Mission Mission

By Sunny Angulo

With a mother from the bustling capital of Santiago and a father from the coastal garden commune of Viña del Mar, Paula Tejeda is a wholehearted Chilean, with the perfect blend of sharp wit and breezy passion. She also happens to be one hell of a chef, and the proud owner of the latest incarnation of the Mission’s beloved Chile Lindo.

Paula’s been around the Mission since the early ’80s, when she began to forge community ties through her music producing and writing. As the oldest child in her family, she also learned to cook at an early age for her younger siblings. Her knack for churning out delectable goodies found a perfect pairing in the marriage to her ex-husband, Dennis. In 1995, the dynamic duo took over Chile Lindo’s closet-sized empanada factory in the Redstone Building on 16th, and a local favorite was born. Dennis developed a secret recipe for the thin Chilean-style pastry dough, and Paula supplied the distinct stuffing mixtures. Since then, Paula has parted ways with Dennis (“he’s still a very good friend”) and Chile Lindo has morphed several times. This past Thursday was Paula’s grand opening of a new outpost for empanada lovers: a satellite Chile Lindo on the Mission’s crackin’ 22nd street.

“Chile Lindo is actually sort of a franchise operation, at this point,” Paula joked on Thursday. “Well, I’m just one of the most recent owners out of a bunch of interesting Chileans. Senora Liverona officially named it in 1973, though I’ve heard rumors that there was even a lady before her. Then came Angelica Oviedo, and then I took it over. So, Chileans actually have deep roots in the community.” Um, true that. Which is why I decided to bring a Chilean with me to Thursday’s festivities – you know, for the street cred. (Enrique was swooning all over the place as soon as he smelled the ahi pebre, pushover.)

Paula (aka “The Empanada Lady”) is probably best known with the 22nd Street crowd for regularly hitting up Dolores Park and the Make-Out Room with her magic wicker basket of grub. (Nothing takes the edge off of some heavy dance floor action like a toasty empanada…) Her new outpost keeps the favorite staples of her mobile business: her classic beef empanada and her vegetarian offering, the jalapeño and cheese empanada. (Sorry, vegans.) At $5.00 and $4.00 respectively, they’re about double what’d you pay on the street in Chile, but hey, you ain’t in Chile, now are you? Paula does sweeten the deal when you order a dozen, though, by throwing in two freebies. Think on it.

“You know, the empanada actually goes back to the Muslims and the Arab world. When Chile was colonized by Spain, that’s how people survived, off of empanadas. The Moors were in Europe for 500 to 800 years, and empanadas were a staple of life – the Spanish moors brought them to Chile,” explained Paula. Hey, all the pilgrims brought to the New World was smallpox, so if you’re going to be a colonizer, empanadas seem a more thoughtful way to go.

My token Chilean friend, Enrique, was ALL about the lore of the empanada. “It’s like the hamburger of Chile, the Sunday delicacy. It’s a tradition to eat empanadas before an exam, to bring you good luck. I ate them everyday in law school.” Dang, heifer! I cannot vouch that empanadas will bring you good luck in the boardroom or the bedroom, but I can vouch that Paula’s are the real deal – extremely delicious.

The classic beef pastries (or empanadas de pino) have hand-ground spiced beef, a loooot of onions, raisins, a piece of hard-boiled egg, and olives complete with pits. Luckily, Paula plays it safe on the pit front and does without. She came up with the recipe for her queso empanadas herself. “Chilean food is actually not really that spicy, so the jalapeño is unique. I wanted to give it a little kick.” Chilean empanadas have a distinct folding pattern that signals the general content inside. The savory beef looks kind of like a stealth fighter jet when it’s wrapped up, and Paula’s queso option is crimped into the half-circle form that reminds me of my mom’s Mexican fruit empanadas. Chile Lindo is also currently serving wine and sangria from Esperpento next door. After several glasses of wine, Enrique generously gave me some vigorous sketches of the patented Chilean folding technique, just so I wouldn’t get it wrong. Thanks, Enrique:

What else is brewing for the Empanada Lady? She’s applying to La Cocina to get the support necessary to expand the business even further, including $50,000 to convert the tiny closet in the Redstone building into a fabulous espresso bar. “Expect big things at the 16th Street location. I’m raising the funds to build a complete Chilean delicatessen and café. We’re going to be serving Pastel de Choclo, completos [a Chilean specialty that combines hotdog, avocado, tomatoes and mayonnaise], and churrascos [Chilean sandwiches].” In the meantime, she’ll continue making her famous empanadas in small batches out of the Redstone Building and hawking them out of the café on 22nd Street.

