After a long absence from San Francisco, Pal’s is back!!! Every Friday at this place Birba, which is an acclaimed but modest little neighborhood wine bar full of nice people and plenty of places to sit and scarf a big ol’ Pal’s sandwich.

And despite the long absence, the sandwiches are just as we remember them — big and richchateau gonflable and full of character and freshness and fun flavors and textures. (And when we went a couple Fridays back, the menu was very familiar — 4 or 5 sandwiches to choose from, including that legendary Lao sausage.)

It’s 11:30am to 3ish, every Friday now. Birba is in Hayes Valley, yes, but think of it more like a 5-minute bike ride from Zeitgeist:

Here are a couple more closeups, courtesy of the Pal’s Take Away Instagram, to help warm up your tastebuds:

[Map by Google]

For sale online now or on the corner of 23rd and Valencia this weekend!

[via Amos Goldbaum on Twitter]

[Photo and headline by Ariel Dovas]

Lately I’ve been noticing these piles of mixed-color jagged glass in the Valencia bike lanes. It’s possible these come from trash cans or trucks or something, but at the risk of sounding conspiratorial, I find myself wondering if someone with a beef for bicyclists is doing it. There’s something kind of purposeful about how they are right in the middle of the lanes, and other people in my office have seen them as well. This was between 15th and 16th this morning. Wondering if you guys have heard anything about it?

Noise Pop this week announced all the non-musical stuff booked for this year’s 20th Street Block Party. First there’s the food:

• Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas
• Bonito Poke
• El Pipila
• Farmhouse Kitchen Thai
• FK Frozen Custard Bars
• Flour + Water
• Humphry Slocombe
• Kahnfections
• Rollin’ Deep (Little Star Pizza)
• Media Noche
• Mission Language and Vocational School
• Rookies
• Savourie Streets
• Seoul of Taipei
• The Pop Nation
• Universal Cafe
• WesBurger N’ More

And then there’s the nonprofits and businesses that will have booths or whatever:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco-Mission
• 826 Valencia
• Notes for Notes
• Alternative Cure
• Workshop SF
• ArtSpan
• Mission Community Music

And a few other bits and pieces:

Block Party guests can also stop by Mutiny Radio on 21st and Florida to watch the live broadcast with a full day of comedy, interviews, and performances from the volunteer-run organization. Visit the Rocket Dog Adoption Zoo to check out dogs of all ages in need of a loving home, play with these pups and maybe even take one home! The San Francisco LowRider Council will bring choice classic and modern cars to display on 19th Street and Bryant. Harken Chardonnay will have a special boardwalk installation featuring Live DJs from the Magnificent 7, a pop-up record shop by Amoeba, vintage VW photo booth by Das Bus, wine tasting, and so much more!

And of course, in case you forgot, the music:

Let’s listen to the Tambo Rays again:

RSVP and invite your neighbors!

[Photo by Paige K Parsons]

Mariachi’s, located at 16th and Valencia and beloved for its wide variety of different veggie options, closed in 2010.

[via Ariel Dovas on Twitter]

UPDATE: Scandalous!!!!!

A lot of fun @roxietheater meals there. They used to sell sangria in to-go cups!

— Mike Keegan (@keegskeegskeegs) July 10, 2017

Reader mushmouth has a different take:

No please no as a cyclist those things suck, I constantly get stuck behind two people riding slowly side by side chatting. They do nothing to stop cars but you will likely be hurt if you hit them on your bike. I highly doubt there were many injuries in the places they have been installed before they were installed. Seriously they are a solution searching for a problem.

SFBC if you want to make the streets safer get the quality of the pavement improved, and fixed right, maybe starting with the pothole that has been growing for the past year 20 feet from your HQ door on Market and Valencia.

[link]

Follow the SFMTrA (not affiliated with the SFMTA) for more.

[via Roll Over Easy]

So here’s what’s up. Tomorrow, Mission Bicycle unveils (thanks to Betabrand for the veil) what we’ve been working on for the last 2 years.

• Integrated lights
• GPS tracking

Starting in 2018, all Mission Bicycles will come with theft-proof lighting. Front and rear.

Two lights, one battery, one button. Close to a month’s worth of commutes with one charge of a removable rechargeable battery.

Mission Bicycle is adding a GPS tracking device to help reunite bike owners with their bikes in the event of theft. “The bike industry regularly takes note at what’s happening in the Mission. The suits literally come into our store for ‘inspiration.’ ” gloated Jefferson McCarley, General Manager of Mission Bicycle Co. “I actually hope they rip us off.” McCarley said. “More bikes on the street with GPS tracking will help us move the needle in reducing bike theft. Might take them a couple of years, but I really do hope that more bike companies can figure this out.”

An Android and ios app shows Mission owners where the bike is at all times.

