Mission Mission

Last night, as part of the INFORUM series at the Commonwealth Club, chefs from Delfina, Hapa Ramen, Mission Street Food,  Wild Kitchen, and Rice Paper Scissors gathered to discuss the San Francisco restaurant industry and their paths in it so far. Craig Stoll, now a restaurant magnate by San Francisco standards, talked about maxing out credit cards to open Delfina “back when Dolores Park was still pretty scary.” He recommends that aspiring restauranteurs try a Kickstarter instead.

Other highlights included MSF’s Anthony Myint reminding Stoll that he had once interviewed to be a cook at Delfina (which presumably didn’t work out) and Wild Kitchen’s Iso Rabins remembering knocking on the back doors of restaurants with boxes of wild mushrooms for sale (“The only people who were really mean to me were the people at Farina.”)

The most substantive part of the conversation was a debate over the value of formal experience when launching a restaurant or pop-up. Both sides made smart points, but Myint had the winning comment: “I think of it like The A Team. They were pros before they were renegades, so they knew their stuff.”

You can find out more about the INFORUM series here.

I say “old” because at this point you’d probably want to add Hell or High Watermelon and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to the list, right?

[via Mildred]

Now that the weather is getting somewhat warmer, I thought that this might be a good time to direct your attention to the best cold vegan treat in the city. No, it isn’t Humphrey Slocombe’s soap-or-Robitussin flavored sorbets.* It’s the soy gelato at La Copa Loca on 22^nd and Capp!!! The flavors are pretty limited; generally, they’ll have vanilla, espresso and chocolate available. According to their site, they also have hazelnut, but I’ve never seen it! You can also get La Copa Loca soy gelato in milkshake form at the St. Francis Diner.

(more…)

I honestly feel sorry for you for missing out on the unveiling of the Hideout’s new cocktail menu, complete with pop-up pork sandwiches and “white boy slaw” from Tango and Stache. The drinks were outstanding as always, and the pulled pork and spicy vinegar slaw was a total treat. The new cocktail menu is only about half new, so old favorites like the G&C (C for celery) and the Whiskey in Church are sticking around. New additions include the Fruit Cup, a crisp and refreshing Pimm’s Cup variation, and the Killer’s Lullaby, which blends gin, lemon, and hard cider for maximum tartness. More pics after the jump.  (more…)

Ok, so it’s not actually alive – but Namu Gaji‘s okonomiyaki pancake bears an uncanny resemblance to a living, breathing thing. The volcanic mass of kimchee, oysters, scallions and sauce is served atop a crispy pancake in a blazing hot cast iron cauldron, so it’s still cooking when it lands on your table. Pillars of steam sprout up from the sides, creating a breathing, crinkling effect as they rush through the forest of bonito flakes layered over the top. It’s not for the seafood squeamish or faint of heart, but it is damn good comfort food for a blustery San Francisco summer night.

(more…)

Huh, maybe Fox News is turning over a new leaf? What’s next — maybe they get super into gay marriage??

Anyway, MCF appears on the Fox News piece “Top 10 cheap eats in the United States“:

Mission Chinese Food offers some of the spiciest, most creative Sichuan-inspired cuisine in San Francisco. Diners line up early for dishes such as Thrice Cooked Bacon, Kung Pao Pastrami, Tingly Lamb Noodle Soup and Mouth Watering Chicken. It’s good, hot (seriously hot if you aren’t careful) and honest food created with quality meat and produce.

Honest! Good! Hot! …Yup!

[via Mission Street Food]

Here’s a must-see for any aspiring chef looking to succeed in the city:  an all-star panel featuring a bunch of the Mission’s hottest chefs spilling all their secrets about making it big in such a tumultuous industry.

It’s all going down at the Commonwealth Club this Thursday, as Anthony Myint (Mission Chinese), Richie Nakano (Hapa Ramen), Iso Rabins (ForageSF), and Craig Stoll (Delfina) recount all their best stories on how they climbed the SF food chain to get where they are now, moderated by none other than Rice, Paper, Scissors‘ own Valerie Luu.  And the fun continues right afterwards in the form of a panelist-created guerrilla dining experience across the street at Foodlab, hosted by the other half of RPS, Katie Kwan.

Oh wait, I forgot to mention the best part–we’re giving away two free tickets to the panel to the two commenters who can tell the best story about the most bizarre meal they’ve ever had here in the city.  The contest ends promptly at noon on Wednesday, and winners will be judged on merit as well as general sauciness.

Check out all the details for the event and get tickets for the panel or dinner here.

[Photo]

I theenk this is real? Either way it’s pretty exciting. Watch:

Lunchtime!

Also on the Pal’s Take Away menu today:

Ale braised brisket/Acme roll, Rstd. Riverdog carrot ‘hummus’, crispy shallots, Blue Heron lettuce, horseradish sour cream
8.75

Shrimp ‘n Egg-Oregon Bay chile shrimp, River Dog ranch egg ‘salad’, avocado, pickled cucumber, Annabelle’s wild arugula, sriacha mayo
8.75

Whoa. Lunchtime.

Awesome idea! What a breakfast!

[via Jenny K.]