Mission Mission

Our favorite Vietnamese Pop-up restaurant is back, and this time our pals Valerie and Katie are serving up the flavors of Hanoi:

RPS wanted to pay tribute to a few of their favorite (and perhaps lesser-known) Hanoi dishes such as Crab and Shrimp Rice Noodle Soup (Bun Rieu) and Butter Braised Sweet Corn and Dried Shrimp (Bap Xao), a popular street food dish in the area.

We’ll also be serving up Pan-Seared Tumeric Fish with Dill (Cha Ca), which travellers seek out at Cha Ca La Vong, a famous restaurant that only serves this dish. RPS is only serving up a limited number of this dish, so diners should pre-order ahead.

The fun starts tonight at 6:30pm and lasts till 10pm, but you should really get there early to avoid long lines (and catastrophic shoulder injuries).  Oh, and where is this happening you ask?  Well, you’ll have to follow @ricepapersf if you want to find out the super secret location, which will be announced later today!

See you there!

Previously:

Local blogger injured in food cart brawl

Not sure exactly how this is gonna work, but our pal Rob behind the bar says he’s working on a collab with a chef from Saison which will result in, yes, chilaquile bloody marys. I can’t wait. Blind Cat (formerly known as Dirty Thieves AKA Treat Street) opens in 30 minutes. Free BBQ too, just like every Monday.

[Photo by Anne Keenan]

A little birdie told us our buddy Josh Yule is covering the happy hour shift at the Knockout tonight, and serving up his famed bloody marys til he runs out of supplies. Josh pickles his own okra, and his ladyfriend pickled carrots, green beans and radishes just for this auspicious occasion.

Bartenders all over town have been telling Josh to take his marys public for years. Today is the day. See you all there. RSVP and invite your friends!

[File photo]

Arlen captured this sad pigeon a few months back.

Could this explain the tragic pigeon cannibalism we see all too often in the Mission? Kind of like when hungry Looney Tunes characters see each other as dinner?

Though let’s be honest — this is in poor taste. Cheetos suck when compared to Hawkins Cheezies.

These are *so* much better than Cheetos you have NO IDEA. Hell, *I’d* eat a pigeon if it had a bag of Cheezies on its head.

(Also, the image search for Cheetos is pretty damn freaky.)

From Serious Eats, a notable New York City barkeep explains what’s up:

Once, I was working the bar on a Friday night when a gentleman walked in, briefly scanned my cocktail list, and asked for a Grey Goose with soda.

I have nothing against the vodka soda. When I’m three deep at the bar, a round of highballs can be a life-preserver. Your Manhattan will take three minutes, at a minimum. Your vodka soda will take thirty seconds. Cocktails might be what keeps people coming in the doors, but highballs fund those doors staying open in the first place.

That said, vodka-soda drinkers are like jilted lovers; they’ve often had brief relationships with other spirits in the past, and walked away feeling scarred and skittish. Reluctant to open old wounds, they have trained their palates to crave neutrality. The phrase I hear most often is, “I don’t want to taste the alcohol.” In effect, they want the punch but not the flavor.

The worst part is, the guy ended up being on a first date. The girl ordered a bourbon, neat. Read on to see how it all ends up.

(Thanks, Brittney!)

[Photo by Jenn]

It’s part of the Thieves/Blind Cat empire, and will feature fancy but affordable bar food by Chez Spencer. Unfortunately, there won’t be live music like at the space’s previous incarnation, El Rincon, but presumably there will still be dancing and cock (see photo).

Uptown Almanac has a Q&A with one of the owners:

Q: Is it going to be more of a dive like the other Thieves bars or a bit nicer?  I ask because the menu is a little more pricey than other neighborhood bar and grills (namely Bender’s, Gestalt, Zeitgeist, former Ace Cafe)…

A: yes and no. the daily specials are more but the everyday food is all under $10 bucks and we want to keep it that way. What we really want is a place where you can get good food and get loose and act like a fool (the good kind of fool). Like, what’s the difference between a dive bar and a neighborhood bar? Clean bathrooms and napkins on the table. I really want to go to a bar where i can get a $6 plate of grilled asparagus and get drunk and have a spontaneous dance party to The Pointer Sisters. That’s what we’re going for.

Whoa. I usually like to have spontaneous dance parties to the Pointer Sisters at the Silver Crest, but Dear Mom will be much closer to home. Can’t wait!

Read on for menu details, capacity details, pool/pinball plans and more.

Oh and follow Dear Mom on Facebook for updates.

[Photo by Rick Audet]

To celebrate the release of the Mission Street Food book, City Lights and McSweeney’s have partnered to bring MSF back for one night only, at Cookhouse in North Beach on August 10th. And what’s more, it’s billed as “An evening of conversation and dining with Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz.” Kickass! Tickets are available here.

Full press release after the jump includes ticket info, menu and more.

[Photo by Jesse]

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Pi Bar apparently has this beer in stock. It’s called Omer, just like everybody’s favorite Tourettic Valencia Street street musician. Perhaps Pi Bar (also on Valencia Street) should put together some sort of promotional event where they have Omer on special and a performance by Omer! That I’d like to see. That I would RSVP to on Facebook in a second, and actually attend.

Also, traditional blond? Our Omer is certainly not a traditional blond. Here he is doing a “kickass cover song”:

Our pal Jacob did some digging, based on questions raised last week:

The contractors that were there said it’s due to open next week. The circuits for the ovens broke or else they would have opened this week.

No one was aware of a name change – the mystery continues.

What!

Check out the place’s new interior here.

[Original photo via Bernalwood]

If you’re going to order it even though you don’t like it, you might as well know what it is.  Camper English has the answer.

[Photo]