Mission Mission

The other day I got thoroughly bummed out by, and then posted about, some video footage of the May 1st “Valencia Street” riot. It put me in a bad mood, and my takeaway was basically, “Wow, look at how fearlessly they attack this cop car — this is scary.” The first seven minutes of unchecked carnage were enough to blind me to the one ray of hope in the footage (which begins around the 7:25 mark). And my mood got worse as the comments flooded in. Until this one:

I was still living in San Francisco during the Giants non-sense and watched a woman drive through the mob and get her car jumped on which seemed to completely render the trunk usable as well I’m sure plenty of damage I didn’t witness. In retrospect, I wish I’d been the guy in the video who ran up shouting “Hey! hey! hey!” Instead I pulled out my iPhone and took a picture which I’m pretty ashamed of. At least the story the video tells, lots of spectators doing nothing, and one guy running up to defend the neighborhood. If you’re looking for something to take from this video, be that guy who runs up in front of the window being smashed or the car about to be spray painted. And when they start swearing at you, don’t introduce violence because that changes the game, but just say you love your neighborhood and this isn’t what you want. [link]

So there are two silver linings here. 1.) This one citizen standing up to the mob means there’s still good in the world, and 2.) This one commenter bringing some positivity to the discussion means there’s still good in the Mission Mission comments section.

Happy Friday, everybody. Love your neighborhood!

Eye on the ball

Chris Rock once opined that Richard Pryor was like the Willie Mays of comedy (flashy, fun to watch), while Bill Cosby was more like Hank Aaron (consistent performance). Foraying this analogy into vegan restaurants, then, we have a bunch of Willie Mays-type establishments here in San Francisco (makes sense, Go Giants!), but there’s something to be said for most runs batted in. Cha-Ya is a Hank Aaron, and I mean that as a compliment.

I’ve written before about how my omnivorous friends sometimes grow weary of my suggesting dinner at Cha-Ya. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that I always seem to have success getting eaters of all stripes to eat at (or get takeout from) Cha-Ya when they’re under the weather. Hey friends, go with me more and maybe you’ll get fewer colds in the first place! It’s not like eating their veggie tempura is a hardship.

While picking up my to-go order tonight, I noticed this sign directed at employees explaining what food they could and could not cook for themselves in the restaurant kitchen. Want to make a vegan feel safe? This is how we do it:

Say hey, kids!



I rarely go to Ritual because I live closer to Four Barrel (and I LOVE it), but I ended up at the former this evening. Ritual’s vegan apple nut bread is very mediocre: nothing is horribly wrong with it, but it’s too sweet, too dry, and has little character. But they sell all their pastries for $1 close to closing time, so at least I didn’t pay more than it was worth!

Next time I’ll just try harder to get to Arizmendi before it closes.

We happened upon this pair en route from the Phoenix to Serrano’s Pizza last night around 10. Were they occupying? Camping out at a stop on a road trip? Were they still there in the morning? So many questions.

Hot new look for the summer – a gently worn, authentic Eddie Bauer bag. Real deal Mission District grime and good times embedded in the thread. Stop being a Chrome drone or Timbuksnoozer and get some stylee. Guaranteed to keep your booze brisk and your tacos crisp while you’re chillin at Dolo parque this summer. Nuff said!

Relatively new pie pusher Mission Pizza has finally published their menu and boy the choices are overwhelming! Three types of Mission themed pies plus a Mexican Mariachi to boot. Somehow though they’ve amazingly been able to procure all toppings at the same cost. No matter your slice, you pay the same price! The only variable in price seems to be pie size. Any theories as to this egalitarian pricing scheme?

Among the many things for sale at the Fair Oaks Street Fair right now!

This old building on 15th and Dolores has been hiked up on stilts for a couple of months now. Wondering why? No, it’s not being relocated to Oakland to be cooler.

The short answer is that someone’s excavating the site for construction of a new building. The long answer involves some crazy-ass history including a Luterhan church founded by Swedes and an arson plot allegedly perpetrated by the Aryan brotherhood.

Intrigued? Read on at Curbed SF.

[photo by dexnandflexn]

Once a year, usually during a particularly warm stretch of days, five blocks of Fair Oaks Street (between Guerrero and Dolores) transforms into a massive garage sale.

And I can’t think of a better setting in which to get your thrift on — this Saturday promises pleasant temperatures in the mid-70s, and Fair Oaks Street always promises to be one of the loveliest tree-and-flower-lined streets this neighborhood has to offer (as well as being a half-block away from the Ames Alley community gallery).

Plus, you can hunt for that perfect Mother’s Day present you may have forgotten to buy.