A sea of humanity at the San Francisco Street Food Festival.
All Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

This writer can report that the weather was beautiful and balmy, the crowds came out in force and the cooks -- heck, let's give 'em credit where credit is due and call 'em chefs -- worked their asses off to turn out mobile food for the masses in the Mission last Saturday at the third annual San Francisco Street Food Festival.

More than 70 trucks, carts and purveyors served up street eats with a smile at the event organized by the nonprofit neighborhood fixture La Cocina. Booze stations for those over 21 (separated from the main attractions by ugly chain-link fencing) also saw steady traffic at the fundraising event that spanned a strip of Folsom Street between 22nd and 26th Streets, which was closed to cars for the eight-hour-long festivities.

The 21+ crowd kicking back spirits separate from the rest of the festival goers.

But you could have predicted all that, right? What's impressive about La Cocina, the little incubator kitchen that could, is that in six short years the program, sponsored by Wells Fargo and others, has worked with more than 60 budding food businesses, most started by low-income immigrant women of color. Around 30 have gone through the group's incubator program, 10 have graduated and sell their products in markets, stores and online, and coming this fall one will open its very own brick-and-mortar joint. Not too shabby, hey?

The Chaac Mool crew making tortillas for the day.

And that folks is what this street food celebration is really all about, as far as La Cocina executive director Caleb Zigas is concerned. "For many of the people we work with, serving street food is the only avenue afforded them to make a living," said Zigas, who led a pre-event press tour of vendors on Saturday. "It's a gateway to running a brick-and-mortar business."

Francis Lam listens up during Caleb Zigas' media tour at the festival.

Food writer Francis Lam agreed. Lam is in town from New York to talk mobile food matters at the National Street Food Conference, which ends today at Fort Mason Center. He attended Saturday's festivities to get his fill of SF curbside chow like everyone else. (The man is seriously in love with local fruit too. He showed up at the media walk-through clutching a baggie holding two perfect plums. Breakfast.)

For consumers, street eats can signal an exotic outing, an edible adventure, or a search for authentic food, noted Lam, an editor at Gilt Taste, who has covered the mobile food phenomenon in previous gigs with Salon and Gourmet. But for the vendors, selling street food may not be something they've dreamed of doing all their life, it may be the only work they can do to survive, he said.

Part of the appeal of street food, Lam added, is that it's really home cooking --not fancy-pants restaurant cuisine or food served up as entertainment -- taken out of the intimacy of the home setting into the public sphere, where consumers can interact directly with the people who make it (not to mention folks in line to order.)

Azalina's Curry Bomb Buns proved popular at the street food festival.

Case in point: Fifth generation street eats seller Azalina Eusope. From Penang, Malaysia, Eusope knew mobile food was a tough way to make money and longed to be a lawyer but couldn't afford to go to law school. The legal profession's loss is the culinary world's gain: Eusope won a scholarship to attend cooking school at Raffles Hotel in Singapore, before finding her way to San Francisco, where her spicy street eats and sweet end notes earn rave reviews.

Cookbook author and Saveur contributor Andrea Nguyen summed up street eats in 5 Cs at Sunday's conference panel on writing about street food. Think cuisine, culture, craftsmanship, community and conversation -- to which I would add cash (for vendors) and cheap (for consumers). An aside: People will turn out in the thousands to nosh on curbside chow for under 8 dollars. But when asked to plunk down 50 bucks to hear experts weigh in on the subject on a Sunday afternoon there were far fewer takers.

An under-the-social-media-radar street food vendor.

There was talk at the conference too (suspect more today on this matter) about the growing tension between old-time roving food vendors, often immigrants with no access to social media networks, being displaced by the D.I.Y., Twitter-savvy, younger generation of food hawkers, who enter into the nomadic food world with business plans, financial backing and role models.

The Twitterific crowd include purveyors like the Three Twins Ice Cream guys.

As for the festival itself: For those grumbling about the presence of brick-and-mortar businesses like Out the Door, Flour + Water, Commonwealth, Osha, and Beretta, Zigas was quick to note that all came from modest, start-up backgrounds and were included in the mix because they represent success stories newcomers can aspire to, whether it's Charlie Phan's family-run restaurant empire, which includes Out the Door, or the sisters who started the growing Osha chain.

Osha Thai Restaurant crew ready to serve the masses on Saturday.

The downside of the day: Can this reporter state for the record that she doesn't believe in standing in long queues in hot sun waiting to sample global grub on the go, no matter how transformative and tasty these morsels may be? She may well be in the minority on that matter, given the snaking lines for sweet potato waffles at Pinx. Impressive lines formed for arepas, a kind of corn pancake, from The Arepa Lady, a former Colombian judge named Maria Piedad Cano who is something of a street eats legend in New York. Ditto at many, many other food booths.

The Arepa Lady - Maria Piedad Cano of New York City - one of six visiting vendors on the day.

Still, this writer would much rather roll up to a truck's regular spot or stumble upon a cart somewhere new and find something satisfying to eat without having to queue like some half-starved Soviet in a bread line. Just saying.

