Top Dog

Big, cheap plates of pasta you build at the counter, a long enough menu for picky eaters, and tables outside.

Game store stocked with games, puzzles, D&D and miniatures, plus open gaming and rooms to rent for a group to play.

University campus with paths to scooter on, lawns to run around, and Strawberry Creek running past Sather Gate and a eucalyptus grove, for dipping toes in.

A big lawn, two tennis courts, and an enclosed playground with a tire swing, talk tubes in the ground and a tree deck for toddlers and older kids.

Simple Mexican cooking built around fresh ingredients and fire-roasted salsas made by hand, with lots of them to choose from.

Art museum and film archive where kids 13 and under get into the galleries free, with exhibitions that change regularly and a drop-in art lab.