Mission Mission

Local design and technology studio Stamen is probably best known for all of the cool interactive maps they make, like Prettymaps and Crimespotting. They’ve just released a beautiful watercolor basemap to be used with OpenStreetMap data. It’s a great day to be a map nerd.

There are plenty of art alleys in the Mission, and almost everyone has traversed Clarion and Balmy. But how many of you have heard of Ames Alley?

This charming community gallery is tucked away on Ames Street (slightly west of Guerrero) between 22nd and 23rd. It began a few years ago as part of a neighborhood beautification project, and neighbors have been adding to the display ever since.

A foam-bearded Brian Wilson inhabits one end…

…and a sleepy bluebird proclaims his love for Ames from the other.

Possibly the raddest mom ever.

Previously:

• Rollerblade to work day
• Rollerblade Football

The first time I ate at Herbivore, I left deeply skeptical of the enterprise. I ate lunch there with an ex-boyfriend (amicable, but still), on a rainy day between two job interviews (neither of which panned out), so looking back, I probably wasn’t in the best state to be critiquing my cuisine. The space was dark and cold, and the most memorable dish I had fell squarely into the category of mediocre. After that lunch, I made up my mind that the only thing Herbivore had going for it was that it was vegan. I was like, “What is this place even doing here?”

I heard they had revamped their menu lately so I decided to give it another shot.

Started with a small green juice, which was good and, at $3.95, was definitely cheaper than Sidewalk around the corner.  (Though I still like SWJ’s a little better.)

I was in the mood for a simple dinner, so I got a salad and a side of hummus.

The salad had lots of fresh greens and perfectly ripe avocado. Thumbs up.

Now, for my money, Old Jerusalem has the best hummus the Mission has to offer, but this hummus was still very flavorful and it came with these adorable pickle crosshatches:

So, here’s the deal: if you have the time and energy and daylight and sunshine to run around to make your own salad and then pick up juice and hummus from different locations, you can probably get better options.

But Herbivore has everything in one place with friendly, attentive yet not intrusive, and remarkably well-paced service. My server ran outside after me when I left my umbrella inside (I do stuff like that a lot). It’s clean and quiet and reasonably priced and no longer freezing.  It’s exactly the kind of thing I want to eat on a Monday night after a boozy weekend, or after getting off a plane.

Glad I gave it another shot. I’m going back and looking forward to it!

SFGate reports:

“The curves work,” said Commissioner Ron Miguel, referring to the shape of the fences above the building.

“But then you throw a box inside it, that doesn’t work,” he added, referring to the sharp edges of the building itself.

This might be a minor detail to some, but for project architects Susan Aitken and Aditya Advani, it means the entire project could be delayed.

Good gravy. Read on.

Now called Dante’s Weird Fish, the beloved vegan-friendly eatery reopens today, right on schedule. The menu still has all the classics, like the Little B. Stack and the fried pickles. Read all about it here.

[Grub Street SF]

[via MarcusParcus]

The case of Richard Sprague’s homicide (whose body, under a yellow tarp, lies where it was found in the above image) on February 19th has a suspect in custody. According to Mission Local Roland Pouncy, who was arrested last month with an ATM card formerly belonging to the victim, is now an official suspect in the homicide. Police had initially been hesitant to refer to him as anything other than a person of interest in possession of stolen property.

We previously posted about the homicide here.

Local artist Justin Hager has a show up at Four Barrel right now, featuring his signature crude “drawerings and painterings” of puns on 90′s icons, including gems such as Urkel Jerks and E.T. Boz (pictured above). Hey Justin, how about rounding out that TLC series with, uh, Left Eye Peas or Chilli Cheese Dog? Or, you know, whatever you think of.

See more of Justin’s work here.