Bacon and beer?!?! Oh heck yeah! I signed up for Yelp's VIP ticket giveaway and I was the chosen…read moreone!!! Woo hoo! Four hours of food, beer, music, and games. Thank you, Yelp!!! I'm really not a big fan of beer; I prefer wine or mixed drinks, but it was fun trying hundreds of craft brew samples! OK, maybe not hundreds... In fact, I found a few things I enjoyed, like the Vanilla Cream Ale from the Mother Earth Brew Co., the Pear Cider from Sierra Nevada, and Crisp Apple Cider from T.W. Pitchers. My favorite one was the Grapefruit Shandy with a hint of blood orange from T.W. Pitchers, I needed a few refills. It was also cool that Uber had a breathalyzer, good to know it was OK for me to drive after the event! Their breathalyzer test only went up to 0.16% BAC, so my plus one guessed correctly and won some nice sunglasses. Don't worry, he did not drive. Just like the other reviewers said, there was a ton of food! My favorites were: Lechon Asado from Habana Cuba; Pork Belly on Crostini from East Coast Alice; Bacon-wrapped Scallops from The Village; and Hushpuppies from 7 Bar and Grill. The bacon cheesecake from Sweet Tooth Confections was really good, I should've taken more. My hubby and I were fans of the bacon croquette (it was a very good sweet potato tater tot, with a nice piece of bacon splashed on top) but it was hard to remember who it was from, I wish each vendor had a big sign with their name on it, advertise a little! This was a fun event, however it didn't live up to its name. It was like 75% beer vendors, 15% bacon foods, and 10% other tastes and stuff and things. There were only a few vendors who actually had interesting dishes with bacon, the rest lacked creativity. Many were giving out strips of bacon dipped in whiskey or sugar or candy. It was good, but after 5 strips....it wasn't fun! I wish I brought rice and scrambled eggs to eat with the bacon. Some vendors were passing out potato chips, yogurt, churros... I thought, where's the bacon?!?! How were they inspired by bacon??? This is a BACON and beer festival, right? They did put the bacon first in the name of the festival so I thought it would be something like 60% bacon foods, 40% beer. I can't really complain about a festival with so much good food and beer. This was a one-of-a-kind event! What a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon!!!

So how does one make a great event even better?…read more The way I see it the team at Cannonball Productions, based in New York City, did just that this past weekend by moving the venue of their biannual Bacon and Beer Classic from the minor league venue at San Jose's Municipal Stadium to a big time venue at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. I've volunteered at and attended all three South Bay Bacon and Beer Classics held to date, and this one was by far the most spectacular. Although I had a good time at the March 2015 event, and I had a blast at the November 2015 event both at Municipal this past Saturday's event at Levi's was simply amazing. Gone was the elbow-to-elbow madness that comes from cramming too many individuals into one small space. In addition the larger venue meant there were more vendors offering more beer and more bacon to the masses. The Bacon and Beer Classic offered an afternoon session and an evening session two hours after the first session ended. General admission ran paying customers around $80 for unlimited beer and bacon samples for 3 hours. VIP admission for $125 per person gave paying guests 4 hours to do the same in addition to enjoying a lineup of special brews available to VIP's only on the Levi's Stadium grass. In my opinion the way to go about it is to volunteer. Volunteers are essential to the success of this event staffing stations at registration, merchandising and vendor assistance. In fact the official charity for the past three South Bay Bacon and Beer Classics has been One Brick, a San Francisco-based volunteer-run non-profit that provides volunteers for other non-profits. Friends who know me well know I volunteer through One Brick a lot. For a mere 4 to 5 hour volunteer shift you are rewarded with a very cool Bacon and Beer Classic t-shirt, a ceramic tasting cup and VIP admission to the shift you are not volunteering for. I tend to choose to do shifts prior to event day or for the first session since volunteers that choose to work the evening session and attend the first session aren't allowed to sample the beer. Instead they are given a case of beer to take home after their shift. Some people are fine with that but for me it's not the same. I like to sample as many brews as possible up to my personal limit. For this weekend's event they utilized the exclusive United Club and sections along the main concourse. On most event days at Levi's Stadium access to the United Club is usually restricted to Club ticket holders only so this definitely stirred the wow factor. On the bacon side of things I loved the melt-in-my-mouth Apple Glazed Bacon Belly from Bourbon Steak & Pub as well as several dishes from Levi's concessionaire Centerplate offering a Seared Diver Scallop with Bourbon Bacon Lardons and a tart Cherry and Cocoa Pork Belly skewer. They even offered a mocha cake featuring bacon. Food truck Kokio Republic knocked one out of the stadium with there Bacon Wrapped Oreos, and in their baconless Soy Garlic Fried Chicken. On the beer side of things I was surprised there were not too many stouts or porters to choose from so I went the cider route and the offerings were immense. I particularly liked the Hard Black Cherry Cider from Sunnyvale's Red Branch Cider Co. Bacon and Beer Classic, you've got a volunteer for life and I'm already looking forward to the next one. I've included photos because what would be a 5 star event without photos? Enjoy!

