Mission Mission

Chef Anthony (of Mission Street Food, Mission Chinese Food, Mission Burger, Commonwealth and Mission Bowling Club) has a grand new plan to open a fully charitable restaurant in the SF Food Bank’s warehouse. To make it happen, they’re trying to get a big grant from Mission: Small Business, which requires we all cast an online vote. Here’s the plan, straight from Anthony:

I’ve been sketching plans to serve food inside the Food Bank itself, in their warehouse, as a kind of a hybrid between restaurant and fundraiser. The warehouse is pretty exhilarating to behold with immense skylights and massive aisles of produce and 2,000-pound bags of rice being mobilized for distribution across the city. There’s a space in the middle that clears out around 6pm each day and could probably fit a kitchen on wheels and about 20 seats, and though it’s just a swath of concrete in a warehouse, I think it could be home to an extraordinary restaurant.

Apart from the dramatic setting and the idealistic nature of the establishment, I think it would also be able to transcend conventional restaurant economics and offer unparalleled value by way of non-profit partnership. Diners could make a donation beforehand to secure a reservation, then reap the benefits of subsidized food and labor, and the absence of tax and gratuity. Meanwhile, the Food Bank would use its savings on food, labor and overhead—all of which could generate over $1000 per night to feed those in need. It’s a win-win.

Read more! Vote here! (Log in with Facebook and then search for “Mission Chinese Food.”)

Photo by Jeremy Toeman.

When it comes to your usual array of Dolores Park activity enthusiasts, you’ve got your hula-hoopers, your tightrope walkers, and the occasional acrobatic troupe which may or may not feature people walking on stilts.  And then you’ve got our pal Chris Kalani, who has a request for our readers:

Find me more people who can do this with me in the park.

As much as I would love to join him, there’s just no way I’d ever be able to attempt that unless a soccer ball was involved (and then I’d probably blow it anyway).  But there must be some of you out there!  I mean, we don’t want Portland to outdo the Mission!  C’mon, who’s up for some tricks in the park?

[Link]

WIKIPEDIA SAYS IT SO IT MUST BE TRUE! EAT A MOTHERFUCKIN DONUT!

(Paul Suway wrtoe this post fyi. DONUTS RULE)

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.

The truth is out there. Or was out there. On someone’s driveway. Flickr’r Sangroncito reports:

I walked out of my front door and found this extraterrestrial lying in my next door neighbor’s driveway. When I returned an hour later he was gone.

Has anyone seen any weather balloons lately?

[via Sangroncito]

First it was Occu∏, then it was a tubular rainbow guy, then Occu∏ went over the rainbow guy, then it became a new tubular guy with rainbow pants, and now this.

Say what you will about Clooney’s Pub on Valencia and 25th, but it’s got one thing the other, hipper bars in the area don’t have: a coin pusher game.

Remember dropping your mom’s hard-earned tokens into these at Chuck-E-Cheese while she sat at the table looking tired? This one, decorated with “Just for fun” decals, has a few $5 and $20 bills sprinkled in there too, upping the stakes.

We pumped at least $1.50′s worth “fun” into this baby before some dude outside used the brilliant strategy of “kicking it really hard”, which is in fact pretty easy to do considering it’s right next to the front door making for easy escape. Not that it mattered. Even after this thing let off a shrill alarm sound upon being assaulted, nobody (including the bartender) payed any mind and the guy casually collected his “winnings”.

He kicked it like 3 more times and probably made at least $3.50 for his trouble. Then he proceeded to play the game legitimately with his ill-gotten quarters, continuing the circle of life.

Not bad, but I think he could still learn something from these kids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUAfIcUnxsY

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.

Mission Local reports:

“They can be very selfish,” says a blond, pretty girl with glasses and a striped T-shirt at 780 Cafe. She doesn’t want to reveal her name, which is understandable, because she’s about to fiercely criticize almost all of her past techie dates and assert that she will avoid them in the future. She knows what she’s talking about, she says; she has not only dated a handful of techies, but has also worked for a tech company.

“They have a lot of money and are very stingy all the same. They think that what they’re doing is the most important thing in the world. They schedule girlfriends the way they would schedule meetings.” She defines them as “socially awkward,” a term she is not the only one to use.

Uh-oh! (It’s not all negative though.) Read on!

Photo is of Neil D., who is not one bit selfish or stingy, but he works in tech and it’s possible he might be a bit socially awkward, but I’m not sure. Photo by C’mon Pony.

Hot on the heels of our most recent gustatory adventures in fun food combinations, we present the perfect marriage of Asian and Latin cuisine. Take some of the tastiest and MSG-laden seaweed around and dip it in some of the best salsa our neighborhood has to offer (from La Palma of course), and voila! A pan-Pacific party for your palate!

Previously:

• Guacamole and Indian pizza lettuce wrap recipe
• Hot dog recipe
• The Sushirrito
• CHINITO!