Off The Grid: Friday Night Food Truck Party back at Fort Mason Fri 3/25/11 from 5-10p

[hhc]

Off the Grid: Fort Mason Center
When: Friday, March 25th
Times: 5pm-10pm.

From SFFuncheap: "In a huge upgrade from OtG 2010, there’s an extra hour of service (5pm to 10pm), tons of tents for coverage from the elements, Alembic Bar & Magnolia Brewery are running the bar, plus there’s usually live music starting around 6pm"

Truck Vendors:

* Hapa SF
* 3 Sum Eats
* Little Green Cyclo
* Kung Fu Tacos
* BBQ Kalbi
* Seoul on Wheels
* Onigilly
* Senor Sisig
* Curry Up Now
* Chairman Bao
* The Taco Guys
* CupKates Truck
* Brass Kuckle*
* Iz It

Tented Vendors:

* Antano*
* Namu
* El Porteno Empanadas
* Happy Dumplings
* Azalina’s Malaysian
* El Huarache Loco
* Saucy Dumplings*
* Pica Pica
* Zombe Curry*
* Peter’s Kettle Corn*
* Sataysfied*
* The Creme Brulee Cart

*Indicates New Vendor.

Has anyone tried the New Vendors around town? Dishes to recommend from the older trucks?

-----
Seoul on Wheels
San Francisco, CA, USA, San Francisco, CA

Namu
439 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

El Huarache Loco
100 Alemany Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94110

Creme Brulee Cart
San Francisco, CA, San Francisco, CA

Chairman Bao
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Onigilly
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Off the Grid
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 94123

Senor Sisig
San Mateo, San Mateo, CA

Hapa SF
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

El Porteno Empanadas
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Sataysfied
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Little Green Cyclo
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

[shanghaikid]

iz it: fried chicken drumsticks same as what you get in chinatown but not as greasy,

curry up now: chicken tikka masala burrito : fantastic!

el huarache loco: lamb taco, yum

saucy dumpling: glorified panfried wontons. tasteless, would skip

happy dumplngs : not a fan of their dumplings nor onion cakes, haven't tried dim sum yet.

namu: korean taco takes getting used to. sihce i eat fast, the nori taco shell wasn't a problem for me.

kung fu tacos: nun chuk taco was so so, the americanized mochi they also sell is much better.

creme brulee cart; buy anything he has left.

seoul on wheels: taco hit or miss, too dry sometimes

senor sisig: taco a bit too salty but tasty.

el porteno empanadas: take home frozen wasn't too tasty. ready to eat at gird better?

[grayelf]

This is a great thread and helpful answer from shanghai kid for me as we'll be going to OTG Ft Mason at the end of April on a visit to SF. I'll be checking back to see what else Hounds like and will try a "greatest hits" that evening, so thanks to anyone else who chimes in and helps us not to waste tummy space in our limited time :-).

[soupçon]

If pics are of any use, here's a gallery I compiled of things I've eaten at the several OtG venues over the past year. I think I've tried every vendor except the Creme Brulee Cart (don't do sweets) and the kettle corn guy (also not a high priority). I think all of the current Fort Mason vendors with these two exceptions are represented here: http://is.gd/xrDl7s

-----
Creme Brulee Cart
San Francisco, CA, San Francisco, CA

[shanghaikid]

re: peter's kettle corn.
hear they have specialized flavors of horchata blend corn and chipotle-lime peppered corn. they're at laney flea market every sunday.

[grayelf]

Great pix, soupcon -- prolly hard to recall but do you remember any real standouts among the stellar looking offerings? We're particularly starved for good Mexican here at home...

[soupçon]

Everything I've had from Veronica Salazar (El Huarache Loco) has been excellent. She has a way with mole, if she's doing something with mole, go for it. (She rotates her specials). El Norteno is one of the better traditional taco trucks around, and maybe the best at goat.

I like HapaSF for Filipino food, especially the sisig over rice (getting bored with crossover tacos, to tell the truth); BBQKalbi is the most innovative Korean truck (loved the Unagi Taco), but also like to pay my respects to trailblazer Seoul on Wheels (they were in business a full year before LA's vaunted Kogi truck).

The most bang for the buck might be Curry Up Now's Chicken Tikka Masala Burrito. Ask for the spicy version if you like spicy -- you won't be disappointed. Newcomer Antaño ("French Dip" Tortas) also puts out a healthy handful for $7, with a great dipping sauce.

I could go on and on, but some of the best bites I've had were one-offs. Most of the vendors do a certain amount of rotation -- and it's rewarding to take a flyer sometimes.

When are you coming in April? I'll be back from my Shanghai trip in time to hit Fort Mason on the 22nd. Maybe I'll see you there.

[grayelf]

Thanks for the details -- I totally understand about the one offs, and I don't mind taking the odd flyer at all. Just nice to have some sure-ish things when we're only able to go the one time. We'll be there (if all goes as planned) on Apr 30, the week after you.

El Huarache Loco is deffo short listed and I've been wanting to try a sisig taco since I saw them advertised (but sadly sold out) on the Senor Sisig truck at the little OTG in the Mission last trip. Will keep an eye out for El Norteno also as "traditional" tacos don't exit in my experience in Van. The SO will be all over that unagi taco if it is on offer...

I've cut and pasted Shanghai Kid's and your reccos into my itinerary already and will do the same for any other reports that might be forthcoming. Very valuable indeed for gastrotourists :-).

[ankimo]

grayelf will you be posting your upcomng itinerary? I wish you could try a taco from Los Gemelos in redwood city on the peninsula

[grayelf]

RWC is on the list :-). Maybe you can tell me which taco! http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/775679

[LadyBeretta]

Will be in the S.F. area 4/10-4/15 ... any food truck events going on? Thanks

[grayelf]

Check out this page of Off the Grid's website: http://offthegridsf.com/weekly-markets

[majordanby]

at these types of events, you only have so much room in your stomach to try things...so, ive learned to be as choosy as possible

A big fan of El Huarache Loco. always enjoy the gorditas and Mixiotes en hoja de Plátano. The huarache with mole and egg is also good.

Chairman Bao always attracts a crowd. I didnt like their baked buns....go with the steamed.

I agree on the curry up now burrito.

im getting kind of tired of these throw your ethnic food on a taco dishes. I understand their utility and they can be quite tasty, but sometimes it gets overdone. Taco guys, seoul on wheels, namu, senor sisig, hapa SF....all feature some kind of taco. I would avoid seoul because they tend to be dry. I actually like Hapa SF....more o their menu than just meat on a tortilla. Of the filipino trucks, i would try them out first.

i havent tried the others...a lot of them seem generally new to the cart scene in the bay area.

-----
El Huarache Loco
100 Alemany Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94110

Chairman Bao
San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

[grayelf]

Thanks, major, duly noted, esp the mixiotes :-).

[Melanie Wong]

Anyone have a report from last night?

[Malcolm Ruthven]

For those (like me) just learning about these food-truck markets, here's the website (click on Weekly Markets).

http://offthegridsf.com