by Maia Wing on OK, so we all know that the best Mexican food is in the Mission. But if you live up here in the yuppie area of town, who really wants to go all the way down there to get your Mex fix? Not I. Enter Nick's Crispy Tacos. It's your one-stop shop for solid Mexican eats with the comfort of non-shady surroundings (unless you count the creepy red suede booths that are around for when the joint turns into Rouge Nightclub). Not only do they have pretty tasty tacos & burritos, but the breakfast is pretty good too. I recently had the breakfast burrito with Andouille sausage, and I very much enjoyed the slight spicy kick to wake me up ion a Sunday morning. Taco Tuesday are great for some cheap eats as well. N ice, convenient location on Polk at Broadway, in Russian Hill. I t's cash-only, so hit up the ATM outside before you go in. C heap and delicious... like any good Mexican place should be. K eep away on Tuesdays if you can't handle a crowd. S olid eats at an affordable price.
by Maggie H. on Tuck the kids in @ 5:30PM on Thursday nights and then head over to the Academy of Sciences, where kids are not allowed and we, as adults, have the right to roam around with alcoholic beverage in hand and high heels on to examine Mother Nature's lovely specimens. Try your luck at parking, I, being the luckiest parker evarrrrr, found parking in Golden Gate Park within a two block walking distance of the museum, while my friends found parking along Fulton. $10 tickets you should DEFINITELY buy online before the event, because sometimes the event gets sold out at the door. Either, get there REALLY early to get tickets for the Planetarium or arrive about an hour after it starts to avoid waiting in line. The line to the Rainforest exhibit right before it closes gets extremely long, so try to make the Rainforest your first stop. The Rainforest exhibit is enclosed in a living biodome fully equipped with pretty butterflies, brightly-colored poisonous frogs, and a variety of different amphibians and bugs. OH! And pretty birds! You walk up a spiraling ramp through different continents to see the varying exhibits of bugs and whatnots to end up at the top of the biodome where there are full-length mirrors (yes, in a biodome, because it's absolutely natural) for you to check that you are wearing the proper clothing for this mock-club event. Oh, excuse me, the full-length mirror is to check that no butterflies are stowing away. You will, then, proceed into the elevator where it takes you straight down into the aquarium. OoOoOoooh, pretty fishes! Look, it's Nemo, Dory and Jacques! Yay! The aquarium is truly amazing, especially with the bar as you exit the elevator. The drinks are steep, $8 Domestic Beers, $9 Import Beers, yeah, not the kinda money a college student, like myself, can afford frontin'. The aquarium includes whole coral reefs brought in from the Philippines and cute little pig-nosed turtles, yes, they are too adorable. I wasted my battery life on these two turtles. Head back upstairs and be amazed by the pendulum that can prove to you that the Earth is really spinning. Some say the tilt of the Earth causes the pendulum to swing to and fro at an angle, but I believe Cal Academy of Sciences has programmed the pendulum to swing sideways. While the pendulum slowly works its way around, direct your attention towards the dancefloor where the 21-somethings, get down to the groovy beats of the DJ. I don't remember what they were playing that night because I was distracted by the Wii-esque "Capture the Bug Game". As the end of the night draws closer, do not forget to proceed to the "Living Roof" where two "fuzzy" domes are perched on top of the museum. One of which reminds my friend of Spongebob's House, and one of which reminds her of a strawberry. Last night, two telescopes were pointed towards Jupiter and its four moons. (There are more moons but with a tiny eyepiece, only four could be seen) Last night was soooo clear and nice, you could see Jupiter with your naked eye. But I digress... Finally head back downstairs to the entrance and visit the, what I like to call, "Albino" exhibit. "YO! You, up front! Short, Asian girl behind you! 'SCUSE ME, BUT I WANNA SEE THE ALBINO ALLIGATOR!" *jumps jumps* "Ooooooh ahhhhhh.... is he alive? Yeah, he just really likes lounging around on that rock." Deeper within the waters, an albino catfish resides along with an albino turtle. Although, the albino turtle was absent last night, I wonder what happened to the fella'. Huh. It's 9:45PM, I should go move my car out of the park before I get a ticket or get towed. This is the slight drawback for free parking in the park, you have to leave fifteen minutes before the actual event ends to move your car to avoid a hefty fine. Go here once or twice, but after that you'll be good for a longggggg time. P.S. Prices go up starting next Thursday ($12 vs. $10) Did I mention they had live penguins in the, what seemed to be stuffed animals, African exhibit?
by Rosetta Kacynski on Went for a friend's birthday this weekend. We waited in line for a little bit, and when we got in we had a few drinks on the main floor, which is part of Caprice and there is no cover.To get into Underbar, you head downstairs and cover is $25.00. A Long Island Iced Tea was $12.00. The decor was really neat, like you're underwater and the music was awesome. It was a fun night, but be prepared to drop a lot of $$$$$$$$$!!!