A long line, too, to secure pre-ordered passports: What's with that? In the Internet age folks should be able to show up with tix in hand, not wait on the day, surely. But I'd been warned and warned readers too about the need to queue for food and folks who attended the previous two festivals (deemed a bit messy even by Zigas) agreed that things ran more smoothly last Saturday. Still, the area got so congested by mid-afternoon (crowd estimates around the 50,000 mark for the day's event) that organizers are toying with a Mission Bay location for future events, SFoodie reports today.

The crowds kept coming all day long. Did we mention the throng?

On occasions like these I'm grateful that media get a chance to sample early and first; methinks the same courtesy might be offered to neighborhood residents within a block or two of the event. Friends who live in spitting distance have never actually eaten at the festival; they've gotten too impatient and hungry to hang around.

The same was true around lunchtime on Saturday when a ravenous gang decided to ditch the moveable feast fare in favor of a regular restaurant on Valencia Street where good grub could be had without a wait. On the way some of us, saturated with salt early in the day and feeling thirsty, snagged agua frescas from savvy store owners and the unTwitterific street food vendors who set up modest tables or stands to catch the overflow crowd.

Talk about entrepreneurial spirit.

Somehow I think Zigas and the rest of the La Cocina crew would approve.

Related Stories:
• 2011 San Francisco Street Food Festival Slideshow
• At San Francisco Street Food Conference, Attendees Talk Food Trucks (KQED's News Fix)

SF Street Food Festival masses feasting at Cesar Chavez Elementary School.

The 3rd annual San Francisco Street Food Festival, hosted by La Cocina took place on Saturday August 20 in the Mission District.

La Cocina is a non-profit incubator kitchen that provides affordable commercial kitchen space and industry-specific technical assistance to low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs who are launching, growing and formalizing food businesses.

The proceeds from the festival help support La Cocina's efforts as well as generate revenue for the vendors.

Due to the continuing street food trend, an increase in local food truck vendors, and the lessons learned from previous years, this third season proved to be bigger and better than ever. And although it was quite crowded the increased space, additional vendors and added accommodations seemed to be able to handle the masses. Of course, people still had to wait in line but there seemed to be more strategic planning that went into creating dedicated eating areas once food was acquired. There was also an array of entertainment to consume as well: bands, dancers, DJs. And non-edible items to purchase: shawls, I Cart Street Food garb and Mexican wrestler masks. Kid-friendly spaces were taken into account along with chain-link fenced areas to contain the 21+ drinkers. SF Bicycle Coalition was on top of bike parking and La Cocina enlisted a massive crew of volunteers to help make the festival a success.

Here are some moments captured over the course of the day:

Related Stories and Photos:
• San Francisco Street Food Festival and Conference Day One
• At San Francisco Street Food Conference, Attendees Talk Food Trucks (KQED's News Fix)
• SF Street Food Fest 2011 (Slideshow by David A. Herron)

SF Street Food Festival Passport. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Carnivores, omnivores, and pescatarians will find plenty of food truck fare this Saturday at the third annual San Francisco Street Food Festival, which boasts some 70 trucks, carts, and purveyors peddling hand-held grub.

But does the event cater to a vegetarian crowd? Are there enough veggie options to make waiting in line worthwhile? Can a veg head find some variety among the vendors turning out finger food?

In short: Yes, yes, and yes, though plant-based eaters may have to work a little harder than the meat-eating set to find food at the event sponsored by the nonprofit incubator kitchen La Cocina.

No worries, Bay Area Bites is here to help. Regardless of how you define your diet, a few tips to make the wildly popular food festival a successful edible experience: Come early. Tote water. Bring friends (to both have company in line -- the time will pass more quickly -- and to divide and conquer so you can divvy up food to share once you've all been served.) Carry small bills (cash only) or purchase a "passport" in advance (details below).

And, need we remind locals: Wear comfy footwear and don layers to deal with whatever weather the day may bring. As for the crowd phobic and the impatient: You've been warned.

Okay, now that we have the logistical details covered, read on to discover a dozen street food vendors dishing up meat-free eats on Saturday. Several brick-and-mortar joints including Out the Door, Flour + Water, Commonwealth, Osha, and Beretta will have veg-centric options in the mix too. Here's to a finger licking fest.

