Solder Virgins, never fear! Imagine a soldering iron as a conductive metal glue gun. A glue gun uses heat to melt glue that is sticky, liquid, and cools quickly. The soldering iron very much the same. It is a heat element that is pressed gently against the metal solder, melting it into small hot drops of liquid metal. All that must be done is to press the tip of the iron against the solder and drip the drops right on to the connection. Just as with a glue gun, after the melted material has been laid on the connection, it quickly cools and hardens. Just be sure to remove the iron and the solder while the drop is still hot, so they do not stick to the connection. Apply the solder like a glue gun, but then brush it like paint. Use the tip to make a smoothing, rubbing motion. Do not be afraid to try this technique for the first time. The tools are available for less than ten dollars. And as with anything new, practice makes perfect. Feel free to burn through a foot of solder making practice drops onto practice joined wires. It is very satisfying to watch the metal melt and see the perfect soldered connection.

-Craft Magazine vol 6 : LED Hula Hoop, O'reilly Media Inc.

POPULAR DISH: Burritos are your best bet. Each one is as big as your head. Their chicken is signiture, mesquite grilled with juicy bits and charred edges. Try it in the “Funky Chicken”, the “Papas and Pollo”, or the “Chicken on a Hot Tin Roof”. But don’t skip the tofu. Braised in brewers yeast and tamari, it’s flavor is huge. It is well showcased in the “Tofu Temptation”. 

UNIQUE DISH:  “Papas” – enormous baked potatoes are roasted and split down the middle. The centers are packed with your choice of chicken, tofu or fish. Piles of fresh salad, often grown on the Papas farm, cover the entire thing.

DRINKS: Colas, Mexican fruit sodas and an ever rotating tap of local microbrews like Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Booneville.

SEATING: Two rooms of seating. Main dining room is large with metal patio furniture and brick benches and feels like outside. There is additional seating in a small room to the side and an outdoor patio in front.

AMBIENCE/CLIENTELE: The thatched roof and swinging doors bring the outside in. This place is a melting pot of hippies, yuppies, bohemians and celebrities. The cutest women bare their surf brown bellies, while the men trade travel and adventure stories. 

-HUNGRY? San Francisco, Really Good Books Inc.