Found some amazing whiskies but ticket was overpriced for the tiny fried bites and cheap cheese…read morecubes. Nothing really fun to do but taste. No photobooths or activities or anything that would make a fun night out. Space was crowded and lines were long. Outdoor venue would have been lovely bc the proximity to the beach but it was just a big room, didn't want to stay ....I think most people just got hammered and left to their main event elsewhere.

The vendors that come out are very friendly and create a fun and relaxing atmosphere. There were so…read moremany whiskeys but that wasn't all that was provided. They also had a large variety of appetizers that were absolutely delicious. You could also purchase cigars that were made on the spot. The event was well organized and it is definitely worth experiencing.

Campbell Beerwalk 2017 was Star Wars themes as it was held May the Fourth (as in May the Fourth Be…read moreWith You). Just like their Wine Walks, the Campbell Beerwalk was well-organized, with a painless registration process and helpful handouts. The colorful, graphic-heavy pamphlet included a map to scale, with the business names and each beer vendor. I expected more people to dress up, but it was mostly Star Wars shirts and some apparel (Yoda backpack, R2D2 beanie, Chewbacca jammies, Jabba the Hutt colostomy bag, etc). There was an awesome Darth Talon (the star of the night) and a lot of girls with Princess Leia hair, so it was appropriate to walk by them and say, "Nice buns." My friends were supposed to dress up, and I gave them lots of DIY ideas (staple candy bars to a shirt to be Admiral Snackbar, or pin a dollar to a green shirt and be Queen Im-a-Dolla), but I was the only one. I safety-pinned six red Solo cups to my black vest and went as Cup Solo. With a late start, we probably hit 21 of the 29 vendors in 2 1/2 hours. Lines were rarely an issue, and the event was trash-free, in both senses of the word. The Art Beat poured Altamont*, Snake & Butterfly poured High Water (including a subtle sour Little Devil and refreshing Cucumber Kolich), Spread poured HBC, Frost poured Lagunitas, Campbell Brewing poured their own*, Rocket Fizz poured Lost Coast*, the Olive Bar poured Uncommon Brewers*, Tessora's (who questionably pushed their tables against the wall with a "For Customers Only" sign) poured Firestone, Redemption poured Calicraft*, the packed Sushi Confidential poured Ballast Point*, Steepers poured Goose Island, Therapy poured Heretic, Geoffrey's poured Saint Archer*, the Celtic Shoppe poured yummy Golden Road, Socialight poured Elysian, Khartoum poured Breckenridge*, Liquid Bread poured Sonoma Springs, Freshly Worn Furniture poured Discretion, an awesome Luke w/ inflatable Tauntaun at Brown Chicken Brown Cow poured Anchor, Bestie's Boutqiue poured Full Tilt, Blue Line poured a yummy orange Sierra Nevada, Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac begat Jacob; Jacob begat Judah, and so on. The best location for any beer or wine walk is Campbell Plaza, because it feels like an outdoor bar. There, Cali Muscle poured Strike, and Bombshell, Embelish, and Cruiser Shop poured Santa Clara, Golden State and Geartooth. Being Cup Solo I took a picture of the Hoth-planet Leia in white who was keeping people with drinks from exiting. She told me she loved my costume. I told her, "I know."

