Super Flax!

As I pointed out in 2010, the giant posable wooden artist’s torso lunging out of the front of Flax Art & Design seems to be perpetually trying to take down the motel next door with a variety of art supplies.

Flax V. Travelodge

Well, now the somewhat gender neutral figure has been dressed for battle.

Maybe people are more into drawing super heroes now that they’ve taken over the multiplexes. Or maybe it was just time.

Facebook IRL

Mr. Eric Sir noticed the interactive FB wall in Pica Pica, the Venezuelan place on Valencia and 15th.

Facebook wall IRL

Interesting approach. I like that they took the internet out of the interactions. Now they could take Facebook out of it and people could just write on a wall!

Related: My new suggested pick up line for hitting on internet people is “Wanna check out my URL IRL?”

Free cream puffs are imminent

Don’t miss out on free stuff as Dianda’s marks 50 years in SF. As a result of their tres leches, cannoli, and famous rumcake, this place already has a loyal fan base, but evidently they’re looking to double down. Come out tomorrow and tip your puff to an SF institution.

Adobe Books expected to close forever at the end of August

Mission Local reports, regarding a farewell concert held at the space last night:

Adobe Bookshop has been a neighborhood institution for 24 years, says Aaron Novak, who organized [last night's] event and flew out from the East Coast specifically for it. ”We’re doing this for the community, the people that come here every day.”

Due to rising rent and fewer customers, the store is expected to close August 31. [link]

Bummer!

Campos talks through the liquor moratorium


[pic by Hélène Goupil]

Mission Local has a write up about last night’s meeting with Supervisor David Campos, local business owners and residents. The owner of La Victoria Bakery wants to turn it into “a Latino-themed lounge and a coffee bar,” and Elixir’s owner wants to expand the 150+ year old bar into a space next door.

There are a whole lot of places to go to in the Mission if you’re looking to get drunk. Would a few more really make more people drink more alcohol? Maybe they would, and for many people from other neighborhoods an evening in the Mission means they’ll be staggering home by the end of the night.

Why is it so crucial to so many businesses that they be able to sell alcohol? Besides the markup, wouldn’t it be nice to think that there could be a thriving restaurant, bakery or foods store that just didn’t happen to have any alcohol? Dosa claimed that they needed to have hard liquor to stay in business on Valencia, and the city agreed. In the case of the corner stores, it really just seems like booze is what drives people in and makes sure they spend a lot more than if they just wandered out with a pack of gum. Considering the high rents in the neighborhood it makes sense that you can’t run a business on gum sales.

Are these businesses offering good enough times without alcohol? Or maybe the question is do they offer something that is greatly enhanced with it, and missing something without it? Would you go bowling if there was no liquor or even beer? Oh, and by the way, have you ever seen a movie . . . on booze?! You would probably go eat a dinner without alcohol, but probably spend at least a third less.

The business owners may have a good point, but in the end I think the biggest issue is that nothing loosens a grip on the wallet like liquor. People will pay more for anything when it’s part of the package, and they’ll do it with much less hesitation. Just throw on some fancy words like “muddled” and “artisan” and you’re in business.

Hopefully Dr. Rhodes is more adept at straightening backs than signage

20120613-082926.jpg

But seriously, who actually goes to the chiropractor? Let these sham doctors crack your back once and it’ll feel good for a week, but then it’ll act up again and you’ll just have to keep going back. And back. FOREVER.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been to see a chiropractor.

Spock vs. Noisy Punk Rocker T-shirt now available at Lost Weekend

Lost Weekend Video has had no shortage of awesome original tees, and the latest is no exception. Check out their recreation of the pivotal Spock vs. Noisy Punk Rocker on MUNI scene from Star Trek IV:

Here is that scene, in case you’re not nerdy enough to know what I’m talking about:

El Faro: just ‘Average neighbors’, nothing special

Uh oh, looks like the folks at El Faro have been causing their (apparently British) upstairs neighbors some feelings of indifference:

Maybe if they made a bit more noise while taking out the trash they could find themselves in bad neighbor territory, like Schmidt’s. In case you forgot, they’ve been duking it out for over a year now:

Or they could take it the other way. By leaving a few free tacos on their neighbor’s doorsteps they could earn the neighborhood’s first “good neighbors” sign. Now, El Faro, wouldn’t that set a good example for your sons, El Farolito 1 and El Farolito 2?

[via wbtc]

Toilet paper crisis averted

Phew! The Fayes Video sign board once again brings us back from the brink of collapse. This time by solving the age-old question of how toilet paper hangs from its holder. There is a right way and a wrong way. And now we have the proof.

Thanks, Fayes. Specifically for the photo by Mike, of the drawing by Alfonso.

In the interest of disclosure, I worked at Fayes in the years leading up to and immediately following the turn of the century.

The greatness of the signboard previously appeared here, here and here.

Popo’s Pizza opens Friday, we eat and report

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.