sf street food festival 2010

Summer in San Francisco.  This year, that has meant:  lots of fog, grey mornings, cooler temps than anyone can remember in years and a few days of heat towards the end. 

A few weekends ago, La Cocina put on the 2nd annual SF Street Food Festival in the Mission.  Last year's festival was far more popular than anyone expected and as a result it was packed with people & lots of sold out vendors by the time I decided to stop by on a whim after an afternoon of drinking and saying goodbye to some friends nearby.  I heard a lot of complaints from those who participated last year, some in the form of constructive criticism and more often than not, in the form of a big whine.  Regardless, I was very much looking forward to checking out the festival this year and also decided to support the cause by volunteering for a shift to help out wherever I was needed.

I arrived early on Saturday morning to find things already buzzing and the closed off streets filled with people.  A good indication from the start.  My volunteer shift spanned the late morning to early afternoon.  I was a greeter at one of the main entrances which meant a lot of people watching and smiles for four hours.  By the time my shift ended, I wanted to make my way through the lines and find some good eats!

The format (for lack of a better word) for each stand was to have a small bite, large bite and non-alcoholic beverage.  I have mixed feelings about this - on one hand, you know what to expect and on the other it might keep some vendors in too narrow of a space.  Regardless, it seems to work.

My first stop was picked mostly because 1) it was directly across from the volunteer station and 2) there was a tiny line when I walked up!  Liba Falafel is a truck that I've had the pleasure of enjoying before and knew I wouldn't be let down.  They have an adorable truck, cute aprons and delicious falafel!

the goods here:  great falafel (again), housemade tahini, chimichuri and harissa hot sauce!  hello crispy, saucy bites.

I met up with my friend Sara after my falafel bites and we went a few doors down to check out the offerings from Onigilly.  A new-to-me concept, onigilly, are a traditional Japanese rice snack.  I've been following them on Twitter and was super excited to check it out.  Before I show you, let me say, I loved this bite and can't wait for their truck to take up residence a few blocks from my office for regular stops this fall.

the goods here:  a pressed block of sticky rice with various toppings.  here we had a tuna, eggplant and seaweed salad.  They are sauced delightfully and were totally different in a great way.

Next up was a stop to 15 Romolo, a bar in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.  Their offerings were hearty and also intriguing to both S and I and so we stopped.  this stand won the award for best included entertainment in the form of great music - "Hey, Jude" plus the sing-along provided by the servers was a win.

the goods here:  roasted Berkshire pork shoulder slider with raisin apple slaw and sauce + virgin Pimm's cup.  The sandwich was truly divine.  Really messy and full of flavor.  The bbq sauce was a hit with lots of vinegar flavor in the Carolina-style.

during my volunteer shift, I watched quite possibly hundreds of people walking by with these amazing ears of corn.  doctored up with chili spices and queso fresco just like you find on the streets of the Mission in San Francisco and presumably in Mexico and beyond.  I had to get one for myself.  The line was long at Los Cilantros, but in the end I was rewarded:

Other quick bites included a steamed chicken bun from The Slanted Door/Out the Door:

the Kati roll with chicken tikka, hot sauce, cilantro chutney and raita on the side from Kasa Indian:

This wrap/roll was surprisingly delicious.  The perfect size for a snack as our bellies were getting full and the sun had all but vanished.  I plan to hit up this spot for lunch or dinner soon.

stands that I missed out on were missed:  the Creme Brulee cart + Gobba Gobba Hey, Hapa Ramen and meatball slider from Delfina.  Some of that was remedied the following weekend at another food fesitval, but the slider from Delfina will likely elude me until next year.