Mission Mission

The world burrito tour continues!  When MM reader Keturah checked out the previously mentioned Dolores Burritos in Berlin last summer, he came away slightly unsatisfied by the experience.  Not looking to repeat that ordeal, he decided to try something new:

This summer, I have discovered Taqueria Ta’Cabron!  The burritos are pretty huge – an order of guacamole and a burrito is plenty for two people to split.  There are a few odd things about presentation, though.  For starters, the burrito is wrapped in paper, kinda like a doner kebab.  Sour cream is served on the side.  Everything is spiced perfectly, although it could really be saucier (the salsa, etc is also served on the side).  The beer selection is not as fancy as Mission Delores (Dos Equis & Corona), but they do have a HUGE selection of tequila.  Located in Kreuzberg (a neighborhood not unlike the mission), it seems super popular with Americans, and the staff speaks Spanish as well as German and English. The menu also offers tacos, enchiladas, tamales and tostada de ceviche, though I haven’t gotten past the burritos and guacamole – maybe next trip!

Apparently people have been saying good things about this place, so I suppose it’s worth a shot if you find yourself in the area but tiring of schnitzel and soljanka.  At the very least, it beats the burritos in Paris!

At the very least, it’s way better than a Paris burrito!

Previously:

• This is a burrito in Korea
• On the other hand, this Korean “burrito” was damn good
• NYC ‘burrito’
• Guten Tag! Mission Burritos in Berlin!

The esteemed time travel team at Pastmapper have released a little bit of history that you can hold in your hand — behold the Pastmapper iPhone app that lets you check into the ghosts of restaurants and bars past. The sixties welcomes you:

@bradvertising has started with 1966, with more years coming. But it’s fascinating to dig in and see what was where when. The Smile Awhile Tavern (aka proto-Farolito Bar) welcomes you:

You get more points for checking in close to the place, but fret not, I will destroy you on the leaderboard.

Anyway, more detail over on Pastmapper, so turn on, check in, and drop a note.

This year’s Phono del Sol is gonna be some serious fun in the sun.

And all you have to do to win two tickets is leave a comment in the comments section below relating your best Potrero del Sol-related anecdote, or a really good haiku about how much you want to see one of the bands. So many options! Contest ends at noon tomorrow (Wednesday), at which time a winner will be chosen based on merit.

Or you can buy tickets here. And RSVP and invite your friends here. And look at a bunch of cute pictures of Katy Goodman here.

Reader David Gallagher of the Western Neighborhoods Project sent us these 1985 videos of a young Mr. Lucky interviewing some inebriated patrons of  Original McCarthy’s, which you may now know as Cha Cha Cha. Original McCarthy’s opened on Mission street in June of 1933.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

Nothing too exciting in the videos, but it’s an interesting snapshot of the era. Before the Mission was known as a Mexican neighborhood, it was largely populated by German and Irish immigrants until the ’60s. McCarthy’s was one of the last original Irish bars in the Mission. Even at the time of filming this, McCarthy himself remarks, “I’m close to 70. It’s about time to clock out.”

The interviewer, Mr. Lucky, still croons around town with his retro-jazz group the Cocktail Party. You can catch him at the Lucky Horseshoe in early August.

[thanks David!]

Duck Lake delivered on all fronts: the ballet part, the horror part, the comedy part, and the summer blockbuster part. And it stayed with me — I went swimming at Lake Anza the next day, and was actually spooked when I saw a raft of ducks headed my way. Must see!

And they’ve only got four more performances scheduled, so get tickets quick!

Rice Paper Scissors can do no wrong if you ask me. That porridge on New Year’s Day? That fried egg banh mi last Saturday night at Dear Mom? This video is no exception.

The point of all this is they’d like you to vote for them or something, but the main thing is that this video is reallllly good:

This gal Amanda knows:

I was looking forward to a real summer afternoon of day drinking, sunbathing, and perhaps a hot dog or three. I wore a yellow dress and brought some weed and a bottle of bourbon. When I arrived I was greeted by a random dude who guided me to a palm and bougainvillea-soaked backyard.

There were so many grown-ups and screaming toddlers. Despite the fact that I’m no longer a teenager and have bills, I don’t consider myself a grown-up. The difference is slight to the naked eye, and is definitely more philosophical, but it’s there.

There is a tone of voice in grown-ups. Much like that Hollywood accent in old movies, grown-ups talk about stupid things in a stupid tone. They also have small children, whom they dislike greatly, and speak to as if they were programming a robot.

I struck up a conversation with an elderly man who was manning the grill. We talked about The War. I slipped away to refill my drink and almost tripped over a tiny little boy named Oliver.

I dropped to my knees in order to see his eyes. “Hi Oliver”.

He looked at me and took my hand. Oliver led me to the punch bowl labeled Adult Lemonaide. His sticky hand lifted the ladle and he moved it around slowly in the punch, enjoying the sloshing sound.

Read on for Oliver’s mom’s reaction and the life-affirming conclusion to the whole episode.

[Map by Google Maps]

The mural:

The video:

Whether they’re related or not, they’re both compelling works of art. Watch the whole video here:

(Thanks to Jenny Gottstein for the tip!)

UPDATE: Got a relevant email:

thrilled you posted about me and my shark fin. kool kid is SF based (his mgr is the head booker for Yoshi’s) so i would guess he’s related to that mural somehow. not often you see rap artists taking up environmental causes.

we are a social media agency that works for the ocean (not kidding, it’s our client) and we’ve been promoting that video the last few days.

Do you know about this shark art tour that’s swinging through SF next weekend? thats what his video was promoting. http://thegreatwestcoastmigration.blogspot.com/p/migration.html

also, we put his lyrics up on rapgenius.com and asked shark scientists to put in their interpretations: http://rapgenius.com/Kool-kid-kreyola-me-and-my-shark-fin-lyrics

Rachel Dearborn
Upwell
project twitter: @upwell_us

There’s a new drink coming soon to the bar menu at Mission Bowling Club, and they were previewing it last night. It’s called the “Honey Bee” and it contains Tito’s Vodka and a number of fruit and flower essences and some other stuff. It tastes of honey but somehow it’s not too sweet. Perfect for a summer evening on the patio (or on the lanes). Be on the lookout.

As I pointed out in 2010, the giant posable wooden artist’s torso lunging out of the front of Flax Art & Design seems to be perpetually trying to take down the motel next door with a variety of art supplies.

Well, now the somewhat gender neutral figure has been dressed for battle.

Maybe people are more into drawing super heroes now that they’ve taken over the multiplexes. Or maybe it was just time.