsels this week from SFoodie and beyond:​1. The thought of pickled eggs induces a pang of nostalgia in anyone with Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry (ahem) ― and probably fear and distrust in most other people. John Birdsall's interview with Comstock Saloon's research-happy chef, Carlo E ... More >>

Food Fight

My favorite morsels this week from SFoodie and beyond:​1. The thought of pickled eggs induces a pang of nostalgia in anyone with Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry (ahem) ― and probably fear and distrust in most other people. John Birdsall's interview with Comstock Saloon's research-happy chef, Carlo E ... More >>

Yet Another Bay Area Roller Coaster Accident

​One bizarre and disfiguring roller coaster accident at a local county fair is odd enough. But two? In a week? Just days after a ticket-taker at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair inexplicably wandered into the path of the "Wacky Worm" ride and suffered a severed leg, that very same model of roller coas ... More >>

Republicans tastelessly milk cow-shooting controversy

​One bizarre and disfiguring roller coaster accident at a local county fair is odd enough. But two? In a week? Just days after a ticket-taker at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair inexplicably wandered into the path of the "Wacky Worm" ride and suffered a severed leg, that very same model of roller coas ... More >>

This Weekend: Check Out Japanese Summer Festivals Marking Obon

Luis ChongThe weekend's Nihonmachi Street Fair in J-Town will offer an array of eats.​It's the weekend of the Bay Area's Japanese summer fests, known in Japan as Obon (or Bon) festivals. Originating from the Buddhist custom of honoring departed ancestors, they've evolved into a very important ... More >>

Examiner Travel Tips Advice: Free Trips to New York State Fair!

When at the New York State Fair, be sure to check out the meat goats! ​It's hard to characterize the San Francisco Examiner. You get an impressive breadth of coverage of local events by very hard-working reporters, lunatic fringe national coverage and editorials, and, well, this.But we weren't sur ... More >>

This Year's Texas State Fair Big Tex Contender: Deep-Fried Beer

Dallas Morning NewsBeer-filled pretzel? More like Guinness-stuffed ravioli.​Edible trends shake up San Francisco like a 7.0 on the Richter scale (pork belly, roasted marrow, and of course, figs on a plate). But offer a Texan a Little Gem salad and he won't give a frying fig. That's because in ... More >>

J-Pop Party, Indie Erotica, Amoebapalooza, Comedy Day, Mexico's Independence, and More

Killbossa bring tropicalia to the Make-Out Room this Sunday​Already sick of your classes? Feeling a bit sluggish at work? Let San Francisco ease your pain with ten stress-soothing events for less than a bottle of self-medication. Here's our list of 10 cool events this weekend for under $10: Frida ... More >>

Harldly Strictly Bluegrass, AIDS Wolf, World Veg Fest, Castro Street Fair and More

Autumn De WildeJenny and Johnny are among 80 acts at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2010​Hardly Strictly is here! But before you blow your figurative load over the biggest free concert of the year, keep in mind that there are plenty of other fun and cheap events in the city this weekend. Here's our lis ... More >>

Pie Contest Makes Day In the Dogpatch Look Sunnier

Vita Arina/FlickrJudging happens in four categories.​While we rarely go to craft fairs (too many crafts, not enough fare), we're stoked about attending next week's Day in the Dogpatch. Why the sudden change of heart? Two words: pie contest. Would-be contestants are encouraged to enter a pie in ... More >>

Taking a Shine to It

Vita Arina/FlickrJudging happens in four categories.​While we rarely go to craft fairs (too many crafts, not enough fare), we're stoked about attending next week's Day in the Dogpatch. Why the sudden change of heart? Two words: pie contest. Would-be contestants are encouraged to enter a pie in ... More >>

Owl Kick Your Ass

Vita Arina/FlickrJudging happens in four categories.​While we rarely go to craft fairs (too many crafts, not enough fare), we're stoked about attending next week's Day in the Dogpatch. Why the sudden change of heart? Two words: pie contest. Would-be contestants are encouraged to enter a pie in ... More >>

Animal Activists to State Fair: Don't Have a Cow

Isn't that cute!​Bay Area animal-rights activist Eric Mills has gathered 1,500 signatures in hopes of cowing the California State Fair into ceasing its practice of displaying live animal births.Hoping to continue with live piglet and calf birth exhibits, State Fair officials have recruited experts ... More >>

Submit Your Pickles, Jams, and Liqueurs to the Eat Real Fest Contest

syntheticaperture/FlickrBring us your pickles. And jams, jellys, krauts, beers, and liqueurs.​San Francisco is one of the few counties in California that doesn't have a county fair, and to our discredit. For all the dog-judging, carnie-haranguing, and deep-frying that we're spared, our urban count ... More >>