Mission Mission

Some news from our pal Lizzy (who recently left California, incidentally):

I was just in a coffee shop with a lot of succulents and salvaged wood, serving Stumptown Coffee, and overheard someone saying “what I’ve heard is, if you leave California, you have to get used to not being special anymore.” [link]

Yup. Guess I won’t leave.

[Shirt by Cool Try]

The Bold Italic is taking San Francisco on tour, showing off a bunch of the best of SF to our neighbors up and down the west coast. It’s called the Bold Rush and it kicks off tomorrow:

Between Friday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Oct. 7, we’ll be caravaning from Southern California to the Northwest with a few of our favorite San Francisco treats to share with our sister cities, including local goods in our pop-up shop, an art show curated by Dan Johnson Lake, Vietnamese spring rolls from Rice Paper Scissors, and Berlin-style ping-pong with American Tripps. We’ll also be collaborating with like-minded locals, including Poketo, Syrup Jeans (members of Beachwood Sparks), M’Lady’s Records, Eyes + Edge, Paxton Gate Portland, Hand-Eye Supply, Imaginary Authors, Hardly Art, Artache Market, Don’t Talk to the Cops!, the Maxines, and others.

(Emphasis ours.) RSVP and invite your friends to the Los Angeles event here, Portland here, and Seattle here.

During this period, the Bold Italic will be featuring content by writers from each of the other cities too, so us San Franciscans can get a taste of them while they get a taste of us.

Chris Six seriously wants to know.

[Photo by Carina]

Late last night, completely inexplicably, a reader identifying himself as Some Guy in North Dakota left a message on our Contact Us page.

I have been reading your website all evening. I didn’t know I could connect to websites on other friggin’ planets.

Being from North Dakota, all I can say is “Wow”. Maybe I should include “Whew!” WHAT IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE???

There are about as many people in this entire state as there are in SF. The few that dress/act/talk/think like you folk get put in our State Mental Hospital.

I am stunned. Amazed. (mostly stunned).

Is there something they put in the water there? What’s the deal?

I just do NOT get it. [link]

Me neither! But thanks for reading!

[Map by Google Maps]

Dang, and you thought Mission rentals were bad. In Nob Hill, you gotta pay $450 a month for half a bed:

________ Looking for a full time male employee or student who is a currently working or studying professionally,clean, responsible, respectful and trustworthy ( prefer morning shift ) ideally someone with less belonging and less stuffs

*** Perfect location for business traveller / short term visitor / new commer / someone needs a temporary place before moving on / or who currently work and study closed by financial district / someone travelling locally or around downtown San Francisco

At least there are some partition pillows to enforce stay-on-your-side, but ‘cmon. The guy could at least get his shit together and get a bunk bed.

[Craigslist via CurbedSF]

The world burrito tour continues!  When MM reader Keturah checked out the previously mentioned Dolores Burritos in Berlin last summer, he came away slightly unsatisfied by the experience.  Not looking to repeat that ordeal, he decided to try something new:

This summer, I have discovered Taqueria Ta’Cabron!  The burritos are pretty huge – an order of guacamole and a burrito is plenty for two people to split.  There are a few odd things about presentation, though.  For starters, the burrito is wrapped in paper, kinda like a doner kebab.  Sour cream is served on the side.  Everything is spiced perfectly, although it could really be saucier (the salsa, etc is also served on the side).  The beer selection is not as fancy as Mission Delores (Dos Equis & Corona), but they do have a HUGE selection of tequila.  Located in Kreuzberg (a neighborhood not unlike the mission), it seems super popular with Americans, and the staff speaks Spanish as well as German and English. The menu also offers tacos, enchiladas, tamales and tostada de ceviche, though I haven’t gotten past the burritos and guacamole – maybe next trip!

Apparently people have been saying good things about this place, so I suppose it’s worth a shot if you find yourself in the area but tiring of schnitzel and soljanka.  At the very least, it beats the burritos in Paris!