SAVORY PICKS:

1. Azalina's Malaysian: Azalina Eusope, a La Cocina participant, will have peanut sauce tacos for vegetarians, with signature spices from her homeland. Heads up: Devotees of the former fine dining pastry chef's popular banana chai fritters will have to get those on another day. @Azalinamalaysia

Curry Up Now Truck at Off the Grid. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

2. Curry Up Now: Indian street eats from Rana Saluja-Kapoor, Amir Hosseini and crew. Think paneer tikka masala burritos (Indian cheese and chickpeas) and samosas, the popular Indian pastries, filled with spiced potatoes and peas. @CurryUpNow

3. Kasa Indian Eatery: Two veg-centric choices from this truck run by former lawyer Anamika Khanna and self-described geek Tim Volkema. Gobi aloo rolls, house-made roti filled with braised cauliflower and potatoes, spiced with cumin and turmeric, and spread with cilantro and tomato chutneys. Spice fiends should be sure to ask for the truck's signature crazy hot sauce. Also samosas, see above. @KasaIndian

Gail Lillian in front of Liba Falafel truck. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

4. Liba Falafel: Gail Lillian and team's falafel are hearty and hit the spot. Load up on condiments like spiced carrot ribbons, orange-and-olive relish, and tomato, cucumber salad with mint. Don't forget the sweet potato fries with cilantro, garlic and lime. @LIBAfalafel Or maybe save that pita to serve with Love & Hummus Co.: Try the slow-roasted organic lemon and thyme hummus made by Donna Sky, who is in La Cocina's incubator line up. @LoveAndHummus

5. Maite Catering: Big hit at the media preview event: The Colombian aborrajado made by Constana Ortiz, also a participant in the La Cocina program. These fried plaintain are filled with guava paste and provolone cheese and hit the spot.

Constana Ortiz - Maite Catering at SF Street Food Fest Media Preview. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

6. Onigilly: Vegans may well make a bee line for Onigilly's rice balls known as hijiki onigilly, made with brown rice and hijiki (Japanese black seaweed) with shredded carrots cooked with house-made sweet soy sauce wrapped with seaweed by chefs Kan Hasegawa and Koji Kanematsu, also in the mix at La Cocina. @Onigilly

SWEET NOTES:

1. Creme Brulee Cart: Take your pick between Vanilla Bean or "The Yes Please" (Nutella creme brulee with balsamic strawberries inside). Or share them both. Or not. @cremebruleecart

The Creme Brulee Cart at Off the Grid. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

2. Delicioso Creperie: Gabriella Guerrero who hails from Mexico City turns out dulche de leche crepes for the sweet tooths among us. A La Cocina member.

3. Endless Summer Sweets: Funnel cake fans don't have to travel to the East Bay (where ESS regularly serves up her sweet treats at the Berkeley Flea Market) let alone the the East Coast to sample one of the summer fair standbys, handcrafted by Antoinette Sanchez, a La Cocina alum. Salty kettle corn too. @ESSweets

4. Kika's Treats: Chocolate-covered caramelized cookies, tropical shortbreads and honey cakes from Brazilian baker Cristina Besher, a graduate of La Cocina's program, whose goodies can be found at Whole Foods, Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market and other retail stores. @kikastreats

5. La Luna Cupcakes: Elvia Buendia runs La Luna Cupcakes, and is a member of La Cocina's incubator program. Last year, Buendia made 1,000 mini cupcakes and sold out within a couple of hours, she told the San Francisco Chronicle. This year, she plans to triple her stock of mini and full-size cupcakes, and introduce chocolate and red velvet "cake pops." @LunaCupcakes

6. Sabores Del Sur La Cocina participant and Chilean chef Guisell Osorio's alfajores—delicate round butter cookies filled with creamy dulce de leche caramel and dusted with powdered sugar have loyal fans at the Alemany Farmers' Market and Whole Foods stores. Find out what the fuss is about for yourself.

Do you have a favorite vegetarian street eat not listed above that's likely to be in the mix this weekend? Share your chowhound choices below.

FESTIVAL DETAILS:

San Francisco Street Food Festival
Saturday August 20, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Folsom Street between 22nd and 26th streets
Admission free; food costs $3-$8 cash only or buy $25-$150 "passports" in advance.
Twitter: @streetfoodsf
Facebook: San Francisco Street Food Festival

Outside Lands Windmill -- recycle, compost, trash.
All Photos: Wendy Goodfriend

Outside Lands, now in it's fourth year, drew nearly 180,000 visitors this past weekend. I was one of them. On Saturday morning, as I walked along a dirt path through Lindley Meadow into a eucalyptus grove with parachutes and rope swings dangling from the trees, I thought of how this seemed a cross between Burning Man and the board game Candy Land. Ok, Outside Lands was fifty degrees cooler than Burning Man and it's in the middle of Golden Gate Park, rather than the desert. Still, the music festival has this collective feel where everyone comes together to appreciate artistic expression, be it music, food, wine or other artistic endeavors. Then, everyone leaves the land no worse for wear, hopefully. In fact, this was the most organized compost and recycling program I have ever seen at a big outdoor event.

Wind Chime Swing. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Choco Lands. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Outside Lands also has this feeling that everything happening on the periphery is just as interesting as the bigger events, whether they are major rock bands or pyrotechnic shows. And just like Candy Land, curvy dirt paths take you from one fun land to the next. Instead of Candy Cane Forest and Gum Drop Mountain you have Food Truck Forest, Choco Lands, Wine Lands and Eco Lands. Wander down a dirt path away from the polo fields, which hosted the likes of Phish and Arcade Fire, and you might end up, as I did, amidst cypress and eucalyptus trees watching a tiny carny opera with mime faced performers dressed in kilts playing Appalachian ballads and doing their own version of the River Dance. Before the opera I visited Eco Lands, which honors San Francisco's commitment to sustainability, with all sorts of educational booths, valet bike parking and emerging artists performing on a solar powered stage. This year introduced urban agriculture to Outside Lands with yet another land to discover, Farm Lands. Here you could play games like "Veggie Twister," take an urban gardening class and munch on organic watermelon slices from Full Belly Farms.

