In A Comfortable Place

The Mission is my comfort zone.

It is my solid base when the city gets overwhelming. My first visits to the Mission didn't flood my senses like a busy day in Downtown. There was no initial fear of visiting the Mission. I'm comfortable in the Mission.

I, by no means, am an expert on the Mission now. It is, at the same time, constantly changing and holding on to its roots. What I mean is with the rising number of start-up businesses popping up on Valencia Street, the Mission has this staple into the Hispanic culture, mostly on Mission Street, that it can't lose. There is still so much to explore.

Many of the restaurants surrounding Mission Street, Pancho Villa Taqueria and Taqueria Los Coyotes for example, hold that traditional Hispanic culture that the Mission was built upon. During my first visit to the Mission, a long time Mission resident told me that the district is very family oriented. Eating in the Mission is as close to a Hispanic home cooked meal as a tourist like me can get. Also, about Taqueria Los Coyotes, it's the only taco shop that has satisfied my California burrito craving since I moved here from Southern California.

Alongside these traditional shops are young businesses such as Ritual Coffee and Tartine Bakery & Cafe, which both businesses have only been open for less than 10 years.

Ritual Coffee is my favorite coffee shop amongst all the other coffee shops in the Mission, and there are many more coffee shops in the Mission. Ritual's atmosphere, including displaying local artists' works and soundtracks picked by the baristas, keeps me coming back to work, hang out or just smell the place. Ritual's coffee is amongst the best in San Francisco and they roast all of their coffee in the city.

My main attraction to the Mission is Dolores Park. Every time I have gone to Dolores Park I've met someone new. The park is my favorite place to relax during the weekend, and many more share those same feelings. There is always something going on in the park. I've seen games of slip n' slide kickball, hula hoop dancers, DJ's, cardboard box knight fights and more during my visits. It's a strange, wonderful place.

The Mission is far from perfect despite all my praise. The BART stations and the areas surround them are dirty and run down with panhandlers and transients pestering anyone coming out of the stations. Mission Street itself is in terrible condition and, as a cyclist, not bike friendly with no bike lanes and large potholes. Parking around the district is also a large issue amongst the residents since the district is densely populated, which leads to traffic on Mission Street. I was also told by some shopkeepers on Mission Street to stay away from the Mission after dark since, from their experiences, robberies, shootings and other crimes become more frequent.

Like any part of the city, the Mission has its faults, but that's not going to stop me from exploring its culture. I have just seen the surface and I'm eager to dive deeper into the Mission.