taqueria zorro’s zorro burrito photo by evan ducharme
At last!! Our rich and creamy homemade PUMPKIN ICE CREAM is back. If you like pumpkin pie, you’ll love it! It‘s the perfect autumn dessert. 688 San Jose Ave. @ 29th St. • San Francisco (415) 648-2300 • mitchellsicecream.com
Blondie’ s Bar
& NO GRILL
comal: best surround sound dining guardian photo by evan ducharme
FOOD & DRINk cont>>
neighborhood is no food desert. The flagship of the snacktastic stretch of outer Judah Street (see also: locavore haven Outerlands, beloved Mexican resto Celia’s by the Beach) is without a doubt grocery co-op Other Avenues, about to round the bend on year 40 in the western neighborhood. This is world-class healthy food: happy-making bulk bins, raw milk, vivacious produce, with a thoughtful wine selection and holistic med shelves so complete you’ll never have to trek into neighborhoods that look down on wearing sandals to re-up on herbs and tonics. Plus it’s cute, friendly, and neatly crammed into a smallish storefront, you’ll never lose the gist of your shopping list after giving your neighborhood a hearty “howdy.” 3930 Judah, SF. (415) 661-7475, www.otheravenues.coop
BEST COMMUTER CRUSTS
Celebrating 22yrs of serving you the best martini’s, live music and good times in the Mission
540 Valencia St.
Mon-Thur 4pm-2am - Fri-Sun 2pm-2am Sun - Thurs, NO COVER & resident DJ’s spinning pop, hip hop and 70’s/80’s Fri-Sat
Longest SF Happy Hour •Live Music
blondiesbar@gmail.com
415-864 -2419•blondiesbarsf.com 40 SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
best of the bay
The Mexican-Italian house of Juan Gutierrez opened The Sandwich Place in 1979 when Gutierrez was only 14 years old. A tiny shop that just fits its refrigerator cases full of bevs and counter, the shop sits a stone’s throw from the 16th Street BART station in a bustling milieu of commuters, street preachers, and the occasional demonstration or spoken word open mic. In such a space, one would expect strict utilitarianism. But Gutierrez would scoff at such assumptions — quickly, in his exuberantly bilingual manner. One look at the Place’s vast menu reveals everything from chicken opinion
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milanesas and bacon-wrapped hot dogs to a superb Portobello-andbalsamic sando from an impressive veggie section, all served on his fresh homemade breads in standard and gluten-free varieties. Better than the chain stores? By a million miles. And chances are, you won’t have to travel even one to find out. 2029 Mission, SF. (415) 431-3811
options to balance out the cold, FYI). Who needs a cupcake or a cronut when you can spoon up freshmade flavors such as Maple Bacon Lovers (tasty with optional add-ins like whiskey sauce and chocolate chips), Blissed Out Blueberry, or Salted Caramel Charisma? Seriously — who needs to eat any other type of food, ever again?
BEST GROWTH IN THE YARD
364 Hayes, SF. (415) 565-7336, www.schulziesbreadpudding.com
Back in 1992, inmate counselor Catherine Sneed started pioneering programs for former offenders that eventually led to the implementation of the San Francisco Jail’s Garden Project. This in-jail option gives inmates the time and space to plant and tend their own organically grown food gardens at the Jail’s San Bruno complex as a healthy add-in to their rehabilitation. The program has recently been expanded under Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who pushed for and won a new food service contract to ensure more of this yummy nutrition ends up on the plates of inmates who have traditionally had to endure less than wholesome fare. Soon, if the program catches on, jails might have more shared garden space than San Francisco itself.
BEST NORTH BEACH FRY BOMB Oh, the end of a long night in North Beach. There you are, mercifully relieved of your singles after oh-so-lovely times watching the ladies of the Penthouse Club clack their mega-heels all up and down the two-story stripper poles. You’re satiated in the “make it rain” department ... but damn, are you hungry. Enter Taqueria Zorro’s Zorro burrito, there to stuff your belly and slash “satisfied” across your chest. What’s in the Zorro, you ask? Well, all the same things you’ve come to expect from a burrito, except instead of using traditional rice and beans they stuff the burrito with French fries. This so-called “California burrito” version, supposedly hailing from San
www.gardenproject.org
BEST CHILL TREAT “Rich and creamy, baked with love, and served chilled for the California heat” — did Schulzies Bread Pudding sound intriguing until that “chilled” part? Open your mind, bread pudding snob: Sarah Schulz’s Venice Beach-born, super-moist dessert sensation, which added a Hayes Valley location last year, is too delicious to deny (and the shop has warm the selector
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