Mission Mission

Jason from Popo’s Pizza, the new pizzeria on 24th and Bartlett, invited us down to taste their pizza and drink beer last night. We like pizza and beer. We also like free things. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse (stay tuned for another Godfather reference).

Here’s some general information: Popo’s got it’s start in West Oakland where it has received some undeniably good reviews. Pizza chef Charles Hopkins (who for some reason introduced himself as “Jay”) is a graduate from the SF Culinary Institute and he makes his dough fresh daily. They are closing up the West Oakland location and moving here. He won’t only be serving pizza, either. Jay seems to have a thing for rotisserie-ing every kind of animal, so expect that to come a few weeks after opening day. Apparently, he makes some killer ribs.

On to the pizza, which is what we all really care about right now. Jay’s pizzas are definitely his own creations. If you’re looking for the NY-style Arinell killer, you wont find it here. But hey, not all pizza needs to taste like New York, right? Besides, we already have an Arinell. Bagels, I would argue, do need to taste like NY.

I realize that unconventional ingredients like BBQ chicken, mango, squash, and fresh-sliced gouda scream “California Pizza Kitchen”, but I thought it was tasty and the ingredients were of surprisingly high quality. We sampled  a few pies: “BBQ Pesto Chicken”, “Mango Prosciutto”, “Muzu”, and  ”Ham and Smoked Gouda Goodness”.

When Jay rushed over to drizzle truffle oil over my slice claiming he forgot to do so earlier I said, “that’s cheating”. But I’m not one to turn truffle oil down, so I had him dump it on all my slices, thus deliciously contaminating my entire sample set. Some scientist I am. He also had a side of some pretty mind-blowing blue cheese on the side that I piled on just about everything.

Near the end of our visit, Jay brought out a surprise dessert of cannolis which were so good that I wouldn’t dream of leaving them in the car. Unfortunately, these don’t seem to be on the menu.

Overall, I really enjoyed the za. Nick and Lily thought it could have used some more salt. The guys from Mr. Pickle Sandwich Shop (who were also there for some reason) didn’t stop scarfing down slices long enough to say anything so I assume they liked it too.

That being said, it’s not a quick grab-and-go slice spot common to the area. Their smallest offering is a $7.50 personal 7″ pizza. All their pizzas are priced the same ranging from $22.50 for a 14″ to $26.50 for an 18″. Due to the thinness and softness of the crust, I don’t think it will fill you up as much as a similarly priced Zante pizza (my go-to take out pizza) but will definitely be an interesting departure in terms of flavors. However, their pies to come with free salad and dessert, so that’s a bonus.

The restaurant is still under construction, but they expect to open tomorrow (Friday). Here’s the menu: Page 1, Page 2.

Tonight, at Mission Comics and Art, my brother Calvin Wong and his girlfriend Hellen Jo are back in the Mission with a release party for their new comics: Ramble On #2 and Deep Cuts. It starts at 7pm.

We recently lost them both when they took a gig working for Regular Show for Cartoon Network in Burbank. The show’s creator apparently likes to poach indie comic talent from the bay, and they also feature Berkeley’s Minty Lewis as voice (for a nerdy racoon) and writing talent. It is a a hilarious cartoon, though.

If you’re into this stuff be sure to pick up these hott, limited-print-run, comics and triple-polybag them immediately. Then obsessively look up their value in each month’s issue of Wizard comic book magazine and price guide.

Oops sorry, thought this was 1994 for a second.

If we were an early Pagan society with some kind of shell-based monetary system, we’d all worship Sutro tower. Like the sun, it’s huge and can be seen everywhere. Also like the sun, it constantly blasts us with helpful radiation (assuming you find TV helpful).

