In 1969, as San Francisco’s hippies espoused their progressive ideas, the Hoskinson family stuck to the traditions of the Old World as they set foot in the kitchen of their new restaurant, Spaghetti Bender. Today, the family’s stock of classic recipes helps Executive Chef Alphonso Gomez craft more than 15 pasta dishes, ranging from pasta tossed with italian bacon and green peas to spinach tortellini stuffed with ricotta. For carnivorous appetites, Alphonso dishes out portions of chicken marsala and veal parmesan, as well as shrimp and scallop entrees whose preparations change monthly in accordance with new recipes scribbled onto each full moon. Diners can enjoy their entrees à la carte or accompanied by soup, salad, and garlic bread as complete dinners. Meals can unfold inside Spaghetti Bender’s dining room, which retains the old-school decor from its 1976 remodeling, or on its alfresco patio, which keeps diners entertained with a pair of televisions.