McMission

It started with a rented taco truck, now it's one of the most coveted Thursday night dinning tickets. Last week I had the pleasure of attending Mission Street Food at Lung Shan Restaurant in San Francisco for the first time. Mission Street Food is the brainchild of husband and wife team, Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz. Held in a rented Chinese Restaurant, it becomes a sort-of "hipster dinner party" for Mission locals. The line is long, but they're happy to take your name and send you down the street for drinks while you wait.

Local chefs are invited to come up with their own menu. They cover the cost of the ingredients and that's it. The rest is up to them, and you (as the oh-so-adventurous diner) get to reap the benefits of their creations. Proceeds from each dinner go to benefit a different cause; past recipients have included Meals on Wheels, 826 Valencia and Oakland Food Connection. The Campaign for Better Nutrition benefited the Thursday I attended.

The theme was "McMission," a re-imagined menu of McDonald's standards, presented by California Academy of Science's Moss Room Chefs, Ben Koe, Blake Kutner and Angela Gong. The menu was as follows:

• Fresh Corn Nuts - with fried cilantro, adobo and lime
• McShaker Salad - with sunflower seeds, watermelon and jicama
• Smoked Tofu McNuggets - with ancho-barbecue sauce and tequila and agave mustard
• Cactus Fries - with habenero-lime ketchup
• Filet of Bacalao Fish - with coriander cayenne slaw
• McRib Sandwich - pork belly and smoky St. Louis rib roulade, cipollinis and ancho cress
• Mac Grande - shredded short rib and chuck patty with "government cheese" and spicy zucchini relish
• Dulce De Leche Sundae - with hot Mexican fudge and chile cocoa pepitas
• Granny Smith Apple Pie - a la mode with malted vanilla
• Bing Cherry Pie - a la mode with malted vanilla
• Mission Cookie Box

Assorted beverages: Lillet Blanc, Tecate and Newcastle (to name a few.)

All I have to say is, McDonald's never tasted so good. We weren't able to try it all, but the favorites among our group were the McRib, the Mac Grande and the Tofu McNuggets. I only wish my camera would have cooperated in the dark light of the re-imagined Lung Shan.

Just another thing to add to my "things I love about the Bay Area" list. It's growing all the time.

There are no reservations, show up early on Thursdays for first come first serve and put your name on the host's list. Bring a party of 3-4, and enjoy! Visit their website here.

Mission Street Food
@ Lung Shan Restaurant
2234 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA.