It doesn't feel right that we're subbing in for SFist Ced, who's on hiatus for a few months -- so we're doing a combination Gastronomique/Philistine review in his honor!

Before heading out to the SF Youth Orchestra's Peter and the Wolf holiday concert this afternoon, we grabbed brunch at new trendy Mission bistro Weird Fish.

Weird Fish is a combination seafood/vegan restaurant at 18th and Mission -- and the fish isn't really that weird. For brunch, there were shrimp, tilapia, catfish, and crab options, along with an oyster, mushroom, and spinach scramble, which is what we ended up deciding on. (We didn't go vegan, but you could substitute tofu for fish in any dish, and they had vegan sausage as well.) The food was good, the waitstaff friendly, and the clientele hipster -- what's not to love?

We then caught a 49 bus right outside the restaurant and zipped on over to Symphony Hall, where we grouped the attendees into two classes: Baby's First Concert and Sulky Siblings Of Youth Symphony Members. We and our companion were probably the only people there without kids.

After the jump: No Vanessa Getty, a claymation YouTube clip of Peter and the Wolf, and a picture of our oyster/spinach scramble! (We just got our first digital camera.)

Picture of the fish poster inside Weird Fish, by us! Miss you, Ced!

Before the concert began, we made a pilgrimage to our favorite Symphony Christmas tree, the one decorated by the SF SPCA. Someone adopt these kittens!

As for the program itself, it was a casual affair, with children running up the aisles and harried fathers chasing after them, along with color commentary ("why is this song so loooooong?"). We always like that part of amateur performances; making music part of your everyday life and all that. Plus, it covered up our own color commentary throughout the concert, along the lines of "That's not Vanessa Getty, is it?" (It was not.)

Befitting the shorter attention span of the attendees, the performance ran about 90 minutes and included mostly short pieces, like the waltz from Sleeping Beauty, as well as a series of pieces that youth orchestra (and SF Symphony assistant) conductor Benjamin Shwartz explained were chosen to highlight various sections of the orchestra. The contemporary drum quartet piece, James Tenney's Wake For Charles Ives, performed by serious-faced percussionists wearing Santa hats, was a big hit.

This was all warmup for the headline performance, of Peter and the Wolf, featuring a bright-teal-pantsuited Florence Henderson narrating. Halfway through the performance, we realized that we'd combined the Peter and the Wolf story and Little Red Riding Hood in our mind, and were expecting Peter to get eaten. Plus -- our favorite section of the piece is still the cat (played by the clarinet). Here's a claymation version of the piece if you're interested.

We snuck out before the traditional Christmas carol singalongs. But not because of the quality of the orchestra! They were awesome.

Weird Fish
2193 Mission Street, x 18th
415-863-4744
Mon-Thurs, Sun: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Fri. and Sat: 9 a.m. - midnight.

SF Youth Orchestra:
Next concert: March 11, 2007 (featuring Mussorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition)
Audition application deadline: May 8, 2007 (must be 20 years old or under).