Attended the Campbell Beer Walk for the first time last week in honor of Silicon Valley's Beer…read moreWeek! I understand this is their second year putting on the event and found myself having a pretty good time. However, the cons outweighed the pros for me and I probably won't be attending again next year for the price of $30. It is $30 in advance and $35 at the door - we checked in outside of Khartoums where they hand you a map (that you cannot lose), a glass, and a wristband. I had thought it would be a farmers market like set up with the street closed off so we couldn't be walking around drinking in an open area.. however the breweries were actually located in the individual boutique shops/restaurants/bars around Downtown Campbell. Pros: +Pretty decent selection of beer +The crowd that comes out to Downtown Campbell is fun, not in a ghetto Downtown SJ way +Lots of restaurants around to eat after +Free glass, easy check-in Cons: -The shops were small so the lines got very long to wait for your beer -You had to reuse the same glass for each sample without even a rinse.. which is not the proper way to sample - you definitely should not be mixing any flavors of different beers -If you got there around 7:00pm like we did, you did not have time to taste everything -The map did not label which breweries were in which shops, so you couldn't prioritize and just had to wing it from shop to shop -Although they have a number of local breweries come out, there weren't many that you couldn't get locally already (Almanac Brewing was the most unique one I tried)

I frequent the Littlest Little Italy for the yummy arancini from the Salumi Bar. Other than that, I…read moredon't often spend time in the area. However, I attended Little Village's Big Easy Block Party & Beer Fest this past weekend and had an enjoyable time. A bunch of merchandise vendors and beer tents were lined up along West Saint John Street. Talented musicians played awesome tunes for the crowd throughout the day. John Blues Boyd band performing the blues at Poor House Bistro's patio stage where I snacked on some delicious baked dessert while delighting in the spirited musical entertainment, and All Things Swamp putting on an engaging show at the main stage in the early afternoon (I didn't stay for the later bands but I'm sure the remaining performances didn't disappoint). Some great community events are held at Little Italy San Jose, like car shows, cultural celebrations, food fairs, and art & music festivals, many of them free to attend. But on a regular day, it's mainly a small collection of restaurants selling italian cuisine, wine, and other goods. Parking is extremely limited and can be difficult, even when no special events are happening in the vicinity.

We were pleasantly surprised with great food, different types of drinks and an Italian feel…read moreambiance Service was amazing. Easy planning for any occasion. There's a nice size patio, catering room, tap room and the main wine dinning area The food was amazing. From appetizers to the main courses and desserts. Service was warmth and welcoming. Great for all ages as there's food and entertainment for all.

I don't get down to San Jose a whole lot. But if there's beer, you know I'll be there. So when I…read moresaw the opportunity to get into Meet the Brewers 2014 as part of the Yelp Elite Street Team, I totally pounced on it. Because, well, it's sweet to be Elite &... I Yelp California Beer! (check out my list & behold its greatness) Again, because I don't get down to San Jose, or the South Bay, a whole lot, Meet the Brewers was fan-freakin'-tastic for me for a number of reasons. 1st off, with Hermitage Brewery hosting the beer festival, it was my 1st time visiting & my 1st time having their beers. I was reasonably impressed by both. There was a heckuva lot more to Meet the Brewers than just Hermitage, though. There were 21 different breweries there, each pouring from 2 all the way up to 10 of their beers. I got to try a bunch of South Bay brews I'd never had before. Also, something really useful at Meet the Brewers I hadn't seen before at a beer festival was a checklist of all the beers. They were given out with the tasting glasses & made it easy to keep track of tastings. Along with all those beers, Movable Feast was there with a 6 food truck contingent for tasty grub to go with all that grog. Live music completed the festival atmosphere, as an army of volunteers kept the logistics orderly. Plenty of free drinking water was available (you'd be surprised how many beer festivals screw this up) & there were adequate porta-potties with hand wash stations. The 1 aspect of Meet the Brewers that was less than ideal was that the majority of the beer vendor stands were back in Hermitage's brewery area & it got pretty packed back there. If 1 or 2 of those beer vendors were moved out toward the front, it would've alleviated some of that crowding. Even so, I still managed to get all of the beers I wanted to try. 2014 was the 5th Annual Meet the Brewers Craft Beer Festival & I'm extremely appreciative that I got to go as part of the Yelp Elite Street Team. Big thanks to South Bay's awesome CM, Abby S., for including me in this Yelp outing. Thanks Jason O. for being the "boots on the ground" of this operation. Thanks Timothy D. for manning the Yelp fort with me during our hour of power. & thanks to all the South Bay Yelpers who were there. It was fun. Like I said, if there's beer, you know I'll be there.

