Del Popolo, a custom-mobile-pizzeria-on-wheels, is due to roll out next month from self-proclaimed “dough guy” Jon Darsky. The name Del Popolo means 'of the people' and represents the "simple and egalitarian nature of pizza." Darsky is most recently known to pizza fans for his gently blistered, thin-crust, award-winning pizzas from flour + water. He is the primary designer of this new Bay Area mobile pizzeria, which started as a transatlantic shipping container and will be morphed into a pizza kitchen on wheels, custom-tricked out in ways that are different from other food trucks. He employed a local designer to translate his ideas and “make the concept real on the computer,” as well as produce the detailed drawings and plans required to actually build it. Mclellan Industries, based in Hanford, California, handled the fabrication and production. Darsky said of his approach, “Most food trucks start from the same place, with a repurposed step van, and incorporate similar modifications, designs and equipment. I started with the idea that I wanted to use an unconventional appliance in a custom format that would expand the idea of what mobile food can be.”

Darsky hails from New York and currently lives in Noe Valley. He has worked locally at Pizzaiolo, Pizzeria Delfina and flour + water, after an initial career as a pro baseball scout. He is newly married and just back from his honeymoon.

Jon Darsky and his wife, Sara on their honeymoon. Photo courtesy of Del Popolo

How did you and your spouse Sara meet?
In late summer 2004, we were set up and went on a blind date at a bar in Manhattan. In 2007, she got a job with YouTube in entertainment marketing, and we moved from Brooklyn to San Francisco.

Do you have any children?
We have a six-year old named Rocco. He's a Jack Russell terrier.

Tell us about getting married.
We ran out of red wine half through the night, and were forced to hit Safeway in Pope Valley (Napa Valley) for some Woodbridge. Humphry Slocombe made us a custom flavor of sorbet -- peach moscato -- and Anastasia at Sweet Revolution made a small box of caramels for each guest.

How was the honeymoon?
We went to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Bangkok's Chinatown, off the back of a pickup truck, we shared a plate of durian and sticky rice with a little condensed milk. On its’ own durian is difficult. It smells bad and is somewhere between savory and sweet. But with the sticky rice and the sweet condensed milk, it's delicious. We got a great photo of the woman preparing food in the truck.

Bangkok Chinatown food truck. Photo courtesy of Del Popolo

In Siem reap, I had an eggplant, pork and fermented soybean dish that was awesome. It was part of a $17 tasting menu that culminated with a black sticky rice creme brûlée.

In Hanoi, my two favorites were the pho I ate in the morning. It was the best food I've ever experienced on a stool a foot off the ground; invigorating and super flavorful. I also had fried fish with turmeric, dill, chili and rice noodles, and a papaya salad with air-dried beef.

How are things going with Del Popolo?
Swell. The project was born in June of 2010, a few months after my departure from flour + water. It's closer to launching now than ever before.

Did you have to get any sort of certification or training to operate your mobile?
There’s no certification and no training. Only a commercial drivers license, which requires that you pass the CDL test. It’s not that easy. I spent an entire day in Fresno. In addition to the road test, there's a test of your familiarity with the air brake system. I failed it the first time….

How did you begin working with Mclellan Industries?
I found them online. When I contacted them initially, business was slow and they were receptive. They're not in the food truck business, but they had the necessary expertise, facilities and tools to carry out the project.

What are your favorite Bay Area spots to shop for food?
I like to buy Twizzlers at Office Max on Harrison Street. They're always fresh. I feel sick, stupid and guilty afterwards, but the first ten are really good. Also, Thai eggplant, tamarind, and sweet basil from the Battambang market on Eddy Street. It's a Thai market owned by a Cambodian woman.
I also like Oscar's Deli on Cesar Chavez, for good, inexpensive falafel.

Where is your favorite date-night spot?
La Ciccia, where I like to order the spaghetti with bottarga. I go there for the spaghetti and the hospitality.

If you had to pick one pizza as your favorite, which one would it be?
In S.F., Una Pizza Napoletana.
In L.A., my brother-in-law makes delicious pizza at Sotto. Both are thoughtful in terms of process, ingredients and the tools they use. There is no randomness to what they do, and it is born out in the end product. Similarly, my style is built around asking as many questions as possible in order to really understand what I am doing.

What is your favorite meal to have with your family?
Beans. I like to make beans, with almost any kind from Rancho Gordo. It’s hands-down my favorite thing to make… add some herbs and some sherry vinegar.

What will you do for Valentine’s Day?
We're going to the SF ballet to see Chroma.

What’s your guiltiest food pleasure?
Anything with meat.

Del Popolo Website
Twitter: @pizzadelpopolo

I love treasure hunts, especially if cultural adventure and sampling delectable goodies are involved, so I was eager to join Edible Excursions’ new Japantown tour. Although I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to Japanese cuisine, epicurean concierge, Lisa Rogovin introduced me to a novel set of sweet and savory yummies hiding in plain sight.

The former ad exec for Gourmet Magazine, whose company provides tasting tours of the Mission, Ferry Building and Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, was recently asked by Japantown’s Merchant Association to add a tour of the 4-block area centered on Post and Buchanan. After having done her cultural homework, Lisa ushered a half dozen of us through the warrens of a pair of concrete mall structures that anchor Japantown, as well as some surrounding streets in order to educate and tantalize our taste buds.

Surprisingly, our outing began with a non-Japanese beverage, a warm sweet potato latte at Yakiniq Café, where owner Christy Hwang serves the traditional Korean comfort drink, made with sweet potato, syrup and foamed milk. Lisa informed us that besides Japanese shops and restaurants, Japantown encompasses a few Korean dining spots and even a Danish Bakery.

As we sipped our hot drinks in the funky, art-lined café, Lisa issued a gentle warning, “This will be three and a half hours of eating; so pace yourselves.” That caveat was promptly forgotten as soon as we drained our cups of foamy liquid.

