If you haven’t made it to Commonwealth Restaurant yet (the Progessive-American restaurant located in the heart of the Mission District from former Bar Tartine chef Jason Fox and Mission Street Food co-founder Anthony Myint), now is your chance. Or rather, from of September 28th – October 10th is your chance to try  inventive tasting menus and know you are helping out St. Anthony’s.

For the week of September 28th – October 10th, $10 from each tasting menu will go to The St. Anthony Foundation. That equates to 22 meals in the St. Anthony Dining Room!

Bon Appétit!

The month of October is a beautiful time in our beloved city- the days are bright and sunny, but with a fall crispness that makes me think of … Mission Street Foods shiitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup! If you haven’t tried this sublime treat, tonight is your lucky night, AND you can support St. Anthony’s at the same time.

Mission Street has a brilliant restaurant model of taking over another kitchen (Lung Shan restaurant) a couple of nights, bringing in guest chefs, and giving a portion of the profits to local non profits. So in honor of the Feast of St. Francis, MSF is donating to St. Anthony’s on Thursday. Check out the full menu:

Olive dirt with fresh mozzarella, cherry tomato, tatsoi, basil oil – $7

Roasted cavalo nero kale with boudin blanc, bacon, mustard, pickles – $9

Fermented black bean short rib with parsley root puree, horseradish, mustard green – $10

Black pudding with seared scallop, hashbrown, tarragon – $10

“Blackened” pork belly, goat creme fraiche, cucumber, cilantro on flatbread – $7

Lung Shan’s Vegan Delight: shiitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup – $5.5

Grass jelly with mascarpone pavlova, caramelized lychee and banana – $6

I just can’t away from my love of food; that’s one of the many reason I appreciate St. Anthony’s. Knowing that everyday the Dining Room is coming up with amazing nutritious and healthful meals that are served free to anyone that is hungry is a wonderful thing to be connected to. Over the years, we have had the joy of connecting with other Bay Area folks that appreciate good food as well- Annie Somerville from Greens, Anthony Myint from Mission Street Foods, the folks at Slow Food, and now Anya Fernald, formerly with Slow Food and now with liveculture, (the people that put on the amazing Eat Real festival in Oakland a couple weeks ago). We will be working with Anya, with volunteers and other neighborhood residents on canning freshly made berry jam which we can use to make PBJ’s in the Dining Room for children. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it …

OK, I can’t say this strongly enough- if you haven’t had a chance to eat at Mission Street Food on Thursday or Saturdays, do it. Yes, there are lots of other folks who are charmed by love of the delicious food that supports non profits, so you may have to wait a bit, but trust me, its worth it. And I’m not just saying that because MSF just donated $564 to St. Anthony’s from their Thursday night meal. Its that I love the epicurian mojo that Chefepreneur Anthony Myint brings to the table, along with guest chefs like Chris Kronner, who created delicious and amazing appetizers for St. Anthony’s green building dedication last October (and also made an all night cameo at MSF on Thursday).

Every day I am reminded how important community is, for everyone. Besides the static community, the folks that help define your neighborhood or social groups, the folks that we visually or socially regard as being “like me”, there is the fluid community. The folks that could be pinch hitters or extended acquaintances, from one or six degrees of separation, but who contribute in almost seamless ways to your life. The community of give and take, of sharing resources, of supporting and being supported, in an invisible web rather than a tangible lifeline.

On Saturday I went to have dinner at Mission Street Foods, the innovative restaurant that happens twice a week in the Mission. Every night they donate the restaurant profits to a non profit, and on Saturday St. Anthony’s was the appreciative recipient.

The food was delicious – I had a broccoli rabe and avocado rice bowl that was sublime, and velvety mushroom dumplings in a vegan broth that had the elegance and simplicity of a perfect pearl. I had never met Anthony or Karen before, but hungrily stabbing a piece of brocolli rabe with my fork, I felt really appreciative of their vision. A handful of folks I know had dinner there to support St. Anthony’s. When we conferred later, we all agreed how good it felt to support a place that was making an effort to support food related non-profits while serving fantastic food.

These are the times to pool our resources, strengthen our connections, and support the folks we feel like are making a difference. Mission Street Food made that really easy.

This Saturday, February 28th, Mission Street Foods at 2234 Mission Street will be donating their profits to St. Anthony Dining Room.

Find out more at the Mission Street Foods’ website.