Chipotle, America's “feel good” Taco Bell and 5th best carne asada burrito manufacturer in San Francisco, is closing in on the hallowed grounds of the Mission District.  According to Grub Street, McDiego's tenth SF location is set to open in mid-2013 at Church and Market—a mere 5 blocks away from La Cumbre, where burritos are claimed to have been invented some 43 years ago.

But this is no boring old Mission Street taqueria.  They're improving upon that stale taqueria experience with a big ass outdoor patio, beer and margarita service, fountain soda for days, and a variety of salsa.

Chipotle's spokestaco filled in Grub Street on that this means for the company's future:

“Our locations so far in the Bay Area have been in high-traffic areas or more suburban areas, and this marks the start of a move into more urban neighborhoods which we're really excited about.”

I'm not exactly sure what that means, but they're probably not planning on plopping down location #11 in Union Square.

Oh, in case you were wondering…

[Grub Street]

I’ve been receiving some flack for calling the Mr. Mission Competition (which also happens to be a fundraiser for the respectable Leukemia Lymphoma Society) “obnoxious.”  The argument, as it has been argued, is that it’s a fundraiser for cancer research, so the organizers deserve a pass no matter how lame of an idea it might be.  CLASH SF’s illustrator, Stacey Toth, even went so far as to draw up a lovely illustration depicting me as a monkey under the headline “People Like to be Mean.”

And maybe they’re right.  Maybe an awkward, highly-suspect competition run by bros and burners and marketing types deserves that pass because it’s raising money for a good cause.  And if my criticism was in any way interpreted as discouraging people from donating to cancer research, I offer my sincerest apologies.

However, when the promoters essentially call people ‘faggots’ for criticizing them, it gives me pause.  Are these people really noble do-gooders hoping to rid the world of cancer, one questionable event at the time? Or are they just out-of-touch, backwards-thinking homophobic pricks capitalizing on a culture for self-promotion?

I’ll leave you to be the judge of that.

At least, that's the word from an anonymous “local film industry” source to the Petrelis Files.  Beginning next year, the theatre will, allegedly, forego their daily movie programming in favor of live performances that are expected to bring in more money:

The Castro will transform itself into a live performance venue, that is supposed to bring in more profits for the owner than movie showings. To better accommodate the needs of musicians, singers, comedians and the like, the small backstage area along with the stage and screen will undergo significant redesigning.

Most of the theatre's management and consulting teams have been let go, and not one gay person remains in a senior position.

It seems as the theatre's “coming soon” page is unusually empty, lending some credibility to claims. Nevermind 2011's reduced screening schedule, which Michael Petrelis had feared was sign that the threatre was no longer economically viable.

Roger Ebert, noted film critic and one-time Uptown Almanac commenter, has declared the whole mess a “crushing blow” and is accusing the theater of “abandoning gays.”

UPDATE: Mike Keegen, event programmer at The Roxie, tells us it ain't true:

UPDATE II: Sorry guys: it looks like the '24-hour blog cycle' got the better of us.  We're trying to get a hold of the threatre to see if there is any shread of truth in all this. We'll update if we hear anything.

[Petrelis Files | Photo by titanium22]

A bearded man “visiting from L.A.” was attacked by three lady “FUCKING FAT ASSES” (his words, not mine) while photographing the protests along 18th in the Castro.  After being punched a few times, getting pushed into a fixie (pictured right), and having his “favorite [flannel] shirt” ripped to shreds by his attackers, he became irate, screaming at SFPD about his savaged shirt and the “FUCKING INJUSTICE” that they stood by and watched them attack him without doing anything.

After a few minutes of listening to him yelling, the police stormed the entire scene and slapped some cuffs on his attackers, causing two kids carrying skateboards and wearing all black to start heckling in the oh-so-typical Castro tone, “OH MY GOD, IT'S A HIPSTER TRAGEDY.”