On our walk to our next stop, Lisa gave us a short rundown on the history of Japantown, which began to take shape just after the 1906 earthquake when Japanese San Franciscans needed a place to gather for community support. At its height, it stretched for 36 blocks until WWII internment orders emptied the thriving neighborhood, uprooting its residents and merchants. After the war, many came back to rebuild their lives. In 1968, an urban renewal project bulldozed old Victorians and erected the imposing concrete buildings still at its center, whose fortress-like exterior may seem daunting to uninitiated visitors.

One artifact from the original Japantown that is very much alive is Benkyodo, an unassuming little diner and bakery, that makes traditional fresh mochi confections.

This family business opened in 1906, and is now run by brothers Ricky and Robert Okamura, grandsons of the original owner. Entering their long narrow café, we discovered a split personality: the right side features a low orange Formica counter, matching leatherette bar stools and a Coca Cola menu board with changeable red and black plastic letters that dates from the 50s. Fare and prices also seem to be frozen in time (hot dog $3.15, hamburger $3.10)—just the thing to attract a cadre of regulars. The left side is dominated by the bakery case, which on this late December Friday attracted a crowd of shoppers, standing in line to buy special handmade mochi and manju pastries for the New Year. We sampled chubby, chewy rice flour orbs filled with sweet red beans or blueberries.

Sadly, our next stop was a piece of Japantown history that was just about to close after 105 years in business, Uoki K. Sakai market. There we tasted an earthy hijiki seaweed salad and crunchy burdock and carrot salad from their deli while Lisa clued us in on preparing sushi rice using rice vinegar powder sold at the store. There are two other markets still left in Japantown.

From the oldest businesses, we transitioned to visit the latest addition to Japantown, the New People complex, a narrow, stylish white edifice which houses the SF Film Society, a café and retail stores such as Sou-Sou for tabi (divided shoes and socks) with bold fabric designs and Baby the Stars Shine Bright for Lolita frilly pink dresses.

We stopped downstairs at Onigilly for an updated version of the ubiquitous Japanese finger food, onigiri, balls or triangles of white rice wrapped in seaweed, which may be stuffed with pickled plum or cooked salmon. In Japan, these portable meals are sold in train stations, convenience stores and are as much a part of bento lunchboxes as our PB&J sandwiches.

Onigilly (a play the American pronunciation of onigiri) is the creation of Koji Kanematsu, the first male to go through La Cocina’s food business incubator program. He updated the traditional snacks using brown rice and fillings such as eggplant, hijiki and spicy scallop, as well as the traditional pickled plum. Onigilly also operates a food cart in Justin Herman Plaza and other locations around town.

After this substantial snack and a quick tour of the trendy shops in New People, we headed across the street to the Japan Center. As we entered the busy mall, Lisa, an engaging and knowledgeable guide who was inspired by her own cultural curiosity, told us, “You’ll notice we won’t be having any sushi, tempura or teriyaki today. I want to introduce you to new things and demystify some Japanese dishes that might be unfamiliar to you.”

Our eating adventure continued at Mifune Don, where we sat down for another mainstay of real Japanese cooking that is not commonly known to foreigners. Okonomiyaki is called a “savory pancake” but the name literally means “what you like” and is a tasty way to use leftovers. These large grilled discs usually contain some combination of eggs, shredded yam, cabbage, meat, or seafood, topped with a special brown sauce and squiggles of Japanese mayonnaise. They are sprinkled with bonita shavings, whose eerie 3-D undulations seemed to be waving at me, inviting me to partake in this hearty, vegetable griddlecake. My first okonomiyaki was a satisfying discovery and definitely will not be my last.

Then our group of locals and out of state visitors shifted into an intense assault on sweetness, starting with a neon-hued, mini Geisha float—green tea ice cream topped with red beans, green tea syrup and red mochi cubes at Carol Murata’s Café Hana.

For our second dessert, we strolled over to May’s Coffee Shop, run by Carol’s mother May Murata since 1973, to sample taiyaki, a fish-shaped sweet with a long history. In Japanese culture, the sea bream is considered a symbol of good luck and these distinctively shaped pastries are made by pouring waffle-like batter into metal molded trays and topping with red beans, chocolate or other fillings. The two halves of the fish are then folded together and cooked until golden brown. They originated in Tokyo in 1909.

Full of lucky fish pastries, we ducked into Nippon-Ya, a stylish shop specializing in omiyage, the artfully wrapped regional specialties that Japanese visitors commonly bring back from their travels for friends and co-workers. Beautifully boxed mochi in fruit flavors, plus cookies, tea and other souvenirs from all over Japan are their most popular selections. We were offered tastes of creamy chocolate mochi.

On our way out of the building Lisa pointed out shops that carry stickers, stationery and fashion and then impossibly announced that it was time for lunch. A 3-course lunch at that, with wakame, a slippery green seaweed salad, a pair of mini gyozas and a big bowl of steaming nabeyaki noodle soup with vegetables, fish cake, chicken, shrimp tempura and udon or soba noodles. The key ingredient of the soup is the dashi flavored broth and Mifune Bistro’s dashi had a strong, clear taste.

As I waddled out after lunch, much wiser and definitely much fuller than before I started the tour, I made mental note of the dozen new tastes I’d sampled, and wondered if this is how sumo wrestlers begin to build their girth.

Edible Excursions' Japantown tour is offered every Friday and the second Saturday of the month, from 11-2:30, for $85. Itinerary may vary.

The Bay Area's foodie culture has gone mobile in recent years, as food trucks offering everything from creme brulee to empanadas to curry-filled burritos have proliferated. But in San Francisco, some restaurant owners say the carts are cutting into their business and are asking City Hall to step in. Meanwhile, food truck vendors complain about the red tape and confusing permit process. Both sides are unhappy with the current rules, and they have come to the table to hash out new regulations.