Arcade Fire. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Flotsam's Wonder World Opera. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Full Belly Farms Farmers Market. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

With my appetite whetted by healthy produce, I set out to explore the higher caloric choices at Outside Lands. There are more than fifty local restaurants and food trucks at this event. For a little hog in the fog action, one could try Flour + Water's porchetta sandwiches. Head Chef Thomas McNaughton said, because they only work with small farms, it took six months to prepare for the concert. Eleven acres of arugula had to be planted and, to be honest, I couldn't listen when he explained how many pigs from near Nicassio were slaughtered, let's just say it was enough to make 7,000 sandwiches over the weekend. McNaughton said the idea was also to create a little buzz for Flour + Water's two new projects, also in the Mission, Salumeria and Central Kitchen. Maybe I just knew too much about the porchetta sandwiches but I ended up trying a different meal with pork, Korean tacos from Namu. They were not really tacos at all but rather pork or chicken wrapped in seaweed with a delicious kim chee remoulade. I also had a taste of a veggie samosa from New Ganges Indian Food and a grilled cheese sandwich, with peppers, from The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. They were both good but not as interesting as the "tacos." You can also read about my time at Wine Lands where i discovered some very delicious small lot wineries.

Thomas McNaughton and porchetta sandwich assembly line. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

I am thinking Outside Lands might be worth another visit next year. I mean, what other festival can you listen to the arena-rock jams of English Band Muse while sipping a spicy Pinot Noir preceded by a worm composting workshop?

Muse. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Related posts:
• Outside Lands Recap 2011 at KQED Arts
• Guide to Outside Lands 2011 at KQED Arts

This week's culinary tour guide is Sean Timberlake, half of Team Hedonia and the mastermind behind Punk Domestics. As a food blogger for five years running, Sean is known around these parts as the go-to guy for food-related advice. Want to pickle some vegetables? Preserve your grandma's strawberries? Find the perfect place to take your beloved for a very special dinner? He's your guy.

Non-locals might not think to peruse neighborhoods such as the Castro and Noe Valley when looking for distinctive dining experiences, but Sean, a longtime San Francisco resident, has some awesome tips to share on the part of SF lesser known for their edible offerings. Remember: there's more to San Francisco food than the Mission and North Beach!

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What are your favorite summer food events? What makes them so special?
I consider the farmers markets each their own discrete events. The produce is ever-changing, and each market has its own strengths. I love the Castro and Noe Valley farmers markets, but for different reasons. Castro's got great bakeries (oh the irony, considering the carb-phobic demographic) and gorgeous fruit (no comment); Noe Valley has Prather Ranch every other week, plus kooky musicians to entertain the kids. Just watch yourself around the stroller bank. It can get tight. 

When the weather heats up, what are your favorite places to eat in San Francisco?
Because we have relatively few places with outdoor seating in San Francisco, they get busy when the weather is favorable, so I often avoid them. But I can be swayed to hang out at The Ramp over a couple of beers, and I've recently become enamored with the new Bluestem Brasserie downtown. Their upstairs balcony is a great spot to watch the world go by. 

Where are your favorite ice cream places in SF? What's your favorite flavor there?
Like everyone, I love both Bi-Rite Creamery and Humphry Slocombe, but I'm still a Mitchell's loyalist, and there's a spot right in my neighborhood, Subs, Inc. in Noe Valley, that carries it. Mostly I'm a purist. I'm really happiest with simple vanilla, or maybe pistachio. But sometimes I like to get adventurous. At Marco Polo out in Parkside, they have some edgier flavors, like black sesame or the infamous durian. I tried the latter once. I've got a broad palate, but even I was not ready to commit to a whole scoop. Yet. 

Is Noe Valley a culinary contender in San Francisco?
Noe Valley can't compete with the Mission, but we have a few gems. Contigo, the Cal-Catalan place on Castro, is our hands-down favorite restaurant in the city, and we are frequent diners at Incanto as well. Firefly still manages to turn out good food after all these years from its dot-com darling days, and Le Zinc has a lovely brunch. I get the brik every time. 

What other little-known neighborhoods are up and coming in the food scene? 
Hayes Valley has a charming food scene, and the Castro is finally coming into its own culinarily, after years as a virtual dining desert. Frances gets all the attention, and it's great, but little L'Ardoise in Duboce Triangle is unjustly overlooked. Starbelly is a crowd pleaser. And since Blackbird came on the scene, we even have honest to god cocktails in the 'Stro. We're not in Kansas anymore! 

