Mission Mission

Here’s another experiential theater piece that I wish I could go to with Katie & Brittany. It’s one night only, this Saturday, so they did a pre-interview with the producer:

When Brittany and I saw the announcement for PianoFight’s production of Roughin’ It III: Theater. On. The. Rocks that is being performed in a “forest setting where audiences, who are encouraged to pack a picnic and BYO-Libations, will enjoy fresh BBQ, cold beer and award-winning theater, comedy, music and dance while being taken on a journey into the woods and beyond” we were more than intrigued. Since it’s one night only we wanted to get the DL from the show’s producer Emma Rose Shelton before we attended to get a feel for what we are getting ourselves into.

Katie: So this show is made up of many pieces, how was that process?

Emma: We reached out beyond the San Francisco community and got a ton of submissions, close to 100 submissions from all over the US. It was crazy. Way more than we had anticipated. We read a bunch of scripts. We gave everyone specifications of what the property had – there’s a well, a swimming pool, and a chicken coop – these are things you can use to your advantage and please do. And so writers were able to tailor pieces to that.

K: Can you sum up the experience for us?

(more…)

San Francisco Magazine (part of the Modern Luxury publishing family) just put up a lengthy piece on the plight of the Mission-based “Local” business empire, which keeps getting picketed and vandalized and everything. The piece is called “Local, Cornered.” Here’s a good bit:

Looking back, Milgrom wonders if his troubles might have started as soon as he gave his businesses their names. “Maybe we should have made it clearer that our use of ‘local’ isn’t about being local,” he says of Local’s Corner, which he opened in 2012. “It’s about our sourcing. People really, really get riled up, particularly about the possessive s.”

I definitely pat myself on the back every day for not having named this blog “Mission’s Mission.” Read on for lots more quotes from Milgrom and the Flour and Water guy and some other restaurant guys.

[Photo by Less Jokes]

It looks like Arizmendi got approval from the city to move ahead with their parklet plans on Valencia, and now they’ve started an Indiegogo campaign to help fund the project. In their words:

We, the worker-owners of Arizmendi Valencia care about providing delicious, affordable and unique baked goods to our neighborhood. As a diverse cooperative, we also value community dialogue among folks of varying backgrounds and experiences. In this spirit, we want to build a semi-circular parklet in front of our store to cultivate comfort and connection among our customers.

It also sounds like they’re planning on having the parklet host a rotating mural series, and that they’ve already received interest from neighbor and talented local artist Sirron Norris. As someone who enjoys both delicious baked goods and sunshine, I couldn’t be more excited about bringing these two things together.

Last night I passed on my usual karaoke on Wednesdays at El Rio to check out what turned out to be three bands who really had nothing to do with one another. So glad I did though because I saw Vollmer – a blues/country/rock band that looks like the photo above. Real weird group of guys, pretty cool tunes.

Other bands included agro-female-fronted punk group Spider Heart, and classic-jam-band Sad Tires (brought me back to my Vermont days).

The longer you live in San Francisco, the more you fall in love with Sutro Tower. It’s visible from almost everywhere in the City, and when the fog comes in it’s like nature’s lava lamp. Here’s a rad picture for everyone that’s ever wondered what the view from the top looks like:

[Photo by Pete Kiehart]

While we’re on the subject, how is it possible that there no webcams of Sutro yet?

Poop is art. If you don’t believe me, just ask the wall of butts at ATA.

Each week on Roll Over Easy we share life tips, which are simple tips that we think the humans of San Francisco can use to improve their lives a bit, and we’re more than happy to repeat some of these tips here.

Two statements you never hear are, “I just eat pie all the time” and “I was eating this pie the other day and I was so angry”. So this week’s tip is simple: Do yourself a favor and eat a slice of pie. While Mission Pie is obviously the local favorite, I’m confident in saying that the best pie around is the Lemon Butter pie from Chile Pies. Behold, a very delicious pie:

First, Hoodline has the renderings of the condos that will replace Flax Art & Design. After years of their wooden guy trying to take down Travelodge, they finally lost the battle. The new condos will pay homage to San Francisco’s rich architectural history and – oh wait, it’s just another big boxy building.

[via Hoodline]

Next, Uptown Almanac reports that after thirteen years, Therapy’s furniture store on Valencia will close at the end of this month. The landlord increased their rent from $5,700 to $10,500, so, make of that what you will. It’s hard to remain shocked at this point.

[UPDATE: Image by Google Streetview inserted to clarify that the furniture store, on the left, is closing, while the clothing store is remaining open]

From UA:

In conversation, Whelan mentioned that he was never late on rent, and that there is simply “more demand for [Valencia Street] than there is Valencia.” Whelan believes that with the average “consumer on Valencia Street [being] a hyper-affluent tech person,” a Valencia Street store “becomes a billboard to promote [a company’s] brand.” The outrageous rent paid simply becomes another line item in a company’s marketing budget.

You know, like Times Square or something. Cool. Awesome. Love it. I’m sorry, I’m trying not to be so negative. But this neighborhood is being smothered by a huge pile of money. Speaking of money, you can save some by taking advantage of Therapy’s clearance sale!

There are about 500 bars in town, which means that there are about 10 birthdays a week. This past Monday, Kilowatt had it’s 20th birthday, reverting back to 1994 pricing and attitude.

I mean, everyone was super chill, there were a multitude of tasty beers and a steady stream of tunes from the 19nineties. Most beers were $3 and pool was 25¢, meaning that $10 could buy two beers, a congratulatory shot for the bartender, then a game of play with a quarter you found. Also, this totally happened at the table.

So, what do you think about wishing your favorite bar down the street a happy birthday? It’s probably soon.

[Thanks @ckchew]

-Chris Bunting

It’s not everyday that you see a guy with a billy goat beard toting a lifelike goat (with a billy goat beard). Also, that’s a lot of strollers.