Mission Mission

Jason from Popo’s Pizza, the new pizzeria on 24th and Bartlett, invited us down to taste their pizza and drink beer last night. We like pizza and beer. We also like free things. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse (stay tuned for another Godfather reference).

Here’s some general information: Popo’s got it’s start in West Oakland where it has received some undeniably good reviews. Pizza chef Charles Hopkins (who for some reason introduced himself as “Jay”) is a graduate from the SF Culinary Institute and he makes his dough fresh daily. They are closing up the West Oakland location and moving here. He won’t only be serving pizza, either. Jay seems to have a thing for rotisserie-ing every kind of animal, so expect that to come a few weeks after opening day. Apparently, he makes some killer ribs.

On to the pizza, which is what we all really care about right now. Jay’s pizzas are definitely his own creations. If you’re looking for the NY-style Arinell killer, you wont find it here. But hey, not all pizza needs to taste like New York, right? Besides, we already have an Arinell. Bagels, I would argue, do need to taste like NY.

I realize that unconventional ingredients like BBQ chicken, mango, squash, and fresh-sliced gouda scream “California Pizza Kitchen”, but I thought it was tasty and the ingredients were of surprisingly high quality. We sampled  a few pies: “BBQ Pesto Chicken”, “Mango Prosciutto”, “Muzu”, and  ”Ham and Smoked Gouda Goodness”.

When Jay rushed over to drizzle truffle oil over my slice claiming he forgot to do so earlier I said, “that’s cheating”. But I’m not one to turn truffle oil down, so I had him dump it on all my slices, thus deliciously contaminating my entire sample set. Some scientist I am. He also had a side of some pretty mind-blowing blue cheese on the side that I piled on just about everything.

Near the end of our visit, Jay brought out a surprise dessert of cannolis which were so good that I wouldn’t dream of leaving them in the car. Unfortunately, these don’t seem to be on the menu.

Overall, I really enjoyed the za. Nick and Lily thought it could have used some more salt. The guys from Mr. Pickle Sandwich Shop (who were also there for some reason) didn’t stop scarfing down slices long enough to say anything so I assume they liked it too.

That being said, it’s not a quick grab-and-go slice spot common to the area. Their smallest offering is a $7.50 personal 7″ pizza. All their pizzas are priced the same ranging from $22.50 for a 14″ to $26.50 for an 18″. Due to the thinness and softness of the crust, I don’t think it will fill you up as much as a similarly priced Zante pizza (my go-to take out pizza) but will definitely be an interesting departure in terms of flavors. However, their pies to come with free salad and dessert, so that’s a bonus.

The restaurant is still under construction, but they expect to open tomorrow (Friday). Here’s the menu: Page 1, Page 2.

Mission Local reports:

“They can be very selfish,” says a blond, pretty girl with glasses and a striped T-shirt at 780 Cafe. She doesn’t want to reveal her name, which is understandable, because she’s about to fiercely criticize almost all of her past techie dates and assert that she will avoid them in the future. She knows what she’s talking about, she says; she has not only dated a handful of techies, but has also worked for a tech company.

“They have a lot of money and are very stingy all the same. They think that what they’re doing is the most important thing in the world. They schedule girlfriends the way they would schedule meetings.” She defines them as “socially awkward,” a term she is not the only one to use.

Uh-oh! (It’s not all negative though.) Read on!

Photo is of Neil D., who is not one bit selfish or stingy, but he works in tech and it’s possible he might be a bit socially awkward, but I’m not sure. Photo by C’mon Pony.

Hot on the heels of our most recent gustatory adventures in fun food combinations, we present the perfect marriage of Asian and Latin cuisine. Take some of the tastiest and MSG-laden seaweed around and dip it in some of the best salsa our neighborhood has to offer (from La Palma of course), and voila! A pan-Pacific party for your palate!

Previously:

• Guacamole and Indian pizza lettuce wrap recipe
• Hot dog recipe
• The Sushirrito
• CHINITO!

[via any128]

Local filmmaker Kate Imbach just completed a short film about local modernist classical composer Christopher Fulkerson, who’s made his living driving a cab ever since work for composers dried up a couple decades back. He talks about how PCs vs. Macs (and pencils vs. computer programs) and the fall of the Soviet Union impacted his profession, and also drives the camera all around the Mission. See for yourself:

The best part was when the stilts girl who was with them did the splits and somebody way up the hill shouted “YEEEAH, BITCH,” which is rude — but the whole park cracked up. That was the best part.

Or, AN AWESOME PIECE OF JEWELRY AROUND MY NECK! Bingo bango, vodka rules! DRINKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Linda!

[via Christina]

The mural space on Bryant at 24th Street has changed again. Most likely as a reaction to somebody tagging over it.

Reader Rob sends in the above picture and says:

Stoned, Occupy-targeted caterpillar has morphed into a stripey-panted, kowtowing, piece of poo/penis. Never a dull moment around here.

Commenter Dolissa says that as a public art wall the space is already reclaimed from advertisers who used it as a vehicle for unwelcome messages:

In the 1970s Latino artists and activists took over a billboard with tobacco and alcohol ads because they felt it was harmful to the community. The took over the space and used it to create art.

So now we have this thing. Soon to be replaced/defaced by something else. Hopefully this is respected long enough for people to appreciate it. Hopefully the next thing adds value to what’s there now, but since that’s completely subjective there’s just no way everyone can be satisfied. I guess the best we can hope for is that anyone can get in their piece at some time and that everyone gets a chance to appreciate at least one incarnation in the rotation. Free, open and public space is valuable to our neighborhood (especially if you consider that an alternative might just be another corporate billboard), and it can be anything you want it to be, but you will inevitably be forced to compromise what you want to make room for what someone else wants. And no amount of challenging a participant’s aesthetic or motives will change that.

UPDATE: In the comments, Matthew points us to the history of the Digital Mural Project on this wall.