Here’s what the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary fireworks show looked like from the Mission

I think it goes pretty good with this Stripminers song:

(It’s the singer from the Donnas, and they’re playing Brick & Mortar Music Hall on Thursday.)

Woken up by parade sounds

I like it, because it feels like you’re in Black Orpheus. But not everybody likes it :(

But, c’mon:

[via C'mon Pony]

Weekend weather recap

The weather was kind of okay over the holiday weekend (if you were able to find a nice protected backyard in which to BBQ). But also:

YEAH!

Hot new look for summer: Star-spangled dolphin squad

I am stupendously enamored of this shirt.

[via Matt]

This is why you should flip in your side mirror when you park on the street

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As fun as it may be to leave clothesline booby traps for cyclists attempting to traverse the narrow gap between the parked cars and moving cars, if you forget to flip it, some bigger car will always come around and do it for you.

Pickle popsicle

A complete guide to Hog & Rocks’ ham selection

The first couple times I went to Hog & Rocks, the schmancy joint on 19th and San Carlos that bills itself as San Francisco’s first ever ham and oyster bar, I skipped over the namesakes and went straight for the entrees (and cocktails, their cocktails are outstanding.) Recently I discovered I was totally missing out. I’m not an oyster enthusiast and lots of places have oysters, but the meats at this place are really something special. Each mound of prosciutto, Serrano ham, etc. is paired with something to bring out the meat’s specific flavors, from pickled grapes to mozzarella. The other night we ordered the large sampler and tasted all the current selections. Here’s some specifics:

  • La Quercia prosciutto with pickled grapes: subtle and smoky, smoky like a barbeque not a chimney fire. If you’re not into salty, this is definitely the best pick.
  • San Daniele prosciutto with fresh mozz: Probably the saltiest on the menu but I liked it a lot. Dry and intense, like it’s 10% of the way to becoming jerky. The mozzarella doesn’t do much except maybe cut the saltiness a little.
  • G&W Hammery with pickled onions: creamy and fresh tasting. The onions were pickled in red wine vinegar like the onions on fancy burgers, which are pretty clearly great.
  • Redondo Iglesias Serrano ham with sun-dried tomatoes: Another salty one, also good. Not quite as intense as the San Daniele and the tomatoes were just okay, but still a good pick.
  • Broadbent’s ham with Fresno chile syrup: gross, imho. The meat was bland and chewy. The syrup was overly sugary, and it didn’t capture the orange-bell-pepper-y deliciousness that makes Fresno chiles great (see Youk’s.)

Happy ham-eating!

[photo]

Mission Chinese Food is about to go on summer vacation, so eat up while you still can

Chef Anthony of MCF just called to let us know that the…

SF branch of Mission Chinese will be closing soon for our annual summer vacation, when the owners of Lung Shan go back to China. We will be closed starting May 30 and will reopen June 14. (NY will stay open, of course.)

Thanks, Anthony!

[Photos by tudorose]

I went to the Marina for the Golden Gate Bridge’s 50th Anniversary

I was a little boy. My dad took me, and I had a lot of firsts that day:

  • My first experience with a real shit-show
  • My first time seeing (and RIDING ON) an articulated bus
  • My first time riding in a taxi
  • My first time walking lots of miles
  • My first time staying out really late

(Now I do all those things all the time!)

Don’t remember much about the festivities except that there were a jillion people on Marina Green and I was right at butt-height, and there were fireworks. Mainly I remember the odyssey that was trying get the hell out of there afterward. Tried a taxi but got out after a block or two because gridlock was so bad we weren’t getting anywhere. So we walked what seemed to me at the time to be about 30 or 40 miles through the Marina and North Beach before we were able to catch a bus that would get us where we needed to go. This was also my first experience with the stress of transit logistics, and I still feel that same exact dread now when I can’t get a cab or my bus doesn’t show up when Muni Alerts says it’s gonna.

I don’t think I’m gonna go to the Marina tonight for the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th Anniversary party.

(I wrote this post for Tumblr originally but then I was like fuck it.)

Hijacking the Scientology float

So there was a Scientology float in the Carnaval parade:

And then this happened:

Carnaval rules!

[via Meesha]