Mission Mission

They’re taking over the El Zocalo space, right on Mission Street, a little closer to the Mision. It’ll be bigger, and it’ll have a bigger menu too. Bernalwood, which claims this new Emmy’s location will complete the Bernal/La Lengua Liminal Zone ”Bermuda Triangle of Yum,” has the scoop:

Restauranteur Emmy Kaplan, a native of the neighborhood and a fixture in the local culinary scene since opening her original location 13 years ago, is excited about both expanding the restaurant’s square footage as well as helping preserve the character of the neighborhood by remaining at the juncture of the Mission and Bernal Heights.

“The current location of the Shack is over capacity, the lines are long and we’re constantly turning away large parties,” says Kaplan. “I’m really looking forward to sharing more of what we love with the people who love us with more legroom for our regulars and new friends as well.”

Yeah I popped in at about 8:30 last night and there were five parties waiting ahead of me. On a Tuesday! (So I went to PizzaHacker.)

Read on for lots more on Emmy’s, and what’s happening with El Zocalo.

Here’s another experiential theater piece that I wish I could go to with Katie & Brittany. It’s one night only, this Saturday, so they did a pre-interview with the producer:

When Brittany and I saw the announcement for PianoFight’s production of Roughin’ It III: Theater. On. The. Rocks that is being performed in a “forest setting where audiences, who are encouraged to pack a picnic and BYO-Libations, will enjoy fresh BBQ, cold beer and award-winning theater, comedy, music and dance while being taken on a journey into the woods and beyond” we were more than intrigued. Since it’s one night only we wanted to get the DL from the show’s producer Emma Rose Shelton before we attended to get a feel for what we are getting ourselves into.

Katie: So this show is made up of many pieces, how was that process?

Emma: We reached out beyond the San Francisco community and got a ton of submissions, close to 100 submissions from all over the US. It was crazy. Way more than we had anticipated. We read a bunch of scripts. We gave everyone specifications of what the property had – there’s a well, a swimming pool, and a chicken coop – these are things you can use to your advantage and please do. And so writers were able to tailor pieces to that.

K: Can you sum up the experience for us?

(more…)

[via Tom Tomorrow]

After coming across SF Weekly’s online archive, TK over at 40 Going on 28 gives a modern perspective to their 1990s take on the local food scene.

There’s lots of fun stuff in there, but I’m enjoying reading the restaurant reviews, mostly because almost every restaurant reviewed no longer exists and because the prices listed for the food seem hilariously low.

Anyone remember Paella La Movida, on 16th between Guerrero and Dolores?  I don’t.  I guess it was where Mozzeria is now.

La Movida is the latest snappy addition to a corridor of 16th Street between Dolores and Mission that has lately been blooming with boho chic. These days the neighborhood, with its slightly seedy glamour, seems a lot like the East Village in New York, or Earls Court in London.

More here.

And I agree, R.I.P. Dave Eggers’ Smarter Feller.

[h/t Burrito Justice]

BFF.fm, the Mission’s own and city’s best underground radio station, just turned one! To celebrate, they’re throwing a big free birthday party at the Chapel tomorrow night, complete with music, DJ sets, tote bags full of party favors, and lots of cake — apparently of both slice and cup varieties! Musical guests include Happy Fangs, Nanosaur, Night Genes, and BFF.fm founder DJ Cosmic Amanda herself. And did I mention that it’s FREE?

Here are some cool facts about BFF.fm and Mission Mission:

• BFF.fm was named by Allan, our very own editor!
• BFF.fm is located in the Secret Alley, the most magical space in the city, partially built by Ariel!
• Many of our multi-talented contributors, past and present, have shows on BFF.fm! They include Roll Over Easy, Tall Trees, Astral Projection Radio Hour, Pop Music, Tuff Signals, Radioculars, Burrito Justice Radio, and more! Listen to them all!

So, see you at the party tomorrow? RSVP and invite your friends!

This all started when I sang 45 songs in May and wanted to brag about it, but also, I just wholeheartedly want to give props to the local karaoke scene (and karaoke scenes around the world) for making me feel so good all the time. This month I sang an Ian Dury song for goodness’ sake! Can you imagine!?

