Mission Mission

Readers over at SFist recently voted on what they feel should be the motto of San Francisco, and the winner by plurality was “Not Smug.  Just Better,” with “Back Door! BACK DOOR! Step Down! STEP DOWN!” coming in a close second.  This got me wondering, does the Mission have a motto?  Does it even need one?  If so, what would it be?

What do you think, guys?  How does “PBR and Jameson” sound?

[Photo by Emmanuelle via SFist]

Dolores Park Works got a letter from the SFMTA indicating that STOP signs on 19th and Dolores are inappropriate:

“STOP signs are primarily used to define right-of-way where it may be unclear. This intersection is presently controlled by a STOP sign on 19th [on Cumberland], thus vehicles on this street must stop and yield…installation of an all-way STOP could also lead to incomplete stops and increase potential for rear-end and collisions.”

So STOP signs are inappropriate because there is already a STOP sign on 19th and Cumberland, two streets that are actually parallel. Is this an elaborate math problem in which we are to assume Dolores Park exists in a non-Euclidean space?

Furthermore, STOP signs aren’t appropriate because the assumption is that cars generally don’t stop at them and the ones that do will get into rear-end accidents. Things really must have really gone downhill since I took my written drivers license exam when I was 15 and a half. I guess it’s time I got a new DMV handbook.

Get the full scoop at DPW.

Lighting up at Valencia near 15th.

Is this even normal?  I was always under the impression that as long as you didn’t try to go to this place during the ridiculously crowded weekends, you would be okay.  Instead, perhaps owing to the welcome afternoon sunshine, the spot was packed with a waitlist at least ten-deep, so $4 mimosas had to be replaced with the $6 ones down the street at Revolution Cafe.

At least it meant that we got to hang out at the 22nd Street Parklet with these guys:

Previously:

Boogaloos: New Menus Means New Prices

Bike Racks For Boogaloos (and Friends)

22nd Street Parklet to Include Big-Ass Marimba

Mission Local published a provocative article today suggesting that the 24th street corridor from Valencia to Potrero has a severe rat infestation on its hands, as three of its restaurants have been forced by the City to temporarily close due to vermin.  Super China Fun, purveyor of the questionable strategy of pricing food by the scoop, was one of the victims and will soon be replaced by a new Thai place, Chilli Cha Cha.  This has prompted some to ask the question of whether restaurants should be required to reveal that they have been shut down in the past for health violations.

It’s a tricky issue:  diners should have some sense of security that the food they are eating hasn’t been contaminated, but owners probably also shouldn’t be forced to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of their business lives if they’ve resolved the problem.  Rats are definitely an issue in the Mission, as they’ve contributed to the prolonged closure of one of our favorite margarita pitcher-slinging spots, La Rondalla (20th and Valencia), where it used to feel like it was Feliz Navidad everyday.  Similarly, local blogger Generic left his apartment in the Tokyo Go Go building because he was tired of an unending rodent infestation, and that was way over on 16th.

What about the rest of us?  Tell us, residents of the Mission:  Are you menaced by rats?  Are they IN UR HAUS, eatin ur granola?  Do you think anything should be done about it (can anything be done?), or is this just life in the Mission?

UPDATE!!!! Clever insight by commenter Elina:

The stupid landlords need to start allowing tenants to have pets. No rats or cock roaches in apartment with cats and dogs.

 Is it just that easy???

[Photo]

If lo riders get to have their own song, what do you think these guys should get?  Perhaps something by Vanilla Ice?  ABBA?

Spotted on Potrero at 24th.

Oh, good!

Photo by dana dana.

Previously:

Love Will Tear Us Apart

Laugh all you want, but last time things didn’t turn out so well!  Just mere meters away from where the last sinkhole wreaked havoc on 24th Street, the nascent formation of another begins, bending space and time (and concrete).  I would hate for anything to get in the way of everyone’s favorite tortilleria, with its fresh, plentiful supply of huaraches, gorditas, and those delectable nopales (cactus) tortillas, but I’m starting to worry about a pattern here.

Still not impressed?  Well, it does look a little more sinister from the other direction:

But how deep does it actually go?  Do your best Jules Verne impression after the jump:

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My vote goes to Mission Laundromat on 22nd right next door to the Latin American Club.  You’ve got $2 basic machines, $4 and $6 heavy-duty units, and 7 minutes of drying per quarter.  Ample seating has been introduced to augment the jury-rigged wire bench pictured at the front here, making for a nice lounge in which to catch up on that Milan Kundera novel you’ve been putting off (as long as you don’t mind the hospital-bright fluorescent lights, rhythmic drone of overloaded washers, and frequent visits and appeals from panhandlers).  Best of all, your friends on their way to a quick drink next door will often spot you and invite you to come along!

Anyone else have any suggestions?  Until I hear about a better one, I’m declaring this one the winner.

[Photo by Sangroncito]