Mission Mission

This comment just popped up on the lengthy thread of gripes about the $15 burger situation at Mission Bowling Club:

Regarding the $15 burger, well, you know, that’s just like, uh, you’re opinion man…

It’s kind of a glass half-full/half-empty thing right? Of course it makes me sad to be the perpetrator of a $15 burger.

But keep in mind, at Duc Loi it was $8, then $9 towards the end. It was available from 12-3pm standing or sitting on a milk crate in a super market. That’s about as low overhead as you can get and it turned out that it was not a viable business model–I think for one two week stretch, I put in 50 hours and made $100.

Mission Bowling Club is an attempt at a viable business model for the owners and investors. If my food program isn’t profitable enough for them, someone else will be taking over the reins. And on the bright side, the Mission Burger IS available for $10 from 3-6pm in a restaurant with a full bar. So thrifty foodies can take heart.

Besides, the whole menu is cheap for fine dining and expensive for junk food, so if you’re one to judge based on labels, it’s a free country. You can rent movies, or go the movie theater. Some of these new fangled beers are kind of pricey too.

Of course our initial inclination is to side with Anthony, since he’s helping bring a unique entertainment option to the neighborhood and you’re, well, writing mean stuff on the internet. But the concern is understandable – I don’t see myself on an average afternoon spending $75 on a burger, a few beers and an hour of bowling.

Let me point one thing out: I grew up watching bowling alleys close. Whatever Amoeba was was gone for as long as I can remember, and the demise of Japantown Bowl just about ruined my dreams of a career in professional between-the-legs bowling. All we had left was Presidio and Serra bowl, so most of the city was without viable options. And the food at Presidio is inedible, so it really doesn’t matter how cheap it is. I can’t speak to Serra Bowl because I’ve never had a car, but that’s gone anyway so whatever.

So maybe we’re just not willing to pay for however much it is a bowling alley costs. But some people are giving it a shot, so should we just see how it goes?

But Anthony, we gotta know: does it come with fries?

Warm Leatherette is back at it again this evening at Sub-Mission with very special guest dj Sereina Winters of Brave Exhibitions Berlin. Regulars Justin, Riegler, Nihar, and Jason get the dans partie started. Let loose on the  floor as cold wave, minimal synth & generally dark tunes are spun. Doors at 10 pm.

Fresh & Easy, the rapidly expanding supermarket chain that combines the charm of an expensive Trader Joe’s with the mystique of a cheaper Whole Foods, has been approved by the Planning Commission to take over the old Delano’s space. Convenient location in an area where supermarkets are sparse, so for the moment I’m for it. It’ll also have a nice parking lot for the seven of you who drive.

Curbed SF reports:

The Commissioners added a condition that they could only sell beer and wine, since “most kids are not trying to steal wine at the grocery store”. The project was approved 4-3, with the condition that Fresh & Easy must apply for WIC as soon as the moratorium is lifted, and they must aim to meet a 100% local hiring goal.

Read on.

Our BFF Jess Kelso went bowling at a Mission Bowling Club preview party last night, and took a bunch of beautiful photos and told us all about it:

Apparently they rolled the scissor lift out 5 minutes before we arrived, but you never would have known it — the space looked amazing. As well as being responsible for a lot of the decor inside (including the curtains and the bowling stripes along the wall), Sommer’s mum has also created a beautiful garden wall in the space out the front of the alley. The outdoor space was still a bit bare but there are tables, chairs and bike racks on the way.

The food was delicious and beautifully presented, I especially liked the Home Fries on a Stick (literally served on a stick poking out of a piece of wood that was once part of a bowling lane) and the Buttermilk Pannacotta, served in a vintage teacup.

You seriously have to try the house cocktail, “TBD,” a blend of mescal and jalapeno jam. I’ve never tasted anything like it (it made my nose itchy), and it will be named after the first person to score a perfect 300. Challenge accepted! Although since I only scored 58 I think I have a long way to go…

You can do it, Jess! Now let’s look at more pictures:

Lots more pictures (of the food, the drink, the dining room, the garden and more) after the jump:

(more…)

Duc Loi Market at 18th/Mission officially kicked off its brand new kitchen today, and the star of the show is the “Authentic Vietnamese” sandwich, which owner Amanda Ngo serves piled high with cured ham, pork belly, chicken liver pâté, and head cheese. How does it compare with the $3.50 banh mi’s you’ll find elsewhere in the city? The quality of ingredients, proximity to the Mission, generous portions, and overall flavor package make it well worth the extra buck and change.

