Mission Mission

Drawing you in and shutting you out.

Previously seen at The Elbo Room.

(Presidio Bowl by Thomas Hawk)

A few weeks after hearing that some high end exclusive club (that also happens to let you bowl for a small fortune) plans on opening in SoMa* Paolo Lucchesi tells us that Brooklyn Bowl might be planning to open a new location on Mission Street. Unlike Berkeley Bowl**, Brooklyn Bowl actually has bowling.

Taking a look at the Brooklyn Bowl website, I’m  wondering how much less of scene this place is. I guess it’s unrealistic to just want some lanes and a pitcher of beer. The food looks good, realistically expensive. $25 bucks for half an hour of bowling. Not too bad, I guess, if you’ve got a bunch of friends. But is this place cool? Can you go there without spending a week’s paycheck? Can I wear a white t-shirt? Do you have to come straight from Medjool?

Anyone been there? Is this what people want to have on Mission Street?

*Seriously, no white t-shirts? You open a bowling alley and kick out the rockabillys and greasers? I get that you don’t want poor people, but someone has to actually throw some balls down some lanes at some point, right? Or is it really just decor? What if I come dressed in a bathrobe or a purple jumpsuit? No, you’d throw me out. I have to bowl in a dress jacket? But I bet it’s all right if I unbutton it enough to show most of my chest, as long as a white t-shirt isn’t covering my chest hair.

**That’s right, Berkeley Bowl, I haven’t forgiven you for kicking me out just for tossing frozen tofurkeys down the aisle at a row of soy milk bottles!

I know we’ve all been waiting a long time, but the day is here at last and Arizmendi is finally ready to serve you delicious savory and sweet pastries (in addition to the best tomato-less pizza around) all day, every day.  Even though we’ve been stopping by for free samples the past few weeks in hot anticipation, we just had to check out the official opening ourselves to see what the scene would be like.

Savory

And what a scene it was!  A friendly milieu of fixies and strollers, everyone happy to have the opportunity to finally enter the bakery on such a wonderfully sunny day.  There was even a video camera crew from a local food blog asking one of the workers (soon to be co-owners–that’s the beauty of this place) about the elusive “Chocolate Thing” that seems to be such the favorite that it sells out within an hour of morning opening.

Sweet

While we were definitely drawn to the tempting display of both sweet concoctions (the tantalizing brioche knots and pecan rolls) and savory treats (especially the zampano, a roll sprinkled lightly with cheese and pepper), we just had to get our first try of their ever-changing but always delicious pizza.  It had that chewy yet firm consistency that has become the trademark of the cooperative bakery, topped with a pungent mixture of cheese that complemented the baked mushrooms nicely.  Truly worth it despite the scorching weather.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s pie will be!

Pizza Time!!!

When I was in 4th grade, it was simply impossible to imagine a haircut more cool than a mohawk or a flat-top. Luckily, Mary’s Beauty Salon on 18th and Mission offers both of them.

Or maybe this is a reference to the 1988 Japan-only Famicom side-scrolling 2d platform title: “Flaptop and Mohaw”, which Super Mario Brothers 3 was pretty much based on (they just changed the sprites). Seriously, look it up.

Travis snapped this picture in front of Modern Times and asks the above question.  To which we say, at least this fellow has the courtesy to act consistently with what he is advocating; unlike, say, these law-bending scofflaws.

Previously:

Banksy Weighs in on Sit-Lie

As one of the most revered coffee shops (gauged by Craigslist Missed Connections per week) in the Mission, Philz is always on the lookout for ways to increase the number of ways to serve you, the customer.  We’ve seen cupcakes, donuts, and empanadas; but we haven’t truly gotten a sense of the cafe’s plans for 24th Street domination until now, thanks to secret documents recently unearthed by local rabble-rouser brainslip:

El Philzolito
Burritos, tacos, etc. Chipz $0.50.

Philzeist
Porta-Potty packed smokey watering hole.

Philzamunde
Palestinian take on upscale sausage.

Phjlz Belgian Phrjtz
Benelux cone-based appetizers.

Read on for the rest.

[Photo by Premshree Pillai]

Previously:

Deal of the Year: $200 Annual Bottomless Miller Pint at Clooney’s

I actually know a couple of veterans of the Coffee Wars. Most of them switched to tea. A few defectors are said to still be in hiding at McLaren park.

[via the entire internet, and Killing My Lobster]

Mission-based Pirate Cat Radio has been through some tough times. Last year, they were fined $10,000 by the FCC and forced to limit their streams to the internet exclusively.

Now they have an unique opportunity to take the “Pirate” out of “Pirate Cat” and get a legitimate FM license. Yup, they want to become a real, legal radio station. Does this mean we’ll be hearing more Red Hot Chili Peppers on their playlists? Because, let me tell you, I just don’t get enough of those guys on the radio.

The only obstacle is an astronomical fee of $60,000. In two weeks. If they had a soundboard, this is where they would cue the reverse slide whistle.

They’re going to have to sell a shit-ton of coffee to get there, but you can help them out on their kickstarter campaign. Pledging $25 gets you a T-shirt and a sticker. So if you like what they do, help them out and wish them luck.

[More info at Pirate Cat Radio]

Still haven’t decided what to get for lunch yet and happen to be in the Mission area?  Why not stop by the new Arizmendi Bakery on Valencia by 23rd, where the friendly staff is currently dispersing free samples of their delectable pastries and pizza to anyone who happens to be walking by.

Although they’re not really opening until next week or so, the crew was hard at work in the back training to make sure they make it out of the gates as flawlessly as possible.  This is a great opportunity to get taste why we’re so lucky to have this awesome Co-op in our neighborhood!  Favoring the savory over sweet this morning, I opted for one of their signature ‘potatoes on pizza’ focaccia  and was not disappointed.  Give it a shot!

fig. A

I was just wondering, as I walked around the other night, if the sign at Skylark (fig. A) and the letters hanging in the window at Therapy (fig. B) came from the same source.

fig. B

And so, if they did . . . what might the letters have advertised before they were broken up? Hmm? So talk, Mr. Sky.