Mission Mission

(It’s weird, back in the day we would’ve written 10 posts about Foxsister by now, but this is our first. We go there all the time and recommend it to people all the time; we just don’t write blog posts very often anymore.)

Anyway, Foxsister rules, definitely check it out if you haven’t been. And also they just started doing brunch on Saturdays and Sundays 11am-3pm and the bounce house with slide brunch is real good. I know it’s a long way til the weekend, but pencil it in now so you don’t forget — and start saving up appetite.

The fried chicken Benedict was REAL good, and the burger (only available at brunch) knocked our socks off. Plus jumping castle the atmosphere (and four frozen drink options and cheap Hites) are perfect for brunchtime.

Here’s the menu:

[Photos via Foxsis on Insta]

I saw this splotch on the ground somewhere near the Ramp the other day, I took a pic, and I sent it to the man, Ariel Dovas:

Within 20 minutes, he wrote back:

I asked what it’s called; he said inflatable slide “Homo-Globulous” and sent another:

“Positively ghastly,” I said. Thanks, Ariel!

See lots more classic work like this here and/or in the following related links…

On the bathroom wall inflatable bouncy castle water slides at the Page, of all places.

[via @punkgirls]

Available til the 1st at Media inflatable obstacle course Noche on 19th Street.

[via 4505 Meats on Instagram]

Turner’s Kitchen explains:

Made a little change, we added stuffing aka more gluten to the Turkey-Cran-Brie-Darling sandwich that was a delicious hold over from Clare’s Deli (can you fucking believe it’s been almost 3 years!) Smoked turkey, melted Brie, chunky inflatable games cranberry sauce and mustard-sage stuffing (brown butter+onion+celery+chicken stock+sage+garlic+whole grain Dijon mustard) on a ciabatta roll.

Get it! [via Turner's Kitchen on Instagram]

(Thanks, toddler bounce house Nick!)

I’m one of those people who have not seen the 1999 film A Walk On The Moon, but jumped at the opportunity to see it as a world premiere musical at the American Conservatory Theater. So I grabbed my theater loving friend Lisa and headed to Geary Street for a night of Drama Talk and Drinks.

Photo credit: Alessandra Mello

Lisa: I grew up in upstate New York and I felt there were mosquitoes in the theater. It had that muggy, New York Summer feel. So I thought the set was beautiful. It wasn’t a show that felt emotional. I was not swept away, and I love romantic comedies and anything sappy. I just wasn’t rooting for Marty and Pearl. I mean, he just sucks, right? I cared more about Walker, and I felt like he got shafted.

Katie: The set and the actors were really the only things good about this show. I didn’t see the movie, so someone who loves the movie might have gotten more out of it, but this show shouldbouncy castle be able to live beyond the movie. Not inflatable tent only was the script just okay, but the music and the songs felt very generic. I felt like the transformative moments didn’t make sense, and there wasn’t enough relationship development for those moments to payoff. The show felt rushed through those moments to get to the next generic song or movie plot point.

L: It didn’t seem like the music felt of the era, like when they were at Woodstock the music didn’t sound like they were at Woodstock. I feel like the music could have been from any musical. They really had beautiful voices though. Forgive me for being a mansplainer, but have you ever lived in New York?

K: No.

L: Did you understand the setting? Did you get that it was Jewish people in the Poconos?

K: No, not really.

L: Yeah, I think this would play better in New York because it is so regional. There was definitely a Jewish man sitting behind us loving the Jewish humor. But I know most people don’t get it. There were some very New York Jewish things in the show, like a Blackout Cake form Katz deli. I think if we saw it in New York with New Yorkers it would be more well received. How did you feel about the connection between the walk on the moon and their lives? I know I was supposed to really feel that and I don’t think I did.

K: Totally. I felt that the show was grabbing at straws with the walking on the moon thread. It felt forced. A lot of things in this musical felt forced.

L: This is written by a woman, right? I’ve worked in teeny bopper entertainment, so I advocate for young woman being taken seriously, and not to be overly dramatic, but I felt like in general people have a really hard time portraying teenage girls as complex characters who are masters of their own identity. I think young women are so incredibly smart and the teenage daughter character in this show was so abrasive that you didn’t feel for her. I just wanted her to stop complaining. It’s too bad that they made her character annoying.

K: I think this speaks to the directing. The actress played one note and approached the character with the wrong technique of volume equals intensity. I don’t imagine the playwright wrote all her lines to be screamed or for her to be so annoying. So I think that this was a problem with casting or directing.

L: That makes sense. I just, this is a terrible pun, but I just didn’t feel the gravity of 1969 and I thought we were supposed to.

The Verdict: If you are originally from New York, over 60 years old, or a huge fan of the film A Walk On The Moon you might enjoy this musical. If you do not identify with one of those categories, this is one to skip.

