Before heading out of San Francisco in June, my colleagues and I grabbed lunch at Bar Bambino in The Mission. Here are a few analog shots from the meal.
Continue reading "Quick Bite: Bar Bambino" »
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Rosamunde Sausage Grill, the closet-sized sausage shack next door to Toronado, the best beer bar in San Francisco, has gone into the bar business.
Get a peek inside after the jump.
Continue reading "SF: Rosamunde's Mission Bar" »
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I first checked out Bar Bambino over the summer when I had an afternoon to hang out on my own. I visited again on my lazy Saturday and enjoyed the panini sandwich above. It was made with a house-made Italian sausage, a sweet and spicy pepper relish and provolone cheese. The sausage had an interesting flavor to it that reminded me of Chinese five spice, so cinnamon among other seasonings.
On my first visit, I had more of a chance to sit and linger over more snacks, including a meat plate and the awesome bowl of meatballs below. When I get home, I want to get my meat grinder up and running again and try out my own version of San Francisco's 'Meatball Mondays.'
I didn't sit inside either visit, but I found the vibe there to be great for wiling away an afternoon over wine and tasty snacks. Bar Bambino is definitely a place I'll return to.
Bar Bambino
2931 16th Street, San Francisco, CA
Between Mission and South Van Ness
415.701.VINO (8466)
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My last day in San Francisco is usually a challenge for me. Every time there are dozens of things I would like to do, but only a couple hours left before I have to head to the airport. I run this way and that trying to eek out every last moment out of the trip and finally end up tense and tired wishing I had more time.
This time, with a full day until my late night flight, I actually took it easy and managed to have a great, leisurely day while still making it to the Farmers market, The Mission and The Haight. The weather was gorgeous all day, with temperatures in the mid-60's, vastly better than 30 degrees and snowing at home. I sat outside and drank wine while reading about photography at Bar Bambino, above and had a few more good meals before heading to the airport.
I'm at the airport now, waiting to board my flight and hoping against hope that the warm weather comes with me.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission, San Francisco. 2008.
"The same wind that uproots trees, makes grass shine."
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All of two weeks ago, I discovered that I was returning to San Francisco for work. I'm heading out today and as usual, looking forward to a week out west.
Of course, I've already started thinking about which restaurants I want to hit while I'm there. While I'll clearly be partaking in many tacos, the trend this time around skews heavily Italian.
I've already mentioned A16 in the Marina area.
Additionally, I've heard a lot about Chris Cosentino, who evangelizes for Offal on his blog, Offal Good. He's the chef at Incanto and runs Boccalone, a salumeria in the Ferry Building.
In the Mission, there's Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina on the 18th Street corridor and Bar Bambino, a wine bar on 16th with tasty meatballs and other antipasti.
There's also Little Star Pizza on Valencia, where I shared the deep dish pizza above.
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I only had a taste of Guy's Posole at Los Jarritos in The Misson, but it was wonderful. Hominy kernels and chunks of pork, braised to perfection swam in the spicy, savory tomato broth.
My only hopes is that I can somehow find a place that serves it here in New York - or learn how to make it myself.
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This vision of loveliness was served up at Taqueria Cancun. ToJ, Guy and I headed there right after picking Guy up from sfo.
I had never considered getting Nachos at a Taqueria, largely because I only ever associate the dish with the terrible "casual dining" establishments where I tend to encounter them. These were nothing like that.
The immediate shock is the lack of hot orange cheez whiz on top. Instead there was thick, gooey cheese on top. Craziness. The dollops of crema fresca and slices of avocado added cool and soft to the crisp texture of the tortillas.
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The Mission, San Francisco. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission, San Francisco. 2008.
I came across some great, huge wall sized graffiti all around San Francisco. They were striking to me, coming from New York, where it's harder to find those giant works. I got a bunch of shots of those, particularly with interesting Wildstyle pieces. I'll be posting those eventually, but I thought I'd spend this week posting the smaller, uncommon work: Stencils, Paste-Ups, stickers and so on.
