The Mission is sweeeeeeeeeet

Last week I went in search of a place I'd read about online called 'Mission Pie'.

These guys are seriously cool. They have an seasonal menu, baking their sweet and savory goodies using organic produce from nearby farms. Their kitchen is energy-efficient, their tea and coffee is fair trade and the cafe is decked out using reclaimed and recycled materials. I think the coolest thing of all is that they work with the local youth organisations to provide work experience and job training to at-risk San Francisco youth.

You are hit by the smell of buttery baked pastry the minute you walk through the door. Behind the counter there is a lot going on. To the right there is a huge deck oven, with a 6ft trolley stacked with racks of cooling pies in front of it. To the left there is a huge window that allows you to see all the action going on in the kitchen. The huge display case houses a selection of the days pies and pastries.

They all look so good, but I must pick only one. I settle on the pear and cranberry pie with a crumble topping (I would marry the person that invented crumble in a heartbeat). Would I like a scoop of ice-cream with my pie? Why, yes... That would be delightful.

I sit at one of the communal tables facing the street. Forgetting my pie for a second, I notice how great this place is for people watching. It's on the corner of a bustling intersection and the whole front of the cafe is floor to ceiling windows. You could sit for hours just watching the world go right on by.

The smell of what is in front of me brings me back.

My first bite confirms that these people really know what they are doing when it comes to pie. The pears are soft but not at all mushy. They really taste like pears, which is not necessarily a given with fruit these days. I don't think I've ever had a cranberry in a pie before, so I can't really say either way what they do for the pie. The crumble topping with oats, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon is crunchy, sweet and so delicious. The pastry is flaky with a toasty flavour. All topped off with vanilla bean ice-cream and I have died and gone to pie heaven. It's a happy place.

On a 'Mission'

So the Mission reminds me quite a bit of my favourite Sydney suburb, Marrickville. During the 1940-1960's big numbers of Mexican immigrants moved to the area, bringing with them their culture and food. You can walk whole blocks around the Mission and only hear Spanish spoken by those around you. Then, in the 1990's the hipsters moved in and now the area is a mixture of the old and the new.

The food here is awesome. I think, like me, most Australians encounters with Mexican food growing up were Old El Paso tacos and corn chips and salsa. In the last few years more Mexican has been popping up around Sydney and I've tried a few, but haven't been overly impressed.

My last trip to San Francisco I ate at Mijita in the Ferry Building. Mijita is a little more fancy than your average Mexican restaurant that you would find in the Mission. The chef, Traci Des Jardins, is a James Beard Award-Winner. Here, I was introduced to the concept that tacos was a soft corn tortilla with filling, not a giant 'U' shaped corn chip. The meat came from a larger cut that had been seasoned and slow cooked and was so tender it just fell apart. On my 'Taco de Carnitas' toppings were a simple (fresh) salsa, coriander and onions. No ground meat, sour cream or grated cheese. Totally delicious.

Since this trip to San Francisco I was going to be living in the Mission, armed with my Zagat guide, google and new friends willing to share their experiences, I was going to find the best the Mission had to offer.

My first stop on what I have labelled the 'Taco Tour' is La Taqueria. This joint gets the highest Zagat rating with "killer burritos" and "extraordinary" tacos.

I ordered the taco carnitas (pork), chips with salsa and strawberry fresca.

The taco comes is pork, beans and salsa wrapped in 2 soft tortillas.

The chips and salsa are thick corn chips (the corn chips over here are about double the thickness of the ones we get from a bag back home) covered in a fresh salsa of tomato, onion, coriander and a bit of lime juice. I didn't even eat get through half of this since the taco was a pretty good size (apparently most people eat a few of these, I'm not quite sure how they do it).

Now, I'm not one to get super excited about drinks (especially non-alcoholic ones), but the strawberry fresca was awesome. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I think it must be a basic sugar syrup with strawberries blended into it, but left quite chunky.

I enjoyed it so much I marched myself to Borders the very next day and sat in front of the Mexican cookbook section for some time looking through them all. I left with a book that I hope will help my do something similar back home.

I really, really heart San Francisco

So, today was a wonderful day.

1. I got to talk to someone for longer than the 30 second - 2 minute transaction you have with someone in a store when making a purchase.

This morning I met my friend and fellow Aussie residing (I've decided if it is longer than a month, you are a resident) in San Francisco, Ben. We met at a cute little place in the Castro called Jumpin' Java which has done some awesome stuff with their ample footpath space and some planters, making it a little outdoor green room sort of thing. Anyway, it was great to see Ben again after so long. We both have a serious enthusiasm for San Francisco. Fingers crossed that we both get plucked out of the Diversity Lottery Barrel this year.

Ben lives in an apartment that:

a) you have to walk up the 3rd steepest hill in San Francisco to get to (well, from the angle we were coming from) and as a result,

b) has the most awesome view from his balcony

2. Someone mistook me for a San Franciscan and asked me directions... And, I was able to answer them!

I was hanging out on the corner 18th & Guerrero (it is probably the only part of the city I know like the back of my hand so far, Tartine and Bi-Rite are there, they feed me, so we're familiar) and a lady with a dog said to me "Is there a grocery store around here, one that has really nice stuff?". I was so happy I didn't have play the dumb tourist and pointed her in the right direction (or should I say Bi-rite direction).