The café itself is definitely the place to be on a nice summer evening. The crowd overflowing onto the sidewalk is like a who’s who of the latin Mission scene : Leila Navarette, co-owner of Radio Habana Social Club around the corner; Alejandro Murguia, a well-known chicano author and SF State professor; musicians from Noches Bohemias, artists from Mission Cultural Center and expats from Café La Boheme on 24th. The seating was limited, but people crammed in on top of each other, even stealing seats from Esperpento next door. The ratio of passionate discourse was directly proportionate to the amount of sangria being passed around.

Enrique was especially excited that the Mission would finally have a real Chilean restaurant. When I asked if he was sure that Chile Lindo was the only game in town, fellow revelers jumped in from all sides:
“Yes, this is the only Chilean restaurant!”
“Chile Lindo is helping the Chilean community! This is it, can you believe it, no other Chilean restaurant in the Mission neighborhood?!”
With that, Enrique added, “AND we’re Number #2 under Brazil! We’re going to make it above everyone!”
The World Cup reference sent the diners into a fresh furor.
“¡Salud! ¡Salud!”
“Yeah! Yeah!”
One woman across from me, Patricia Alvarez-Perez, wasn’t as exuberant as her companions. I asked her if she wasn’t excited that Chile was doing so well in the qualifying games? A dejected look came across her face.
“I only have cable, but not the Dish!” she exclaimed in Spanish. Bummer.

Thankfully, at least she had an “autentico” Chilean empanada. When asked why she was out chowing in support of Paula, she responded, “Well, she’s very strong, very persistent. And I have to support what she’s doing for the Chilean community – empanadas are just the beginning!” she answered. That was definitely the consensus with the crowd: that just by serving empanadas to the masses, Paula was bringing the community together in some small way. She bustled about and wove through the crowd in her signature red jacket, attending to every last detail and chattering with about seven people at once, including me.

“This is what I wanted. It’s up to each individual to give pride and integrity to their community. It’s very hard, but you do it. You find a way.” Paula paused from wrapping up to-go empanadas long enough to share some of her own Mission community favorites. “La Cocina, of course, is great. I’ve been working with the Mission Asset Fund for a long time, and they’re amazing. Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, also amazing. You know who else? I love [local muralist] Mona Caron. I love the work she is doing.”

And what about the Tamale Lady? Any competition there?
“Oh, no, I love her. Virginia is a good friend. I love the Tamale Lady. And I love being the Empanada Lady.” Apparently Paula loves everybody. Now if only the Tamale Lady would open up a bar…

Chile Lindo
For orders: #(415) 642-8887
Hours: Redstone Bldg – Saturdays, 10:00am-5:00pm
22nd Street Café – Thurs-Sun, 6:00pm-11:30pm
(website coming soon…)

Myles discovered a new talent:

Boy George impersonator available for private parties and bar mitzvah (castro / upper market)

Boy George can sing live, lip sync or do a meet-and-greet.

Most popular package includes 3 song tribute set (with hits like Karma Chameleon and The Crying Game) and a hour meet-and-greet with photo opportunities. This runs $75 in San Francisco.

Email me for pictures.

Serious inquiries only. If you would like Boy George to travel outside of San Francisco, or do a more extensive set, prices will vary.

Thanks

Boy George

If only I’d known about this for my Fourth of July party, am I right? Photo opportunities! Link.

(Note: This is the first installment of what will be a new series in which our buddy Sunny takes an in-depth look at something awesome about the neighborhood. We’re thinking of calling it “It’s Always Sunny in the Mission.”)