Enjoying Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream. Photo: Sabrina Modelle

The Bay Area is finally seeing 75+ degree weather, and both locals and tourists are out in full force, soaking up some much-needed vitamin D. Dolores Park is packed from corner to corner, the bubble tea shops have lines out the door, and street food vendors are crowding the alleyways and sidewalks.

When the weather warrants sunscreen, what better activities are there to take part in than those that involve eating? Right now is the time to enjoy an epic ice cream sundae while sitting enjoying the sun on a restaurant's outdoor patio, or grab a gourmet pizza and chow down in the park. But how do you know where to eat?

Sure you can just grab a burrito from your favorite taqueria, or walk around the Mission District while following your nose, but we thought we'd offer you a few tips on must-taste opportunities during these gorgeous summer days. We've tapped two local food bloggers to share their inside tips on the best edible offerings around town: meet Irvin Lin of Eat the Love and Sabrina Modelle of The Tomato Tart, your honorary culinary guides for the summer, as they provide insider advice on the best summer fare around the bay.

SF Chefs -- Chef Anthony Strong of Locanda. Photo: Sabrina Modelle

What are your favorite summer food events? What makes them so special?

Irvin: Hands down, my favorite summer food event is the San Francisco Street Food Festival. Street food is often where the innovation is happening in the food world. Though the lines are long, the food is always wonderful to eat and there is always a sense of discovery when you go there. This will be the third annual event (I believe it's scheduled August 20th), sponsored by the fantastic incubation kitchen La Cocina, and there will be established restaurants there as well as unknown vendors. This year sounds even better as they've not only expanded into some parking lots and it coincides with the National Street Food conference.

Sabrina: Since it began two years ago, the Eat Real Fest in Oakland has fallen on my anniversary weekend and my husband and I have had a street food anniversary date. We love strolling around Jack London square drinking local beer, sampling real street food, taking in food demos, and hanging out by the water's edge. This year, it's moved back to September, but since that feels like our summer anyway, I'll include it. I'm also really looking forward to SF Chefs this year. It will be my first time attending, but the preview events started last weekend with an amazing pasta-making demo with Chef Anthony Strong of Locanda and Chef Charles Phan of The Slanted Door. You can catch me hanging out at upcoming preview events each Saturday in July. This Saturday will feature Rachel Saunders of Blue Chair Fruit Jam.

When the weather heats up, what are your favorite places to eat in San Francisco?

Irvin: I absolutely love going to Bi-Rite Market and grabbing a sandwich and heading to the park. Though people complain that Bi-Rite Market is packed with people (navigating the crowds in the tiny store on a sunny weekend is a pain) the secret to getting a decent sandwich there and not going crazy is to call ahead. Just check out their website, look at the deli section and call ahead and place your order for your sandwich. Then ten minutes later, pop on over and just pick it up at the register, no fuss. Walk on over to Dolores Park where the people watching is fantastic and the late summer sun will shine on your face.

Sabrina: When it's hot, I love eating on my little patio, of course. I'm in The Mission, so picking up some essentials from Bi-Rite and throwing together a quick salad is my preferred course of action. If we're going out, I love to eat sushi when it's warm. There's nothing that can compare to the freshness and simplicity of ingredients in well-prepared Japanese cuisine. I'm currently in love with Ichi Sushi. I think Tim Archuletta is amazing -- both because he's very talented and I've enjoyed sitting across the bar and chatting with him. Sushi Bistro on 24th is another favorite for really fresh nigiri, the sushi chef is just amazing and I suggest trying whatever he recommends.

Caprese salad on the patio. Photo: Sabrina Modelle

Where is your favorite ice cream place in SF? What's your favorite flavor there?

Irvin: I adore Humphry Slocombe, and I think Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous is fantastic, I'm a Bi-Rite Creamery sort of guy. Again, part of it is the Dolores Park appeal, where you can buy some ice cream and walk over to the park, but part of it is the secret shortcuts that make me feel like I'm in the know. Everyone complains the lines are ridiculous (and they are) but rarely is the line long over a the soft serve window. Even better, if you know what flavors you like, go directly to the cold case in the main part of the ice cream shop and just buy a pint, bypassing the line completely. My partner AJ loves their signature Salted Caramel, but I'm a fan of the Honey Lavender. Rich, floral with a touch of sweetness, I get it every time.

Sabrina: I am a big fan of Humphry Slocombe. I'm exactly two blocks away from their store, and when we first moved in, I actually had a little problem. I had to set rules either one scoop of ice cream or one Dynamo Donut once per week. The ice cream pretty much always won out. Now, I've slowed down on my consumption quite a bit, and I visit about once a month or so. I love their salted licorice, their brown butter, and of course, the first thing I ever tried the ancho chili chocolate.

Ichi Sushi. Photo: Sabrina Modelle

Three popular trucks at 5:45 = MoBowl, Babaloo, and House of Siam on Wheels

Moveable Feast is to the South Bay and Peninsula, what Off the Grid is to San Francisco. But the vibe is most certainly different.

