Mission Mission

No big deal, just a picture of someone enjoying an El Farolito quesadilla, right?

Psych! It’s a picture of someone enjoying an El Farolito quesadilla in the East Village, NYC!

You can do it too: On the way to SFO, hop out at 24th St. station. Run into El Farolito and order that quesadilla to go. It’s probably a good idea to avoid the sour cream. Immediately double-ziplock bag it and toss it in your luggage. When you land in NYC 6 hours later, call up your friend and tell her that you’ll be bringing lunch. Don’t worry, as a previous mission resident, the concern of a salmonella infection will be dwarfed by her longing for decent Mexican food*.

Your clothes will smell like carne asada for a week, but the look on her face will be worth it. She’ll give you a big hug and tell you that this was a way better gift than the “Alcatraz Swim Team” T-Shirt you brought last time.

The question is, what can your NYC friend do for you? Imported pizza? Nah, contrary to what they think, we have plenty of good pizza here.

*The “Mexican” food in NYC borders on the terrible. Trust me when I say I wish it were otherwise.

My buddy Josh from the Mission SRO collaborative alerted me to a community teach-in and press conference going down tomorrow at Dolores Street Community Services on Valencia between 20th and 21st.  Here’s the what:

San Francisco city officials and low income housing advocates will launch the newly expanded 311 that will benefit the more than 18,000 SRO residents throughout the city.  Formerly utilized mainly for outdoor issues (potholes, graffiti, parks, etc.), 311 has now been expanded to address building issues, such as pests, inadequate heat or water, blocked fire exits and more.  Advocates and city officials will be hitting the streets to get the word out and encourage residents to utilize the new service.

The event kicks off at 9:30 a.m.   District supervisors David Campos and David Chiu will be in attendance, among others.

The Mission SRO Collaborative program is an interesting one, and one whose efforts we’ve been happy to highlight in the past.  The non-profit provides outreach and education to residents of Single Room Occupancy (SRO, duh) hotels in the Mission, of which there are around 50, housing around 2,000 people.

It’s nice to hear there are organizations remedying all the shitty SF homelessness.  Me, I just work for the Internet.  The Internet doesn’t help anyone.

Check it out if at all interested.

Behold this beauty from Sexpigeon!  M.C. Escher is shitting tessellated bricks right now.

Sexpigeon tells me this is the intersection at the bottom of the whole 1010/Potrero/Chavez/Bayshore mess.  Potrero del Sol is the park pictured.  Gasp.

Daaaaaaang.  Per Eater SF, Mission Minis has been shut down by the health department!

The cupcakery at 22nd/Capp, which opened just a few weeks ago, apparently failed to obtain the necessary permits to stay alive and kicking.  Their Twitter, however (tsk-tsks Eater!), maintains that they’re simply building a new counter.

Both the Mission location and Marina kiosk are now closed.  Looks like you’ll have to go back to eating regular-sized cupcakes.  As if you mind, tubs!

[Photo from magicbeanbuyer]

I know.  You want to do your part for Haiti, but you’ve already stuffed your face to the limit with Bi-Rite bake sale goodies and texted 90999 from your mom’s cellphone at least twenty times.  Well, there’s more!

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti is hosting a benefit tonight at El Rio (Mission @ Caesar Chavez) featuring quite a diverse collection of musical performances.  Headlining is Brass Menažeri, a frenetic, cascading rhythm of Serbian, Macedonian, Greek & Rajasthani Roma.

Other acts include the percussive jazzy stylings of Ezra Lipp and Ofir Uzier; Sean Lee with some one-man-banjo old timey twanging; Arthur Adams strumming some Haitian pop guitar (H-Pop>J-Pop?); and of course the Mission’s own La Corde opening everything up with some loud punk rock.  Makes sense, right?

$1 PBR and $2 well drinks!  Determine your own legacy of generosity at the door with a sliding scale that starts at only $5.  The music begins promptly at 8pm.

Get ‘em while they’re hot!  Just make sure you get a male, I hear the girl ones aren’t as good.

(Scrawled under the seat in front of me on the 22 this evening)

I just hope this is able to reach you in time.

Last night I ran into a hot tip that originated at Sean from ARAWA, and I decided to follow up. The lead was good: The Mission Police Station has a public restroom that is available 24 hours a day.

That’s right. Now you don’t have to stand up against the side of a building and pretend you’re just a low-texter while trying not to splash on your shoes. At least not in the area around 17th and Valencia. You basically just straighten yourself up, waltz into the lobby, motion to one of the two bathrooms with a smile and a raise of the eyebrows and the cops behind the glass will buzz you right in. It’s as simple as that.

Mission Loc@l posted a video (well, audio slideshow, really) behind the scenes at Arinell.

If you’re still on Windows 95, here’s the gist: employee Neil Aviles talks about eating “tons” of pizza (“like 3 slices… in 4 hours”… I’m pretty sure Andrew Sarkarati has broken that record), dudes passing out in the store, failed crank deals, mission gentrification, and yuppies.

Oh no he didn’t just drop the Y-bomb! Careful Neil… I got in trouble for that this week.

If you like listening to a proper English gal sing about anal sex, hot water bottles, and proper cunnilingus technique in a punky cabaret backdrop, you’ll love the Trifles! They are playing tonight at El Rio at around 9pm with the Barbary Coasters, and the Cheshire Rock Opera.

These guys are awesome and I wish they would play more often. Singer Linda Robertson is hella talented. She plays a bunch of instruments, was Miss Accordion San Francisco 2004, and is the author of a high-larious memoir “What Rhymes With Bastard“.

Here’s a video of them playing at the Makeout Room last year:

This high-riding cyclist, spotted outside Four Barrel, was able to generate admiration from members of both the cycling and motorbiking communities, groups who often find themselves at odds with one another (usually over disputes involving the bike lane).  While I tend to support anything that can elicit agreement between such diverse citizenry, and I applaud this guy for apparently commuting to work on such “cool shit,” I’ve got to wonder:

How is he going to get off of this thing?  Does he need someone at his destination to hold the bike while he dismounts?  Does he just pedal up to a parked car and step off onto the hood?  Does he have to trackstand at every intersection since he can’t put his foot down?

These are questions that need to be answered!

<photo courtesy of Bikes and the City>