There’s a stretch of 21st St. that might be one of the best group of blocks in The City. Beginning at 21st and Folsom Sts. and ending at about Bryant St., there’s an amazing array of interesting delights.
El Cachanilla
The first great thing you come across on the left hand side is El Cachanilla, an awesome taqueria with a window where you can buy $1.50 tacos. Yes, it’s true that they sell eyeball tacos, and no I’m still not fucking with them.
Dona Tere's Food Cart
Continuing up 21st on the right side you will come across Doña Tere’s little food cart on the corner of Alabama. It’s got a blue tarp over it and is parked right in front of the Boys & Girls club. Despite the sign, the lady working it isn’t actually Doña Tere. We’ll meet her further up the street. The food here is just as good as the prices, and the only draw back is that everything comes on styrofoam plates.
Pirate Cat Radio
A block up things get even better. At the southeast corner of 21st. and Florida is Pirate Cat Radio. Broadcasting in low frequency awesomeness on 87.9, Pirate Cat is unlicensed and therefore can play whatever the fuck it wants (which it does). Since there’s also a cafe on the premises, the station often has live shows and ends up being a bit of a local hangout. My man Rick Abruzzo has his show Baghdad by the Bay on Thursday nights from 8-10 and it’s all about local bands and interesting local people. According to Mission Mission, when Anthony Bourdain was in town he stopped in to try a Pirate Cat’s famous bacon maple latte.
Papusas at Dona Tere's Bodega
Directly across the street is another street food spot run by Doña Tere (seems like she’s got the block on lock). While inside is a regular bodega where the Doña herself works and holds court, outside you’ll find a girl making papusuas and bacon dogs. Can there be anything more divine than the idea of chasing a bacon dog with a papusa? I think not (my arteries beg to differ).
The Soccer Store
Back on the Pirate Cat side of the street and a bit further up the block you’ll come across 2773 21st St. If you’re there in the daytime you’ll notice the garage door open and oodles of soccer paraphernalia for sale inside. According to this Mission Local article Jose Guzman started selling soccer equipment out of his garage 15 years ago. What’s great is that he does it not to make a huge profit (he sells the gear nearly at cost) but instead so that all the neighborhood kids can afford to have good and affordable equipment to play with. Now that’s a good neighbor! Hats off to you Mr. Guzman.
That ends our little tour of 21st St. What’s your favorite little micro neighborhood in your city? Tell us all about it in the comment section below. If you’ve got a really good one we can post it here on the site.
Related posts:
- Joy Juice on Wheels – Guardian Tour de Fat Hellriaser Thursday 6pm-9pm
Heralding the New Belgium Tour de Fat, the perennial fun-pushers at the San Francisco Bay Guardian have orchestrated one of their delightful hellraisers at the Gestalt Haus this afternoon... - I Heart Tacos: A Taco Tour
Tacos are the greatest. They’re like a flavor punch in your face and cover all five of the basic food groups (do the math…yeah I’m... - Indian Summer Rainbow Tour – $599 Unlimited Flights with Jet Blue
Recent word on the wires tells us that, in an effort to boost the late summer sales slump, streamlined air carrier, Jet Blue is offering a... - Broke-Ass Stuart Book Reading, Signing, and Walking Tour!
Come out and bring your friends to the McNally-Jackson Bookstore on Friday, March 20th to get your books, boobs, man-boobs or butts signed and listen to... - Haight Street and North Beach Festivals This Weekend
Yeah, I really don’t have much to say about these. Street fairs are street fairs. One of them will have more hippies and one will... - Man V. Food Filming today at Ike’s Place in San Francisco!!
So there’s no reason in hell why you shouldn’t be at the Indie Mart today. Think about it: booze, great food, amazing shopping, local music...
Tags: 21st St., bacon dogs, bacon maple latte, Baghdad by the Bay, Boys and Girls Club, Dona Tere, El Cachanilla, Mission Local, Mission Mission, pirate cat radio, Rick Abruzzo, San Francisco, The mission
well i like 24th street. orthodox christian shop that sells vintage racist soap beside an open-air donut and coffee shop; across the street, st. francis (authentic diner history, modern hipster sensibility, actually not gentrified but you can get vegan food), a vintage shop the size of a closet. dotted all over with taquerias.
I really like the way you see things and the way you can translate it into words. I love my neighborhood even more now that I’ve read this article !
I gotta try the eyeball taco, one day. And their aguafrescas are really good too.
Thanks Murat! I don’t think I’m ballsy enough to mess with the eyeball taco…well maybe it I was drunk I’d try it.