Mission Chinese Food chef to open ‘Mediterranean-inspired Japanese’ restaurant around the corner on 20th Street

His name is Jesse Koide and he’s been the top man at MCF for a long time (since founder Danny Bowien’s been busy opening restaurants in NYC and modeling for fashion shoots). Now he’s doing his own thing, but with a very Mission Chinese-style twist. Inside Scoop reports:

Like the original days of Mission Chinese Food inside Lung Shan, Pink Zebra and Tao Yin will actually co-exist within the space. So somehow, Koide’s experience in cooking at a restaurant within in a restaurant will be put to good use.

Pink Zebra will start out as a five-nights-a-week endeavor, serving Koide’s eclectic menu of Japanese and Mediterranean fare. There’s a little sushi counter in the space, where Koide and cohort Rio Sakai hope to serve an omakase menu; both hot and cold a la carte dishes will be available in the rest of the room. Pink Zebra and Tao Yin will share the kitchen, and Tao Yin will likely reserve a few tables for its regulars as well with a limited menu of its own on Pink Zebra nights.

“Basically, I would call it Mediterranean-inspired Japanese food. A lot of the stuff I end up making is influenced by Japan, and my experience with Italian food,” says Koide, who has worked at  Ichiban Sushi, Moshi Moshi, Blowfish Sushi, Bar Tartine and Farina, among others.

Yeah, it’s called Pink Zebra. Boom! Read on for more details and a tidbit about what’s gonna happen at MCF.

[via Eater SF]

8 Responses to “Mission Chinese Food chef to open ‘Mediterranean-inspired Japanese’ restaurant around the corner on 20th Street”

  1. Dizzy Cow says:

    That sounds amazing, can’t wait to try it.

    Somewhat related, we went to Mission Chinese last night and it was awesome. We’ve only been ordering to go orders for the past few years and have noticed the quality seeming to drop off a bit, this was our first time in the restaurant since February. So the question is; has it just been that the to-go orders haven’t been getting the same quality as the in-house orders, or do they have a new chef, or what? I’m hoping this meal was a sign that MCF is on it’s way back to the quality they used to have.

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      I’ve always found that the to-go/delivery food from Mission Chinese was several notches below the food in the restaurant itself, on the quality scale, sadly.

  2. two beers says:

    phew! just when I was thinking there aren’t enough places to eat in the Mission!

  3. Hella dude. says:

    Togo food is always worse, IDIOT. It sits for a while before it is delivered, this making the quality far less than dine in, duh. You people need to get out more, or figure out how a restaurant is ACTUALLY run.

    • Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:

      You have no idea what you’re talking about.

    • I can’t help but reading this in Napoleon Dynomite’s voice.

      Would it matter if I said we pick it up right out as it comes out of the kitchen and we live next door… and it used to be fantastic? You probably still think I’m a friggin idiot. http://youtu.be/SgrGLv1nMh8

    • Pacific Standard Simon says:

      As long as you’re handing out free advice to other people, may I return the favor and suggest that you take an “English as a second language” course at City College?

    • scum says:

      Togo’s make a pretty decent sandwich for fast food.