Held this past Friday on July 1st, Moveable Feast felt way more like a county fair than OtG’s hipster foodie hotspot. The San Mateo Event Center location also had plenty of grassy areas for the suburbanite families in attendance to have a dinnertime picnic. There was also a pricier flat parking fee of $10 per vehicle, though that didn’t seem to deter most people from checking out the inaugural event.

Moveable Feast Operator, Ryan Sebastian in front of his truck "Treatbot"

Moveable Feast (formerly called "SJ Eats") is the creation of Ryan Sebastian. This former transportation planner always had plans of creating community spaces, and he knew food was a great catalyst to make that happen.

"My family always had big gatherings growing up in San Jose and I loved it. And my wife has a culinary background, so it happened pretty naturally."

It started this past April with their first food truck gathering in San Jose. Their first time out was huge, but not exactly a success.

"I own the Treatbot ice cream truck with my wife, so I knew a lot of other trucks in the area. I knew the San Pedro Square Market in San Jose had enough parking space, so we ended up there on a Saturday with about 10 trucks and spread the word through Facebook. The demand was so much higher than we ever expected and it got out of control. There was overcrowding, the wait times for food were ridiculous and we got slaughtered on Yelp, afterwards."

Three months later, after a lot more planning and organization, the San Jose event goes off in the same place every Saturday, without a hitch.

Their success eventually caught the attention of the folks at the San Mateo Events Center, who actually called Ryan to ask if he’d be interested in doing a similar event for the Peninsula.

"This is the biggest food truck event on the Peninsula, ever. Twenty-five trucks is pretty big. We’re gonna be here the first Friday of every month from here on out."

Lines are getting long in front of the "An The Go" truck at 5:45

And attendance was pretty big too. Though the event was supposed to start at 5:30, there were plenty of folks checking out the scene at 5:15. By the time I had left at 6:15, the lines for some of the more popular trucks had gotten about 20 people deep, and I estimated anywhere from 1000-2000 people total with many more streaming in. Add to that some local live music on-site, and you’ve got a huge suburban block party.

3 popular trucks at 5:45 = Mama's Empanadas, Hiyaaa, Curry Up Now

The line-up of trucks is intentionally made up of mostly Peninsula and South Bay-based food trucks like Curry Up Now, Mama's Empanadas, Hiyaaa Naked Chorizo and BBQ Kalbi. That's the main difference between Moveable Feast and Off the Grid. OtG features trucks from all over the Bay Area.

But Off the Grid organizer, Matt Cohen had talked a few months ago ambitiously about starting an OtG on the Peninsula. Is there room for both of them?

I estimated at least 1000-1500 people by 6pm.

"People in the Peninsula know there's a huge demand for this and that the food coming out of these trucks is fantastic. This is America and there's room for both of us in a metropolis of seven million people. I have nothing but respect for Matt. OtG is awesome!"

And Ryan has faith that mass food truck events like his are here to stay. "Ultimately, the idea of informal eating is not a new concept and it’s not a fad. When we provide legitimate marketplaces for these entrepreneurs to do business, it helps all of us do better."

Moveable Feast
San Pedro Square, San Jose, Every Saturday 5-9pm
San Mateo Events Center, First Friday of every month, 5:30-10pm

Facebook:MVBLfeast
Twitter: @MVBLfeast

Natalie Galatzer; photo by: Rachel Styer

As a fellow baker and small business owner, my heart dropped last week when I read that Bike Basket Pies was going to ride off into the sunset at the end of this month. So many folks all over the city have come to know and love Natalie Galatzer's hand-held sweet and savory seasonal creations, and the low-overhead business model inspired many newer businesses who were just starting out. It seemed from her weekly newsletter that Natalie was doing incredibly well, there were always new innovative flavors and fresh energy. So I couldn't help but wonder, why? I wanted to hear from Natalie about what led her to make the big decision to put the business on hold, and what might be in the cards for the future.

1. Some folks may not familiar with your story: Why pie? Why did you decide to begin a business around pie?
When I was in college, I had this really slow last semester and I convinced a house full of guy friends that I should be their house cook. There were 5 of them, and they all ate for 4-5 people (growing boys and all), so I was struggling to make enough food in their tiny kitchen. One day I was going to make a chicken pot pie but was intimidated by the crust -- my father had always made a home-made puff pastry crust for our pot pies growing up (my father was an amazing home cook -- I swear I'm not biased). I told my friend that I was going to buy a pre-made pie crust and he gave me a kinda dirty look and said "of all things, I'm sure you can make a pie crust." Soooo I pony'd up and made a pie crust. That's the first crust I remember making, although I'm sure I made one or two early on with my dad. And my mom loved, loved, looooved pie.

As for the business, after 2 years of AmeriCorps, I was unemployed and looking for something to do with food, and I loved baking and baked pies at least once a week and muffins, cakes, and cupcakes every other day. When the Magic Curry Kart and the Creme Brulee Cart started, I got inspired and a friend pushed me to do something myself. So I borrowed his basketed bike and sold pies in the park. The next week I was delivering, and after that I was working on turning my hobby into my (at that point, 4th) job.