This was their 8th year but my first time. Despite the chilly weather, the rain held off and it was…read morea great day. I enjoyed tasting from breweries that I had never heard of before. Red Branch was my new fun find - the Raspberry IPA was delicious! I also liked that Hermitage opened their tasting room. The selection of food trucks was nice and went really well with the beer. Awesome bonus was tasting cookies from Sweet Dragon! There were plenty of porta-potties which is a definite necessity - I never had to wait in line. And the washing stations were well stocked- also a necessity. There were enough tables and chairs to accommodate those who were eating, or who just wanted to sit and chat. The band was great - never did catch their name unfortunately. The only drawback for me was that I wish there had been more variety - IPA's ruled the day.

This is a great event in downtown Mountain View. Castro street is closed while it's underway so…read morehopefully you know how to get around the area. It's a mix of antique cars, community awareness, live music, farm stands and puppy rescue. There's something for everyone!

Thursday Night Live is a lot of fun! It's still fairly small, but it has had higher attendance each…read moreyear Mt. View has hosted it. A few years ago we heard a band doing original music (instead of a cover band) and that was great and now have their albums. But now it's mostly cover bands, which is fine. Besides, you're more likely to get people to get up and dance to music they're familiar with. It's a great family-friendly event. It's great to feel connected to your neighbors. All ages and types, too. The farmers market portion is fairly small (especially when compared to the Sunday version), but it's handy to be able to buy some staples in the middle of the week, too. The "classic" cars aren't always old/classic. They get a lot of newer and funky cars quite often, but I still enjoy looking at them. And of course, with so many great restaurants to choose from, you just can't go wrong going there and being a part of the energy. Oh, and bring a chair if you want to listen to the band and/or watch people dance and have fun!

This was the first year that they had the festival, I think the attendance was lower than…read moreanticipated but not bad... There were a ton of different food trucks featuring special Sriracha menus. The first part of it seemed more like a off the gird sort of thing where everyone was just sitting around with friends eating and drinking. You could buy beer from a few tents. It was great that Moveable Fest put up a ton of umbrellas, it really helped to cut out the sun because it was so hot out. The entire time there were various DJs mixing on both stages. A few times a group of people would try to get people to start dancing... But it wasn't until probably 5 that the masses started congregating around the stages. And at that point it became more of a EDM festival. The DJs were quite good and people were having fun. There was quite the variety of people... A few even had rooster masks to celebrate Sriracha. This event definitely had the potential to grow. It'll definitely be more fun with a larger crowd. At the end they also gave out special edition bottles of Sriracha, which was a nice touch. I hope this can continue next year!

EDM. A million food trucks, great atmosphere on a beautiful day. Couldn't ask for a better event…read more I was hesitant to go thinking this event will be extremely crowded and disorganized *Ahem Ramen Festival* But decided to go last minute. Parking was plentiful all around the blocks and several parking garages nearby. No line around 2pm to get tickets, and they even hook you up with a cute sriracha bottle. Tons of food trucks and not too long of a wait. The music was actually good, everyone was enjoying the nice weather, food, and just having a great time. And seriously, what's up with all the red buckets?? This was actually a great event. Organized, plenty of seats, and a whole lotta fun. Hope they have this again next year.

My kids and I had a blast at our very first Sabercats game! My homegirl knows the cheer captain…read moreand scored some awesome tickets. I had no idea what to expect since I had never witnessed arena football. The pyrotechnics were both scary and awesome! I am still confused as to why I did not see an actual Sabercat mascot, but the dude on the motorcycle was interesting. Mad love to the Saberkittens for putting on an awesome show. I love their spirit! I will definitely return sometime, and take advantage of the 4 pack deal. $50 gets you four tickets, hot dogs, sodas, and chips. Support your local sports teams!

