Mission Mission

Holy moly. Mission Street Food is returning, for one night only, this Monday night, at The Perennial, the latest in a long line of game-changing projects by the founders of MSF, Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz. I can’t believe it’s been most of a decade since I got that first tip about what would become my favorite weekly routine for the 2 years or so that they kept it up. And I’m soooooo glad they’re doing a little reunion.

Reservations are closed, but they’ll take some walk-ins.

The Perennial/MSF crew writes about it here:

Eight years ago we tried something a little different. This was before Instagram and before Barack Obama was elected President. Actually, it was during an election season, and maybe that’s what’s gotten us a little nostalgic.

In October 2008, we sublet a Guatemalan snack truck to serve something called a “PB & J”(Crispy [P]ork [B]elly & marinated [J]icama on a buttery scallion pancake-ish flatbread). There was a moment where I was standing on the corner with a cooler of mise en place, anxiously waiting for Senor Gomez to bring his little food truck and that was really the end of the innocence. I saw another dude standing not too far away also waiting for something. He was my first customer and a line was forming.

Karen ran  from BART to join the fray that was the first night of Mission Street Food. She alternated between chatting with customers and running back to our apartment to bake cookies to sell to the line. We went home, started this blog, and  crashed. We did it again the next week and again the next. We moved into a run-down Chinese restaurant and did it again, while inviting guest cooks to join us. We liked to think that we were starting an indie chef movement. We ran 2 pop-ups each week and by the end, pulled off 140 unique menus. Karen called it the equivalent of planning a wedding twice a week.

And here’s what to expect on Monday:

We’ll have dishes you can’t get anywhere else from Chris Ying, Caitlin Koether, Jordan Grosser, Ted Fleury and yours truly including some MSF classics (like PB&J) and a bunch of newbies too. Music by David Cabello and karaoke in the bar. A few more of our old compatriots have promised to help, too. Come along and feel some feelings with us. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right?

Wooooooooooo! (And karaoke too!!) Read on for more.

[Photo from that fateful first night by Burrito Justice]

Here’s Jane Black in the Washington Post, telling us about perennial wheat:

The grain was Kernza, a new breed of wheat. Unlike the usual varieties, it is perennial, which means it grows back in subsequent years rather than being sown each spring. That matters because over time, the plant develops a deep, dense root system that helps to build healthy soil and to keep carbon in the soil, a counter to climate change. No wonder perennial grains have long been the holy grail for a certain set of agroecologists (visionaries or eco-weenies, depending on your perspective). Now here was Kernza in my kitchen. And, it turns out, in other places, too.

Patagonia Provisions, a new division of the outdoor gear company, this week releases the first commercial product made with Kernza, Long Root Ale. The Perennial, a new restaurant in San Francisco, is serving it, along with its house-made Kernza bread and crackers and a deliciously toasty Kernza ice cream. In Minneapolis, close to a large Kernza test plot, chefs and food artisans are using Kernza in tortillas, muffins, pasta and more. Minnesota-based General Mills is also evaluating the grain. [link]

Tonight in San Francisco, Kernza is having a coming-out party! Karen from The Perennial tells us about the event:

The biggest party we have on tap is actually a keg party to celebrate the release of Long Root Ale, a brand-new beer made of Kernza, from Patagonia Provisions. We’ll have kernza beer, kernza bread (with various topics from veggies to pork to housemade butter), and we’ll be screening Patagonia Provisions’ films on the food/environment connection. Eventbrite tickets ($16) are here.

See you there!

[Photo of the bread by Jane Black]

Mission Chinese Food has four (4) lamb dishes on the menu right now, so I was like damn we gotta at least order three of these, which we did – and then our server Lindsay, who is the best in the biz (and famous for comping Serena Williams’ wings that time), had the lovely idea of surprising us with the fourth, for completism’s sake.

If you haven’t been enjoying the lamb rib these past few months, you are definitely missing out. Add to that the lamb dumplings, the cumin lamb, and the lamb face noodle soup, and it’s a lambathon like no other. Highly recommend.

Here’s some okay pics:

At least a couple of these items don’t seem to be on the delivery menu, so best find a time to actually leave the house for once, you guys.

(Thanks again, Lindsay!!!)

See sfbb.com for more.

(Thanks, T!)

Chocolate + pumpkin = Sept/Oct/Nov in the Mission! (Only at Shotwell’s!)

Guac overload! RSVP!

Drink a few brewskies while you shop for brewskies? Cross your fingers. Capp Street Crap reports:

Known for its array of fancy liquor, the tiny market is pursuing a beer and wine license which, if approved, would allow them to start serving in the store.

Although letters have been sent to neighbors and a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control already hangs in the store’s front window, owner Paul Miller wrote in an email that the process could still take months – if they get the approval at all.

Read on.

[Photo by Google Maps]

Mmmm.

[via WesBurger on Instagram]

We stopped by for a pint last night and it was pretty cool. A rare twist on one of the most classic (and consistent) tastes in SF (and the world).

[Photo by Bender's on Instagram]

Now please enjoy all these past Drinks of the Weeks…

Those exact circumstances might be hard to duplicate — but you can definitely pick up Lo-Fi Aperitifs products at Royal Cuckoo Market on 19th Street, just a couple blocks from the park, which gets you about halfway there. Here’s what the bottle looks like:

And here’s a closeup of the label, which gives you a nice hint of what to expect:

And all those ingredients are local! Read all about it, and Lo-Fi Aperitifs’ other fine products, here.

Note also that this stuff goes really good in cocktails, like this one my pal Jess had:

(That photo is by Jess.)

Now please enjoy all these previous Drinks of the Weeks…