Original Broadcast: Thu, Jan 5, 2012 -- 9:00 AM

Host: Scott Shafer

Guests:
• Ken Cleaveland, director of government and public affairs for the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco (BOMA)
• Matthew Cohen, founder of Off the Grid
• Rob Black, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association
• Tim Volkema, co-owner of the Kasa Indian eatery and the Kasa Indian food truck

Yams, red beans, creamed corn, white fungus, grass jelly, black glutinous rice. Perhaps these ingredients don’t immediately conjure up images of tempting sweet treats, but in steamy Singapore—with the addition of shaved ice, fresh fruit, palm sugar, colorful syrups, coconut milk and other goodies—they morph into a medley of exotic desserts.

I’m in Singapore for a week, tagging along with my husband, who is presenting at a conference. I couldn’t miss a trip to this unabashedly food-obsessed city, where you really can’t walk two steps without bumping into tantalizing aromas emanating from cafes, food stands and hawker centers (organized street food vendors). In this modern multi-cultural society, where impossibly high angular skyscrapers tower over warrens of ethnic neighborhood shops, Chinese, Indian, Malay residents and foreign visitors all join in a tireless search for the best grub the city has to offer—in local parlance: “die-die-must-try.”

Singaporean specialties abound, like chili-crab, fish-head curry, oyster omelet, chicken rice and a multitude of variations on spicy noodles. But for my few days here, I need a quest with a smaller focus, so why not a sweet one, sampling as many desserts as I can? (Actually “desserts” is somewhat of a misnomer, as these sweet treats are more often consumed as afternoon or late night snacks.)

Straddling the equator, with temperatures often in the 90s and the air thick with tropical humidity, icy treats offer natural refreshment in Singapore’s year-round heat wave. Although many have roots in neighboring cultures, the fantastical shapes and colors of these cooling combinations make them Singaporean classics.

Ice Kachang provides a refreshing pyramid of pleasure

Ice Kachang -- the quintessential Singaporean dessert takes a mountain of shaved ice, douses it with a rainbow of syrups and sprinkles on toppings such as soft red beans and creamed corn. I order mine with a dusting of chopped peanuts for an extra dimension of crunch.

creamy, chewy, icy Chendol

Chendol -- the key ingredient in this icy treat is the jelly-like green noodles flavored with pandan leaf, layered with cooked red beans, chewy palm seeds, coconut milk and a sweet brown syrup.

Every Singapore resident I ask offers encouragement and advice on my sweet-seeking journey. They also caution me not to eat too many treats with creamy, coconut milk. (“Not good for the tummy.”) Luckily, there is a profusion of more delicate sweet dishes to choose from.

Slippery sweet Ice Jelly

Ice Jelly -- utterly light and refreshing: shaved ice with cold translucent jelly globules. I have mine topped with mango.

Double steamed papaya in syrup

Steamed Papaya with Snow Fungus and Almond -- served in light syrup. The snow fungus adds the texture of a dainty, frilly sponge. I enjoy it cold, but it also comes hot, as do several other desserts with a hot/cold option.

When the sky turns black and hurls lighting bolts, thunderclaps and pounding rain, it’s an invitation to duck into a cheerful neon-bordered café for a warm bowl of comfort, such as sweet black glutinous rice cooked into a velvety pudding, drizzled with a swirl of coconut milk.

Other warming choices:

comforting and chewy Bubor Cha Cha

Bubor Cha Cha -- chunks of cooked yam and sweet potato with colored bits of chewy coconut jelly swimming in warm coconut milk.

Peanut soup or Black sesame soup – topped with almond cream.

Chinese culture often cites the health benefits of certain foods to balance one’s yin/yang, for specific ailments or populations (e.g. pregnant women). A sign in Food Republic’s Ice Shop proclaims Red Beans with Lotus seeds “great for getting rid of dark circles under the eyes,” so there is no way I can pass that up.

The places where I sample these treats vary as much as the flavors and forms they take. From fancy food courts in high-rise shopping meccas, like Wisma Atria’s Food Republic to beloved, old-fashioned, open-air Hawker Centres (Maxwell Road in Chinatown, Tekka Center in Little India and Lau Pa Sat in the financial district).

A visit to the National Museum of Singapore’s vibrant Living Gallery of Food provides the back-story to the city’s obsession with street food. Itinerant street vendors have always played an important role in this multi-cultural city. Since the 19th century, they traveled door-to-door preparing and peddling their wares or setting up carts and stands on the riverside. In the 1980s, as part of a project to clean up the river, Prime Minister Lee mandated that hawkers leave the riverside and take their places in designated hawker centers.

Scores of hawker centers, which are wildly popular with locals, are scattered around the city, each features vendors from various cultures, side by side, selling freshly made dishes at rock-bottom prices. You can have some Indian roti with your Malaysian beef rendang and finish off with sweet Chinese ah bolin (glutinous rice balls filled with yam, bean or sesame seed paste).

After spending an hour immersed in the museum’s videos, oral histories and food artifacts, I gain an appreciation for the context of Singapore’s food focus. As one hawker interviewed in a museum video explains, “Food makes us all equal, rich and poor, people of all races.”

Even though, I've tasted a dozen of Singapore’s sweet treats, there are many more to sample on my next visit…

Guests and host Leslie Sbrocco taping episode 611 of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Check, Please! Bay Area Season 6: episode 11 airs Thursday October 20 at 7:30pm on KQED TV 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website also provides restaurant information not specified on the show, written reviews from the guests and restaurant recipes. If you have opinions on the restaurants featured please feel free to share your thoughts. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will be sharing wine tips with each episode.

The eleventh episode of the season features these restaurants: Café Aquarius (Emeryville), Tanguito Argentinean Grill & Empanadas (San Francisco) and VEGA (San Francisco).

Leslie Sbrocco: Wine Tips -- Pairing Dessert Wines

Post by Emmanuel Hapsis
Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

This year's Treasure Island Music Festival couldn't have been more heavenly: Indian summer in full swing, out-of-control views, scantily clad hipsters, and of course hours and hours of great music. Check out photos of the scene, from the colorful crowds to the 60-foot Ferris wheel to scene-stealers St. Vincent and YACHT. It's all here!

ARTS & CRAFTS

The wonderful people from Workshop were camped out in a D.I.Y. tent, where they taught abbreviated versions of the classes they offer at their NOPA location. Need a cozy for your beer? No problem, they'll teach you how to make one. Want to put together a terrarium and lug it back home for 2 hours on public transport? No sweat! Other notable art was the face painting booth, where I may or may not have gotten an Adam and the Ants inspired look two days in a row. Caution: rad face paint will attract excitable drunks.

The focal point of the festival was a Bliss sculpture by Marco Cochrane that presided over the whole affair. Made of steel that weighs a whopping 7,000 pounds and consumes a space 40 feet by 30 feet, this gigantic representation of the naked female form was the perfect reminder to let go of inhibitions and feel as free as you do in your birthday suit. Another Burning Man-esque attraction was a bus that was converted into a pirate ship. One brief trip up a ladder led to the top deck, where you could get a good survey of the land while feeling as though the bus might tip over and crush you at any moment.

SAN FRANDISCO

I thought the Silent Disco was a strange idea, until I paid a visit and saw the headphoned crowd grooving and then all freaking out at the same time to the same song unheard by non-participating spectators. Now I know what people on the street think when they look into my apartment and wonder if I'm having a seizure.

RANDOM REVELRY

Other revelers roaming around the festival were a posse of monsters who cut a grassy rug and the liveliest bateria imaginable called the Loyd Family Players, who compelled bystanders with various dancing abilities to join the professional movers and shakers.

THE GRUB

You can't really expect to dance and roam for 12 hours without some sustenance. Thankfully, there were some seriously delish food vendors on deck. The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen offered up that gooey classic with tomato and fresh jalapenos for added bite. Epic Cookies provided sugar rushes galore (the chocolate cookie and coconut macaroon were tops). And there were spinach and potato knishes (what's that you ask? a dumpling of dough stuffed with goodness), as well as to more standard favorites like wraps and hot slices of pizza that were perfect for the chilly night shows. Everything tastes better when the sun's out and cute people with face paint are smiling in your face.

THE MUSIC

In my Treasure Island preview, I said that you would be a fool to miss St. Vincent's live set and I'm taking this opportunity to tap myself on the back because I was infinitely right about that. From the moment Annie Clark came out on the stage, she commanded the entire festival's attention. Her voice was immaculate, her guitar throttling was so intense that she broke a string, and her general demeanor was that of the girl you just fell perilously in love with.

The biggest surprise of the festival was British band Friendly Fires. I knew next to nothing about them, but my friend advised me that I should get ready to dance my heart out. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane is perhaps the goofiest dancer I've ever seen, hand placed at the back of his head and hips everywhere. His dancing with abandon was utterly infectious and had the crowd spazzing out as the sun blasted its rays into our faces. Every time the set seemed to be winding down, the band would surprise us with another conniption. Hysteria never felt so good.

Whoever orchestrated Beach House playing at sunset deserves a promotion. The golden light was the perfect glaze for the band's euphoric sonic dreams. The usually reserved Victoria Legrand was downright playful with the crowd and the band unveiled brand new songs that prove beyond a doubt that this duo is just getting started.

With the San Francisco skyline serving as a backdrop, YACHT took to the stage and delivered a high-energy set full of positivity and coordinated dance moves. Claire L. Evans played the role of the slinky temptress as Joan Bechtolt played every instrument on the stage. "Come on over, we're having a party for you," they sing on "Psychic City," and it truly felt like these two were putting on a fiesta for just us, their best friends.

The six members of The Head and the Heart met at an open mic night they all frequented in Seattle and went on to hone their sound in their practice space: a public library. That setting must have rubbed off on them because the lyrics of their harmonious folk tunes are perfectly worded and evocative. For example: "One day, we'll all be ghosts trippin' around in someone else's home." The band appeared to be having the time of their lives on stage. It's always nice to witness people living out their dreams.

For those who want to see more of all the Treasure Island happenings and for those who just want to relive it all, check out our slideshows of all the festival's greatness below. Only 52 weeks to go until we do it all again!

SATURDAY SLIDESHOW mobile version

SUNDAY SLIDESHOW mobile version

Eat Real Festival Crowd in Jack London Square, Oakland.
Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

The 3rd Annual Eat Real Festival kicked off their food extravaganza this past weekend, and the eager and hungry masses descended upon Jack London Square in full force once again.

I've attended the event since its inception and have always come away with a full, happy belly and lots of food porn. This dazzling array of culinary delights came about through a "social venture business" whose "mission is to help revitalize regional food systems, build public awareness of and respect for the craft of making good food and to encourage the growth of American food entrepreneurs," according to their website.

And Eat Real goes all out to foster this mission. This year they hosted 60 street food vendors, had 30 beers and wines on tap, an indoor marketplace with 30 craft food vendors, urban farmers leading Q & A sessions about homesteading, DIY workshops and demonstrations about baked goods, cheese and other foodstuffs, live music performances from local bands and DJs, butchery contests and more.

It's easy to get overloaded with this packed schedule -- even with 30 less food vendors than last year -- so I decided to seek out vendors that were new to the festival or that I hadn't checked out in previous years. I met up with BAB's editor and photographer extraordinaire, Wendy Goodfriend, in downtown Oakland on Saturday morning.

After checking in my bicycle at the East Bay Bike Coalition's free bike valet, we were ready to get our grub on. One of the first vendors that caught my eye was Fatface that hails from Davis. I've tried their popsicles before, so I was planning on strolling right on by until I saw the big sign that advertised a "bacon and egg" popsicle. (I think this sign made most people stop in their tracks.) Then I read the description: "Ginger-bacon caramel and vanilla egg custard featuring eggs from Vega Farm and bacon from Blesdoe pork also made with vanilla bean, heavy cream, milk, ginger, filtered water and cane sugar." After reading that list of ingredients and noticing that it was a "limited edition," I couldn't resist the call of the swine. I figured this would be a lovely breakfast (which I had skipped in anticipation of the afternoon of decadence) despite it being dessert. And it didn't disappoint. The frozen egg custard was rich and creamy, with a luscious caramel center of bacony goodness.

Next on the list was the San Rafael-based food truck The Taco Guys. This was their second visit to Eat Real, and Jason Hoffman and Justin Close are two chefs with 20 years of culinary experience under their belts that decided to branch out on their own into the street food scene. My husband Shawn ordered their Maui Fish Taco (panko-battered and fried Pacific rock cod, savoy cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, Sriracha mayo and pickled onions), while I had to try the Burmese Lamb taco (Fallon Hills lamb, Thai cucumber salad, preserved Meyer lemon yogurt, sweet herbs). We bumped into the guys later on as we were wandering through the festival, and they asked us how we liked their food. I let them know that we agreed with their slogan that it was "ridiculously tasty."

Onto the next course; the WOW Truck of San Jose was conveniently parked right near by. Despite being Eat Real first-timers, their popularity preceded them and they had a long line of patient folks queueing up for their fusion Filipino fare. And no wonder; I was willing to wait 15 minutes for a "WOW Silog Taco" with Niman Ranch cage-free egg and beef tapa, garlic fried rice and heirloom tomato on a flour tortilla. And I also had to try the "Silog Sushi Bite" with a fried quail egg on top of garlic fried rice, seaweed, hand-harvested Philippine sea salt (!) and Niman Ranch beef. Shawn went right for the "Turon Turon," a fried saba banana fritter roll. The Sushi Bite was one of my favorites of the day. It had an incredible savory quality that was umami to the hilt. (I'll stop now before I throw in any more pretentious adjectives, so I'll end with the declaration that it was unbelievably delicious.)

We decided to give our stomachs a time-out before diving into the next course. After perusing the goods in the indoor craft food market, we headed over to the DIY Eat It & Oven area. Amy Remsen and Blake Joffe of Beauty's Bagel Shop were just finishing up their bagel making workshop. This was the first appearance at Eat Real for the Oakland-based duo, and they're currently looking for a space to set up a brick-and-mortar bagel shop. In the meantime, Amy and Blake have a wholesale business making Montreal-style bagels that are "hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-fired oven" for local restaurants Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen in Berkeley and San Francisco's pop-up deli Wise Sons Delicatessen. They also sell their bagels through a vendor at the Kensington Farmers' Market. I was lucky enough to score a sample of one their freshly baked bagels from a workshop participant, which was still warm from the handmade on-site clay oven.

Moving onwards, we stopped by the latest venture of Eat Real founder Anya Fernald, who is also the CEO of Belcampo Meat Company. They made their debut at the Los Angeles Eat Real Festival in July and were making their first appearance as both a sponsor and vendor in Oakland this year. Based near Mt. Shasta, they're a "multi-species organic start-up farm" that raises grass-fed and pastured animals -- everything from "cattle to quail," according to farmer Kylan Hoover. Kylan, who was helping to serve up their hot dogs with his co-worker Peter Sterling, used to run his own farm in Livermore. He now works with Belcampo in designing and managing the Siskiyou County farm, which has been in the research and development phase for the past 5 years. They plan to open up butcher shops throughout the state along with their own processing facility in Yreka in 2012. I decided to try a cone of their French fries, which were golden and crispy as a result of being fried in grass-fed beef tallow.

Photo: Jenny Oh

There were long, long lines for festival newbie Tikka Bytes, "savory Indian bites" from Milpitas, so alas, I had to pass them up. Lines were also snaking around the plaza for the seasoned festival darlings Chairman Bao Truck, Senor Sisig, and Tru Gourmet Dim Sum.

Wendy grabbed a bite to eat at Vesta Flatbread -- she had been showing great discipline up until now -- and ordered up their vegetarian dish with carrot hazelnut pate, labne, beet salad, and of course, their delicious flatbread made right in their truck.

We said hello to Steven Gdula of Gobba Gobba Hey, who had his new cookbook and cool Indian-inspired Ganesh t-shirt for sale along with his fantastic treats.

We also popped by to chat with Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats, who showed us his fresh-off-the-presses galley copy of his new cookbook that's due out in November. He was slapping cheese on his burgers in rapid fire -- "it's like dealing cards" -- while extolling the virtues of his immensely popular "bacon-studded hot dog on a stick." Ryan serves up these crowd-pleasers at festivals because, "Who doesn't love food on a stick?"

This was Iso Rabins' (ForageSF) third time at Eat Real, but this year he decided to "go for it" and cook this year. Preparing food for "over a thousand people was taking it to the next level" (thus he'd had only 2 hours of sleep the night before), but he was thrilled with selling food made on the spot as opposed to pre-made goods in the craft market. Iso was serving up deep-fried smelt (which he personally deep-fried himself) because he "loved bait fish such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies." A colleague told him that he was taking a risk with selling this unfamiliar fish, but he wanted to take a gamble and "introduce people to new food." Iso flirted with the idea of calling them, "fries with eyes," but thought it might be "off-putting" to the masses. (I think it would have worked like a charm, personally.)

