Mission Mission

Yesterday morning at around 8:45 I was on my way to work, sitting on the back of the 22 Fillmore, when I noticed a kid sitting across the back bench from me acting really weird. I looked over and sized him up to be about a high school freshman, maybe 13, African American, with a backpack next to him, and a bagged tall boy in his hand.

He was moaning loudly and it looked like his head was too heavy to keep above his body. He kept awkwardly shifting himself around, knocking into the walls of the bus. I leaned over to him.

“Hey man, are you okay?” He looked at me, not really able to get his eyes to focus on mine.

“Huh?” “Are you all right?” “Yeah, yeah.” He smiled with his eyes closed. “I’m cool.” I reached over to him “Well, you’re gonna spill your drink, let me get that for you.” “Nah, I got it.” And his head smacked against the bench seat. He quickly jerked himself back up. “Okay, I know you’ve got it, but I’m just saying, me, I wouldn’t mess with that stuff.” “I know . . . it’s just soda.” “Uh huh.” “I’m cool . . . thanks for your concern.” He tried to drink it but was having trouble getting it to meet with his mouth.

From www.drinkfour.com/

I didn’t want to be giving him a lecture or anything, but he was pretty out of it. “Okay, well lemme just get that from you.” “Oh! I think I have to get off here! I gotta get to school. Okay, hold on.” He took a huge gulp and handed it to me. I looked at the can, watermelon flavored 4 Loko. Caffeine, taurine, guarana and the alcohol of 3 beers. “Thanks, man.” He said and stood up to get off the bus, taking one step that took him right down to the floor. “I gotta get off!” He yelled as he crawled to the back door and down the steps. The bus drove away and I looked out the back window. He waved at me and then stumbled off.

I don’t think it takes a lot to prove that colorful, fruity sweet alcopops are marketed to kids. And I know that high school kids do stupid things. I did. But this made me pretty sad. Brown bagging it on the back of the bus early in the morning. He reminded me of a lot of guys I see on the bus every day. I don’t mean young urban professionals trying to look edgy in Luna Park. I mean old homeless people.

What do you suppose might happen if, as has been suggested, popular Mint Plaza boutique ice water purveyor House of Ice Water were to move to open an ice-water cart in Dolores Park?

Previously:

Blue Bottle the Next American Apparel?

This is what’s up at Heart every weekend. This is what’s up. Austin-style breakfast tacos.

Sure, I saw Bill Murray, and the guy from Fucked Up tried to assault me, but the breakfast tacos still held strong as a top highlight of my trip to Austin.

And these ones, made in San Francisco, are even better. Call me a blasphemer if you want, but they are bomb, and there’s no line for brunch at Heart.

Also, I realize the quality of this picture leaves something to be desired, but I didn’t want to give away the whole experience. This is just a hint. Go see for yourself, if you want.

Further reading:

MORE AUSTIN HIGHLIGHTS

Don’t know what it is, but it’s probably art, and it’s out in the back yard at Fabric8, which is a lot bigger than it looks (I always thought it was just that first little tiny room), and has been hosting a food cart party every Friday for a while. My friend Kristina (who shot the gorgeous photo above) had a pretty bangin’ sweet empanada there last week.

See the press release for this week’s event after the jump: (more…)

I know we’ve all been waiting a long time, but the day is here at last and Arizmendi is finally ready to serve you delicious savory and sweet pastries (in addition to the best tomato-less pizza around) all day, every day.  Even though we’ve been stopping by for free samples the past few weeks in hot anticipation, we just had to check out the official opening ourselves to see what the scene would be like.

Savory

And what a scene it was!  A friendly milieu of fixies and strollers, everyone happy to have the opportunity to finally enter the bakery on such a wonderfully sunny day.  There was even a video camera crew from a local food blog asking one of the workers (soon to be co-owners–that’s the beauty of this place) about the elusive “Chocolate Thing” that seems to be such the favorite that it sells out within an hour of morning opening.

Sweet

While we were definitely drawn to the tempting display of both sweet concoctions (the tantalizing brioche knots and pecan rolls) and savory treats (especially the zampano, a roll sprinkled lightly with cheese and pepper), we just had to get our first try of their ever-changing but always delicious pizza.  It had that chewy yet firm consistency that has become the trademark of the cooperative bakery, topped with a pungent mixture of cheese that complemented the baked mushrooms nicely.  Truly worth it despite the scorching weather.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s pie will be!

Pizza Time!!!

Vélo Vogue just published an interview with Taco Bike Timmy. Asked if he has any wild Dolores Park stories, he answers:

Wow, many, but my favorite was the 20 year old guy who walked up, ordered two tacos and then proceeded to take out a whip-it cartridge and cracker. He cracked and huffed right in front of me. When I asked if he wanted sour cream he responded with that very deep, sluggish voice “hell yeah man”! Almost pissed myself.

Read on. (But beware the crazy angles of all the photography; I forgot to pop a Dramamine and now I’m all dizzy.)

Previously:

You Forgot Your Whip-its!

As one of the most revered coffee shops (gauged by Craigslist Missed Connections per week) in the Mission, Philz is always on the lookout for ways to increase the number of ways to serve you, the customer.  We’ve seen cupcakes, donuts, and empanadas; but we haven’t truly gotten a sense of the cafe’s plans for 24th Street domination until now, thanks to secret documents recently unearthed by local rabble-rouser brainslip:

El Philzolito
Burritos, tacos, etc. Chipz $0.50.

Philzeist
Porta-Potty packed smokey watering hole.

Philzamunde
Palestinian take on upscale sausage.

Phjlz Belgian Phrjtz
Benelux cone-based appetizers.

Read on for the rest.

[Photo by Premshree Pillai]

Previously:

Deal of the Year: $200 Annual Bottomless Miller Pint at Clooney’s

I bet you want to know how to make a handsome throw pillow out of a bunch of Pabst Blue Ribbon tall-can can coozies. Let SallyTV show you how.

Previously:

Pabst Cycling Cap

Aw, hell naw:

The highlight of the night was pouring out beers for drinking in public, but that’s OK because these bad guys respected us for doing it, they knew this was breaking the law.

The question is, what kind of beers? Hopefully no local microbrews.

All this comes from their latest patrol report. The report also indicates that they accosted and handcuffed a kid for MUNI fare evasion. Apparently, it’s ok to slap handcuffs on a total stranger. If I wasn’t such a pussy, I might be inclined to say something slightly unflattering about these guys.

[via San Francisco Citizen]

Update: Our pal Joshua comments:

actually it looks like they handcuffed one of their own incognito. Then again, their writing is so god-awful I can’t really tell what they’re trying to say.

Previously:

Guardian Angels Patrol Walgreens, Call Vic Wong a Pussy

I actually know a couple of veterans of the Coffee Wars. Most of them switched to tea. A few defectors are said to still be in hiding at McLaren park.

[via the entire internet, and Killing My Lobster]