Mission Mission

Yep, that’s right, the Tenderloin Museum!  And things are starting off with a bang this Thursday!

The Tenderloin Museum kicks off its evening programming on Opening Night, July 16th at 6:30pm with transgender activists Tamara Ching, Veronika Fimbres, and filmmakers Susan Stryker & Victor Silverman. Moderated by Randy Shaw, the panel takes us back to the days of the Tenderloin’s 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot when transgender women and queers were harassed by police and businesses alike.

In those days, the Tenderloin was the geographic center of the city’s emerging gay and lesbian civil rights movement. It was in the Tenderloin where the movement’s more confrontational spirit was demonstrated, and brought success. Stryker, Ching and Fimbres will describe the decades of struggle following the Compton’s riot, as that legendary act of resistance—three years before Stonewall–was only the beginning.

Check it all out here.

And that’s not all!  Stop by the following week for the first showing in 50 years of Drugs in the Tenderloin!

A stark and often harrowing look into the life of the street denizens of the notorious San Francisco district which was a haven for junkies, prostitutes, and pushers during the Sixties… it takes a real gutter-level look at its subject, the grainy night photography capturing beehive-haired hookers and turtle-necked dope dealers plying their trade against a smoky backdrop of seedy neon, while meth users pontificate about their high, and a youth worker takes a couple of shocked city officials on a walking tour of the area, pointing out such lurid landmarks as Market Street, known in the area as the “Meat Rack” thanks to the male hustlers who ply their trade there.”Join us for some incredible footage of the Tenderloin’s past.

Somehow I ended up eating at four brand-new restaurants here in the neighborhood over the weekend:

1. Off the Beaten Path — The new perma-popup in the kitchen at Bruno’s, Wednesday-Saturday. It’s in the main bar area of Bruno’s, not the little side room where KronnerBurger was, which means that if you’re there later in the evening on Friday, the staff starts moving you out of the way so big groups of club people can start ordering bottle service. Which is kind of cool. Two kinds of wings, both great. Get: THE LAMB GRINDER.

2. F.O.B. Kitchen — The Filipino popup that’s been popping up down at Doctor’s Lounge in the Excelsior. This past Saturday, they did their first brunch popup at Cease & Desist (fka Buffalo Wild Wings) here in the Mission, on the same block as Bruno’s. It seemed pretty slammed, so hopefully they’ll be back. Everything was awesome. Get: ONE OF EVERYTHING.

3. Buttermilk — This is the oldest of the bunch, but this was my first visit since they’ve been hard open. (Tried to go to the even newer Spice Jar across the way, but it was real slammed.) This is really solid southern food, and there’s sidewalk seating, and the weather’s been pretty perfect for it. Get: THE GUMBO. (It’s an appetizer, not too big, just right.)

4. Old Bus Tavern — New brewpub in the old El Patio space, out near El Rio. The brewing isn’t fully operational yet, but they’re open for business and doing some cool stuff. The burger (pictured) was hella good. The spaetzle was really different and really good. Get: THE BUCKWHEAT CORNBREAD WITH HONEY-MISO BUTTER

[Photo by PizzaHacker]

UPDATE: Check it out, Old Bus’s publicist just sent us this official photo of the burger (by Karl Mollohan)…

After the classic ’08-’13 Oh Sees lineup played their final show (at Great American Music Hall in December ’13), I spent a lot of time lamenting their demise. They’d been my favorite band, the best live act I’d ever known, and they were calling it quits.

Here on Mission Mission I posted a lengthy but obtuse collection of Oh Sees-related photos I’d taken over the years.

I changed my Facebook profile pic:

But within a couple months, before I even had a chance to fully process this loss, frontman John Dwyer came back with a new Oh Sees album and a new three-piece touring lineup. The album (“Drop”) was good, and I got tickets to the new band’s first club date, down in their new home of Los Angeles.

They opened with one of my favorite songs, but without Mike on drums and Brigid on synths and backing vocals and Petey being Petey — it just sounded hollow and sad and I went and sat in the back for a while and then left the show before they were even done.

And then I lamented that for a long time. And I walked out on their headlining set at Burger Boogaloo last year, for the same reasons. And I skipped their most recent residency at the Chapel entirely. And my friends were like, “Why can’t you just chill out and try to enjoy yourself?”

They’d been my favorite band! I’d seen them 60+ times and loved every single show, and now I couldn’t stand to watch this new incarnation for more than 30 seconds.

Wellllllllll, now there’s yet another lineup (two drummers, both of them new additions to the group!), and they’re doing 3 nights at the Chapel starting tomorrow, and it’s been sold out for weeks already, and the new album “Mutilator Defeated at Last” is really killer — so I’m gonna go, one of the nights, and just chill out and try to enjoy myself.

(Meanwhile, more casual fans than me may not have noticed any difference at all; they’re still selling out 3-night residencies at a place as huge as the Chapel; they’re clearly still awesome, so if you haven’t had the pleasure, you should get on StubHub asap.)