3. TARTINE BREAD

OK, so I think that most of you that will read this have heard me crap on about Tartine. Tartine is a bakery that I conveniently live around the corner from. It's owned by husband and wife team, Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt. He's a baker, she a pastry chef. They met at the Culinary Institute of America and have since travelled far and wide in order to learn everything they possible can about their craft. If you want to learn more about them, go here:

http://www.tartinebakery.com/about_the_chef.html

I tried to get a loaf of the famous bread (of which they turn out only 175 loaves per day) on my first evening here, but I missed out. The bread starts coming out of the oven at 5pm each and every day, and if you aren't there then, you're probably going to walk away disappointed.

Today, I was prepared. I was not leaving without a loaf. I started hovering around the front of the store at around 4:55pm. Luckily, there were only about 10 people ahead of me, so unless one of them intended to buy 170 loaves, I was golden.

Today there were offering a plain or a walnut sourdough loaf. I thought it best to go with the basic for my first turn, so I got the plain. At about 5:05pm, in exchange for $7.00, the loaf was handed over to me in a brown paper bag and it was still so hot that I couldn't actually hold it. I was excited. I walked home as quickly as I could so I could have my first taste.

I didn't think this bread could possibly live up to my expectations, but it has. It is so freakin' good. The crust of the bread is really crispy, but not too hard. Some breads I've had back home taste great, but they have such a hard crust that I wince with every bite as I'm doing some serious damage to my gums. None of that here. The 'crumb' (I feel like a wanker using that word, but it is technically what the middle bit of the bread is called) is soft and a little chewy and the flavour doesn't hit you at first, but when it does it is just a little sour.

Oh happy day.

I heart San Francisco

So, the flight was not fun. It was only 13 hours, but the lady next to me made sure she did everything in her power to make it feel like a lifetime. What is it with me managing to always sit next to the person who wants to make the very most out of the cabin service and make sure they get their money's worth by trying to drink the plane out of booze? Then the dude next to her downed several wines and then several spirits and at last glance, I believe he'd moved on to Bailey's. Now, don't get me wrong - I like a drink, but I really don't believe anyone's experience in extremely cramped plane quarters is heightened by getting shitfaced.

Once I was finally off the flight from hell, I jumped into my shuttle eager to get to my new temporary home. Let's just say the driver was a little challenged and I ended up being 1.5 hours late to meet the building manager. Shit. I was stuck out on the sidewalk with no mobile phone and about 20kgs of luggage. The nearest pay phone was out of order (well, I'm sure it would have worked perfectly well had the handset actually been attached to the phone). So, I did the only thing I could do - I stood out the front of the building hoping something would happen. After about 10 minutes, a man came out of the security gate and was looking up and down the street. It was then or never, so I asked him for help. I explained my situation and he said he could help. Another guy came up, turned out it was his friend who had just arrived from New York for the weekend.

Guy One: "Why don't we get off the street. Come inside and I'll try and get a hold of the building managers."

Me: "Um, OK." I'm thinking 'just stay in the lobby'.

Guy One: "So, come up to my place and I'll make a call."

Me: "Yeah, OK." I'm thinking 'what options do I have here? The possibility of having to sleep out on the street, or the possibility that this guy is an axe murderer and his axe collection is up in his apartment'.

So, we all get in the lift and the axe murderer introduces himself to me as Eli and his friend is Jonathan. Neither of these names sound like the names of an axe murderer. Still, after getting out of the lift and walking to Eli's apartment I'm thinking of how this story would play out on the news. We get inside the apartment and I hover close to the door while Eli makes some calls. Finally, he gets hold of someone from the building management and they promise to meet me in the lobby in 15 minutes. Surely Eli can't dismember me in 15 minutes. I start to calm down. I'm offered something to drink and I accept a glass of water and look around the apartment. I start to forget about being chopped up into little pieces and begin to hope that my apartment is as nice as this one. It's got a fantastic view, a well equipped kitchen and it doesn't at all look like it is the meeting place for the San Francisco bed bug union.

15 or so minutes later I'm in the lobby meeting Andrea, the lovely German building manager with one hell of a handshake. We head up to my apartment and I almost do a little dance when I get inside and realise that it is actually nicer than Eli's. After Andrea has shown me all the in's and out's she asks what brings me to San Francisco. I tell her I'm doing an artisan bread course in a couple of weeks and it turns out she's a bit of a foodie too. I mention Tartine and she draws me a map of how to get there and a few other great places nearby.

After Andrea leaves and I've finished doing my little 'this place is awesome' dance, I know that I want to sleep (since it has been about 36 hours since I have done so), but it's 2:00pm and that would be very bad. So, instead I decide to acquaint myself with my new hood. It's an area of San Francisco called 'the Mission'. It's named after Mission San Francisco de Asis, which is San Francisco's oldest building. The area is home to a large Mexican population and you can see this everywhere you turn. Just in my block alone there must be least 4 taqueria's and 3 grocery stores specialising in Latino goods (I walked past one today that was selling cactus leaves).

I end up at a place that Andrea recommended called 'Bi-rite Market'. The place is packed with people and I can see why. You walk in and on the right is the fruit and veggie section (all organic produce), then as you make your way to the back of the store you pass a wall of cheese, wine, dairy (they have their own creamery), fresh fish and meat, pre-packaged meals and heaps more. I've just found my grocery store, I'm elated and I fill up my basket with everything except for bread, since Tartine is just a couple of doors down and I can't wait for my first loaf.

Well, me and everyone else in San Francisco, apparently. By the time I get to Tartine there is a small sign posted at the entrance saying 'Bread is sold out for today'. I head home to eat and sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day. It will be the day I finally get to eat a Tartine morning bun.