San Francisco/Mission DistrictThe '''Mission District''' of San Francisco -- often just called "''The Mission''" -- is the oldest part of that City, and a center of its counterculture. ==Understand== The Mission District surrounds the oldest building in San Francisco, '''Mission Dolores'''. The area was the site of the Spanish mission that was the kernel of the city San Francisco is today. The mission itself was secularized in the 1820s, and the lands were given to the Native Americans who lived there. Many sold or lost the land in later years. During the 19th century, the Mission was physically separate from San Francisco proper, which mostly clustered around the seaport on the San Francisco Bay. The Mission area was a pleasant country day trip for San Franciscans, and soon grew into a small village. By the end of the 1800s, the area had been assimilated into the rest of the City. In the early 20th century, the Mission District was a mostly Irish neighborhood, but gradually became more populated with Mexican and Latin-American immigrants. Although much of the culture of the Mission remains strongly Latino, an influx of artists, musicians, and other counterculture types began in the 1980s and early 1990s, driven by the relatively cheap rents in the neighborhood. The Mission saw increased gentrification during the late 1990s, as more expensive restaurants and "live-work" spaces moved in to the area. Post-Internet-boom, the wave of affluence is partly receding, but yuppies, hipsters, and Latino residents continue to live side-by-side. ==Get in== From other parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area, the BART stations at '''24th Street''' and '''16th Street''' are the easiest entry points. The '''14 Mission''' bus runs right down Mission Street from the east and west, the '''49 Van Ness''' comes down to Mission Street from Van Ness near Fisherman's Wharf, the '''26 Valencia''' eases down Valencia Avenue from downtown, the '''22 Fillmore''' comes in from the north and runs east-west across 16th Street, and the '''48 ''' runs east west along 24th Street. The '''J Church Muni''' trolley runs from downtown through the nearby Castro, Dolores Park, and Noe Valley neighborhoods, and passes block or two from the '''Mission Dolores''' that gives the neighborhood its name, and puts you within walking distance or easy transfer to the '''22''' or '''48''' bus lines. For cars, the Cesar Chavez Street exit from highway 101 comes right into the Mission, and the San Jose Avenue exit from Highway 280 North brings you past Bernal Heights and onto Guerrero Avenue. ==Get around== The Mission is only about 20 blocks by 10 blocks, and should be easily navigable on foot. By '''car''' you will find that people really do park down the center lane of Valencia, but many natives won't (SFPD occasionally has them all towed). A popular dinner destination neighborhood, street parking is difficult to find in the early evenings. There are two cheap parking garages, one at 21st Street and Bartlett between Valencia and Mission and another on 16th and Hoff St also between Valencia and Mission. By '''bicycle''' you'll see many people using the dedicated bike lanes on Valencia Street, but the entire neighborhood with the exception of the Delores Park area is flat and easy to navigate. ==See== *'''Mission Dolores''' at 16th Street and Dolores Avenue. *'''Women's Building MaestraPeace Mural''' [18th btwn Valencia/Guerrero] celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2004; the 25th Anniversary of the [http://www.womensbuilding.org/ Women's Building]. *[http://www.precitaeyes.org/ Precita Eyes Murals] all around the Mission neighborhood. '''Theatres''' *[http://www.roxie.com/ Roxie Cinema], 3125 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. An independent art-film theatre. *[http://www.themarsh.org/ The Marsh Theatre], a Breeding Ground for New Performance, 1062 Valencia Street @ 22d Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. 415 826-5750. Playwriting workshops, performances, a youth program, and classes. Some excellent one-person shows have been hatched out in the Marsh. ==Eat== *'''Ti Couz''' 3108 16th Street @ Valencia, San Francisco, CA, 94110, tel. 415 252-7373. M-W 11-11, Th-F 11a-Midnight, Sat 10a-Midnight, Sun 10a-11p. Best Breton creperie west of the Atlantic Ocean. *'''Luna Park''' 694 Valencia Street (at 18th), 415.553.8584, Upscale American comfort food menu. Small, slightly swanky. Always packed, with the accompanying noise level. Decent grub. And their signature drink is the mojito. *'''Taqueria Cancun''' 2288 Mission at 19th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. 