Here’s “Web,” the new album’s opener:

Dust off your dance shoes for an old school, mid week dance jam with UKNOWHOWEDO on Wednesday Night at Pops Bar! 90s Hip Hop and R&B, ALL VINYL ALL NIGHT, with DJs playing only the underground jams and mainstream goodness they love.

DJ Boom Bostic (Resident POPS DJ)

The Plush One

and special guest DJ Hay Hay – Bay Area Vet. Amoeba music Alumni-

She’s bringin’ 90s heat!

9PM-Close

Free

21 UP

Check out the rest of this week’s music line up at Pops Bar:

(more…)

Local guidebook David Enos just published a great list of top SF attractions:

J. Villeneuve’s Famous Monterey Jack Shack, 224 Bay St.

It may not be the best flavor of cheese but it’s all about the atmosphere here.  One of Mr.Villenueve’s descendants still supervises the cheese-making process.  Be sure to check out all the old black-and-white photos on the wall.  The Monterey Jack is crumbled up from larger blocks called megablocks. Then it is allowed to age inside the pockets of donated wool blazers maintained in a damp sub-basement area.  If your cheese comes from The Jacket itself, you might even see pieces of the original Mr.Villeneuve’s tobacco pieces on your Monterey Jack.

Thom. Robt. & Sons Oyster Shack, 33321 Polk St.

You’d better arrive early, because a line often forms all the way around the block.  (1.5 hour wait) Word got out long ago (about a century) about this next famous shack on our list.  The oysters may not be fresh from the bay anymore, but they are still served in newspaper, just how they liked them in the old days.  Make sure to ask for one of the “TV Seats” where the TV attached to your table plays a documentary on the Oyster Shack’s history while you eat.  You may or may not have already known that KGO-TV’s Terilyn Joe once enjoyed a filet of salmon at Thom. Robt. & Sons.  Her dining companion? None other than former “Shark”, Doug Wilson.

Read on for more.

[Photo by Google Maps]

Request his jam “Pray for Peace” if you get a chance.

[Photo by Less Jokes]

Yesterday I drank the second half of a bottle of Liberty that had been sitting open on my kitchen table since Tuesday afternoon — and it was absolutely delicious. How many beers could you say that about? I reckon not many.

Everybody’s so gaga over Anchor California Lager these days, but hopefully not at the expense of good ‘ol Liberty, a true San Francisco original:

The champagne-like bubbles, distinctive hop bouquet, and balanced character of Liberty Ale® revives centuries-old ale brewing traditions that are now more relevant than ever. First introduced in 1975, Liberty Ale® is brewed strictly according to traditional craft brewing methods, and uses only natural ingredients — pale malted barley, fresh whole-cone Cascade hops and a special top-fermenting yeast, and water.

The yeast used during fermentation produces many of Liberty Ale’s subtle flavors and characteristics. A natural process called “bunging” creates gentle carbonation, and the practice of dry hopping (adding fresh hops to the brew during aging), revived by Anchor, creates its unique aroma.

Liberty Ale® was first brewed to celebrate the bicentennial of Paul Revere’s historic ride. As the first modern American IPA brewed after prohibition and the first modern American single-hop ale and dry-hopped ale, Anchor’s Liberty Ale® is the original craft brewed ale and the historic beer that started a revolution. [link]

Yesterday we did a post that was just a photo of an old Muni pass, to which reader Steve Courtney replied thusly:

Anybody got the skinny on how to bootleg a Clipper card?

[Photo by Eric Slatkin]

Zeppole popup Girl Friday is popping up this Saturday in the Mission at Tiny Warrior Coffee on 18th Street:

Girl Friday will be selling their fresh made lemon ricotta doughnuts, made in the style of the Italian zeppole (pronounced zep-oh-lee). These beauties are truly unique and delicious paired with a variety of dipping sauces and TWC coffee!

I ate an even dozen last time they were in the neighborhood, and it was a wonderfully warm and fluffy way to start the day. RSVP and invite your friends!

Can you believe this movie is already half a decade old?

The other day I watched it again because I was really hungover (the night after Mission gadfly Wesley Frazee’s epic birthday party) and it was on Netflix and the thumbnail looked relaxing and I couldn’t really remember many of the details of the story.

I saw it originally in one of the little rooms at the Roxie back in ’10 with my pal Kristina. At the end we agreed that we both totally thought this sequence was the end of the movie (even though there were actually like 40 mins left):

How good is that song???

(We also both agreed the movie made us want a Corona, and that was true of my second viewing as well.)

UPDATE: I also just remembered that on that same evening I gave Kristina a hard sell about coming to work with me on this blog, and she declined politely, saying that she wouldn’t want her name associated with some of the racier stuff we’ve posted. I understood.

P.S. Anybody wanna come write for this blog?

P.P.S. Go see something at the Roxie!