San Francisco: A few of our favorite pop-up restaurants

It seems like every industry is getting its own flash-sale site—where deep discounts are offered on a limited basis online—and now restaurants, too, are getting a taste of the action. Last week, I read about the burgeoning trend on the New York Times' "Bits" blog, highlighting a new entry, Village Vines, that includes discounts on your bill (after you pay $10 for a reservation): "VillageVines is one of many companies that are changing the way that local businesses market themselves to customers. Restaurants, for instance, can also offer various members-only, limited-time deals through BlackboardEats.com, Gilt City, Groupon, and Yelp, among others." I spent a little time surveying the field to put together a hit list of some of my favorite flash-sale food sites. After all, next time you take a trip, why not have a sweet coupon (and reservation) all squared away to maximize the quality of your mealtime? Here are some of their—and my—favorites: Groupon.com What it offers: daily discounts (from health club memberships to restaurant coupons) in 85 North-American cities and 29 countries, occasionally featuring restaurants. How it works: the deal is only activated if a certain number of people sign up. Sample deal: save $20 on $40 of dinner and drinks at the Rosedale Diner in Toronto. Village Vines.com What it offers: discounts of up to 30% off at over 100 restaurants in New York and more than 20 each in Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco. How it works: deal seekers use VillageVines to make a reservation at a listed restaurant, pay $10 to secure a table (usually 30 percent off the bill), and the discount is applied to the bill at the end of the meal. Sample restaurants: Public, Le Cirque, Berimbau, and Double Crown in New York. Black Board Eats.com What it offers: up to 30 percent off select restaurant bills or equivalent items in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and online. There's also a "Side Dish" sidebar that announces other food deals around town. How it works: Subscribers are sent an email with deals lasting about a month. You can then redeem the code for your deal of choice at the listed restaurant. Sample restaurants: in San Francisco, Barbacco Eno Trattoria, and Little Star; in Los Angeles, Locanda Positano, and Reservoir. Gilt City.com What it offers: weekly sales (including restaurant deals, home services, and more) in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. How it works: readers select their city and browse the various offers available in their city that week. Sample restaurants: in New York, Strip House; in Los Angeles, Culina Modern Italian. Buy With Me.com What it offers: daily discounts (from spa coupons to restaurant deals) of 50-90 percent at local businesses in the U.S. How it works: each deal requires a minimum number of people to sign up to activate the deal. Interested users join a group and can share the deal with others. If the minimum number is met, members are charged for the deal and sent an e-voucher. Sample restaurants: Padre Figlio in New York and Uppercrust in Boston. What about you? Have you used any of these sites for dining? And how would you rate them on value/ease?

5 spots associated with the fab four—from the townhouse where the musicians all lived together to the site of their very own Apple store Abbey Road studios Create your own Abbey Road album cover by walking across the black and white zebra crossing in front of the Beatles' favorite recording studio. Location: 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood. Subway: St. John's Wood. Ringo Starr's flat Pose outside the apartment where John and Yoko shot the famous nude picture for the Two Virgins album cover. This is also where the couple first lived together and where McCartney is said to have written "Eleanor Rigby". Location: 38 Montagu Square, Marylebone. Subway: Edgware Road The only shared Beatles home In 1963, shortly after relocating from Liverpool to the Hotel President in Russell Square, London, the Beatles all moved into this handsome 19th Century town house. This was the only home shared by all four Beatles. Location: 57 Green Street, Mayfair. Subway: Marble Arch Jane Asher's House Paul McCartney stayed here between 1964 and 1966, shortly before he was engaged to British actress Jane Asher. McCartney wrote Beatles songs in the family music room and Jane herself was the inspiration behind Beatles' classics like "All My Loving", "And I Love Her", "I'm Looking Through You", "You Won't See Me", "We Can Work It Out" and "For No One". Location: 57 Wimpole St., Marylebone. Subway: Baker St. The Beatles' Apple Shop This formal five-story apartment building was the sight of the infamous Apple boutique, which opened in 1967. For the grand opening of the Beatles' first retail venture, which McCartney described as "beautiful place where beautiful people can buy beautiful things," the façade of the entire building was covered from top to bottom with a huge, swirling psychedelic mural. The store stocked mostly fashion and accessories but ran at a huge loss. The band eventually gave all the inventory away to the public. Location: at the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street. Subway: Baker St. How to visit We think it's most fun to jump on the subway and negotiate the city on foot with an A-Z city street guide in hand. You get to discover London in your own way and stop and see other sights en route. Those who prefer a tour should contact The Beatles in London, for walking tours of these five sights and others.

