Mission Mission

If you’ve ever happened upon Amnesia on a Wednesday evening and was greeted by a gypsy jazz ensemble consisting of two guitars and an upright bass, a badass percussionist, an old Russell Crowe on horns, and a mad scientist on accordion, you have seen Gaucho. In fact, Gaucho has been delighting crowds and dancers weekly at Amnesia for nearly 10 years. And if you haven’t seen Gaucho, surely you have seen the mural over Amnesia’s entrance, which features Gaucho’s accordionist Rob Reich.

This fall, they’re releasing a new record, and like most Bay Area-based creative endeavors these days, they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the release. For those of you who like to support local businesses and the arts, there are 17 days left!

Bonus: Our very own Vic Wong is featured on two of the tracks! In Vic’s words, “it’s only rhythm guitar, so who cares,” but the answer to that is that WE CARE.

Wu Tang at Wo Hing! This is the Scotch Scotch Scotch cocktail from Wo Hing General Store, which contains blended scotch, absinthe, lemon, orange, egg whites, soda water, and a little bit of C.R.E.A.M. Is cocktail foam art the new latte art?

Keep your eye out for a full Wo Hing cocktail write-up, coming soon from Nicky P.

As we reported back in March, Weird Fish has reopened under a new possessor known as Dante, serving up new recipes for all of the classic menu items that we had once thought to be forever lost. Pictured above is Dante’s modern, stripped-down version of the formerly beloved seitan buffalo wings, aka Buffalo Girls.

You’ll notice that these newfangled Buffalo Girls don’t hide behind coats of batter and buffalo sauce, parading as meat. In fact, they are completely naked and proud, and free of any additional spice or flavor. Though the slabs (two, to be exact) did come with a deconstructed “buffalo” dipping sauce of watery red vinegar.

Now, let’s revisit the glorious history of Weird Fish’s Buffalo Girls in the diagram below (first photo via toliveandeatinla):

Yep, better than ever.

Among the many things for sale at the Fair Oaks Street Fair right now!

Once a year, usually during a particularly warm stretch of days, five blocks of Fair Oaks Street (between Guerrero and Dolores) transforms into a massive garage sale.

And I can’t think of a better setting in which to get your thrift on — this Saturday promises pleasant temperatures in the mid-70s, and Fair Oaks Street always promises to be one of the loveliest tree-and-flower-lined streets this neighborhood has to offer (as well as being a half-block away from the Ames Alley community gallery).

Plus, you can hunt for that perfect Mother’s Day present you may have forgotten to buy.

Reader Claire notified us of some interesting new branding over at Crate & Barrel. I have kindly reproduced the listed contents of the Dolores Park set below, for those of you who don’t have 20/20 vision:

• Burger/bratwurst sauce
• Barbecue sauce
• Burger press
• Insulated cooler tote (not the first insulated cooler bag to be associated with the Dolores brand, by the way)
• Mini-grill of some Nordic brand

Now, I’m not sure if this is due to the recent “discovery” of the Mission, the growing commercialization of Dolores Park, some disgruntled employees making a funny, or some combination of the above. What I’ve learned is that somewhere, somebody’s idea of Dolores Park involves saucy burgers and the cutest shade of lime green.

Or as Claire would put it:

Game over Dolores Park. Game over.

[Photo via joshuamcgee]

I’ve long wondered why the incredible Groger’s Western Store near 26th and Valencia has stood empty and abandoned for all this time. Today, we may be closer to an answer.

Apparently, these wild robots are a bit of a problem in these parts.

[Last photo via potentialpast]

A few weeks ago, reader Lily tipped us to a new mural-in-progress in Balmy Alley. Today, she writes in again with an update:

That new mural is now getting some paint on it. Looks like the riot police are kicking Adam and Eve (didn’t fit in picture) out of Eden. Also, those monkeys got some color!

Looks like the Hurricane Katrina mural is getting some updates as well:

From talking with the artist, she was adding more glued on artifacts (the picture glued across the hurricane damage are photographs the artist took of actual artifacts leftover after the destruction) as well as adding some lines, which:

1. will eventually have leaves and be vines/ivy to represent the vines/ivy that grew out of the rubble, and
2. will show the diaspora or displacement of New Orleans natives to other cities and areas of the country.

How’s that for a local art history lesson of the day? Thanks Lily!

There you have it, San Francisco’s staunchest supporter of the Second Amendment.

Heidi Swanson of the excellent 101 Cookbooks snapped these lovely photos of the Kinfolk brunch at Heirloom Cafe over the weekend. Sounds like these Kinfolk brunches are a traveling series that bring together local artisans and small businesses in various cities.

I’ve never eaten at Heirloom Cafe, but I have friends who live above it and I’ve peeked in a few times while waiting for one of them to answer the door. Anyone know if it’s worth a try?

See the rest of the photos here.