1. I Will Follow — U2
2. Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick — Ian Dury
3. All My Friends — LCD Soundsystem
4. Ape Man — The Kinks
5. Leave It Alone — NOFX
6. Perfect Day — Lou Reed
7. Could You Be Loved — Bob Marley
8. It’s Oh So Quiet — Björk
9. Tubthumping — Chumbawumba
10. Pompeii — Bastille
11. Boots — Nancy Sinatra
12. Wannabe — Spice Girls

In particular, I want to mention KJ Eileen, who, in a crazy twist, doesn’t have a website! I think she does last Fridays of the month at Bender’s and some Sundays at Maggie McGarry’s in North Beach? Anyway thanks to her I got to sing the Kinks, NOFX and Lou Reed in one 2-hour period! I couldn’t believe my luck!

Also, “Pompeii” is exactly as fun as you’d imagine. Thanks, DJ Purple!

Late Saturday night my buddy Malcolm bought nine bacon-wrapped hot dogs for a party of four people, only two of which were actually hungry. I ate half of one and took another to go. I popped it in the fridge and forgot about it until just now. And now I’m hungry.

Let’s talk logistics: I’ve got a can of Tecate and a bag of maple-bacon Kettle Chips on the side, and a vintage KronnerBurger placemat/menu in case there’s any spillage. And I’m listening to the Gooch Palms album for moral support.

I’ll update this post as the project progresses. Okay here I go…

UPDATE (12:54): All the fixins’! Looks not too bad. Smells great! Feels real cold, fresh from the fridge.

UPDATE (12:58): First bite! Tastes great! Plenty of mayo, which is a must. Cold hot dog basically tastes like bologna, as you know. Not bad! Into it!

Yum! It even looks good!

DAMN, the Gooch Palms rule! You should read my post about them from over the weekend in case you missed it.

UPDATE (1:01): Uh oh, a momentary twinge of heartburn!

UPDATE (1:03): First bite of jalapeno! Still nice and hot!

UPDATE (1:04): I’ve got two likes on my Instagram post about this undertaking, and two comments, one of which, from my pal Christina, who always tells it like it is, is: “Gross tho.” Yup!

I’m really glad I’ve got this Tecate.

UPDATE: (1:06): Just kidding, I’m totally loving this. I’m really surprised the bun is totally intact. Virtually zero sog. Even though there is a LOT of mayo (and other sauces and vegetable-related moisture), none of it got into the bun! Science!

UPDATE (1:08): The heartburn comes and goes.

The maple-bacon Kettle Chips pairing was unplanned, I just happened to have them lying around, but it’s pretty good. Contrasting the savory bacon dish with the sweeter bacon dish is fun.

UPDATE (1:09): I just burped! And man, it was a big one!!

UPDATE (1:13): The burp cleared out plenty of room for my to finish the rest of the dog. Here’s proof I’m almost done:

UPDATE (1:15): I had to spit out some inedible bacon gristle, no big deal. About to take that last bite!

UPDATE (1:16): Taking the final bite as, appropriately, the Gooch Palms beautiful album closer “Don’t Cry” plays. Yum! Swallowed it and burped again!

Okay, I did it! No ill effects really. I can’t believe it took me a whole 31-minute album to eat a hot dog, but whatever. Seriously, listen to this album, it’s on Spotify and stuff.

I guess I’ll update again if there’s any blowback, but I don’t anticipate any.

Thanks for your support!

I was at a party in a backyard yesterday and I watched five people in a row (myself included) eat a Casa Chicas organic yellow tortilla chip and immediately go, “Daaaaamn, what kind of chip was that??” They were really good. You can get them at Rainbow Grocery.

Muni fares increased yesterday.

So, via old-school San Franciscans Shimshang and Crazycrab, this old-school hacked billboard:

Boy, imagine a time when billboards were owned by a little company founded by two Northern California boys, Foster and Kleiser, rather than international media conglomerates like CBS and Clear Channel. More about all that here.