2. You've spoken on your own website's FAQ about some of the reasons for leaving Bike Basket Pies: financial, loss of inspiration etc. Can you tell us a little about the decision-making process itself: did you wake up one morning and know it was over or had it been a long time coming
It definitely was a long time coming. This wasn't a light decision. Most of the process was really trying to figure out that maybe this business just wasn't for me -- and that didn't mean it, or I, failed. I gave myself a deadline -- get what I want, in an emotional and inspirational level, out of the business, or move on. So after 6 months, I decided it was time to explore something new and find a new project.

3. Can you talk a little about the food community here in the Bay Area? Did you feel nourished and supported by the community, and did you feel it helped further your growth as a small business owner?
Yes -- but I'm not sure I have very good specifics, or a very good answer for this. I mean, I started baking in the restaurant where I was waiting tables, essentially bartering to use the kitchen on the day they were closed and have a little shelf and fridge space. In return, I'd close up shop, run reports, simple stuff to help take some of the burden off the owner/chef. Louis (the owner/chef, my boss) was a huge help to me as I started and continued this business.

4. For me, when I'm in the kitchen baking and watching other bakers pump out cookies and cupcakes at a rate I could never dream of with pie, there are days I question the slow, slow craft of hand-rolling and crimping seasonal pies. Did you go through doubt in this sense or question what you were actually doing in terms of profitability/ability to keep up with demand?
I know exactly what you're talking about. Yes, yes and yes. Why did I not start "bike basket cookies" or, as a customer recently suggested "bike basket brownies?" It rolls right off the tongue, and I could make just as many brownies in probably a quarter of the time that I spent on pies. But, pie is special, pie is so much better than a brownie. You can't eat a brownie every day, maybe even every week. You can eat a different seasonal pie every week, and maybe even every day.

5. In thinking about the future, you allude to the fact you're open for other projects: anything in the works that you can share? What, in your ideal world, would you be embarking on next? What are you inspired/excited by?
I'm excited and inspired by sustainable food and environmentalism. Before I was doing Bike Basket Pies, I was working on sustainable fisheries issues and I like working on sustainable food -- but maybe not full time in the kitchen. Or, at least, not at 2 or 3 am. I've been putting some serious thought into what exactly it is about Bike Basket Pies that burned me out so badly, so I'm not ready to rule anything out except the lack of a full day off anywhere in the week and the insanely early morning hours.

Flashback to Summer '09; that was when I first heard rumblings about a new generation of creative street food entrepreneurs that were causing a stir in the local SF culinary scene. Some of the original individuals included Curtis Kimball, the Crème Brûlée Man, who could make you a delicious crème brûlée right on the spot; and his brother Brian, the Magic Curry Man, who whipped up a tasty Thai concoction from his humble portable kitchen.

These were lo-fi dining affairs with a twist. They elevated street food beyond the usual greasy fare of hot dogs, pretzels and other fast food and provided an upscale alternative. And part of the fun was cyber-stalking them via Twitter; these nomadic vendors rotated their locations on a regular basis, so hungry customers tracked them down once they revealed their daily location.

Another early pioneer of the nouvelle cuisine of the streets was Steven Gdula of Gobba Gobba Hey, whose name pays homage to the punk rock band The Ramones and their classic catchphrase Gabba Gabba Hey.

Author of "The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the Twentieth-Century American Home," Steven moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in 2008 to seek new opportunities. But, according to his blog,

"Shortly after unloading the last box and settling into our new home here this past fall, like so many other people, I started to lose my sources of income. As a freelance writer there just wasn’t that much work to be had. Magazines and newspapers were getting smaller. Some folded entirely. Also, I was new to a city where there were many established writers already ahead of me at the various outlets I approached. But writers have to write just as painters have to paint and musicians have to make music, so I did what so many others have done. I returned to my blog to keep my fingers moving and my thoughts flowing. And then I started baking regularly just to, well, just to see what would happen."

Steven started to bake "gobs," or as he describes it in his upcoming collection of recipes, Gobba Gobba Hey: A Gob Cookbook, "two domes of moist, dense cake with filling in the middle...kind of like a cupcake sandwich." These were "one of my favorite confections as a kid. Growing up in Pennsylvania they were everywhere. You could find them at church bake sales, school bake sales, birthday parties, stores and even in some gas stations on the counter right next to the cash register. I haven’t seen anything like them since moving here to San Francisco so I set out to fill the void."

And fill he did. "Wanting to bring some excitement to his game" in the "new food capital of the world," he went beyond the classic chocolate-and-vanilla standard of his youth and created more exotic flavors made with organic ingredients such as Orange, Cardamom Ginger with Saffron Filling and Black Cherry and Chocolate with Lime Butter Cream. (Full disclosure: I became an early groupie of Steven's and these were two of the three flavors that I served at my wedding in lieu of the traditional cake in the fall of 2010.)

