if you’ve talked to me for any span of time, you know i’m kinda into food. jon suggested that i write a little about places i’ve been to, and others that i’ve heard about/want to go to.

my latest obsession is mission street food. It is essentially a gourmet take on the traditional idea of food prepared by street-side vendors. though I’m sure we all enjoy bacon wrapped hot dogs at 2am (or anytime, really) and burritos purchased from sketchy vans, mission street food has additional appeal – it is an opportunity for guest chefs to display their culinary talents and for the eating public to enjoy them at a reasonable price. MSF takes place every Thursday night from 6pm to midnight at lung shan restaurant (2234 mission street, between 18th st and 19th st). Be advised that it is cash only, and likely to be crowded. In addition, it is not uncommon for MSF to run out of menu items, so the earlier you are, the better.

Additionally, if you’re into the idea of contributing to the community (Ryan and Archie), you’ll be happy to hear that all of MSF’s proceeds are donated to charity.

this week’s guest chef is Jeff Banker. i did some half-assed research on him and found out that he is the former executive chef of Home Restaurant (also in san francisco), which has been praised for its comfort food. Two charities will be the recipients of this week’s proceeds: La Cocina and charity: water. Feel free to look them up, cuz I’m too lazy to summarize what they do.

Menu for Thursday, February 5th:

Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Almonds, Apple Chutney and Ras el Hanout Oil – $3.5/$6 for a cup/bowl

Burrata with Sea Urchin and Olive Oil Crostini – $8

Fried Chicken Liver Salad with Oro Blanco, Frisee, and Saba – $7.5

PEI Mussels with Thai Coconut Curry Broth, Wok-Seared Pork Belly Lardons, and Grilled Tartine Bread – $10

Whiskey-soaked Eel/Banana Tempura with Sesame and Avocado Brown Rice – $8

King Trumpet mushroom, Triple-fried Potato, Garlic Confit and charred Scallion Sour Cream on a Homemade Flatbread – $6

Red Wine-Braised Duck Pot Pie, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Homemade Puff Pastry – $12

Balsamic Blood Orange Brownie with Humphry Slocombe Salted Caramel Ice Cream – $6

Humphry Slocombe Salt & Pepper or Vietnamese Blue Bottle Coffee Ice Cream – $3.25 per scoop

It was also announced today that MSF will be open on Saturday (February 7th) at the same time and location. The menu is TBA.

If you want to find out more, or want to know the source of my plagiarism, visit MSF’s website! missionstreetfood.blogspot.com

***Update***

our adventure to MSF last night was a success. unfortunately, by the time we were seated (the wait was a little under an hour, if i remember correctly) they were running out of items left and right. we didn’t get to try the duck pot pie, the blood orange brownie, the PEI mussels, or the soup. they had also run out of sea urchin for the burrata dish.

despite these tragic setbacks (which we successfully voiced to our waiter, vinny), we managed to forge on, and order basically everything they had left. we started our meal with the orange/star anise soju cocktail, which was far better than i expected it to be. for our main course, we split two orders of the burrata dish, a fried chicken liver salad, two orders of the eel/banana/rice dish, and two orders of the king trumpet mushroom dish between five of us. we finished things off with humphry slocombe salt & pepper and vietnamese blue bottle coffee ice cream.

everything lived up to my (high) expectations. i felt the winner of the evening was the king trumpet mushroom dish. overall, the portions were on the small side, or gourmet-sized i suppose. we all agreed (and i think this an exact quote) that by the end we had “…eaten as much as healthy people eat.” i think this translates roughly to “i’m not uncomfortably full yet and i could still totally go for a bacon wrapped hot dog.” the wait was on the long side but worth it, and i expected that they would run out of items. my advice: go early, and go with a small party (~ 2-3).

still, i have no serious complaints about MSF, and look forward to going back in the not too distant future.