Mission Mission

A couple months back, we reported that the food at St. Luke’s was pretty good. Today, a current St. Luke’s patient wrote in to protest:

I’ve been a patient at st. lukes hospital since 11/12/10….My food I have been donating to the homeless, that I am able to spot from the 10th floor @ Cesar Chavez. They have even turned it down. I’m sure that folks from third world countries donations are better off than we are. So If you happen to bring a relative to this hospital, make sure that you bring them food from home, that way you’ll know they will survive.

Read on.

“The Summit is hiring Blue Bottle, Ritual, or Four Barrel trained Baristas ONLY,” reads this Craigslist ad, “DO NOT APPLY IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TRAINED BY EITHER COMPANY.”

So angry! Why exclude people AND be so mean about it?

Well, reader Meredith Scheff wanted some answers too, so she replied to the ad:

I was really excited when you opened. I love the idea and spirit behind the café and your business, I love your welcoming atmosphere, I love the aesthetics and the food. I also was excited to see your ad posted on Craigslist. I would love to work with you! I’m a long time foodie, a pretty damn good cook, and I’ve worked as a barista and view it as an art. I geek out on it, is what I’m saying. Then I read this:

[Here she quotes the line quoted above.]

WHOA there Summit. This is totally un-excellent. You mean to tell me that my love of food and coffee only counts if I have been employed by one of a few select places? I’m pretty sure I’ve run across some pretty-damn-crapy baristas at those places- and some pretty damn good ones at ‘lesser’ cafés. These places hire a handful of people at most, and that means there are plenty of us food-loving coffee-nerds that would be a great fit for you.

I look forward to hearing your reply, as this has put a terrible taste in my mouth about your business.

Blam! I was like,”Suck it, Summit! No WAY you’ll recover from THEM APPLES!!” But then their Managing Director replied with a perfectly understandable explanation of the situation:

we’re in a bind where we need to plug in baristas quickly. we prefer blue bottle trained baristas because our contract with them specifies that anyone that makes their coffee must be trained by them. the training takes 2 weeks! it shortens if you’re trained by ritual or 4 barrel.

as a side note: if we had the time, we’d open up the applicant pool to everyone. when we opened we didn’t make this same requirement. in fact none of our opening baristas were from blue bottle, ritual, etc. we looked for people exactly like you and we invested over 40hrs of coffee training with our staff.

sucks that time is not on my side this time around.

Bummer indeed! Anyway, if you, like Meredith, were put off by this ad, don’t blame the Summit. They seem well intentioned and all… Okay, here comes the punch line. Say it with me, as it is such a popular mantra lately: BLAME BLUE BOTTLE. (Just kidding, mostly.)

[Photo by Everett Bogue]

Full text of the ad after the jump, in case it expires:

(more…)

Ramona usually wows us with deep thoughts about life and love and modern times. But today she just wants to talk about persimmons:

You can always tell when persimmon season is upon us again, because the produce section starts to get really lively, “What kind of  tomato is THAT?” you hear people scream in grocery stores around the city.  Well, actually you never hear people scream that, or really say anything about persimmons, but what I’m saying is they should.  Persimmons are pretty much the fruit world’s best-kept secret.

Read on.

You’d think Jawbreaker were back together and playing secret bakery shows or something.

Totally worth it for those buns and breads though, right?

[Photo by Z. Banks]

As a 3-year veteran of Berkeley Co-ops, Homestead has always satisfied my urge to drink beer and throw stuff on the floor without picking up after myself.

They are turning 5 years old and closing off part of 19th st for all-day celebration Saturday. The festivities run from 11am to closing, featuring bands and food (presumably not just peanuts). Go show them some love.

[via Broke-Ass Stuart, photo by Jared Zimmerman]

What’s that? You’ve yet to have yourself an Arizmendi pizza party?

No excuses. Get on it.

[Photo by Mike Chino]

Previously:

Arizmendi Is Done

Eat This Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie

Whoever is in charge of the artistic direction at Taqueria Vallarta needs to be poached immediately by one of those hotshot tech companies like Google or Twitter.  The guy (or gal) has repeatedly proven to be on the cusp of genius, as evinced by “batshit insane” 49ers tribute mural, as well as the various exterior drawings and aesthetically pleasing color scheme.

Now he’s outdone himself again with another game-changer:  this amazing lit-up pop-out sign that can be seen from blocks away by anyone walking on 24th St.  Depicting a serene ocean scene that reminds you of vacation, complete with lazy seagulls, it also manages to extol the virtues that make this one of the most popular taquerias in the neighborhood.

For instance, top billing goes to the Tacos al Vapor, which are the closest thing you’ll find to the tacos served in Tijuana.  Likewise, a keen sense of knowing your audience is demonstrated by the deft placement of (what appears to be) “Vegan Burritos,” always a popular choice in the Mission.  My only regret is that they don’t mention the champurrado (which makes a delicious treat on a cold night, of which you can be sure we’ll soon have plenty).

[Photo by Alissa]

Previously:

Four Loko Popular Among Elementary Schoolers

Yum! And I thought the food at Coffee Bar was only good when Radio Africa was in the house.

Zoë Banks informs us that it’s quite weighty and takes forever to eat.

Tonight and tonight only, a long list of Mission restaurants will donate 25-50% of your total bill to Mission Graduates, an organization dedicated to sending neighborhood kids who might not go to college to college.

The event is called Food for Thought, and a TON of rad places are participating. I recommend Beretta and its Margherita with Burrata (pictured), but feel free to peruse the whole list here.

If you feel like staying in tonight, you can also support the cause by entering a raffle in which you could win a trip to Mexico, an iPad or gift certificates to Delfina or a bunch of other restaurants. Enter online here.

Here’s a short video about the program you’ll be helping:

[Photo of Beretta's Margherita with Burrata by thaumatrope]