MSF Action Shots
Mission Street Food was returned at its usual spot this week and was hosting Chef Jeff Banker, who put out a soulful menu which was perfect on a wet San Francisco evening. This week, we’ve got shots of the kitchen in action, assembling food during a rush, treading just a few dishes above the weeds. A few thoughts on the adventure that is MSF after the photos. First up: PEI Mussels with Thai Coconut Curry Broth, Wok-Seared Pork Belly Lardons, and Grilled Tartine Bread.
Whiskey-soaked Eel/Banana Tempura with Sesame and Avocado Brown Rice
Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Almonds, Apple Chutney and Ras el Hanout Oil
Burrata with Sea Urchin and Olive Oil Crostini
Fried Chicken Liver Salad with Oro Blanco, Frisee, and Saba
King Trumpet mushroom, Triple-fried Potato, Garlic Confit and charred Scallion Sour Cream on a Homemade Flatbread
Jeff Banker and his Red Wine-Braised Duck Pot Pie, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Homemade Puff Pastry
and finally an intrepid NPR reporter, who was tailing Anthony Myint through the kitchen
As MSF expands to Saturday service, I think it’s a good time to take stock of this indie chef experiment.
Anthony continues to experiment with the dishes he serves, preferring to move on completely to new dishes and reinventions on standards. The result is an amazing array of dishes, some are knock outs, and others are more interesting experiments. I didn’t care much for the texture and pairing of the banana and eel inside tempura, but I adored the brown rice salad underneath. Another table next to us thought they were amazing. And that, I think, is the continued excitement about Mission Street Food that causes the crowds to keep forming outside Lung Shan every week. There is a part of this experiment that reminds me of the tasting menus at experimental restaurants like Coi – where you get a succession of exciting small plates, and there is a sense of adventure and journey to the whole thing. I’m not saying that MSF is doing anything like the extraordinarily technical focus of Coi, but rather it taps into the same desire for culinary adventure, translated into affordable culinary escapade, grounded by the street food theme. The rotating stall of talented chefs and themes keeps the creativity flowing freely. Not every plate can be a super star, but when they’re really good, they’re great, and the valleys make the peaks more worthwhile. And for these prices, it’s easy to afford a ticket on the adventure.
Other winners tonight included the fried chicken livers with grapefruit, the soup, and the salad beneath the tempura, which was nutty and slightly toothsome from the brown nice, and jumped with flavor thanks to the black sesame seeds and tangy dressing. Yet even these winners are likely to be gone next week, with new creations in their place. I’m optimistic that the expansion of Mission Street Food into weekends will mark an exciting growth path – I think there’s a lot more in this well, and like most dishes, look forward to what’s next with anticipation and a sense of adventure.
Oh, and the Burrata with Sea Urchin? That’s serious winner. I hope to see this variations on the canvas of Burrata keeps up in coming weeks, as I think it’s a motif worth exploring further. Or he can keep doing it with Uni – that’d be great too.
Update: Already the defenders of the eel and banana dish are emerging.
Update Two: MSF has posted their “Classics Menu” for next Saturday. At least part of my theory about what makes it tick seems to go right out the window. Through to be fair, how great is that they’ve been around for only a few months, and already some dishes are considered classics. I guess we can go back to fighting about which is better, MSF or VSF?
Tags: mission street food, MSF
February 6th, 2009 at 6:52 am
[...] courtesy of Beer & Nosh. More of tonight’s dinner here. Explore posts in the same categories: Food and [...]
February 6th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
While I think the appeal must fundamentally be attributed to the food and the dynamic nature of the menu, I imagine a good portion of the appeal has to do with the novel “underground” nature of the endeavor. E.g. that it feels impromptu and is a special event once per week. It’ll be really interesting to see how they fare with Saturday nights. I’m curious to see how people respond if it becomes more regularized (in terms of schedule). Certainly, the fact that the vast majority of even “foodies” in the City haven’t heard of MSF suggests that the potential curve is steep and high.
In any case, I wish them luck.
P.S. For my friends and I, the winner last night — by miles — was the duck pot pie. I think we are all partial to the pot pie genre, but I think it was so good that it would win over anyone insane enough to not fundamentally love pot pies.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Good to hear on the pot pie. Well, bad actually as I’m trapped in Long Beach this week and that’s the thing I’m most bummed to have missed.
But where’s my Mission Melt?! If that’s not a classic I don’t know what is.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
the menu looked good again last night. i really wanted to try that eel and banana tempura and the duck pot pie… a good reason for missing it though, pliny the younger
February 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
[...] Dark indeed. Had we noticed that El Mango was eating the last of the wine-braised duck potpie – sold out by the time we ordered - we would have stolen a bite…or three. The remaining menu items though did us well. The mussels with Thai coconut curry broth and hidden gems of wok-seared pork belly lardons(!) were good to the point that we took turns unabashedly draining the last of the broth. The winner for us though was the whiskey-soaked eel/banana tempura over sesame and avocado brown rice…or was it the burrata with uni and olive oil crostini?? …or was it the freshly made salt and chili spiced chicharones the fine MSF folks graciously doled out to those of us milling about waiting and hoping the next name called would be ours!? All I can say is that Thursdays now hold a special place in my gut…err, heart. My thanks also to all the eel and sea urchin and pork bellies that were harmed in the making of this flipping amazing meal. [...]
March 14th, 2009 at 1:28 am
[...] in the intrepid reporter, invading the kitchen (that I was already crowding!) back in February. I’m surprised that she didn’t mention what Anthony was making when she was [...]