Flash forward to the present-day, and street food is more popular than ever with big festivals, the advent of high-profile food trucks, and crowded weekly events. Steven's grown his business as well, with an online storefront at Foodzie and plans for a truck to help promote his upcoming book that will be available in late August. Start warming your ovens now for 52 recipes including Irish Coffee Gobs with Bushmills & Bailey Irish Cream, Kabocha Garam Masala Gobs with Orange Honey filling and Zucchini Gobs with Lemon-Ginger filling.

Recipe: Original Chocolate & Vanilla Gobs

Yield: 3 dozen complete gobs

For The Batter:

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
2 cups sugar, sifted
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup 1 cup water, or as needed

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line three 8-by-13 inch cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients thoroughly.

3 In another large bowl, cream together the sugar and vegetable shortening with a mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed ingredients, and blend on medium-high until the mixture looks like dense pudding.

4. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the egg mixture, mixing on medium speed after each addition. Then add the sour cream, and mix well. Add water if needed to thin the batter. ("Go lightly" was my mom's original instruction.)

5. Using a tablespoon or a pastry bag, drop 1 1/2 inch rounds of batter on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 1 inch between each round. Bake them approximately 8 minutes, or until the gob domes have risen. Remove the gobs to a wire rack to cool.

For The Filling

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar, or 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Instructions:

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, immediately add the flour. Whisk. Continue mixing over low heat til mixture thickens, approximately 3 to 5 minutes.

2. With a mixer on medium speed, cream together the vegetable shortening and margarine. Add the vanilla and sugar, and mix on medium-high.

3. Add the cooled milk-flour mixture to the creamed ingredients, and beat until the mixture is fluffy; scrape the bowl with a spatula to reincorporate the ingredients if necessary.

4. To frost the gobs, flip the baked gob domes over on a cookie sheet and match up pairs of similarly shaped domes. Add 1 tablespoon of filling to the flat side of an overturned dome, then place another dome on top, sandwich-style. Allow the gobs to fully set by refrigerating them on a baking sheet for at least 1 hour. Wrap the gobs in cellophane to prevent them from drying out.

Chances are if a restaurant has pork belly on their menu, I'll show up on their doorstep faster than you can say, "I'll take a second helping, please." When Hawker Fare, the new casual Asian street food-inspired restaurant from James Syhabout (Commis) added dinner hours late last week, I organized a food posse to check it out.

Hawker Fare is the latest addition to the Uptown dining district in Oakland, with Picán, Trueburger, and Luka's Taproom & Lounge nearby. Located within an airy space decorated with Oakland-themed art (and former home of Manyda Thai Cuisine‎), Hawker Fare offers a simple menu of starters, rice bowls and desserts made with local, organic, and sustainable ingredients when possible. It's all affordably priced as well, with everything listed for less than $10.

I began with the green papaya salad, a classic Southeast Asian appetizer from their list of starters, or "snack aisle." It had a spicy kick with more emphasis on the fish sauce essence, which slightly overwhelmed the citrusy hints of lime. Still, it was a crunchy delight that paired well with the superb beef "larb," or grilled beef salad with red onions, mint, cilantro and toasted rice powder. Several friends ordered the chopped salad, with lettuce tossed with pickles, fried shallots and lotus root. It had a gentle sour tang from a light vinegar dressing that nicely complemented the mix of crisp and fried vegetables.

Then the main attraction arrived: the rice bowls. It was no surprise to my friends that I ordered the 24hr pork belly bowl, which came with three glistening slabs of tender belly piled on top of jasmine rice, sauteed greens and an optional luscious fried farm egg. I was hoping to substitute the jasmine rice for their "Kao Mun" rice that had been cooked with chicken fat and broth since I was already throwing caloric caution to the wind, but alas, I wasn't able to swap it out. (Next time I'll do myself a favor and order it as an additional side dish.) The pork belly bowl was accompanied with a homemade five-spice, sweet soy and preserved vegetable mustard sauce that elevated this dish to heavenly status. When my spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl, I lamented the fact that more pork belly didn't magically reappear before me -- but that just means I'll have to return for more pork deliciousness. Our vegetarian comrades chose the "Vadouvan" tofu bowl that was made with homemade tofu and "braised in coconut milk with taro, bamboo shoots, and aromatic herbs" and pronounced it delicious.

Dessert centers around Straus Family Creamery condensed milk soft serve ice cream, which is served in three ways: on a cone, in a sundae or "affogato"-style (paired with a shot of Thai coffee). It seems that Hawker Fare doesn't have their liquor license yet, but their website promises that beer, wine and malt liquor -- "Yes, malt liquor" in case you felt you read that incorrectly -- will be offered in the near future.

Hawker Fare
Address: map
2300 Webster Street at 23rd Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 832-8896
Lunch: Monday – Friday: 11am – 3pm
Dinner: Thursday – Saturday: 5pm – 9:30pm
@hawkerfare