Shakespeare in the Park Grab a blanket and a picnic and head down to the Presidio for the Annual Free Shakespeare in the Park. This year, director Kenneth Kelleher brings us Two Gentlemen of Verona, with many much-loved actors from past years. Make sure to come early to grab a good spot, since the plays tend to draw big crowds. When? Saturday evenings at 7:30, and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 pm through September. Main Post Parade Ground Lawn (between Graham St & Keyes Ave) SF Fringe theater festival The annual SF Fringe theater festival, known for cutting-edge theater, presents 43 short plays over 12 days by both local and international performers. The festival has been described by SF Weekly as a "theatrical free-for-all." Check out one play, or join the cultish fans trying to cram in a dozen during the 2-week stretch. When? September 8–19. Tickets are $12.99 and under, $10 at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis 30 minutes before the show. Cash only; limit 4 tickets per person. See 5 shows for $40 or 10 shows for $75. Fort Point candlelight tours Tickets to the ever-popular guided nighttime candlelight tours of historic Fort Point—with views of the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge—sell out quickly. September 1st is the first day that you can make a reservation for the tours starting in November, so if you're planning a winter trip, reserve now. When? Saturday evenings, November through February (reservations accepted starting September 1st); 415/556-1693; Fort Point, at the end of Marine Drive on the Presidio of San Francisco. J-Pop, Japantown's pop culture festival Japan is arguable the apex of modern pop-culture, setting trends for everything from anime and horror films to teenage fashion. Lucky for us, the pop culture collective New People World are bringing their Japanese pop culture festival, J-Pop to San Francisco's Japantown this year. The day-long event will be packed with fashion shows, food, films, music, design and art. When? Saturday, September 18 at 11am; Free. Japantown Peace Plaza, at Geary and Webster Streets. SF MOMA's "Now Playing" party SF MOMA invites musicians to turn the museum into a performance space during their "Now Playing" evening parties. This month brings the group MEN, starring JD Samson from Le Tigre. MEN will perform in the atrium alongside an installation by artist Celeste Dupuy. But that's not all: Blue Bottle coffee, along with local chefs and San Francisco's meat-themed magazine, Meatpaper, are teaming up to serve a tasting menu paired with wine and beer at the museum's rooftop sculpture garden. When? Thursday, September 16; Free with museum admission ($6 Thursday evenings after 6 pm). 151 Third Street, 415/ 357-4000.

It's that time of year. Across America, kids are heading back to school. And you know what that means. Right about now, millions of students are being asked, "What did you do on your summer vacation?" This question can be great if it gives you the opportunity to brag about a great trip to some far-flung destination, but less so when the farthest you traveled was a family reunion at your grandmother's condo the next town over. So how did you fare in 2010? Was it a good summer? If Labor Day weekend is any indication of how you traveled this season, many of you have reason to hold your heads high! As the economy continues to rebound, AAA released a report in late August estimating that numbers for the holiday weekend would be up across the board. According to the report, 34.4 million Americans traveled at least 50 miles from home, representing a 10% increase over the same weekend in 2009. Though over 90% of these travelers reached their destination by car, the airline industry was also predicted to see an increase of almost 5% over last summer. This summer, I managed a quick trip to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, one of America's Coolest Small Towns, where I met the friendliest people, indulged in the tastiest Mexican ice cream at La Michoacana, and sampled crunchy mushroom chips at the Mushroom Cap. Granted, I didn't get too far away from home, but the relaxing small town experience was a welcome retreat. So class, what did you do this summer vacation?