At the very least, it’s way better than a Paris burrito!

Previously:

• This is a burrito in Korea
• On the other hand, this Korean “burrito” was damn good
• NYC ‘burrito’
• Guten Tag! Mission Burritos in Berlin!

This gal Amanda knows:

I was looking forward to a real summer afternoon of day drinking, sunbathing, and perhaps a hot dog or three. I wore a yellow dress and brought some weed and a bottle of bourbon. When I arrived I was greeted by a random dude who guided me to a palm and bougainvillea-soaked backyard.

There were so many grown-ups and screaming toddlers. Despite the fact that I’m no longer a teenager and have bills, I don’t consider myself a grown-up. The difference is slight to the naked eye, and is definitely more philosophical, but it’s there.

There is a tone of voice in grown-ups. Much like that Hollywood accent in old movies, grown-ups talk about stupid things in a stupid tone. They also have small children, whom they dislike greatly, and speak to as if they were programming a robot.

I struck up a conversation with an elderly man who was manning the grill. We talked about The War. I slipped away to refill my drink and almost tripped over a tiny little boy named Oliver.

I dropped to my knees in order to see his eyes. “Hi Oliver”.

He looked at me and took my hand. Oliver led me to the punch bowl labeled Adult Lemonaide. His sticky hand lifted the ladle and he moved it around slowly in the punch, enjoying the sloshing sound.

Read on for Oliver’s mom’s reaction and the life-affirming conclusion to the whole episode.

[Map by Google Maps]

Earlier today, Andrew stuck his nose up at a Korean rendition of our official neighborhood dish. Fortunately, that burrito is not representative of all burrito offerings in Korea.

This is a burrito from the Taco Habanero truck in Hongdae, and it was one of my favorite things in Seoul (and there are a lot of good things in Seoul). This wonderful grilled tortilla pocket is filled with seasoned rice, kimchi, Korean BBQ, and the tastiest habanero salsa.

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. It’s not a burrito. It doesn’t look like a burrito, at least not in the cylindrical form we all know and love. And yeah, there’s no beans. And there’s all that Korean stuff. Fine. Geometry, semantics, and content aside though, this “burrito” was so freakin’ delicious.

Here’s the truck, in case you’re ever in Hongdae and happen to work up an appetite.

[Photos via Taco Habanero and just_a_cheeseburger]

While we’re on the subject of burritos in other countries, our pal Ashley reminded us about her first experience with a burrito in Korea.  Let’s see what we’ve got here:  Kidney beans, steamed white rice, lettuce, cabbage, sliced olives, and melted cheddar all contained within a rather hastily wrapped tortilla.  I suppose that if you were trying to describe a burrito in the most basic sense to someone who has never seen or tasted one (“yeah dude, it’s easy–just rice, beans, cheese, and some veggies in a tortilla”), then it’s conceivable that this is something they could come up with.  On the other hand, just no.

Previously:

• This is a burrito in Paris

Although French cuisine may be celebrated as some of the finest and most influential in the world, our pal Natalie discovered that the lofty reputation unsurprisingly did not apply to Mexican food, as she recently endured what appears to be the saddest burrito ever assembled.  When asked what might be found within this astoundingly pathetic tortilla wrap-job (even worse than in NYC), she tentatively replied:

Shredded beef and cheese, there might’ve been beans but I didn’t eat it so I’m not sure!

Smart move, Natalie.  I’m not sure how hungry and homesick I’d have to be in order to scarf down this “wet” burrito slathered in some sort of tomato-esque sauce with a dollop of sour cream, served with a side of burnt white rice and Shirazi salad.  On the plus side, one thing they did manage to get right was the chip-to-guacamole ratio.

Wow, they sure do it better in Berlin.

Previously:

• Guten Tag! Mission Burritos in Berlin!
• Another Mission Review of Dolores Burritos in Berlin
• NYC ‘burrito’
• NYC Burrito Makers Have Weak Arms
• Mission Burritos for Rhodes Scholars