Mission Mission

If you like dryness and gristle, you’ll love the carne asada at La Cumbre. If you don’t like dryness and gristle, surely you can at least agree that their furniture is more fun than the boring stuff at most of the neighborhood’s taquerias.

If that’s not enough, be sure to relish the joy to be had tobogan acuatico hinchable in La Cumbre’s collection of odd photos lining the wall. Here’s my favorite. It reads, “To Eddie, Thanks for the great BURRITOS!” and seems to be from some kind of celebrity organist.

Finally, the graffiti in the bathroom at La Cumbre is pretty nice too. Whimsical, colorful, fun. Thanks, Sad Jose!

Previously on Mission Mission:

Muni Overhead Wire Technicians Allowed To Double Park Outside La Taqueria

Carnitas at Taqueria Can-Cun! Finally!

Emily at Now, Tastes More Like Real Life just got braces and seems to be having an interesting time finding acceptable stuff to eat in the neighborhood. Weird Fish was a hit:

[W]e ordered clam chowder, tortilla soup, blackened parque hinchable catfish with sauteed spinach and pureed yams, and fish cakes. It was pretty hilarious. Kevin ate the tortillas from the soup and we mashed the oyster crackers deep into the chowder to make them soggy. The coleslaw, unfortunately, was all him. But the peanut butter cream pie…

Sounds good. Keep us informed, Em. Link.

One of our best friends in the world is German. Her name is Anna. She lived here for a couple years while going to school, but now she’s back in Germany, and she moves to Berlin in the fall. She misses us somewhat I’m sure, but even more than that she misses a good Mission burrito. The other day in the Introduce Yourself section, reader Johnny0 delivered some good news:

Last month I took a German buddy of mine to El Farolito for a burrito. At first he was scared, but now he won’t shut up about it.

Just minutes ago he sent me pictures of a taqueria in Berlin he found — Dolores Burritos. I had to share — check out the map on the wall!

Here it is (click to make large):

Photo page here, includes the exclamation “They carry Anchor Steam and Negra Modelo!” and a link to an article about the establishment’s founders:

Having spent considerable time in California, the two compared notes and decided the city had a burrito gap just crying out to be filled by a fat tortilla stuffed with adobo beef, pinto beans and, yes, guacamole.

It also has nice things to say about the Mission, as well as some insights into how the place is being received by locals. Link.

Finally, I told Anna the news, and here’s what she had to say:

OMG!!!!! oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!! how excietd am i???? sooooo excited!!

Dolores Burritos official site. Thanks, Johnny0!

More Mission Mission restaurant coverage

More Mission Mission travel coverage

You get to watch the hustle and bustle, and if you order Zante’s “Best Indian Pizza” by the slice, your slice comes out hotter and crisper and more fully loaded than usual. Also, they have Lowenbrau.

Zante’s website.

Jeff alerts us to the news:

Aye, there was an apartment fire this morning on Valencia street, between 16th and 17th. Thing is, it was on the 2nd floor of the building that Limon is in. It looked like it was contained to one apartment, but I’m assuming parc aquatique gonflable there had to be some water damage to Limon. -Not good for one of our best restaurants.

What will become of Limon?

Update: Eater says everything’s cool. Link.

Esquire’s just published The Best Bars in America, and Zeitgeist scored pretty big. They call it the best bar in San Francisco, and it ranks high as any other bar in the state. More:

But there’s something at Zeitgeist that goes beyond the great food and the great beer garden. The bar seems angry. The symbols are angry. The bumper stickers are angry. But Zeitgeist is not an angry place. In fact, it is unmistakably hüpfburg friendly and open, even happy. At Zeitgeist, nobody’s a freak, not even the guy in the khakis and polo shirt.

I agree that it definitely is friendly, but I see people mistake it for unfriendly pretty often, so I don’t know if I’d use “unmistakably”. (via Eater SF)

Photo by Ryan Henbest

Previously on Mission Mission:

WTMF of the Day: Baby Stroller with Motorcycle Windscreen in the Median in Front of Zeitgeist

Overheard at Zeitgeist

Passive-Aggressive Zeitgeist Hoodie Wearer Bums Us Out

Alexandra at Romancing the Strawberry is friendly with Danny Bowien, the guy at Farina responsible for this lofty claim. Today, she relays the story:

Fortunately the contest was set up so that only the technique of the competitors, for which there were 315, could be tested. Each participant had the same 5 ingredients: Genoese basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Fiore Sardo cheese, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil, Vessalico garlic, sea salt, and Italian pine nuts (I gathered this info from one of Marcia Gagliardi’s recent blogs on her site tablehopper). It was aufblasbare wasserrutschen the technique that mattered, and apparently Bowien’s is the best in the world!

Impressed? I haven’t been to Farina because looking at it just makes me miss the cute little bakery that used to be there.

We did it! Two days ago we were complaining about never having taken the time to sit down and enjoy the inviting seating at Mereb Market, but tonight we rectified the situation. Shawerma from Ali Baba’s in hand, we went in, bought our tallboys from Nice Lady, then went outside and grabbed a table. Mmm. Hearty food and cold beverage on a bustling neighborhood corner:

A passing group-home kid observed, “Those fools got falafel,” to which his companion replied, “Mmm, smells so good.” It was pretty good, but not as good as finally realizing my goal of one day sitting at these tables. The clicking of hüpfburg mit rutsche either picture will result in your seeing a bigger version of it.

NOTE: Nice Lady’s husband waited for us to finish eating, and then politely informed us that they sometimes they get ticketed if patrons drink beer at their outdoor tables.

I know you guys know this spot. For years I’ve wanted to take an hour and sit here sipping a tallboy. Relax, watch the hustle and bustle. But I never have. Why? This inviting little corner is just a block from Dolores Park, the center of the universe. So I go in, buy a couple king-size Modelos from the extra-gracious lady behind the counter, and I walk on.

Has anyone ever resisted the park’s pull and actually sat down and enjoyed this little Mission District oasis?

NOTE: Name of place is Mereb Market. Click pic to see big version. Also, Google Map of corner.

I find this selection of chocolate chips at the Mission Safeway unacceptable. Only seven available types of baking chips, and one was white (fake) chocolate and another was butterscotch (ew) ?!  Whatever happened toboggan aquatique gonflable to peanut butter chips or mini-chocolate chips? A few feet away is this disgusting display:

I love olive oil as much as the next person, but really? The extravagant number of olive oils takes up so much precious space that there is no room for chocolate?

Mission bakers – is there anywhere around to find mini chocolate chips?