My Hood on Bravo

[bonniegrrl]

Tonight's episode of "Top Chef" reality TV show had the would-be chef contestants trying to convince people on the corner of 24th and Mission to eat their fusion street vendor food. It's hilarious because the way it's filmed it totally makes it look like that area is cool, hip and clean, as opposed to the usual Mission mix of gangbangers who hang at the McD's, the drunk homeless guys, the junkies and the trash on the ground... the usual.

I'm not trying to disrespect my hood, it is what it is. I live here because it's the cheapest area with parking I can find where I still don't need a roomie. And of course, as us Mission kids know -- it has the best Mexican food in the city, some of the coolest bars and has its own charm. But it's also gritty and the closest thing to the Bronx we'll ever see in San Francisco. And so it's odd to see this same neighborhood through the lens of a fashionable show on cable TV.