It took over 10 years for the SF Noodle Fest to return. Amazing experience tasting noodles from…read morerestaurants in Chinatown and North Beach. Lots of noodles and lots of vendors. Great atmosphere and it was a good value. I hope they keep the tradition alive.

I don't know why it was gone for so long, but the Noodle Fest is back and the samples on display…read moreshow almost every noodle North Beach and Chinatown have to offer. Big names like Tony's Pizza with their fresh pesto pasta, historic Sam Wo's BBQ pork noodle rolls, and 27 other restaurants come to offer their noodles either with forks or chopsticks at every tent. There's something for everyone, but the kick is that you're limited to only 5 samples to choose from. The event was a perfect balance of organized and relaxed. The lines were manageable and volunteers help sort trash appropriately; yet they never checked my list to see if I passed the limit of 5. I was able to sample almost half of every pasta! A surprise for me was the spicy wontons from Bund Shanghai. It was big and perfectly cooked because it arrived fresh just as I went to their tent. Another experience was Golden King who had their dish in several parts-- their fish sauce and imperial roll were great. Each dish was good enough to stand on its own, and while the portion sizes are small, I still managed to feel satisfied after 5 and definitely full after 10. However, I hope next year will bring along some improvements such as having better access to water or drinks; as far as I was aware nobody offered or sold water directly from the festival itself. Trash cans got full quickly, but it can't be helped based on the amount that accumulated. And while I loved sampling as much as I liked, I expect it won't be as easy next year to break the limits. There will always be things to improve on the first attempt. Overall, this was a great start to what I hope to be a staple for SF for years to come. More places to try, more accessibility, and more noodles please!

This Greek festival is so well planned and organized, really! Love how the indoor area has hot food…read moreall in one line so you just have to line up once instead of going to many different booths. It's so streamlined wifh three cashiers ready to help you at the end. You can see the food as you pick and put it on your tray or someone will scoop for you and they're so friendly! Welcoming atmosphere , really appreciate the free entrance, no fee, to really encourage anyone to drop in and learn about Greek culture

The Taste of Greece Greek Festival has been around for decades in San Francisco. Delicious Greek…read morefood and pastries. The Greek beer was also a treat. The music dancing , and performances makes this one of the best festivals in San Francisco. Great experience.

The Oakland Soul are a women's professional soccer team that plays in the USL W League. They have…read morecaptured second place of said league the last three seasons. They play all of their home games at Merritt College. They have not lost a home game for the last three seasons. They have memberships which include tickets to all five home games for the 2026 season. Cost? One hundred bucks. $100. A C-Note. For real. That is ridiculous. Who wouldn't go for this? If I lived in Oakland, I'd be all over this. Twenty bucks a game? There may be some fees with it, I don't know? But, a hundred dollars? For five games? I'd be so into this. I'd be at all the games. I'd know all the players. Their positions. And their jersey numbers. This would definitely pass the time for me. And parking's free too. I read this somewhere. There on the campus. Near the field. It's free. If I was going to ding them for anything, their merch is too high. But same could be said about their fellow men's program, Los Roots. The Oakland Roots. I'm a fan of theirs too. So, I get it. I'm sure everything's expensive there. Another ding is their livestream. Last season, I tried to watch one of the Soul's home games on a livestream, and it felt like I was watching something on Windows 98. I kid, but I could've shot it better on my phone. Also, their online presence, what there is of it, is as if they feel like nobody's watching and nobody cares. They do. Or, at least I do. Update your media constantly. Do it for me, anyways. Get a higher quality livestream (but keep it free) Maybe lower your merch prices so others not in Cali can afford these sharp threads you offer at a current premium. Otherwise, just keep on keeping on, Soul. I'll be watching from far, far away. First 2026 home game is on Mother's Day.

This festival is a fundraiser for the California Artisan Cheese Guild, the 2024 event held inside…read morethe Ferry Building Grand Hall. Unlimited cheese samples, whey spirits, beer, wine, and soda, along with live music... sounds good to me. Some of the cheese vendors/artisans we were familiar with so  we had to have some of our faves while there, like Point Reyes Farmstead which offered brown butter chocolate bars to pair with the cheese, and the breakfast brie from Marin French Cheese Co. which even though it's similar to a hard cheese, is smooth like butter. Speaking of butter, one of the best finds here was the garlic & herbs butter from Fabrique Délices. I couldn't get enough. And it was even better with handmade biddy sticks from a different booth (unique breadsticks from a vendor based out of southern california). Another non-cheese item that stood out to me were the salami and pepperoni from Olli charcuterie. Wow, the quality and taste were just amazing. There was also a buffet-style grazing table, with several types of cheese and bread to fill a small plate for snacking, and several standing tables throughout the event area. On top of that, lots of free goodies for guests besides food and drinks, including insulated bags and stickers with clever sayings like "cheese is grate", so we definitely didn't go home empty-handed. Adding to the pleasant atmosphere, the sounds of the guitar and vocals were lovely to hear while sampling the various offerings throughout the event, and the collection of small bites honestly had us full within an hour, though it was hard not to go back for more... Too bad the vendors weren't allowed to sell any of their products on site, though we got business cards and instructions for where to find some of the items in stores.

