Mission Bowling Club-It's Beer O'Clock

Welcome to Misson Bowl. Brought to you by the same team that created Mission Chinese (All hail Daniel Bowen, honoree this month!). Which, ahem, started in San Francisco, then branched out over to NYC to critical acclaim. This little alley has been around a little while, but Tea Time finally made time to get over there and try their Happy Hour! The regular dinner hour starts at 6, but there was still a number of beer drinkers, bowlers and grubbers all enjoying the awesome tunes and tasty food available starting at 4 O'clock. One awesome deal is the Burger which is $10 (normally $15 a bit pricey?) sans fries. Stephanie, Angela and J.K. managed to try most of the Happy Hour menu, and there were a few surprises.

One was the carrot salad. Angela keeps having this experience. She sees salad on the menu. She says, "hmmm, I like that vegetable, sounds like it would make a good salad," then she ends up with something completely different from the salad in her head. Which is sometimes wonderful, sometimes inspiring, or sometimes, just lettuce with a veg on top (which is usually tasty, but slightly disappointing). Perhaps it's because she thinks of salads like potato salad, or coleslaw which is like a salad, sans lettuce. Or maybe she expects a warm salad. Anyhow, onto the surprise Amaro Roasted Carrots Salad which featured heirloom type carrots, bloomsdale fresh spinach and crunchy maple buckwheat garnish with a brown butter finish. Seemed like a parm cheese grated on the top? The reason this roasted carrot salad came as a surprise was two-fold; it was served cold and the composition. Some of the carrots were big chunks, some where whole (but smaller in size) and it was all covered in a dusting of cheese. It was tasty, the carrots were full of flavor, and the maple buckwheat was pretty neat and inspiring, adding the extra crunch as mentioned in their description. However, Angela had the expectation of a warm roasted carrot salad, so she had that stuck in her head while eating...

Whole roasted carrots served cold with spinach salad.

 Angela was gifted the Mission cookbook one Christmas (Thanks Snackreligious!) and ever since her intro to the cult of Misson Street food, she's been thinking about their burger technique. All those meat tubes lined up in a row, surely it must be different, right? This burger picture looks a bit more rare than the mouthfeel, because J.K. is the raw meat eater in our duo and so Angela ordered meduim rare. (J.K.'s waiting for meats to be irradiated, so mostly abstains from bloody feasts--aside from beef carpaccio.) Instead she opted for the Jerk Pork Shoulder sammie which was both beautiful and delish. Once Stephanie arrived, she also opted for the Pork Shoulder, plus we ordered the Mushroom Fritters. These also surprised Angela, she had a picture of larger bits of mushroom with less bread. 

Pink tubes of meat, perfectly aligned.

Pork Sammie with Fries

Another view, see how they pack in the pork!

Mushroom Fritters with ranch type dip.

MBC would be a great place for a birthday party or friendly get together. There are lots of kinds of beers available. Plus it comes in Big Pitchers. If the banging balls get too loud and drown out the rockin' tunes, just head out onto the front patio and admire some bicycles while you relearn how to talk in normal tones.

Looking out from the bar to the bowling lanes.

Even the decor is in theme!

Mixed drinks And beer, plus a wine list...

Lots of personal touches here such as golden bowling pins, moss, etc.

Fun bicycle art!

Their geenery theme continues outside on the patio.

Bicycle parking... on the patio! Your ride will be admired by all.

Mission Bowling Club has another great trait that will bowl you over. They donate money every month to local non-profits! When you order a marked menu item, MBC will donate a portion of that price into a pot which will go to a non-profit. Supporting local youth, PBR sponsored league nights, original art and a place to play a game with friends? Plus drinks and food? When you need it all in one spot, Mission Bowling Club has you covered for Happy Hour, or dinner. A tip from Tea Time: Happy Hour isn't crowded, but make sure to make a reservation for dinner and especially on the weekend. Please! let us know if you get the Duck!