An occasional collection of bites. Have you eaten anything good or bad, or seen a good scene while you munched? Send in your short bites to missionlocal@gmail.com. Full names only.
I had some delicious pupusas at Balompie Cafe: queso, chicharron y queso and my new favorite, crema (sour cream). Good at any time of the day, but I’ve got to try some of their breakfast items next time! — Jessica Lum
Corn and rice flour pupusas with zucchini, loroco and cheese at El Zocalo, on Mission between 29th and Valencia. Five dollars bought me two pupusas, one made with corn flour, the other with rice flour (something I discovered at Sun Rise Restaurant on 24th Street). One had loroco flower and the other zucchini, and there was a lot of cheese in both. It came with salsa and cole slaw. Simple but very good, and so filling I just had to share. — Hélène Goupil
Turnip soup with lemon, olive oil and brioche croutons at Local’s Corner. The restaurant itself is beautiful — like a French brasserie dropped into the middle of the Mission. They open at 6 a.m., which is tremendously exciting; in this neighborhood, we can always use another breakfast spot. But the soup … here’s the deal. The Mission is not a neighborhood of people who want to eat tiny food. The Mission is a neighborhood of appetite. We are a hungry people.
The soup was good. But it was of such a delicate nature that it was hard to tell that I was actually eating. If I were a Marina dweller trying to diet my way into my size 0 Lululemon yoga bottoms, I would have been ecstatic. As it was, I think I burned through any calories gained just riding my bike the six blocks back to the office.
I will add that the soup was $8, and the coffee (which is from Sightglass, and does include infinite refills) was $3.50. Which is pretty spendy for the Mission, and for the Inner Mission in particular. If you live in the ‘hood and ever have a torrid affair with someone who likes high-quality napkins and attentive waiters in clean white aprons, but not actually eating, this would be the romantic spot to take them for breakfast the next morning. — Heather Smith
Well, it was Mission Loc@l day at Local’s Corner. A couple of us ordered baked eggs with potatoes, green garlic, asparagus and agretti, a green vegetable that I’ve only eaten in Italy. The dish was perfect, but we were still hungry, so ordered some toast. I returned the following day with my husband and we again had the eggs and toast. Again, perfect, but for $12 a dish, it would be nice to have the $3 toast order included. And yes, the restaurant is beautiful even if you’re old and married. — Lydia Chávez