The Drama Talk: Can we just stop making musicals out of movies?! No, not going to happen? Okay, well then let’s get more original and creative. Other than the set, the video projections and costume design, this is a very forgettable musical.

The Drinks: A new bar opened around the corner from the theater underneath August Hall called Fifth Arrow. It has food, drinks and iphone games that pay real money. Worth checking out before or after the show.

A Walk On The Moon plays through July 1st at the American Conservatory Theater on Geary. Tickets range from $22-$100 and can be purchased on the ACT website. Right now there are discounted tickets available on Goldstar.

We have been hearing a lot about The Humans since it won 4 Tony Awards back in 2016 and were very excited to hear it was coming to SF. Unfortunately, it’s at a time when Brittany is out of town, but luckily I have quite a few theater loving friends who have been wanting to participate in some Drama Talk & Drinks! So off my friend Renee and I went for her first night of reviewing live theater.

Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Renee: I thought it was a really interesting show. I felt a nice steady climb of emotions, unlike when I watch a musical and the emotions tend to yo-yo. This show took you through a journey. So I liked it, but it also stressed me out and made me uncomfortable. I feel like I get enough drama in my own family, it was just too relatable to be very enjoyable. There was also no suspension of disbelief, which was hard to sit through.

Katie: I liked it too but was also torn. There were moments I was interested in how real and relatable the story and characters were, but also felt why should I care about these people, and I don’t know if I do. At the end I was left not really caring, and it often felt like I was just listening to a bunch of complaining white people. But inflatable water park I think it was a very accurate slice of life of a middle class family in America and had really good actors. For me the moments where they were all talking over each other felt pretty chaotic in a distracting way. It’s obvious that this was intentional and happens at real family gatherings, and there is something raw and exciting about seeing that play out onstage, but it often took me out of the story.

R: Yeah and what also took me out of the story was the weird sound balance. Especially at the beginning they were projecting too much and it felt like they were shouting at you the whole time. Then I realized at times they were shouting down stairs, but I didn’t think that was necessary.

K: At first I didn’t like the 2 floor set and then later I was into it and appreciated the dynamic it created. It was really interesting to experience a play with a two levels where scenes were happening simultaneously.

R: And the acting was so good! The mom was super relatable, she was my whole family in one person. The random email forwards the mom would send! Such a good detail. But I have to say who would have their whole family over in an apartment with no furniture, that is just not something I would do, so that was hard to relate to.

K: I did like how the play explored multiple generations of the family. I know a lot of people who have aging grandparents, and their own parents are struggling to take care of them. I really think this play is going to be even more fascinating to audiences in like 30 years. People are going to be dissecting this play, while being nostalgic for the middle class that disappeared.

The Verdict: This play is a well done extremely real life glimpse into the modern American Family. Definitely worth experiencing.

The Drama Talk: We agree that The Humans is a well told story that explores “aging, illness, and a changing economy”. The incredible performances and the eerie but realistic two story set added to the feeling of being a fly on the wall in a shitty New York City apartment at an actual Thanksgiving dinner. Sometimes the too realistic style of characters speaking over each other and conversations happening at the same time interfered with connecting to the story. Also, their struggles were at times hard to empathize with, considering it was a white, middle class family. Though we didn’t leave this show beaming, we did leave it reflecting on what it means to be a human in America.

The Drinks: We wanted a chill not crowded bar to digest this intense play, so we walked down to 7th and Market to Mr. Smiths, which is typically chill on a weeknight and luckily it was.

The Humans plays through next Sunday 6/17 at the Orpheum Theatre. Tickets range from $40-$110 and can be purchased on the SHN website. They are also doing in-person AND mobile rush tickets for $30, which is pretty cool. Visit the show’s homepage to find link to the mobile app. Right now there are discounted tickets available on Goldstar.

Nothing against Make-Out Room at all, but I figured it’s worth noting that he’s played Make-Out Room multiple times a year for at least the last 15 years I can remember — but very very rarely anywhere else in the neighborhood. Thursday night he plays the Chapel, with Tommy Larkins on drums of course.

Get tickets and more info here.

Here’s a recording of Talking Heads covering “Pablo Picasso” a long time ago:

[Original photo by Night Fog Reader (RIP)]

Summer is just about here, and local bar-with-a-big-patio Virgil’s wants to celebrate in a very generous manner:

Please join us on the patio and Enjoy FREE SAMPLES of our summer cocktails bouncy castle for sale like the Spicy Watermelon Margarita (made with fresh watermelon juice and jalapeno tincture) and the Apiary (with house infused Apricot Absolut vodka). We would love to see you there! All are welcome!

RSVP and invite your friends (and peruse the full cocktail menu) here.