By Sunny Angulo

The Mission is a breeding ground for coffee shops and their requisite groupies, each one drawing their own line in the sand that separates their distinctive mini-fiefdom from the competition. So when my friend Greg told me that he was the new delivery guy for De La Paz coffee, I had to rack my brain to place the shop. That’s because the local small-batch roaster doesn’t operate a café, but supplies retail and private customers with their 100% fair-trade and organic beans out of their Treat Street hideaway.

They further piqued my interest when Greg told me that they make all of their deliveries via bicycle, and are the only shop to screenprint all of their packaging and propaganda on biodegradable and recycled materials. Sweet.

I swung by their warehouse, which they share with Kachusha “Chuey” Munkanta, founder and sewing wizard behind CHUEY BRAND caps. There I found the 3-person crew hard at work roasting a new batch of San Emilio beans from El Salvador, with colorful swatches of their handprinted labels drying on the table. (You, too, can own a used roaster for the low low price of $30,000!)

De La Paz Cofee is named after founder Jason Benford’s wife, MariPaz. He was bitten with the coffee bug while doing his graduate study in agro-ecology at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

“We studied sustainable farming practices, and spent a lot of time on small coffee farmers. I was struck at the gap between organic quality and high-end pricing,” Jason said. “We source only fair-trade and organic, and put a lot of focus on the small farms that supply the beans. Honestly, I got into this with the idea that I’d just be happy if we could get this message out to a larger audience and make organic accessible.” Jason has visited most of the farms that he buys from, and some of them are pretty cool. One of the co-op’s De La Paz sources beans from consists of 76 families, all of which own and operate their own small farms in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The collective model has helped the members set aside money for healthcare, childcare and educational opportunities. (For more info on fair trade coffee, check out the epic documentary Black Gold.)

So…do-gooder coffee, check. Mission warehouse with crafty co-tenant, check. Other things to dig about De La Paz? Their dedicated bike worship. Jason said that was a deliberate move on their part to complete the whole ecological package. They recently co-sponsored Bike To Work Day and donated “a shitload” of coffee to energizer stations around San Francisco. Greg Rodgers is the official man-about-town on his trusty Kona HUMUHUMU-NUKUNUKU-APUA’A, souped up by one of Jason’s friends to take on the hills of San Francisco with some serious coffee poundage.

I thought Greg’s personal best of 15 bags (roughly around 60 lb.) was impressive, but Sharky Senesac (real name) put Greg to shame with a fabled 105 lb up front in the cargo basket and 15 lb on his back. Showoff.

Sharky is the “warehouse guy” and very serious about his beans. “I love coffee.” Enough said. Over half of their average 1,000 lb a week are single origin medium roast, and I noticed that several shops around town sell both Ritual Coffee and De La Paz, but for different uses.

“Yeah, there’s definitely more of a curatorial taste for coffee right now, it’s the hot product. A lot of cafes will offer multiple selections to give customers different options, like a bar,” Jason said. “Somewhere like Mojo Bike Café uses our espresso products and Ritual drip coffee, but it’s the reverse at Haus who use our drip and pressed coffee products and Ritual espresso. A lot of it is how baristas make the coffee. It could taste totally different if it’s not made properly, which is why we place such a big emphasis on training café staff how to get the most flavor out of our coffee.” On that tip, Sharky is flying out to Texas to train staff at a new café brewing De La Paz coffee this week. Jetsetter.

What of the tense air of competition between roasters and cafes in the Mission? (Word is that non-competition clauses and loyalty statements are being circulated among the coffee triumvirate of Blue Bottle, Ritual Roasters and Four Barrel.) It definitely surprised Jason, but he tries to steer clear of anything smacking of pretension. “Yeah, I never thought it would be that crazy. You know, I don’t have a coffee background at all, so I guess I thought there’d be more of a communal vibe with so many people all interested in the same thing, more communal hangouts. But, I think we’re the only outfit run by a grown man.” Touché. It’s true that Four Barrel often reminds me of a giant boys’ clubhouse, industrial din and all. And Ritual is like being in a tattoo salon with wireless and no seats. Greg chimed in, “Well, we’re not a café, so we don’t have to worry about affecting an atmosphere and stuff like that. We’re just here to make good coffee.”