Tuesday night at 6:00, Mission Bicycle staff will be on hand to answer questions and demo two prototype bikes in their R&D workshop which is located on the 2nd floor over the 766 Valencia storefront.

If Mission Bicycle Company’s Kickstarter campaign is funded then the LYRA will be available later this year to Kickstarter backers and to the general public in 2018. 

The company is planning to host a Bait Bike project in June as a part of their research and development. We’ll be posting videos of those adventures here.

This lil list will hardly do the place justice, but we’ve had some good times over the years. My favorite one is still the Lou Reed one, but they’re all (mostly) good:

• The time the Thrift Town building went up for sale for $15 million, 2009
• Thrift Town, the gym, 2010
• Australians in Thrift Town, 2010
• The OC (RIP) at Thrift Town (RIP), 2010
• Lou Reed (RIP) at Thrift Town (RIP), 2011
• Robin Williams (RIP) at Thrift Town (RIP), 2011
• Kreayshawn at Thrift Town, 2011
• A nice photo by Ariel Dovas (RIP), 2012
• The time when we thought Thrift Town was in danger, 2013
• The time a month later when the new property owner said Thrift Town was probably not in danger, 2013
• “Nasty fun” (huh?) at Thrift Town, 2013
• A moving poem about contemporary life in SF, 2015

RIP, ol pal(s).

Once and Future Band, from Oakland, headlines their own record release show tonight at the Chapel on Valencia Street. Get tickets here.

And you can get the new album at the show or order it directly from Castle Face.

Here’s the invite:

In light of our friends’ recent tragedy

ATA is holding a benefit for all who have been affected by the Oakland Ghost Ship fire. Please join us for a night of live performances, visual art, music and much more.

More details soon.

ATA is a timewarp into a different era of the Mission. If you’ve never been… RSVP and invite your friends!

Rachel: I thought it was great, very entertaining. Dorothy and Blanche were amazing, but as a Golden Girls fan, Sophia and Rose fell short for me. I wanted their delivery to be a little more like the originals. Overall though, really fun and recommend seeing it.

Garrett: Love this show! Best SF drag show I’ve ever seen!

Sam: It was a fun show. It’s all novel to me, I’ve never watched the TV show. They have a lot of rapport. They all seem to like each other. I don’t know the characters they’re trying to embody, so for me it was fun to just watch some good drag performances. I have no idea how true it is to the original. At first thought it was fan fiction, but I guess these are real episodes?

Brittany: Yep, real episodes. I do think it’s interesting, because Rachel comes from knowing the show so well, and she didn’t like Sophia or Rose as well, but you said Sophia was your favorite.

S: Yeah, she was the funniest, she had the best timing.

B: It’s a fun night. If you really like the TV show, you’ll enjoy seeing these fun characters larger than life on stage. If you don’t know the show well, it’s still a funny show with a lot of talent.

S: You don’t need to know anything to enjoy it for sure. It’s got beautiful and talented drag performers, great costumes, a really detailed set, everything you need.  Loved that they went around selling Fireball shots! I would definitely say yes to Fireball again.

Katie: It was fun to see it again, this show is so consistent. You can count on a good time, it just makes you smile. It definitely takes my mind off of the horrifying things that are happening in the world.

B: Yay, for mindless television.

The Verdict: Need to take your mind off of the terrible things happening in the world? Then get to this show ASAP. If you know and love the Golden Girls show from the 80’s or not, this is fun, mindless holiday themed entertainment for all.

The Drama Talk: This is our 3rd year of seeing Golden Girls and it hasn’t disappointed yet. It has been consistently well produced, with extremely talented drag queens year after year. We do advise to get there at least 30 minutes before the show to ensure a decent seat and grab a drink at the bar before the line gets too long. Better yet, get a cocktail nearby before the show (we recommend Bond Bar) and then just get a beer since the cocktails are the theater are expensive and not very good.

The Drinks: We headed up to Valencia street to a bar we had been wanting to try called Holy Mountain. It’s above the thai hipster restaurant Hawker Fare so we didn’t know what to expect. It ended up being a pretty open room with plenty of booths and tables. It was a great place to get a fancy cocktail, sit and talk about the show.

The Golden Girls runs through December 23rd at The Victoria Theatre. Tickets are $30 and available at online at www.goldengirlssf.com.

Save

 Capp Street Crap reports:

On Sunday night, an ad popped up on Craigslist that lists a sale price for the restaurant and wine bar of $150,000. Pauline’s, known for thin-crust pizzas and creative toppings that were often dependent on what was good in the restaurant’s organic gardens, has been in business at 260 Valencia St. since 1985. The restaurant has also long had a tradition of stocking their tables with containers of crayons, giving patrons young and old a chance to doodle on paper-covered tablecloths while they waited for their food.

Read on.

[Photo by Honey Jets, 2011]