415 550-1414, M-Th 10a-11:30p, F-Sat 10a-1a) *'''Herbivore''' Vegetarian Restaurant, 983 Valencia Street bwtn 20th/21st, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415 826-5657. Sun-Th 9a-10p, F-Sat 9a-11p. *'''Serrano's Pizza''' 3274 21st Street btwn Valencia/Mission, 415 695-1615, Sun-Th 11a-Midnight, F-Sat 11a-1a. Best slice of pizza in town. By "slice" for under $3 or add toppings for a few cents more, they mean a fresh-to-your order triangular slice-shaped pizza that overlaps a dinner plate at three points. Free delivery. Cash or credit, no checks. *'''Jay's Cheesesteak''' 3285 21st Street btwn Valencia/Mission, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. 415 285-5200. Daily 11a-10p. Niman Ranch beef, or seitan veggie/vegan sandwich options. Garlic fries!! *[http://www.foreigncinema.com/home.html '''Foreign Cinema'''] 2534 Mission Street @ 21st, San Francisco, CA 94110. 415 648-7600. Dinner and a movie. The Laszlo Bar. A little splurgey and quite fine. Reservations recommended. *'''Boogaloo's''' [Valencia at 22d] Your basic (fabulous) breakfast/brunch bistro. Worth the wait you'll find on weekends. *'''We Be Sushi''' 1071 Valencia Street between 21st/22d, San Francisco, CA 94110. The best of a handful of locations of this restaurant, truly "sushi like mom used to make". *'''Lucca Ravioli Company''' [Valencia at 22d] An old-world style Italian deli/dry goods grocery who, bless them, sell '''ingredients'''. Check out the Ferlenghetti poem over the door while getting your sheet-pan pizza, sliced turkey, good wine and tiramisu. *'''Mariachis''' [Valencia at 16th] A taco bar with good food, excellent prices, and an interesting atmosphere. *'''Valencia Whole Foods''' [Valencia at 21st Street] Daily 8:30a-9p. Organic produce and groceries, good bulk foods, and a deli with organic salads, middle eastern foods, and sandwiches to order. A neighborhood essential. *'''Bi-Rite Grocery''' [18th Street bwtn Guarrero and Dolores Park]. How do they get that much good produce and that incredible deli counter into that storefront? Essential neighborhood and picnic-in-the-park resource. Dolores Park is handily enough a block away, and you're likely to find festivals, rallies, or the SF Mime Troupe at the start and close of their summer touring season, there along with kids, dogs and tennis players. ==Drink== *'''26 Mix'''. *'''Dalva''' Has grown on me. It's very dimly lit but cool decor. Excellent jukebox, though after 9:00pm they tend to turn it up just a touch too loud. *'''Skylark''' A bit of a meatmarket 'club' scene. *'''Blondies''' Yuppie martini bar. Where the Marina set goes when they wanna go slumming in the Mission. Truly good martinis though. Gotta give 'em that. *'''The 500 Club''' Great neighborhood alterna-hipster bar, but in a good way. Formerly an old man dive bar that's been taken over by the thick black rimmed glasses youngster. *'''Delirium''' Formerly Albion Cocktails ("Service for the Sick") The Albion was truly a vaguely scary dive bar. Delirium was another great neighborhood bar, but it's shockingly turned into a bit of a bridge and tunnel 20-something meatmarket these days. They have a place to dance in the back, with good 60's rock and soul on Wednesdays. *'''Este Noche''' Latino drag queens and papis who love them Fun dancefloor and eclectic crowd *'''Zeitgeist''' Cool motorcycle/bike courier punk rock-ish alterna-crowd. The bartenders can often drip with attitude. They, and the regulars, can be fiercely protective of their little hideaway. Awesome and huge backyard (dare I say 'beer garden'. There, just said it. Rowdy on weekend nights and they bbq too. *'''Kilowatt''' Fun very neighborhoody bar. Great music on the jukebox and a decent place to play pool. *'''Amnesia''' Small bar with eclectic live music every weeknight. *'''Pink''' Formerly Liquid. Fun little club with a packed, sweaty dancefloor. Just beware of the bartenders. At least in the past, they'll try to shortchange you if they think you're too tipsy to notice. *'''Phoenix''' Generic Irish pub with surprisingly good food. *'''The Liberties''', 22d and Guerrero, San Francisco. Irish Pub. Excellent late weekend brunch no one knows about. *'''Shotwell 59''', 20th and Shotwell. The definition of a neighborhood bar. Still smoky despite the smoking ban. *'''Uptown''', 16th and Capp. Small neighborhood bar with artsy aging punk rockers and a relaxed attitude. Dogs and bicycles welcome. *'''The Lexington Club''' Fun inviting rowdy lesbian crowd. Some of the bartenders are gorgeous. ==Sleep== {{stub}} First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

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