La Movida & Pal's Takeaway Take 24th

La Movida and Pal's Takeaway
3066 24th St., Mission
Phone: (415) 425-2392
Web: lamovidasf.com and palstakeaway.com
Status: Soft opening today, grand opening next week

The Mission is getting two restaurants for the price of one today, as wine bar La Movida moves in at 24th and Folsom, bringing with it lunch service from cult-favorite sandwichery Pal's Takeaway. First things first: La Movida comes from Michael Meadows, and is housed in the former El Delfin space (the previous owners retired earlier this year). It features three draft beers and 12 draft wines, along with another 10 beers and 20 wines by the bottle. All selections are from California. "I'm looking to have some interesting and unexpected things," says Meadows. "I'm referring to it as kind of a Noah's Ark list. One bottle will be exactly what it's supposed to be, and the other will be a little more unexpected, but still great." For example, he'll have sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, but also more interesting white varietals like grenache blanc and marsanne. Local brewers like Almanac and Cerveceria de MateVeza dominate the beer selection.

For the evening portion of the food offering, Meadows has brought in Michael Mauschbaugh, who ran the Sous Beurre Kitchen pop-up at nearby Sugarlump Cafe for some time. (He's now working on a brick-and-mortar of his own at 24th and Potrero, which will open later this year.) The small-plates offering will include the standard cheese and charcuterie, but diners will also find salads, fried okra, mac and cheese, and flatbreads. Other 24th Street purveyors pop up everywhere, from lamb sliders on Wise Sons challah buns to bread pudding made from day-old Dynamo Donuts. Here's the full menu.

As for Pal's, Jeff Mason now has the freedom to offer five sandwiches a day instead of three, and he'll be incorporating more elements now that he has access to extended prep space and a deep-fryer. (For instance, his famous Lao sausage got the fried treatment today.) Bread continues to come from local purveyors Firebrand and Josey Baker, and for the first time, diners will be able to sit down and enjoy their sandwich at one of La Movida's tables. Pal's hours are Monday-Friday, 11 am-2:30 pm.

Speaking of those tables, they contain the remnants of El Delfin's mural, which was unfortunately too fragile to preserve. Designer Alon Picker used lots of bright colors to open up the space, then topped it off with a street-sign inspired decal; there are 49 seats in total, with several tables and a lounge in the back. For its soft opening, La Movida will be open tonight through Saturday from 6-10 pm with a limited selection of food and wine. Over the next few weeks, more wine and menu items will be added in until it's fully up to speed.

· La Movida, a Cali-Centric Wine Bar, Opens Next Week [~ ESF ~]
· Pal's Takeaway Turns Four, Full Space Still Planned [~ ESF ~]