It wasn't so long ago that the federal government was discussing regulating the nutritional value of foods advertised to children. While that legislation slipped through the cracks, some cities have decided to take matters into their own hands. Yesterday, supervisor Eric Mar of San Francisco introduced legislation that proposes banning toys from Happy Meals and other restaurant food unless the food meets certain nutritional guidelines. More

I'm getting ready to hit the road tomorrow for almost two weeks in California, and though I am certainly worried about the road's effects on my weight, I'm actually feeling reasonably OK about my chances of staying the course on my serious diet, but if any serious eaters out there have words of wisdom concerning road eating, now is the time to share them. More

Awards that honor darn good and tasty food: we support that. The Seedling Projects will host the first-ever Good Food Awards for craft food-makers across America. The seven categories include: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, pickles, and preserves. Nominate your favorites before September 15. The products will be judged by food personalities like Ruth Reichl and Alice Waters in October during a daylong blind tasting at San Francisco's Ferry Building. The awards will be given out January 14. May the finest kimchi and terrines win! More

Certain eateries are pretty much guaranteed to have a line—an omnipresent one. Maybe a thunderstorm will shave off a few minutes from the time suck, but you should still plan on packing a book, a chatty companion, or just text back everyone you've had a missed call from since forever ago while waiting. Grimaldi's pizzeria on a sunny weekend afternoon: easily an hour-plus. Same with Shake Shack. Dottie's True Blue Cafe in San Francisco is another such place. On weekends, you can bet there are more people queued up than actually eating in the 40-seat diner. What's the longest you've waited for food? Did it feel worth it? More

After having an iced coffee just about daily for the last month, I can easily say the best was Blue Bottle's New Orleans–style iced coffee from Ferry Plaza (the small Bay Area chain has seven other outlets, including one in Brooklyn). The cold-brewed liquid happiness is a much richer, smoother version of the chicory-laced coffee at the famous Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. This one is dark but not too acidic or harsh, with a buttery finish. It's definitely on the dessert end of the iced-coffee spectrum—served over ice chunks with some sugar and a good wrist's worth of milk—but not enough to drown out the dark, deep, chicory flavors underneath. More

It's a bit of a surreal experience to be a regular market shopper at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market in San Francisco. The market is a tourist and foodie destination in addition to a weekly routine for many San Francisco shoppers. Saturday, when I was trying to shop for my weekly haul, Food Network personality Aida Mollenkamp was walking through the market with a camera crew, tourists were snapping photos, and celebrity chefs shopped right next to me. I imagine it's something like going to church regularly at the Vatican, among all the sightseers. This time of year, I have to be careful to not overbuy at the market. There are so many wonderful things in season. More

It's time for another street food profile. This time we chat with the people behind Sam's ChowderMobile in the Bay Area, possibly the only gourmet seafood truck on the West Coast (or in the nation?). They have a double fryer on the truck for on-the-spot sizzling of fish and chips and fish tacos. More

This weekend, San Francisco welcomed a new farmers' market: the Fort Mason Center Farmers' Market. The market is right near the water, and the setting is picturesque with plenty of room for this roughly 40 vendors. Greens Restaurant, a famous San Francisco restaurant that has been leading the vegetarian scene for 31 years, is located at Fort Mason and chef Annie Somerville was on hand at the farmers' market handing out samples and chatting with customers. It was a two-market weekend for me. I did a majority of my shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market on Saturday, then checked out the Fort Mason Market on Sunday. Check out photos of the cherries, apricots, and more scenes from the market. More

When's the last time you saw a menu with a mermaid riding a lobster? Yeah, it's been a while. The Alice Statler menu collection at the City College of San Francisco contains menus dating as far back as the 1920s, mostly from Northern California restaurants. They're currently sitting in six steel filing cabinets at the college, but you can click through 13 of them here. More

The city's Mission District has been considered ground zero for great Mexican food in Northern California. But having lived away from the Bay Area for over six years—and spent the better part of the last two falling in love with the tacos of central Texas—my memories of Mission Street taquerias have started to fade. When I returned last weekend, I took the BART train straight to the Mission's 24th Street Station (where no less than seven taquerias populate a one-block radius) to determine what sets this city's best tacos apart. More