We took another food break and listened to part of the Q & A session with Heidi Kooy of The Itty Bitty Farm in the City. Heidi and her husband have a contracting business, but they're also urban homesteaders in San Francisco who raise chickens, bees and goats -- one of which she was milking onstage as she answered questions from the audience. The other one was gamely allowing adoring fans to pet her.

After all of this gorging, did I have room to eat any more food? Apparently so. I'm a sucker for a good grilled cheese sandwich, so GBD (which stands for Golden Brown Delicious) was my last food order for the day. The Point Reyes Farmers' Market was on the lookout for some prepared food vendors to augment their produce stands, and Osteria Stellina's chef-owner Christian Caiazzo thought grilled cheese sandwiches would be the perfect item. He knew there were plenty of great cheesemakers in Marin to source the main ingredient, such as Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company and Cowgirl Creamery. The Eat Real edition of GBD grilled cheese sandwiches were made with Estera Gold cheese from Valley Ford Cheese Company and generously brushed with butter from Strauss Family Creamery. Metropolis Bakery of Berkeley provided the delicious sourdough bread (normally Christian bakes his own bread, but he couldn't handle the volume required for the festival). I ordered the "The Bill From Bo," the grilled cheese made with brisket prepared with beef from BN Ranch, Bill Niman's illustrious new company.

Wendy and I were ready to call it a day after over 5 hours of snacking and sampling (Shawn had already reached his crowd saturation point several hours earlier). On my way back to the bike valet, I realized I was a) terribly thirsty and b) passing by the opulent and vaudeville-esque booth belonging to Taylor's Tonics of San Francisco and Santa Cruz. We stopped to talk with the nattily dressed Aaron Dolson, one of the co-founders, while his equally dapper partner Taylor Peck handed out samples and sold bottles of their Chai Cola. This was their first visit to Eat Real -- and it had been quite successful, as they had sold out of everything but their cola. Aaron's background included working with a raw juice co-op based in Eugene, Oregon, while Taylor was an experienced chai barista (read more about his eclectic background here) before they launched their successful enterprise. Aaron's a firm believer in the health benefits of tea and they use only natural ingredients in their drinks. They keep the sugar content low (and no high-fructose corn syrup), add medicinal herbs such as nettle and ginger, and use pasteurization and citric acid to preserve the drinks.

The spicy, sparkling Chai Cola was a refreshing way to end the day, and I was ready to roll home -- literally and figuratively. Tired and sated, we bid farewell to the event until next year, when we'll be ready for another round of the East Bay Eat Real Festival.

Check out BAB's Eat Real Fest slideshow to view more of the festivities.

When you spend time at the Three Babes kitchen in South San Francisco, you'll inevitably see a lot of pie. An employee is shaping dough, the mixers are whirring, a friend is making streusel, family members are slicing fruit, rap is playing from the ipod, and there's a certain controlled chaos that makes it feel like one big ol' pie party rather than an obligatory baking production. I went to interview the Three Babes to find out how the business started, how they got such a kick-start so early on, where they find inspiration, and what keeps them going as new business owners in an expensive and competitive city. What I found out: they're driven by late nights, a strong friendship and admiration for each other, close and supportive families, and heart. Lots of heart.

Ingredient Prep at the Three Babes Kitchen

Anna Derivi-Castellanos, Lenore Estrada and Katrina Svoboda are the gals behind the booming pie business that specializes in a pie subscription service, deliveries, and fantastic pop-up cafe on Saturdays and Sunday as Stable Cafe. You'll also find them soon at the Civic Center Farmers' Market on Wednesdays and Sundays. They're a busy bunch. Most strikingly, they're a busy bunch that just started the business in March of this year. March! They're gaining new pie customers and fans each day, and are making anywhere from 65-85 pies each week. That's a lot of pie for a company that's barely six months old.

When I visited the kitchen on a Thursday evening in August, the babes were in full pie-baking mode. Lenore's family was having a big reunion that weekend, so her brother was in the kitchen helping along with a few friends. Lenore was whipping up a chocolate custard, stopping frequently to ask for taste-testers: "Okay, what does this need? What does this need?" She and Anna debated about whether to add honey or a little more sugar. This was all happening as Anna was preparing a simple staff meal of sausages on wheat rolls with sauerkraut. She cut them in half and laid them out for everyone, and in unspoken agreement, the kitchen stopped and everyone shared a bite to eat. Rolling pins down, knives down, mixers stopped. Anna said at first she was a little nervous about how to feed the kitchen, but now it's almost natural. She had to buy sausages for the week's savory pie as it was, so she just folded it in to the kitchen meal. It was important. They work together, they eat together, they tell stories and share jokes together.

Lenore, Anna, and Lenore and husband Cesar

This teamwork and reliance on one another is really how the business began in the first place. Anna and Lenore have been friends since grade school in Stockton, CA, and Katrina and Lenore attended college together and went on to work at the same company. After a few years of struggling to feel at home in a career and feel truly happy with what she was doing, Lenore started thinking about pie. Anna had finished pastry school and had helped open a restaurant and Katrina had always been an avid baker and was blogging about food on the side. It seemed like good timing. The rest is history. Lenore decided to move from Boston to the Bay Area and begin working with the gals full-stride to help make the pie business a reality. Now, they just needed a name.

The girls decided on the name "Three Babes Bakeshop" over the phone. It had been quite a long process that involved three families, numerous friends, and one growing Google Doc. And a lot of head scratching. Finally, one day we just laid it all out and started fresh: "What do we all have in common?" we asked ourselves. To get the ideas rolling, the conversation started out with: "Well, we're three babes who..." That was it. A name had been cemented. If fit perfectly.

