Mission Mission

Not quite as catchy as a Liger, but these American automobile companies have been kind of desperate lately so I suppose you have to at least give them credit for trying to resuscitate the luxury SUV market.

Dust off those Big Lebowski quotes and those shoes you snagged from Albany Bowl, Mission Bowling Club is opening next Monday, March 17. For the first week, hours will be 6-11pm. It’s located at 3176 17th Street between Shotwell and South Van Ness.

Here’s a draft of the Anthony Myint-curated menu. Glad to see it contains such bowling alley classics as Blackened Catfish and Bucatini:

And here’s a making-of video to tide you over for the next few days:

[via Mission Loc@l]

I can’t get over the pictures of the Lung Shan staff from this week’s Vice feature on Mission Chinese Food.

I’ve always been fascinated with the dynamic between these grizzled Chinese cooks and their young, hip, culinary hot-shot restaurant-mates. In case you never bothered to look up at the sign, Mission Chinese Food rents its space from Lung Shan and has essentially taken over. Lung Shan’s menu is now largely ignored.

Mission Chinese chef Danny Bowien mentioned that the owners have operated the restaurant decades and never seemed concerned that business was slow, they just liked having a place to hang out. Sure enough, if you ever go in on a weekday during off-hours you’ll see them sitting at the round table in the back chatting and reading the papers. When you order something off their menu, one of them casually gets up, strolls to the kitchen, and cooks it.

I hear a lot of criticism of Mission Chinese Food from Asian Americans for not being authentic enough, notably from my parents who are restaurant owners themselves. But I don’t think that’s the point. Bowien has always admitted  that he’s still learning to cook Chinese food. Still, it’s clear his fresh approach has struck a chord with a generation that these old-timers could never reach.

Chinese food has sadly taken a turn towards the junk food genre in America, being generalized a cheap take-out experience. Did you know that Panda Express is in the running for the “Best of Milpitas” list in the category of “Best Chinese (overall)”? Shocking. Sometimes it takes an outsider to break out of the mold.

Me? I like both the old and the new. My grandfather was a cook in a restaurant much like Lung Shan while I was a kid. At home, his food wasn’t gourmet, but I’ll never forget such fusion creations as “vienna sausage fried rice” and “fried fish with ketchup”. Not exactly traditional. He also was fond of peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, something that I urge all discerning palates to try.

Sometimes I feel the urge to dust off my shitty 1st-grade-level Cantonese and ask these guys about how they feel about this new crop of oddly-dressed kids dining in their restaurant. But I’m sure they would answer like many folks of their generation do, with a subdued shrug and “business is good.”

Update:

Arlo tells us that the photos are by Alanna Hale. More great photos of the Lung Shan gang are on her site and tumblr.

These days, I can’t go a week without hearing someone lament the lack of a steady banh mi source in the Mission (usually, those rants are from Andrew Sarkarati). Lament no more, for starting tomorrow, Duc Loi Market will be selling five delicious Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches for $5 a pop, 11am-7pm every day.

And if you can’t wait until tomorrow, there’s an opening tasting party tonight, 3pm-6pm.

[via Rice Paper Scissors]

Symmetrical pint stacking! Mass hysteria! Fun new game!

[via FUNTASTIC!]

Today, Mission Pie is celebrating circles and everyone’s favorite irrational constant with reduced price sweet slices all day. Tap into your inner nerd, sweet tooth, and cheapskate all at once!

Any other Pi Day specials going on today? Has anyone checked in with Pizza Love?

[Photo via Laughing Squid]

It’s called “Blackout Drunk” and it’s by Erin M. Riley. She also has lots of good tapestries that depict babes making out and smoking weed.

[via Kelly Kate]

Mission Bicycle has announced their new eight-speed bicycle, aptly named the Sutro (because you’ll probably need all those gears to make it all the way up there).

Frame designer Emmanuel Eng designed the Sutro with elegance in mind, including an internal gear hub and cables that are routed through the bike tubing. Like any other Mission Bicycle, you get to pick all the colors and bells and whistles.

Here’s a pretty video showing the Sutro in action:

Porto Franco Records hipped us to this video of the Rob Reich Trio looking sharp and performing Puttin’ on the Ritz. It was shot in that weird store that sells a bunch of neat expensive old stuff (AKA Viracocha).

Be sure to watch for the drum solo at the end. Drummer Beth Goodfellow kills me every time. She reminds me of Sonny Payne on some of that killer small combo Count Basie stuff on youtube.

You can catch Rob and Beth at Amnesia every Wednesday 8-10pm as part of Gaucho.