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Borgo, 500 Fell Street (@ Laguna), 255-9108. My favorite Italian restaurant in town. Not too fancy, not too casual. Appetizers run from $8.50 to $10 and owner Sergio makes a custom-made one for nearly everyone, unless it’s really busy. BRING IN A COPY OF THIS PAPER and get a FREE appetizer (up to $7 value) when you order 2 dinner entrees. Don’t forget to do that. Entrees run from $12 to $15 (special ones run around $18.) Pasta dinners are about $10. I recommend the halibut covered with sun dried and fresh tomatoes, capers, and sauteed onions with white wine and tomatoe sauce. A bottle of Merlot runs around $20. The decor is humorous, too, with jeans and underwear hanging from a clothesline and letters from irate customers hanging on the wall. A great place. Check it out.

Maharani Indian Restaurant, 1122 Post (@ Polk), 775-1988. Ranked the #1 best Indian restaurant in town by the SF Chronicle magazine! Make sure you use the free appetizer coupon in this issue or he won’t advertise with me anymore. This is a beautiful place to eat, especially the Fantasy Room in the back. Owner Joy Kapur has an informative web site at www.maharanirestaurant.com. Get his book of love poems and mystical verses, The Perfume of Love, at www.AMZN.com or at www.thelovepoems.com.

ALHAMRA, 3083 - 16th Street, 621-3935. New Pakistani & Indian restaurant. Indian breads (nan, garlic nan & chapati), Tandoori specialties (chicken, fish, prawn, kabab, boti tikka), and Vegetarian curries the specialty. Btw Valencia & Mission.

Destino, 1815 Market, 552-4451. Critically acclaimed Latin American bistro from James Schenk, formerly the manager of Zuni. Entrees average around $17. Flamenco guitar at 7pm on Tuesdays, Tango dancers at 8;30pm on Wednesdays.

Hyde Street Bistro, 1521 Hyde Street, 292-4415. Delightful Russian Hill location with a cable car occasionally clanking by. Run by the Franco-American couple of Fabrice Marcon and his wife, Betty.

Tandoori Indian Restaurant, 869 Geary, 345-1011. Excellent Indian cuisine not far from the Theater District. Inexpensive Indian lunch buffet $4.99 as of this writing. Go there so he can pay me for his ad.

LuLu, 816 Folsom, 495-5775. My friend from New York took me here on his expense account because he wanted to eat at "a California restaurant". He got his wish. Though the waiter was pretty funny; borderline sarcastic. That added a New York touch. Entrees generally are over $20. Swank, but cute.

Osaka House, 1946 Market, 621-3622. New Japanese restaurant where Hot ‘N Chunky hamburgers was. Says owner James Hu: "We make very specialized sauces, different than any other restaurant."

.paul K, 199 Gough, 552-7132. This place must be almost 2 years old now. Fairly inexpensive Mediterranean food w/ friendly service (at least when I was there.)

Bliss Bar, 4026 - 24th Street, 826-6200. Trendy new bar in Noe Valley. The place to be seen. Tres hip, especially for Noe Valley.

SF Pizza, 1602 Lombard, 567-TOGO. Gourmet pizza. Use this listing as a coupon and get $4 off an X-large, $3 off a large, $2 off a medium, and $1 off a small pizza. Highly recommended.

Rasoi, 1037 Valencia, 695-0599. Very pretty Indian restaurant with lots of vegetarian dishes. I dig those slow-revolving ceiling fans.

Caffe Proust, 1801 McAllister, 345-9560. Delightful restaurant /cafe brought to you by Miss P. Only 2 years old, but a future SF institution. The next Hamburger Mary’s. Big hangout for the Burning Man crowd.

Eos, 901 Cole, 566-3063. Noisy yuppie haven in Cole Valley. Great fusion menu, though. Off the N-line.

Sushi Groove South, 1516 Folsom, 503-1950. Sushi and fusion dishes eaten by young hipsters in black. Highly acclaimed food by the vast majority of people I talk to.

Francisco & Molly, 83 Natoma, 975-5700. Instead of waiting on line at those crowded restaurants near Pac Bell Park before a Giants game, come here for sandwiches, beer, & wine. Fri. At 5 often has live music.

OneAsia, 637 Larkin, 775-1318. Aside from Backflip, I guess this is the hippest eatery on lower Larkin Street. Good soups, rolls, noodles, etc. Pretty inexpensive, too.

Jezebel’s Joint, 510 Larkin .. 345-9832. For strippers, trannies, doms, and... almost anyone else, I guess. . This wild Tenderloin bar brought to you by the Power Exchange, the city’s only licensed sex club.The decor’s a scream. Jezebel’s Joint now has these nightly parties:

Psychosynthesis on Wed. (Beats, Techno, Industrial, Trance.) Carnivale on Thurs. (Goth/Industrial), Debaser on Fri. (Alternative, glam, punk, Brit, roots Rock), and monthlies on Sat:

1st Sat: Rubbish: Fetish party w/ disco & funk, 2nd Sat: Burning Chrome: Techno, Industrial, Dark Trance, EBM, DHR. 3RD Sat: Shrine of Lillith: Goth/Industrial, 4th Sat: Nuttin Butt Holes: Scantily clad ladies walking around serving donuts.

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