Each week, we bring you our top picks for the best places to booze on the cheap in SF.
1. SF Zombie Crawl: With Halloween around the corner and Sunday's Walking Dead premiere drawing blockbuster ratings, it's no surprise that SF's got zombies on the braaaaaains. Throw on your best gross makeup and shredded clothes and stalk the streets on this pub crawl, which is loaded with drink specials for those in appropriate attire. The party starts at R Bar with $2 Olympia, $5 Svedka, and $8 beer/shot combos, then staggers to Kimo's for $3 Sailor Jerry shots and "Zombie Punch." Shanghai Kelly's will follow with $3 16-ounce Millers and $2 zombie grog, while the final stop, Cafe Royale, will dish out $5 cocktails. More info here. (Saturday, October 22, 7 pm, at Civic Center courtyard.)
2. ARTCRANK at 111 Minna: SF is a bike-lovin' town, and local artists will be sharing the love at Friday's ARTCRANK gallery show, which features limited-edition, handmade bike-themed posters for under $50 each. (Matt Fleming's appears at left.) Even if you just want to browse, the drinking is quite the deal: $5 for a commemorative pint glass allows you to consume $3 Widmer brews in it all night, and all the proceeds will go to the SF Bicycle Coalition. A DJ will spin, and Chrome will raffle off a custom bag. (Friday, October 21, 7-11 pm, at 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna St., SOMA.)
3. Maverick's Butter Burger Returns: Maverick has a new chef, whose first order of business was to bring back the ancient tradition of the butter burger. Fried in the good stuff and topped with cheddar, jalapeno mayo, and an onion ring, the new edition boasts a bonus ingredient: bacon. The rules are the same as before: every Tuesday, the first 17 people to order a burger will receive one, along with fresh-cut fries and a glass of wine, for a mere $18. Once they're gone, they're gone. (Tuesdays, 5:30-10 pm, at Maverick, 3316 17th St.)
4. Passport 2011 After Party: A panoply of well-known Bay Area artists will be stationed around the Castro this Sunday, stamping special passport booklets ($25) with their own custom-designed stamps to benefit the SF Arts Commission. After you've collected 'em all, head to the afterparty at QBAR, where a $10 donation to the SFAC gallery artists' fund will earn you the rights to all-you-can-drink beer. (Event 12-4 pm, after-party 4-7 pm, at QBAR, 456 Castro St., Castro.)
5. Bols Genever Bar Crawl: To promote their house brand, Bols Genever is hosting a trip to six of the city's best cocktail bars, with a different $5 glass of punch at each location. The tour begins at Rickhouse at 5:30, then crawls up from the FiDi to North Beach, stopping at the Burritt Room (6:30), Comstock Saloon (7:15), Txoko (8:00), and 15 Romolo (9:00). (All times are approximate.) At 10, everyone will head back to Union Square to finish things up at Jasper's Corner Tap. (Tuesday, October 25, 5:30-11 pm, at Rickhouse, 246 Kearny St., Financial District.)
