Mission Mission

Good news, via our Introduce Yourself page:

Mozzeria has opened! New modern italian restaurant at 3228 16th St (@ Guerrero) opened on Friday. Now serving dinner Tuesday through Sundays. Menu reflects diversity – traditional & nontraditional pizzas out of wood-burning oven, pastas, small dishes, deserts, Wine Bar, local beers on tap, etc. come explore discover enjoy!

Here’s the pizza menu:

pizzas

fresh mozzarella / neapolitan sauce / basil

sonoma fromage blanc / smoked salmon / dill

caramelized onion / fresh thyme / bleu cheese

pancetta / fresh mozzarella / caramelized onion

wood roasted japanese eggplant / red onion / yellow and green peppers / basil pesto sauce

roast duck / hoisin sauce / spring onion

Yum!

Old World Food Truck has been doing pop-up Eastern European and Jewish dinners out of La Victoria Bakery every Wednesday evening for a while now. Tonight’s edition sounds extra special. Here’s the full menu:

Chicken Schnitzelwich

Breaded chicken schnitzel, caraway-paprikah honey, apple, cabbage and red onion slaw, and horseradish mayo, on a brioche bun $8 (Eggplant version $7)

Brisket Borscht

Brisket stewed with beets, cabbage, and potato, with russian spices, served with rye crouton and dill sour cream $8

Mushroom and Cabbage Pierogi

Pierog stuffed with mixed mushroom and tangy red cabbage, blanched and fried on one side, comes with caraway sour cream, and fried shallot $8

Persimmon and Cured Cucumber Salad

with Straus yogurt dressing and herbs $5

Yum!

2010

• Public radio dreamboat Ira Glass tagged a wall in what appeared to be some sort of viral marketing scheme for This American Life
• Janebook lamented about lame-o craigslist Mission rooms for rent, what with their no-boyfriends policies, weekly house meetings, and fucking chore wheels

2009

• Chicken John tried to sell his warehouse, but apparently he’s still there organizing Dolores Park vomiting parties
• The Ghostbusters moved to the Mission, ditched the hearse for a more economical station wagon

2008

• The droids you weren’t looking were muralized to promote “Iron Rich Foods”
• Phat Philly, the best place to score some imported Tastykakes, opened. Do their onion rings still kick ass?

2007

• Somebody couldn’t wait to get to the park and did 7 whippits on the J Church
• Mother nature left some unintentional dead rat street art

Up top is a pile of pineapple-grilled onions, the kind you’ll find at Eagle Dogs. Below that is a frybread taco by Rocky Yazzie. Both vendors will be on the scene at the American Tripps Berlin-Style Ping Pong Block Party tonight at Z Space and Coffee bar (on Florida Street between 17th and Mariposa).

There will also be some classic Berlin cinema on the big screen, and lots of fresh new paddles to break in. And remember the party goes real late. (And pretty much all of the action takes place indoors, except for the beer garden.)

RSVP and invite your friends!

[Eagle Dog pic by Andrew] [Frybread pic by Kelly Delaney]

Things you can buy for $3:

• Jimmy Buffett’s greatest hits
• This zine
• A gallon of gas, and then some, sometime soon, maybe

Enticing options indeed, but none of these things will satisfy your stomach like two quick and dirty street-style tacos from Taqueria Vallarta. The 24th Street shop may be closed for pigeon debugging, but that hasn’t stopped the neighborhood establishment from opening a fresh new squab-free spot on Mission next to the 16th Street BART, and they’re slinging tasty $1.50 taco treats like nobody’s business.

The toppings are simple, straightforward, and to the point — all you get are two tortillas, a heap of meat, and all the cilantro, onions, and salsa you care to pile on top. Shown here are the al pastor and carnitas, but if you’re feeling adventurous go for the cabeza, lengua, or crispy deep fried tripitas — they’re all tasty as hell and worth a try.

Although there still seems to be plenty of disagreement over whether it’s cool to eat food in bars, one place where you will not run into that dilemma is at the Blind Cat on 24th and Treat, home of the chilaquile bloody marys Mondays.  To help reinforce that fact, our pal Tom is posting up outside the door in the evenings to offer you some of the most delicious drunk food you can find.

