San Francisco

from Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls; Oakland

This non-profit has 3 of #7's ex-gladiators up for the taking, provided you're a "responsible candidate". To find out which are his, you've got to inquire within, so hit the website and try to guess from pics/names/descrips, canceling out hounds who are soft ("Kinzie is an impish yearling and current heartthrob) or more interested in loving than fighting (Dirk Wiggler: "this studly dude is big on beef and charm...probably no cats for this guy"). Turning dogs into adult stars = also inhumane.

1489 Folsom St, at 11th; SOMA; 415.552.3963

In the old Jackson Brewery space, this swank, two-story Thai spot pairs off a spartan downstairs (exposed brick, enormous keyhole windows, polished cement bar) against an upstairs warmed by mood lighting and a crimson floor. As you suck down beer/wine/sake, get started with bites like Chiang Mai curried pork sausage or breaded blue point oysters w/ mango ceviche, then grab mains like peanut/cilantro roast pork w/ egg noodle, or the vermicelli soup, loaded with "rare flank steak, beef stew, and meat balls" -- emphasis ours, ludicrous beef overload theirs.

at Upper Playground (and their online store); 220 Fillmore St, btwn Haight and Waller; Lower Haight; 415.861.1960

Just in time for Indian summer, UP's released three New Era lids: one by Sam Flores (comically rendered Bay and GG bridges converging on a distant SF Skyline), plus two Italia shoutouts: a UP-walrus-stamped/Ital colorway cap, and another unbranded number plastered in Renaissance frescoes -- so, a New Era of Renaissance revival?

Sun Aug 17th, noon, at the Panhandle (off Masonic and Fell)

This Sunday, ride to the Panhandle for a party where you can upgrade your bike/bike-parts, or purchase newness at cut-rate prices from a multitude of vendors. There'll also be a bake sale, bbq, and a bike Olympiad featuring a 100m adults-on-kiddy-bike dash, and "Bike Put", described as "How far can you throw a fully loaded bicycle?" (or, if the bike's nicer than yours, "How fast can you ride away on a fully loaded bicycle?").

Specializing in helping start-ups, Rofo's a free service for finding affordable digs for work/retail/industrial/living. Filter results by price/sq footage/area/desired lease type, and applicable listings (pulled from brokers and users) will be displayed beside a Gmap plotting their locations; if you see something juicy, an extra click'll get you full details and photos -- good idea for start-up's still on you.