I love food, but I love music and sports even more, which helps to explain why I enjoy seeing the…read moreSaberCats play. Their games feature both and then some. HP Pavilion (7:30 p.m.): My dad and I went to the game on Saturday (San Jose played the Utah Blaze). It was at least the 6th SaberCats game that I've been to. As usual, we saved money by parking nearby (it's interesting how many houses are just across the street from HP Pavilion- a house a block away is now up for sale). When we arrived, my dad let himself be frisked. It was comical (he just walked over to one of the guys and raised his arms- I briefly wondered if he had done something in the past that I was unaware of). I had about as many items on me, but just walked right up to the doors. The edges of the main stairs currently feature some cool images of the San Jose Sharks (it's sad that they just got eliminated from the playoffs). We had great seats (we were 10 rows back, and were only blocked off from seeing kicks go through the left uprights), and our tickets were just $9 each (my dad took advantage of a promotion). The guy to my left was annoying (he went to the game with his dad too, and I wish his dad had been sitting next to me). He had some booming claps (he almost made me go deaf), and he was too wound up early on (he clapped over every little thing). Only 2 vendors were around (I'm glad that we weren't hungry- only a few kiosks were open too). One sold cotton candy, and the other sold Dippin' Dots (Banana; Chocolate; Rainbow). I was tempted to buy some, but didn't. The woman who sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" was pretty fine. She also had a beautiful voice (I actually noticed). T&A: "Stop teasing me!" (what a guy behind us kept saying to the young woman who goes out on the field to signal the beginning and end of commercial breaks). The woman is "too skinny" for my dad's taste, and I think the woman the current one replaced was hotter. It's cute, though, the way the new woman dances. You can tell that she has a lot of fun during games (the other woman was more serious). The SaberKittens were also standing very close to us, but I didn't actually look at them much. With a few exceptions, the women aren't that hot this year. The Kiss Cam action kind of sucked. Too many old couples were featured, and this one guy was clueless as to what he was supposed to do until the camera started to cut away. A ton of penalties were called. This guy and his sons couldn't make up their minds: "Hey refs! You suck!" "Hey refs! You're great!" o_O A Utah wide receiver made a "flying catch over the boards," and another one went over the boards a few minutes later. It was also memorable when San Jose defensive back Clevan Thomas made a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter. The SaberCats normally draw over 10,000 fans (the attendance on Saturday was 8,438). Still, it often got very loud inside. Some fans also did some crazy dances. A few guys even took off their shirts ("No, no. Put your shirts back on. Please."). I kind of agree with another reviewer ("no more cowbell!"). I'm used to it, but some fans bring cowbells and ring them too fuc---- much. You might think that you're at a farm. Free!: The SaberCats have always treated their fans well. This is what was given away during the game: -3 footballs (fans get to keep balls that wind up in the stands). A guy at the end of our row caught the ball that was thrown away at the end of the game. -A whole row got Lillie Mae's "famous" BBQ sauce. -Another row got Buffalo Wild Wings (I think this occurred when a guy threw a football between the uprights- he had 2 tries, but was good in his 1st attempt). -Another row got Round Table Pizza. -Yet another got In-N-Out food (in most cases, vouchers are given out only). The crowd went crazy, by the way, when the logo was flashed. -As usual, some T-shirts were shot or launched into the stands. -5,000 fans got a Program/Green Night Reusable Shopping Bag (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/san-jose-sabercats-san-jose?select=1VBDoLhLt0EYFkHTGFJitQ#yAaOuPNkLRMGMNuEwLf6oQ). Some pictures from 3 fans that were posted online during the game were shown on the scoreboard. I think the last fan won a spa treatment. Halftime: 4 teams of 7-year-olds played flag football. The action was hard to follow (the announcer had to keep turning his attention from one side of the field to the other), but kind of exciting. Only 1 girl played, but she actually scored a touchdown. :) http://www.thesanjosesabercats.com/news_details.php?id=540: The SaberCats almost gave me a heart attack (the game was finally decided with 11 seconds left to play, and San Jose only scored on 4 of their 9 possessions- this is pitiful for an Arena Football team), but they beat the Blaze 35-34. My dad and I had a lot of fun. Win or lose, there's nothing like seeing the SaberCats play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98W9QuMq-2k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB2vMwvqIyk