Starting this past weekend, the Eagle Dogs cart is around most nights of the week (Monday-Saturday) from 6pm-midnight and features your basic no-nonsense, scrumptious, California beef hot dogs with heaping mountains of grilled (on pineapple) onions  and a fetching assortment of condiments to balance it all out.  Just what you need to sustain yourself for the inevitable whiskey binge that will be happening later that night.

Stay up to date on all the rock & roll hotdog news on his Twitter and Facebook page!

Kevin over at Uptown Almanac today shares one big reason why we all need to head over to the Roxie tonight for comedy night. In short, because our buddy Jeff Cleary:

For those of you not in the know, he’s hosted dozens of shows at 12 Galaxies and The Purple Onion, has lived a hundred feet from Delirium since before it was ever called Delirium, is, as Sean Keane says, “basically the Mayor of the Mission,” and tonight is his last show before leaving town for the foreseeable future.  We’re all bummed he’s hitting the road, but tonight will be a one helluva send-off.

Hitting the road? Gee, Jeff, we hardly knew ye. Bone voyagee!

Read on for more choice Jeff material, or buy advance tickets to tonight’s show here.

Okay, so we all love cover bands and cover songs. How about a cover menu full of cover dishes??

Noise Pop in two weeks hosts a cover dinner at a secret location that’ll be just that — epic recreations of famously epic culinary wonders. Here’s the full menu:

Snacks from Ferran Adrià

Tartare of Smoked and Raw Arctic Char with purple Shiso Sorbet (Justin North of Bécasse, Australia)

Chilled Snap Pea Soup with Mint and Avocado (Charlie Trotter, Chicago)

“Homage to Spring” Ravioli Hedgehog Mushroom, Peas and Tarragon, Lemon Ricotta, Thyme and Onions, Roasted Garlic Cream, Artichoke (Quince’s Michael Tusk, San Francisco)

Grilled Octopus Tentacles, Chorizo, Fingerling Potato, Green Almonds, and Salsa Verde (Thomas Keller, Per Se, New York)

Aged Beef with Yamaio, Arame, Uni and Burnt Butter Soy Sauce (Susur Lee, Susur, Toronto)

“Tengo” Raspberry, Red Pepper, Parmesan Reggiano Cream, Sesame Pate Sucree
(Pierre Herme, Paris)

Further details and ticketing info here.

La Vallarta tacos just got a 17% price increase. That means 25 cents, non-math-dude. Up to $1.75 from $1.50.

The title of best tacos in town, in my humble opinion, goes to Taqueria la Vallarta. I have sung praises about these tacos and even admired their surrealist psychedelic mural here before. But last week I walked up to the register with a trio of meat-topped, lard-dipped tortillas and the total came to $5.25. All seven stages of grief occurred in a flash:

1. Shock – WTF? The five dollar bill in my hand can’t cover this!

2. Pain – Is this the end of an era? Has the economy finally caught up with the Mission’s last cheap meal? Is California, indeed, a failed state?

3. Anger & Bargaining – Señor, I assure you this is the first I have heard of this. This is unfair. You should have a sign up, or something. How about I skip the grilled onion, take one less radish and lime wedge, give you $5, and we call it even.

5. Depression, Reflection, Loneliness – Will this be my last taco? Maybe I need to eat more healthy. Say, I haven’t been on a date in a while. I think I have an overbearing mother.

6. The Upward Turn – Hey, looks like I have an extra quarter in my pocket that I was saving for my laundry change jar.

7. Acceptance & Hope – You know what? You guys deserve it. I have dreams about these tacos. I hope my humble contribution brings you riches, sir. ¡Viva la Vallarta!

Seriously, though. They deserve it. But, bummer.

[photo by mioi]

It’s a taco, made of a waffle, filled with home fries, grilled onions and cheddar, and topped with Louisiana hot sauce — and maple syrup. (Or maybe they call it “sizzurp” in Texas, I forget.)

A joy to consume.

You can also get them with fried chicken and bacon. Here’s the spot, Lucky J’s: