Mission Mission

Cervecería de MateVeza opens this Saturday at 18th and Church, right across the street from the park. Their black lager is bangin’.

It’s a cozy space that’ll warm up quick when it starts to get chilly in the park and everybody races over for a beer and an empanada.

We’re told they’re the only brewery in town other than Anchor to use real copper brewing gear.

Lots more pictures and reportage after the jump:

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Carolina is my Spanish name.

Taquerias in the Mission are obviously great and all, but how many of them are wearing their own sombreros?

Famed local booze blogger Camper English recently called out San Francisco bar owners and bartenders for their increasingly generic cocktail bars and menus:

As bartenders have figured out what works here (drinks with bitter flavors and fresh ingredients, but not too many) and what doesn’t (molecular mixology), they’ve played it increasingly safe with each new venue that opens. The new cocktail programs are great but they invoke fewer original ideas. Bartenders in up-and-coming cities have no such pre-fixed notions of what works in their market yet, and often take more creative risks both in the bar design and in the drinks. Now our local bartenders need to look outside the city for good ideas to incorporate and build upon.

I’ve noticed this trend as well, but I don’t think it’s specific to San Francisco. Now that there’s a fancy cocktail bar on every corner the hipper areas of major cities, you’d expect an increase in variety and creativity. Instead, bars seem content to ride the wave of cocktail obsession by offering unadorned classic cocktails at high and rising prices. Subbing out an ingredient for it’s schmancier equivalent (like using Cocchi Americano instead of dry vermouth) seems to qualify as an innovative variation. The design and styling of each new bar consists of as much hardwood as can fit in the budget while hopefully leaving room for funny outfits.

The issue is that while customers get more educated, the offerings are getting less impressive and more generic. Adding to the problem, there is so much demand for skilled bartenders that the people making these cocktails, at least in my experience, don’t always know what they’re doing. (Tip: if your bar is designed to look like a speakeasy, don’t muddle an orange into your Old-Fashioned.) In short, there’s often not a lot going on that I can’t do at least as well at home.  It’s sad because in most cases there are a lot of creative people and not enough venues, whereas in this case there are plenty of venues but not enough creativity.

Sometimes I wonder what we are going to do with all these neighborhood bars that have been overly remodeled to look like libraries when the bubble bursts and two thirds of them go out of business. Maybe we can turn them into libraries.

[Illustration by Joan Horne]

Reader and commenter D. Jon Moutarde said the other day, “Y’know, the best burrito is the one you learn to make yourself. Just sayin’ y’all.” I was skeptical, so I replied, “I’ve been making burritos myself for about 25 years and I’ve yet to get anywhere close to the best Mission burritos. What’s your secret?” And here it is:

You really want to know?

1. Go to the place that sells what you consider to be the “best” Mission burrito, and order one. If you can watch them assemble it, so much the better.

2. DO NOT eat it; take it home and disassemble it carefully. Take careful note of your burrito’s ingredients and make a list of them. If you think of any items that might enhance the awesomeness of the burrito, in your eyes, add them to the list.

3. Buy all the ingredients on your list, bring them home, prep them as necessary, and assemble new burritos — for a party of four, if you’re feeling brave. Stand back and bask in the pride.

The only tricky parts are the tortillas and meat. You want the freshest tortillas possible — if you’re not ready to make them yourself, then scout around for stuff that looks like it might be extra-local. And how far are you willing to go with the meat? Safeway has already-cooked carnitas, and Duc Loi has ready-to-grill carne asada that will cook in about 10 minutes… or you could get some trash cuts with lots of connective tissue cheap and slow-cook it for a few hours until it falls apart. The world of meat is vast and wonderful.

The essence of cheap “Mexican” food is that it is so easy that a trained monkey could make it — that’s how it stays cheap! Its ingredients are more-or-less separable; it’s not something like a soup or cake where it can be difficult to figure out what’s in there. All you need is confidence, taste, and a systematic approach to production.

Simple enough. But I still wonder if there’s some bit of magic that goes along with mass production that gives Mission burritos an extra boost. (Also, I wish I were as talented in the kitchen as a trained monkey.) Thanks, Jon!

Local chef Carlos explains:

made myself a perked ass rendition of a Cuban torta last night which included ham salami hot dog & steak. [link]

Looks killer!

And if you like this, you’ll probably also like Joan’s shirts. And her pixel homage to SF transit. Also, can anybody identify which burrito this is exactly?

[via Joanstown]

Reader Ben K. reports:

Sunday in Clarion Alley. Nearly a dozen bags full of raw chicken going to rot in the April sun. The smell was…memorable.

Sorry I missed it!

Good news and bad news: the good news is that I’d heard Cuco’s was set to close forever at the end of February, yet it’s still open for business (and still churning out the best burrito in the city) — the bad news is that they’re still under threat. Our pal Lizzy reports:

The Cuco’s people have been there for +/- 20 years; as such they’ve been on a month to month arrangement rather than a lease for quite a while. Recently the landlord said that in order to negotiate a new lease and stay there, they would need to make a ton of remodels to the storefront, including turning it into two floors. They’re meeting with the landlord and city reps to figure out whether the landlords requests are legal and if they will have to fulfill them in order to stay in the space.

So they’re collecting signatures. Get over there and eat a super plantain burrito and sign the petition!

I would argue that New Yorkers have no business enforcing etiquette on a dish they have so far failed at. Also, it’s pronounced like “Bur-Eat-Oh”, the last syllable there a closer approximation to the true reaction to a New York burrito.

[via Brendan]