Great selection of cheeses and vendors. Wine, preserves, patê, salami, olive oil, olives…read more Began right at 6:00 PM (start time) and were led to upstairs grand room in ferry building ( SF Embarcadero) Started off wonderfully yet as evening progressed, there were a lot of people each hoping to get their moneys worth of cheese ($100 per person charge) Unfortunately it was not organized with any sense of direction and some people were determined to get their moneys worth (justified) yet would not move forward in the line in order to let everyone sample the display at hand. No sense of direction, a lot of pushing and shoving and some people literally standing at table for 20 minutes or longer. Suggest there be arrows or signs next year giving attendees a sense of direction and a notice on simple courtesy ( tasting and moving along) I'm not sure I would spend $100.00 again next year ( might go up) as the evening felt claustrophobic and disorganized.

Lafs and Slams, a comedy and wrestling spectacle, was taking place at Mayes Oyster House in SF this…read morepast Saturday. I found this event online and thought it was cool cuz proceeds are donated to the Napa Bunnies Rabbit Rescue. Well... we went this past weekend, and it was weird. And not the kind of weird they probably intend for it to be. First off, there was a fat pillar between the general admission seating and floor action (it's not really a stage). Beyond the strange setup, the seating process was disorganized and thoughtless altogether, the guy putting people who came earlier in the back, and GA attendees who came later closer to the front. Lol, I have no words for that nonsense. If you pay for VIP viewing, there are booths and seats up close... but I don't know if it's worth it. There was a single bartender and a long slow-moving line... not serving the Mayes bar menu. We just got basic cocktails and were not impressed with the taste. Funny (and clearly fake) stories behind the comedians and wrestlers, the host with the rabbit mask not explaining anything so I'm assuming he wants viewers to guess what's going on, the wizard commentator hard to understand during the matches but I found him a bit entertaining regardless. The roast battles fell kinda flat, but when one of the female comedians did her brief stand-up bit, it was a little better and I got some laughs in. There was also a burlesque performance in between rounds, nothing too amusing but it added some variety. The main event was the comedy and wrestling, the latter which takes place throughout the venue. Basically whoever loses a roast battle via crowd cheers can have a wrestler fight for them to have another chance. A pattern of confusing rules, storylines, and characters. I did enjoy the Astronaut vs the Llama, where they did the classic door breaking stunt. They actually took turns carrying each other before one was finally thrown onto the door, splitting it into pieces. The bartender also participated in the fun as one of the comedians. His character, a failed rapper who fights people in the tenderloin and has a GoFundMe to score drugs. That round was alright. There was audience participation during the show as well. But again, nothing explained, so the interactive parts made us lose interest altogether. We were so lost that we left halfway through the event. I gotta be real... the comedians were not very funny, the drinks were not that good, and the seating arrangement was kinda ridiculous. Still giving 3 stars, cuz you can get free tickets if you reserve early (I booked several weeks in advance on eventbrite) and it's for a good cause -- bunnies!!

This annual holiday celebration consists of three main parts -- a parade, festival, and fireworks…read more I attended the daytime event on July 4th and it was a laid back, family friendly affair, with everyone in good spirits. There were no massive crowds lining the streets for the parade, so it was easy to find a spot for viewing as well as parking nearby. Traffic was minimally disrupted, too. The parade was very casual and low key, no fancy floats or creative displays, mostly modestly decorated vehicles and members of local organizations walking the parade route holding signs and giving out free candy to kids. Groups included community emergency responders, Creative Play, Scouts, senior living homes, and pet adoption agencies like Contra Costa Animal Services (with a few dogs on leashes strolling the parade as well). The party in the park after the parade consisted of food vendors (including Back Forty Texas BBQ), kids activities like inflatable slides and jumphouses, and live music on stage. I enjoyed the sounds of the American Cheese band playing awesome songs for the crowd, the playlist including Santeria, Faith by George Michael, and Should I Stay or Should I Go. The watermelon eating contest was fun to see, both the kids competition (for contestants ages 12 and under) and the adults match. The festivities continued later in the evening with a fireworks show at College Park High School and of course more food vendors and live entertainment. A pretty well-organized community event, stress-free and admission free.

Is this a mini San Leandro Hot August/September Night event?…read moreSee my Grand Sierra, Reno NV reviews. Quality/Quantity - About 10 classic cars. SL police tent, cute giveaways for kids. Some art booths. Atmosphere - Free street 3 hour parking. Today's hours: only from 10am to 4pm. Bathrooms in the library. Service - N/A. Price - Free. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1957 to the San Leandro Art Association.

What a lovely little gem of a building that takes you back in time. 3-4 rooms filled with old town…read morememorabilia and historical sales and product from the sugar factory next door. It was free to get in, but gently asks for donations to help support. Lots one star from me as I would have really liked more description information on the different items. Otherwise you really are not sure what you are looking at :(

This was a fun stop and the whole reason I made a trip to Crockett…read more They have a wild miscellany of city history, industrial equipment, hobbyist work, and local flavor. I think I spent about 45 minutes wandering through the place, which is probably plenty unless you read everything. But I definitely recommend it for anyone who is into tiny museums - about 4-5 rooms that used to be a train station. Sadly, there's not that much that has that train station feel. But aside from that, if you've never seen a cream separator, punch card sorter, or a scale model of the National Cathedral (D.C.) and want to, this is your place. Staffed by friendly, knowledgeable docents who take pride in Crockett's history.