Pig & Pie  Last week I wrote up La Palma as being a paragon of a Mission District 24th Street that is fast being drowned out by higher-end cafes and eateries that cater not to the longtime residents, but to the recent influx of wealthy tech boomers.  This week, I

              La Palma Mexicatessen     There isn’t a neighborhood of any city in our union that is completely static, no urban zone where the prevailing skin tone will forever be reminiscent of elephant tusk, obsidian, or mole poblano, or where every household will

                You See Sushi   Living in S.F, you’re afforded many opportunities to sweat your balls; Russian Hill, Nob Hill, Diamond Heights, Twin Peaks; bike or run up any of these rises and, if you’re not in good enough shape, you’ll find the

OFF MENU IS SPONSORED BY EMPEROR NORTON’S BOOZELAND THE TENDERLOIN’S NEWEST HISTORIC DIVE.  HAPPY HOUR NOON – 7PM What little charm and authenticity left in the Upper Haight is barely peeking its head above the noxious, briny waves of retail commerce, the crowds of shopping tourists fresh from Union Square, and the crusty

Saigon Sandwich Only a few years ago, the Bahn Mi was a much lesser known quantity than it is today.  It’s current ubiquity in S.F is owed to a large extent, I would argue, to Saigon Sandwich.  For all I know there were Vietnamese sandwiches staring me in the face around

  Beer and soup dumplings What is it about the Shanghai soup dumpling that impels the restauranteur to affix the name “King” or “Kingdom” somewhere in the title of his establishment dispensing of said delicacy? There IS a certain regal bearing to the soup dumpling, similar, you might imagine, to

Irving Street Cafe I have a fondness for diners, especially ones situated in working/middle class neighborhoods with a self-contained quality.  These diners aren’t self-consciously retro or ironic, they just ARE.  I’ve previously made mention of a few diners here among the cyber-folds of Broke-Ass Stuart’s Goddamn Website (Art’s Cafe and

Jasmine Garden’s Bun Bo Hue Two doors down from what used to be called The Transfer on 14th Street is Jasmine Garden, a fairly un-assuming Vietnamese restaurant.  It is nestled right in the crook of one of S.F’s major transportation hubs (from which was derived the name of the above-mentioned