The menu also has a good breadth of variety – including a fried chicken sandwich, a BBQ menu, and a veggie portobello tofu sandwich that can be made vegan if you ask for no mayo. According to Helen Tseng, “It’s as big as your head and contains about half an avocado”. Hit the jump for a closer look!

(more…)

I took my bike to the Heavy Metal Bike Shop today, and noticed this sign outside newly opened Rock Bar next door. Here’s a closeup:

Looks like Rock Bar is throwing an opening party next Wednesday, March 21, and of all things, a donkey is involved. I’m not entirely sure what that’s about, but I know one thing for sure — if it’s anything like this, I’m there.

This Sunday, Rice Paper Scissors will be serving up Northern-style beef pho, corn sticky rice, Vietnamese yogurt, and other brunchable delights at their first popup since returning from Vietnam. They’ll be setting up shop around 14th and Folsom from 11am to 4pm; the exact location is yet to be announced, so follow them on Twitter for the tip.

Here’s their blurb on what “Northern-style” pho entails:

There’s nothing more satisfying than a steaming bowl of pho in the morning — and while we were in Vietnam, we held off on eating it until we reached Hanoi — the place where it all originated.

After a late night and waking up Vietnamese style (that means at 6am!) we ventured down Xuân Diệu Street and came across a streetside pho house where locals and taxi drivers go for breakfast. We know about the latter group because one car almost ran over Katie to park and get his morning pho fix.

It was very simple: beef, noodles, damn good broth. Northern-style pho has no frills (aka no herbs and bean sprouts) and simply leaves you to the good stuff. That’s the way we like it.

Full menu and more details here.

The bánh mì-nification of the Mission continues, as this recent upstart at 2788 Mission Street near 24th Street BART pops up seemingly overnight. Formerly known as Mission Sub, this new Quickly USA venture aims to please, with a 3 for $10 deal. However, not everyone thinks this deal is worth going for, considering the newly opened swank Saigon sub setup at Duc Loi six blocks down Mission Street. Who will prevail in the bánh mì battle?

I was all excited to review Ken Ken Ramen for all you nice people but last night when my friends and I arrived at their doorstep, we found, much to our surprise, that the restaurant was closed. Apparently it’s only open Thursday through Saturday each week at the moment, though they have plans to open for business on Wednesdays soon as well.

What made this particularly maddening was that a) I was so hungry I was almost hallucinating, and b) there were people in there eating pizza, taunting us. Oh, the pain! the suffering!

We decided to take a cue from the Ken Ken employees and get some pizza for ourselves, scooting over to Little Star as fast as our soggy, wet feet would carry us.

Hey Little Star! You know what you could do that would make me soooo happy? If you could give us vegans the opportunity to partake in your famous deep dish pizza! As I understand it, the only thing that makes the deep dish non-vegan-friendly is that they grease the deep dish pans with butter. Why they can’t set aside a few to grease with olive oil each night boggles my mind, and every time I go, I always ask them to confirm that this is still non-negotiable. It still is. As they say in Italy, il sigh.

The flat crust is still good though! Lots of flavor from the sweet sauce, roasted garlic, and kalamata olives. See?

Our pal Pavla made us VIPs for this showcase in which Carson Daly was gonna be introducing Thee Oh Sees. I don’t go to many official showcases, but Carson Daly introducing Thee Oh Sees? C’mon. So we get there and he introduces them and it’s awesome, and then they place and it’s awesome — and THEN, for their traditional closer “Dead Energy,” for which they sometimes invite up a guest drummer (such as Nick from White Fence or someting), they invited up Carson himself. I thought it was a joke but it was not. I almost died. Best night ever! Oh Sees rule!

Our colleagues over at Rolling Stone were in the house as well (albeit they didn’t manage to get as close as us) and managed to shoot some video. Watch it here.

There will be more thorough video on Carson’s NBC show next week.

[Photo by Lizbones] [Thanks, Pavla! Thanks, Sony Music Unlimited!]