These days, we don’t turn towards it twice a day and pray for protection against the club-wielding apes, but we do take a shit-ton of pictures of it. Here are a couple more tributes from this week:

Local indie-music heartthrob Ryan Browne posted this soothing video montage he shot over the course of a few months. Check it:

WBTC points out that Therapy on Valencia, in addition to being a brick magnet, carries those dreamy laser-cut plywood 1/1000 scale models, if you don’t mind supporting a dude who allegedly likes to threaten other would-be-sutro-model-makers with legal action:

That’s it. Sutro bless you all.

Now here’s a set of pipes you can bring to the park without worrying about cops.

[photo by potential past]

Don’t invest in owl statue stock today. I have a feeling the entire pigeon scareowl industry is going down as the result of this damning snap at 16th and Capp that Mr. Eric Sir posted yesterday.

He adds:

While we may sit back and laugh at the apparent stupidity of the pigeons, sometimes I question whether we’re any less stupid.

That’s right, it’s time to start paying attention to pigeons. They don’t seem to have a problem chowing down on their fellow birdkind. They’ve even learned to ride BART. Next they’ll be taking our jobs and they wont need us around anymore. Hitchcock was right.

[via Mr. Eric Sir]

This old building on 15th and Dolores has been hiked up on stilts for a couple of months now. Wondering why? No, it’s not being relocated to Oakland to be cooler.

The short answer is that someone’s excavating the site for construction of a new building. The long answer involves some crazy-ass history including a Luterhan church founded by Swedes and an arson plot allegedly perpetrated by the Aryan brotherhood.

Intrigued? Read on at Curbed SF.

[photo by dexnandflexn]

Not a flattering week for Dolores Park. First it was covered in bile, next Crate and Barrel rebranded it as a designer cookware set. Gee, I personally like to think of public urination and casually buying drugs from a man with a wizard’s staff when I’m furnishing my luxury condo, don’t you? On top of that, people can’t seem to stop spelling it “Delores“.

Thankfully, satisticsandlies posted this stunning set of single line renderings of the park to cleanse your palate:

Isn’t nice to finally see a line in Dolores Park that doesn’t end in a port-o-potty?

This was the grisly scene from 24th St. BART this morning. Do bike thieves carry high-powered lasers or something?

Exhibit A: The mighty U-lock

Exhibit B: The security cable you use to lock your wheels

I prefer to think of bicycles being on temporary loan from the universe, so I guess I won’t be too bummed when someone collects on my $25 rusted Murray.

The Napper Tandy on 24th S. Van Ness launched their new look last Friday. The exterior has been overhauled and lit with extra-bright fog lights. The interior has been completely redone to match their discerning, classy clientele of football fans (no, not “American football”).

What, you don’t hang out at the Napper Tandy? I’ll have you know that Irish Public Houses are part of a rich, worldwide tradition of capitalizing on Ireland’s drinking culture, and providing a safe haven for English visitors who too squeamish to socialize in unfamiliar countries. Take part in that rich tradition this weekend, won’t you?

Not only that, the Napper Tandy one of the few Mission purveyors of the full Irish Breakfast, which basically two of every animal you can think of. This “noah’s ark” diet is excellent fuel for a mid-day nap. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why “Napper” is in the bar’s name.

Pig and Pie, the restaurant poised to take over the ex-Discolandia space, made a showing at 24th St. First Fridays last week. Hog and Rocks, now Pig and Pie? What’s next, Swine and Sushi?

During the event, they were selling some tasty-looking bratwurst and pickles. Unfortunately, I was too stuffed with tacos to partake. Sorry, but you try walking down half of 24th without gorging every two blocks.

The restaurant is scheduled to open in a couple of weeks, pending city paperwork approval. The fellow above confirmed that the “DISCOLANDIA” sign will stay to satiate whiny bloggers such as myself, but the hanging sign which currently reads “RECORDS” will be replaced with one that reads “SAUSAGES”. I guess that’s cool, since sausages are actually one of the few things I like as much as records.

You can scope the hand-drawn menu in the pics, or head over to their site for their predictably not-too-vegetarian-friendly full menu.