The three women knew that they could make some mean pie, but they obviously needed somewhere to sell it. They pounded the pavement looking for a spot with good foot traffic that would allow them to sell their wares in some mutually beneficial arrangement. When they approached Stable Cafe, the timing was just right: they made arrangements to essentially lease out the shipping container in the garden/courtyard each weekend. Customers come and buy a slice of pie from The Babes, a cup of coffee at Stable, and everyone is happy.

Lenore with the Sunday menu

When I asked the gals why they chose pie, they mentioned how they grew up in Stockton constantly surrounded by fresh, seasonal fruit. "We always knew we wanted to do something homey--something all-American. We thought for awhile about doing biscuits, but Anna's always been known for her pies and growing up we always had birthday pie instead of cake," Lenore said. Pie was just the obvious choice. Anna's great-grandfather was a pastry chef and Anna and her mom frequently bake pies together. Lenore's mom bakes as well, and Lenore began playing around in the kitchen when she was five.

So do they wish they had started with something easier and more cost effective like cupcakes? "No way," Lenore answers. Looking around the kitchen at all of the beautiful figs that Lenore's dad had just picked that morning and her brother and husband were so carefully chopping -- you could see why. With their pies, they're paying homage to the seasons, to their families and where they came from, and to the one dessert that truly nourishes in a way that others just can't. What really struck me was the variety of pies and the fact that, with a few exceptions, they're all new flavors each week. This takes a great deal of planning, creativity, and innovation. When you're in the midst of building a business from the ground up, this isn't easy.

So the rest is pie making history, then? Not really. Anna and Katrina both work full-time jobs, so Lenore and her younger sister do a lot of the daily errands, farmers' market runs and deliveries throughout the week. Anna tests and plans out the week's recipes in her (not so) free time and puts in long days Thursdays and Fridays transitioning from her day job into Babe baker at night. I asked Lenore and Anna how they keep each other going and if they ever look around and ask themselves, "what are we doing?" Do they ever have doubts?

In my own business, Marge, I've definitely had days, particularly after a difficult, rainy week without earning a profit, when I wonder why I'm not working a traditional job with great health benefits and reliable pay. Anna says she thinks about this issue frequently and there are moments when she suffers from a significant lack of sleep and wonders, "Is this what I really want?" But the answer always comes up with a resounding "Yes." "The cool thing is, it's up to you. I wouldn't have it any other way," she says. Anna's doing what she loves, working for herself, and getting to spend more time with Lenore in the kitchen. The two women haven't had the opportunity to really spend time together as adults in this way and their friendship just continues to grow and strengthen as they rely on each other not just as childhood friends but as adults, confidants, and business partners. Lenore agrees, noting "The finances scare me, sure. But I actually don't have those 'what am I doing' moments. Even when we were staying up all night; I'm still so excited!"

Anna serving up pie at Stable Cafe

So what's up next? The gals are interested in having a storefront at some point and know that they can't live at Stable forever. They're constantly inspired by local bakers like Gillian from Black Jet Baking Company who just secured a sweet kiosk in The Ferry Building. They find inspiration for pies from old Southern cookbooks and their mom's stash of family recipes. The week I visited, they were featuring a new Pink Lemonade Pie that was one of Lenore's mom's favorites. As written it was made with a can of pink lemonade and cool whip, so they knew that wasn't going to fly. They reworked the recipe to include mascarpone cream, fresh raspberries and plum pulp. It sold like crazy. On a sleepy Sunday morning, I tried the Lemon Lavender Custard with Green Figs and their signature Salty Walnut. The custard pie is perhaps the most perfect late summer pie: the figs were sweet and tender and the custard was oh-so-lightly scented with lavender and lemon. The Salty Walnut was heartier with plenty of chopped local walnuts and little-bit-gooey filling. Not too sweet like so many nut pies with the perfect amount of salt. I can see why there were so many regulars. The couple sitting next to me in the Stable courtyard recounted some of their favorites this past summer. So far, the winner was the Red, White, and Blue Pie the gals did for the Fourth of July although to come to this conclusion, there was some major debate: "No remember that Berry Crumble one they did? Oh, wait what about that Lemony Custard?"

For these women the weeks start to run together. Weeks that are filled with slices of pie--a feeling the Three Babes can obviously relate to. But for The Babes, the pie flavors and the weeks don't so much run together as create a very full picture of a successful spring and summer that they're ready to grow from and build upon. As their production numbers keep rising and they question what their next move will be, they continue to make deliberate decisions in the kitchen not to grow too quickly. When I asked about saving time and using a sheeter instead of hand-rolling each pie, Lenore told me that just wasn't an option. It resulted in an inferior crust--something they're not willing to sacrifice for speed or greater production numbers. While they're looking ahead towards future opportunities, it's always with one foot firmly planted in place to remind them of the families that support them, the town that they came from, the farmers that supply their fruit, and the city the call now call home. From an outsider's point of view, regardless of the direction, it's looking bright and sunny for these women every which way.

The Nom Nom Truck.
All Photos courtesy of Nom Nom Truck

It’s amazing what a reality show can do for your food truck.

Second place finishers on the Food Network’s "The Great Food Truck Race" and Los Angeles food truck staple, Nom Nom, have spread their love to the Bay Area.

Co-owners Jennifer Green and Misa Chien met during their time at UCLA. It was also during that time that they realized they could fill a niche in the growing food truck scene.

Nom Nom Truck owners: Jennifer Green and Misa Chien.

“It started in 2009 when we had a lot of Kogi BBQ trucks around the UCLA campus and their popularity grew out of nowhere,” says Jennifer. “I made a lot of Vietnamese food for my friends on a regular basis and I realized the lack of Vietnamese restaurants in the West LA area. Then it clicked.”

