Mission Mission

If you’ve lived in California for at least a minute, you know about bubble tea, or boba. In its most basic form, it is a mixture of tea, milk, and a bunch of chewy tapioca balls (boba) that you extract from your cup with a giant plastic straw. Bubble tea originated in Taiwan, where the word “boba” also happens to be slang for boobs.

Our buddy Bin (aka YMFY) is about to launch his new boba tea shop in the heart of the Mission. He and his business partner Andrew plan to offer the traditional black milk tea as well as a few specialty flavors, all made from natural and artisanal ingredients. Last week, Bin gave us a preview of what lies ahead, and things are looking pretty tasty. Starting this week, the Boba Guys will be profiled in GOOD Magazine twice a week, so follow along as they build their shop from the ground up.

Think you have the chops to build your own parklet? This progress video for Fabric8′s parklet gives you an idea of what’s involved.

[via Curbed SF]

Tomorrow morning, 11:00AM sharp marks the beginning of this year’s 24 Hour Comic Book Day at Mission: Comics & Art. Artists have until Sunday morning to create an original 24-page comic book, without help from any preconceived ideas or storyboards, and the entire process is open to the public. Our very own Ariel Dovas will be participating, so stop by and cheer him on (and maybe bring him some coffee).

[Photo via Laughing Squid]

Yardsale is a new locally-produced app that combines the Craigslist buy/sell section, a thrift store, that free pile on the curb, and a third world street stall. That is, you can buy, sell, haggle, give things away, take things for free, and maybe even meet some of your neighbors — all through the comfort of your phone.

Ryan, one of the two guys behind Yardsale, recently contacted us and gave us a sneak peek. Within a couple days, I’d sold a messenger bag in a remarkably non-creepy transaction.

Check out some of the rad stuff up for grabs right now:

Most of you know about Deep, aka Trikeasaurus, and all of you by now have spotted the sweet triceratops parklet in front of his house (the first residential parklet in San Francisco, in fact). Some of you may have noticed the plywood barricade recently erected around Deep’s garage. As I was passing through last night, a friend of Deep’s (pictured) was in the middle of painting this triceratops mural over the street-facing portion.

Apparently, Deep is expanding his parklet back into his driveway, and construction is now underway. As for the mural, the plywood was getting tagged on the regular, so Deep’s buddy figured that a huge thunder lizard mural might be a good way to “keep things clean” until the new parklet expansion is unveiled.

If you don’t already know about the troll window, it’s right around the corner from Taqueria El Buen Sabor on 18th and Valencia. Currently, it’s rocking this epic display.

Earlier today, someone tried to donate a cannonball to the Salvation Army at 26th and Valencia. The SFPD bomb squad subsequently closed off a block of 26th Street in order to determine whether or not cannonballs are explosive. Results are currently inconclusive, but the cannonball has been removed from the area.

As you may already know, our bomb squad is known for accidentally driving over grenades. Makes me feel perfectly safe in this town.

Check out this sweet new parklet that just popped up in front of Fabric8, designed by Erik Otto. Built with recycled materials, it features planter boxes full of flowers, a color-changing light house, and four bean bag chairs. When completed, the parklet will serve as a neighborhood gallery of kid-friendly public art. Proposal sketches and more information are available here.

Anyone else disappointed by the larvae tacos at the SF Street Food Festival this weekend? Totally skimped on the worms.

[Photo via Mission Local]

Previously:

• Grasshopper tacos
• More grasshopper tacos

We stopped by the grand opening party of Photobooth yesterday, and were surprised to see the storefront (which some of you may remember as a two-story acupuncture clinic) transformed into a vast, high-ceilinged space resembling an Apple Store. Photobooth is a portrait studio, gallery, retail store, and a new addition to the Mission arts scene, run by local photographers Michael Shindler and Vince Donovan.

Shindler and Donovan, who specialize in Civil War-era tintypes and Polaroids respectively, run a live portrait studio in the storefront during open hours offering two modes of instant gratification ($20 for Polaroid, $40 for tintype). The retail portion is stocked with retro camera gear, including refurbished Polaroid cameras, the entire Lomography toy camera line, and Polaroid film from the Impossible Project. The space will also feature local photographers, host events and openings, and hold alternative photography classes.

Previously:

• Say cheese