F FoodWars had the best of the best when it came to side dishes. The theme for the cook-off this time around was “Holiday Fixins” which meant yummy cornbread, creamed spinach, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread pudding, mashed potatoes…

SF FoodWars is a local cook-off in which any ‘ol person can enter. No need to be a professional chef, or even be a good cook. All you need is a good dish you can rely on to win, and the stamina to make 200 portions the day before. The winners don’t win much in prizes, but it’s a fun event, and all the proceeds go to the San Francisco Food Bank.

From the website:

If shoveling copious amounts of delicious edibles into your mouth sounds like a great time, boy do we have your back. When you attend an SF Food Wars battle, your palate and vote are vital to the cause. Upon entry, you will take on a task of the utmost importance. You must eat, eat again, eat once more, no maybe twice more, okay probably a lot more, take a breather, eat a little more, think about what you ate, and eventually, you vote! Take notes if you need to. Food comas welcome.

I went to the event as an “Eater” (it even said so on my ticket). This was my first time going, although I’ve been trying to get tickets for as long as I’ve known about this event. This event literally sold out in less than 5 minutes. I was watching this event like most people would watch for Madonna tickets. I ended up on the waiting list, and was lucky enough to snag two tickets early on (in case you’re wondering, tickets were $10). The event only allows for 170 attendees, for good reason…so the food doesn’t run out! Even at 170, it was crowded.

I had a great time, and enjoyed all the food. It was a tough call when it came to judging time. There wasn’t one dish there that wasn’t spectacular. Hopefully the next time I go, I’ll be going as a competitor.

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SF FoodWars »

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The thing about San Francisco is that the people who live here are rarely actually from here. And the great thing about the diversity it creates is that it makes very interesting people (…myself included!). I worked with a designer who was an underground DJ, a project manager at work who lived in the Congo, and a lawyer who has a side business doing gourmet Japanese catering. There’s nothing better than surrounding yourself with people who have so much passion for what they do, either at the job or outside of it.

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Potrero Community Garden Website »

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Urban Ore Ecopark is part junkyard, part thrift store, and part garage sale. It has everything you’re looking for, and lots of it. Need a new window? A vintage teapot? A seat from a rollercoaster? They got it, and one in every size and color you can imagine.

This is 3 acres of pure scavenging heaven. A mecca for those seeking vintage building materials, you could also easily spend hours in here and not even notice the rows of toilets and tubs outside. Sometimes, the bargains and finds are so delicious that you want to cry. Other times the cat pee smell and greasy mug handles just don’t make it worth the hunt. If that’s the case, we call it a day and pack it in knowing full well we’ll be back in no time and probably leave with an armload of new treasures.

–Apartment Therapy

The idea behind Urban Ore is zero waste. It is the ultimate form of recycling – they take apart broken cars, saves appliances from houses before demolition, detaches things like school lockers, and makes it all available to the public. They will even pay you for something you bring in – although not a lot, since they often need to restore or clean it. And they do a great job of it – as well as organizing it in the warehouse.

You can find the front door you’re looking for in one of the many aisles of almost-new and vintage doors, and find all the parts you need for installation (door hinges, doorknobs from just about every era, screen doors) without setting foot outside of Urban Ore. It’s a handyman, collector, and environmentalist’s dream come true.

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Urban Ore website »
Article on Apartment Therapy »

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