Green and Chien chose the classic Vietnamese baguette sandwich, banh mi, as their truck’s specialty not only because there was a lack of places that served it in their area, but because it’s easy to eat.

“It’s portable, it’s fast and has a fresh taste that you can’t get from a burrito or hamburger,” states Jennifer. “The great thing is that we can also put a little bit of our gourmet twist on it too. One of the most traditional banh mi ingredients is grilled pork and I grill it with honey, which is a little different than the traditional. We also have Lemongrass Chicken and Vietnamese tacos, which are like a banh mi in your hand.”

“We also work with Le Boulanger to have our bread baked especially for us from a recipe I worked really hard on.”

Deli Banh Mi sandwich.

Indeed, the perfectly crusty on the outside, pillowy on the inside French bread roll is key to a good banh mi, and it was the highlight of the sandwich when I got a chance to sample their Honey Grilled Pork version. The pickled carrots and daikon that topped the sandwich were flavored well and super fresh, but I wish I’d gotten more of them to create more of a textural and taste contrast to the sweet pork. And I missed the lack of fish sauce flavor that brings it all together.

All in all, it seemed like something similar enough to what I could get in a Vietnamese Mom and Pop shop. So what’s the big deal?

First, the size of this sandwich is double the size of one you’d get at a typical brick and mortar. Coming in at 12 inches long, it’s a torpedo of a dish. But more importantly, Nom Nom is obviously trying to appealing to those who have never had a banh mi before.

“It’s exciting to see how many people who have never had one before try it and see their reaction, says Misa. “It’s like an introduction to Vietnamese food for those who have never had it. We’re appealing to the American palate.”

Lemongrass Chicken Tacos

Their popularity has grown steadily, peaking when they started showing up on the Food Network reality show.

“We went into it wanting an adventure and it was a great way to expose our truck to a larger audience. People totally embraced us and it was great to see that feedback,” says Misa. “To see a small town embrace a food dish they’d never tasted like banh mi was a great experience.”

“We were bummed we came in second, but deep down we had to tell each other it was just a reality show. And the great thing was that we won the chance to travel and it was amazing,” says Jennifer.

Nom Nom recently acquired their third food truck and their next move was up north…at least for Misa.

“We decided on San Francisco because it’s a real foodie town and it’s been a dream of mine, personally to live up here,” she says. “We have two trucks in LA and one in San Francisco, now. I’m not complaining that I had to move up here! And the response has been great. People up here come to the truck, whereas in LA, you have to go to the people. They’re a little lazier down there.”

For now, Green and Chien don’t have any other plans to expand. “We have three babies right now and we’re focused on them,” says Jennifer.

For two women fresh out of college, running several food trucks in two major cities can be a challenge, but their goals are clear.

Misa says, “At the end of the day, we want to make people happy through our food. And as employers we want to hire staff that will work together to create an amazing company and work environment. Plus I get to build a great business with my best friend!”

Nom Nom
Twitter: @nomnomtrucksf
Facebook: Nom Nom Truck SF
Various locations throughout the Bay Area (no regular schedule)

What do you get when you combine three former Arizmendi bakers with an uber-cool new food truck (housing its own oven)? Well, Vesta Flatbread, of course. Perhaps you've seen them Saturdays at the Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland; now Jenya Chernoff, Traci Prendergast and Aron Ford are taking to the streets with their seasonal flatbreads and housemade drinks. Jenya and Traci founded Vesta in 2009 and Aron officially jumped on board this summer. I share a commercial kitchen space with them in Richmond, and was immediately struck with their positive energy, excitement for their new project, and the fact that they prepare beautiful meals for each other while they're cooking in the kitchen (something so many of us neglect to do). So I wanted to chat with them and find out more about their business, the mobile food truck culture, and where they see themselves in the future.

Traci roasting peppers

1. Tell me a little about your business and how/why you decided to start it.
All three of us met while bakers/co-owners of Arizmendi Bakery in Emeryville. We love the tradition and community of artisan baking and knew we wanted to make our own bread, but we wanted to expand our skills and creativity and create a business we could put our personal stamp on. Our menu was the marriage of our desire to evoke an ancient region of the world with wanting to dream up something creative and delicious using minimal equipment to sell on the streets. We’d like to think we ended up with a product that has thousands of years of history while reflecting our own “modern” food sensibilities.

2. Do you think living in the Bay Area allows your business to flourish? If so, how so?
Absolutely. People here understand and appreciate our values towards supporting local farms, ranches and dairies, even if this means our products can't be dirt cheap. For us, feeding others is an act of love, and the exchange we have with customers is important. Bay area folks are willing to try new things and explore, they are curious and open-minded.

3. What have been the highlights of being a small business owner in the Bay Area thus far?
Becoming part of the vibrant street food and farmers market community. Since becoming mobile vendors we have been able to meet so many wonderful, dedicated and creative people from all aspects of the food business, talk to farmers about their production, learn about their work and challenges and have a much broader understanding of the processes that bring food to the table.

4. What challenges are you facing right now in terms of growth or vision?
Well, one big challenge is finding our own retail/kitchen space. We have been sharing commercial kitchens, and we are grateful that such places exist. It is extremely difficult to find a reasonably sized space in a neighborhood that can support a retail food business. Mostly this is because of the regulations on building & permit processes in California, which jack up the costs of buying/building to a level prohibitive for most food businesses.

5. What inspires you, day to day?
The farmers' market, the seasons, other chefs.

6. What are your goals for the future of Vesta?
Our long term dream is to have our own kitchen and retail space. Given we launched our new truck August 25th, we are mainly just excited to become part of the nomadic kitchen culture of street food, and start serving up flatbread sandwiches in the East Bay and San Francisco.

Vesta Flatbread
Find them: Saturdays from 9 am-2 pm at the Grand Lake Farmers Market, Oakland. And soon: out on the road in the truck!
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