To start off is this cool paste up that I found on my return to Clarion Alley.
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Taqueria Cancun, The Mission, San Francisco. 2008
Last week, I did a lot of interesting people-watching in San Francisco, which I enjoyed immensely. This week, I'll be posting photos of the people I saw there.
Enjoy!
::c::
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The Mission, San Francisco. 2006.
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18th Street and Valencia, The Mission, San Francisco. 2008.
"A white mouse pokes its head out of the sewer grate and gives him an inquisitive glance. He swears the mouse winks before it scurries up 18th
a. Intrigued, he follows the mouse.
b. Dismissive, he shrugs it off"
I was a huge fan of the "choose your own adventure" books as a kid. Sadly, I didn't take the adventure, so I'll never know where it would have led. . .
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Blondie's Bar & No Grill, The Mission, San Francisco. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
Artist: Swoon
It was nice to see this Swoon out in San Francisco. It's a copy of the same piece that was splashed on Rivington a while back. I haven't seen much in the way of new work from her in a long time. I'll take what I can get.
Since I wrote this, Gothamist posted about her return to the city. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her new stuff.
::c::
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A couple of weeks before heading to San Francisco, I polled Guyvera and The Tower of Justice aka ToJ for some recommendations. As we have discussed foodblogging together in the past, I have no compunction against reposting his email. Enjoy!
SF: The Tower has Spoken
La Taqueria is the gold standard in SF. Be sure to get two carnitas tacos, with cheese and avocado, crispy style. This last request--crispy style--is key because what it means is they overfry the inside tortilla, providing a nice juxtaposition in textures with the softer, outer tortilla.
To be honest, I know less about Taqueria San Jose and Taqueria Cancun, although if memory serves, Taqueria Cancun has a decent burrito. For a GREAT burrito, go to Taqueria San Francisco, which is on 24th (or maybe 25th) about 5 blocks east of Mission St. They have great carnitas burritos.
Beyond tacos, there are a couple of other latin american joints you should try. If you like Pupusas, then Panchitas on 16th and Valencia is solid. This has been my good old reliable spot. More recently, I got hip to El Zocalo which is more towards the Outer Mission, I think on Mission and 30th. Conveniently enough, El Zocalo is within walking distance to Mitchell's Ice Cream, where the Ube (Filipino purple yam) ice cream is a must try. At both pupuserias, I order the pupusa plate with pupusa revueltas (filled with pork, cheese, and beans).
You might also consider Mi Lindo Yucatan, on Valencia and 15th (I think). Guy and I went there one time a long time ago, but they have delightful chicken and pork dishes. If memory serves, they have a black bean chicken and/or pork, and one wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. They also serve fresh tortillas in a little bin instead of tortilla chips which is novel.
Other places to eat in the Mission area (but which are not necessarily within the "Taco" genre or penumbra of foods) include Little Star Pizza. You're a New Yorker, and so you have the right to be skeptical of any claims to fame about pizza elsewhere, but this place is pretty tasty. It blends the Chicago deep dish style with California ingredient consciousness. They use a cornmeal crust which is interesting. I usually like to get sausage, mushroom, and ricotta cheese--they put dollops of ricotta cheese on the pie, which brown during the baking process.
If you have any questions or need recommendations on the fly, feel free and call me.
The Tower has spoken (Konichiwa bitches!)
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
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One last San Francisco post (for the moment). Above is the Google Map I put up of places of note that I've been or that were recommended to me. I believe it will update as I add to it over time, but, really I have no idea...
If you've got more recommendations that aren't here, let me know.
::c::
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
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Clarion Alley, The Mission. 2008.
I love this updated interpretation of the Virgin of Guadalupe, it's a modernization you don't see so often. It almost reminds me of a more sincere "Buddy Christ" from Dogma.
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Clarion Alley is the treasure trove I discovered in The Mission the other day. It's between 17th and 18th Streets and goes from Mission to Valencia. I took more than a hundred shots of the pieces up there. A selection of them will be the Graffiti of the Day for the next week. Enjoy! ::c::
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