Flickr/SanFranAnnie

The Tamale Lady was a staple of the Zeitgeist scene

Virginia Ramos, aka the Tamale Lady, is an institution, wheeling her chest of treats wrapped in steamed corn husks. The cheer at the Eagle beer bust when she rolls up around six to feed the burly dudes who've downed eight beers in three hours resembles a war whoop, which is maybe why she's having her 60th birthday there on June 21. There was talk of an app for tracking her down. If there were an S.F. Mount Rushmore, the Tamale Lady would be Teddy Roosevelt.

Except she got kicked out of Zeitgeist, Uptown Almanac reported this morning. Through no fault of her own. Because we live in a dystopia that hates queso y pollo.

See also: Best Local Street Vendor - The Tamale Lady
Tie One On for the Tamale Lady's Birthday

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Anna Roth

The shaved ice flavors at Namu Gaji change frequently.

We have all been there. It's three o'clock on Friday afternoon, and you experience a sugar craving so strong that even your roommate's normally-abhorrent store bought cupcakes are starting to look good.

So like any good mission-dwelling hipster you consider Bi-Rite for a scoop of salted caramel ice cream. But the thought of that endless line makes you want to run for the Oakland Hills. So here are three other neighborhood treats that will raise your blood sugar; not your blood pressure.

See also: 5 Spring Desserts to Try Before Summer Comes

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Bacon Bacon restaurant has been temporally displaced out of its brick and mortar location in the Upper Haight over permitting issues, so it is fitting that it found a place to serve its porcine dishes at the Brick and Mortar Music Hall in the Mission.

Photo via Bacon Bacon

Bacon Bacon will begin serving lunch at the venue starting on June 12, Inside Scoop reports. Lunch will be served 11-3 p.m. and the menu will be similar to what they offer in their truck.

"It happened that I had a friend who had a venue and I needed a kitchen," says owner Jim Angelus. The restaurant was forced to close earlier this month over permitting issues that were exacerbated by a neighbor who complained. The headlines, which focused on neighbors complaints over the smell of bacon, lead to a mention on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update."

"It's got to be really tricky to walk up to a cop and complain that something smells like bacon," Amy Poehler quipped.

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Pete Kane

Like other businesses that germinated in the incubator that is 331 Cortland in Bernal Heights, Bernal Cutlery has made the leap towards a permanent digs after their three-year residency. Taking up in the former Pot + Pantry -- which was home to 18 Reasons before that -- owners Josh Donald and Kelly Kozak, along with additional guru Taka Tozawa, will be making fine adjustments to all your beveled edges. Just no shovels -- "they're a pain in the butt," Donald says.

See also: 331 Cortland: Entrepreneurs Share Space and Successes

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Lou Bustamante

Rickhouse Mint Julep ($12, Custom Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, Mandarine Napoleon, mint, spring bitters)

We may not get the dramatic announcements of spring's arrival that other parts of the country get, like crocuses jetting out through the snow, but we do get our own subtle declaration of a new season. With asparagus season having peaked, the presence of local strawberries and cherries forecasting longer, warming days, and cocktail menus around town start to get a refresh.

While Blackbird has shifted their entire menu from the heavier drinks of winter, warming and substantial, to a collection of refreshing sippers, Rickhouse has introduced an entirely new menu, doing away with the drink bible and focusing their offerings. Here's a quick look at both new menus:

See Also: Drink of the Week: Getting Poached Like a Pear at Blackbird
The King Hippo Cocktail--a Tiki Punchout

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Mary Ladd

Smoked Meatloaf Sandwich on Texas Toast

Burger hunger games generally start with the basics: find red meat between bread. Province of the meat, prep method and fat content are open for debate -- wide, wide open -- and texture is ever important. Eyes are politely averted from folks who insist on Protein Style or order medium well on this quest, although queries around granulation are welcomed.

Of late in the Mission, the best burger is not a burger but more of the beef burger's saucy sassy cousin, hidden in plain sight at Hi-Lo BBQ. Chef Ryan Ostler's meatloaf sandwich is a square-shaped beef marvel that combines two thinly sliced smoked meatloaf patties made with American Kobe beef and the chopped fatty end of the brisket.

See also: Hi-Lo BBQ: San Francisco Gets Its Own Barbecue

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Pete Kane

If you want a beer and a sausage, there's no place like Rosamunde. (Seriously, comb the galaxy and report back if you find something better.)

Paprika, newly open basically around the corner from Rosamunde's Mission location, is about as differently executed as the same general concept can get. Instead of spicy sausages in grilled buns with relish, onions and fries, you'll find elegantly plated arrangements (and cornichons!). Rather than boisterous crowds curing hangovers, Paprika is borderline romantic -- although a bit spartan -- with attentive service, and it's open only for dinner.

See also: Beer Report: Rosamunde's Minds Its Pints and Queues
Outdoor Drinking Five Floors Up at El Techo de Lolinda
Mission Picnic: Dolores Park-Ready Sandwiches

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Pete Kane

El Techo de Lolinda's expansive rooftop patio.

San Francisco needs more rooftop bars. Medjool, the central Mission hotspot that closed last year, wasn't always the best ambassador, however. The very idea seemed to have gone before the NIMBY death panel until Argentinean steak house Lolinda threw open the doors to the simply named El Techo de Lolinda (i.e., Lolinda's Roof).

See also: Top 8 Outdoor Bars in San Francisco
Bouncer Falls in Love With Lolinda
Drink of the Week: The Oaxacan Cross at Lolinda

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Pete Kane

Rhea's pork katsu sandwich.

A few years ago, the South Korean consul-general for San Francisco blurted out that to get good Korean food in California, you basically had to go to L.A. For someone tried in diplomatic niceties to be so blunt about San Francisco's lack of bibimbap and ssam really says something.

Well, there's Rhea's, faithfully serving pork katsu on Valencia for some time now. And as of yesterday, there's a second location over on Bryant and 20th. Maybe that will get Mr. Fancy-Schmancy Diplomat to pay attention?

See also: Southside Spirit House Means Howard Street Finally Has Something Cool
Mission Picnic Is Open For All Your Dolores Park Sandwich Needs

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20 Spot/Facebook

20 Spot has clean, mid-century design.

Punk rock enthusiasts may mourn the loss of Force of Habit, the record shop that inhabited the space that is now wine bar 20 Spot, but the winos in town can rejoice. The wine bar, from owners Bodhi Freedom (owner of Bacchus) and chef Anthony Paone, opened in March, and boasts a list of North American as well as French, Italian and German wines as well as local beer.

See also: Pica Pica Brings Venezuelan Arepas And Other Staples to the Castro
Flour & Co. is an Oasis in the Nob Hill Pastry Desert
Mission Picnic Is Open For All Your Dolores Park Sandwich Needs

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