Yes, coffee: do the crew have their favorite beans? “Hmmm… well, coffee is a fruit, so it’s seasonal. We don’t keep anything for a long time, because you have different flavors in different seasons. Currently, I like our Costa Rica Las Lajas. I like how that particular farm processes their coffee, they dry it differently than other farms in the region.” Greg is into the nuttiness of the Peru El Norte, and Sharky likes the Brazil Poco Fundo. The Mission Blend is one of their top sellers (Jason thinks it has to do with the name), though it’s one of the few blends they do, as they tend to showcase the specific farms the beans come from.

One other perk that Jason is going to wish I hadn’t reminded people of? Somewhere on their website, De La Paz offers free delivery to all its customers – even individuals. He says they actually used to deliver to a lot of private homes, but now it’s mostly firms, plus the cafes and retail outfits like Bi-Rite, Blue Fog and RJ’s Market. Who is one of Jason’s favorite wholesale customers? “Rainbow Grocery, probably. I like what they’re all about.” He’s also into Stable Café at Folsom and 17th. “They do an excellent job of brewing the coffee the way it’s supposed to be made.” There’s a full list of the cafes that stock their beans on the site, but Haus and Pirate Cat Café are two in the Mission for people that want to keep it local and people do seem to like the coffee. I myself took home a bag of the San Emilio, which I’ve already drunk too much of. If you’re going to pick up an addiction in the Mission, though, I guess this is better than some other popular standards…

Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper, that ambitious beekeeping endeavor we’ve been keeping an eye on, is finally set to open — in about half an hour. For hours and more, see here.

Previously:

HMS Beekeeper: Chronicling the Opening of  New Small Business on off Valencia

Olu says:

It’s hard to be more twee than a boutique on Valencia Street.

Link.

Mission Loc@l (pronounced “Mission Lo-CAT-l”) this morning published a nice feature on Lost Weekend Video in which they talk to customers and employees about how in the hell the place can stay in business in the era of Netflix.

In Struggling Industry, Lost Weekend Video Remains a Mission Mainstay

From The Corner’s website, restaurant runner Timothy Holt:

This morning everything seemed cool- gorgeous weather, great plans, awesome Four Barrel Coffee and then suddenly I’ve noticed an email from Yelp telling me that the reviews I’ve posted on my own business, thanking the Yelp community and my friends for their support, had been removed from the system because the community had flagged my reviews. As I’m writing this email, the Yelp Community put The Corner on the Hot in Yelp section (what a irony).

I’m done with Yelp

(Thanks, Hector!)

To recipients of the Minnie Wilde/Ellie Olson mailing list:

After nine years of designer and boutique owner of Minnie Wilde and Ellie Olson I will be moving on to my next adventure!!

I have truly appreciated all of your business, support, friendships and fashion.

I will be liquidating everything in the store starting Wednesday, April 15th till Tuesday, April 28th, (Clothing, fixtures, furniture, fabrics, and racks!!)

The store’s last day will be Tuesday, April 28th please stop by for cupcakes and to say goodbye!

I hope to be doing some wholesale and continuing to do custom pieces in the near future if you are interested you can email me at: ellieolson (dot) olson (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks, Colleen!

Anybody purchase anything?

Photo by Amor de Cosmos.

Meet the newest addition to the La Lengua business community: Caffeinated Comics. From their homepage:

Caffeinated Comics is a cosmically cool café where coffee connoisseurs can consort and connect with comic book collectors in a cozy internet café with free WI-FI.

I’m a sucker for alliteration, so I’ll be there. Ever since Al’s moved over to Market, the comics scene in the Mission has been hurting, so hopefully this place will give it a kick in the pants.

Looks like there’s some kind of discount available tomorrow. (Thanks to Matthew T. Davis for the tip.)