Mission Mission

Plug1 had a nice weekend in the park:

yesterday, my buddy SergDun of Beer & Rap cooked a 16 lb pork shoulder on Dolores near 18th in Dolores Park. an 80′s boombox/cassette deck was there as well blasting OG Bay Raps like Cellski and Hardcore Metal bands like Rigor Mortis.

SergDun swears more than anyone i have ever met, so yesterday was a nice mix of obnoxiously loud music, non-stop curse words, and smoking pork.

See the boombox, the finished meat product and rest of the fun after the jump:

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Karen, to many of us the face of Mission Street Food, is moving on. Say it ain’t so!

After almost a year of Mission Street Food, though, I have to say goodbye–for now–because I’m starting a job as a professor in another state. Anthony will continue Mission Street Food with the help of our incredible staff, but this will be my last week at the restaurant.

Karen’s full open letter, and this week’s Ottoman menu, here.

If someone figures out how to airlift this truck into my living room for my birthday, I’ll be the happiest man alive.

(via Sexpigeon)

Holy moly, I wish I weren’t a vegetarian. “Tomorrow” means tomorrow, Friday July 31. (link)

Our boy Marcus wants to know why this Google Insights data suggests there’s a shit-ton of search-related interest in Fernet all the way over in Virginia. How dare they encroach on our stranglehold on interest in the apertif we appropriated from Argentina and Italy!?

Previously:

San Franciscans Drink A Shit-Ton of Fernet

I Drink a Shit-Ton of Fernet

Okay, we all hope they get their fryer fixed soon.  However, more important than their ability to make donuts is this question: will they start selling a vegan version of their famed “Bacon Maple Donut”?  Man, I hope so.

UPDATE (Wednesday morning): Everything’s back on track. Go get some donuts!

Coming soon: you failing to get some random play over a Tecate and slice of mushroom-black olive

In the post-American Apparel / Mr. Pickles era of Mission blogging, authors are desperate for controversial material to fill our lonely pages.  Luckily, the upcoming “Pi Bar” seems to be providing the necessary blogging fodder.  Since mid June, the new restaurant has had to endure a protest of vegans, a little bit of controversy surrounding the painted-over Suriya Thai mural, and even had to publicly address their neighbors (sounds familiar?).  And the general buzz?  3 posts on vegansaurus!, 3 on Burrito Justice, 5 on Eater SF, 3 on SFoodie, and countless other posts elsewhere.  If blogging was real life, you would have to wait 2 months to get a table.

Clearly, we are missing out on something here.

To bring you up the speed, vegansaurus! has been taking the investigative lead on this topic.  If you have not been acquainted with vegansaurus! yet, it is a quirky Mission-based food blog about eating cupcakes and calling people assholes in caps lock.  vegansaurus! recently placed a phone call to the new establishment to pressure them into making vegan pizza when they accidently uncovered a nefarious plot to open in a few weeks:

“Thank you for calling Pi Bar. We’re looking forward to a mid-August, early September opening; look for us then. Thanks for calling!”

That is pretty much verbatim with some license taken in the fact that we are lazy and didn’t want to call back to get it verbatim, you dig? (link)

(By the way, my post count about “Pi Bar” is now at 2.  I love being a part of something.)

Over at the SF Appeal today, Things San Franciscans Like: Fernet. Yes we do! (Although I can’t get with this ginger back B.S.) Here’s a snippet:

A quick Google search of Fernet will reveal that it is a type of Italian bitter typically served as a digestif after a meal. According to Wikipedia, it is also the national beverage of Argentina, and in a San Franciscan’s mind anytime you mix South America with Europe you get something that is totally street.

Snap!

Previously:

I Drink A Shit Ton of Fernet

Cooking With Fernet

We regret to inform readers that we have recently learned that the two main cooks at Bender’s Bar & Grill have moved on.  After I stopped crying into my PBR, I tried every piece of fried and tacoed seitan on the menu from the new cook, Justin.  Here is the breakdown:

1. The beer-battered seitan is still the best dish you can order anywhere in the Mission.**
2. The tacos are still delicious but not nearly as gluttonous.
3. The Buffalo girls sauce recipe seems to have changed (or, at least, it tasted different).  The panel of drunks feasting on the girls were pretty mixed on the new product.

(Photo Cred MattyMatt)

** Only maybe an exaggeration.  Let’s face it, everything tastes better with Jameson and PBR.

Yesterday I sacrificed all my vegan street cred and opted to get my seitan fix at Weird Fish instead of Bender’s.  Turns out they do not sell Buffalo Trannies anymore.  WHAT GIVES?  They didn’t even have a 6’8″ guy puking in the bathroom covered in empty PBR cans.  Bender’s is still king.

Speaking of Bender’s, I really like the idea of stuffing my face with some fried yo-yos right now.

(Photo credit rayeverettchurch)