You want to enjoy a casual day with your meat and beer loving friend over good food and drink. However, your friend’s idea of fine cuisine is grilled onions added to their burger or crinkle cut chips. Something fun, unpretentious and affordable is key… but you still want it to be good!

How about a beer and burger kind of day with blue-collar flair (Red’s) or beer education and tasting (Anchor Steam)? As always, even when eating greasy or divey, my motto is: eat well! Avoid fast food and try one of the great SF burger spots (*you’ll notice some of these are not website-type joints so call to confirm hours before going!)

If your friend is also a sports fan, the Bay Area provides much on that front, including the obvious: AT&T Park, or the Giants Ballpark (http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com), where even a person not into sports, such as myself, can have a memorable afternoon or evening. The setting right on the Bay is idyllic & though maybe an obvious choice, it’s a great outing, accompanied well by beers and burgers pre or post game. If you don't have to eat in the park, a better alternative to the stadium’s ridiculously priced food and $10 glasses of beer (though they do serve Anchor Steam on tap!) is to fill up before or after at brand new Pete’s Tavern (128 King Street, between 2nd & 3rd, directly across from the Ballpark, 415-817-5040), which has comparably reasonable prices for bar food.