I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco this past weekend. What a crazy 48 hours! Free artisanal gourmet meals, the freshest ingredients, superior wines, specialty food purveyors, endless freebies, and most of all, amazing people!
After getting an over five pound free gift bag to start off the event, the weekend’s food festivities started with the Street Food “Fare” they arranged for us just outside the Ferry Building Marketplace. This was nothing ordinary being served out of a taco truck (no offense to some superior taco trucks). We had some of the most expertly prepared food you could have in the city, and that’s saying a lot.
We feasted and grazed from so many vendors, including chicharrones from 4505 Meats, neapolitan-style pies being made on the spot from Pizza Politana’s mobile wood-fire oven, cupcakes from Mission Minis, and fresh-shucked oysters from Hog Island Oyster Company.
But two vendors stood out from the crowd. I mean REALLY stood out.
First, the Beef and Gruyere pie from The Pie Truck. Since it’s like a mini pot pie, I figured I’d get some ground beef in a pastry shell and be done with it. Oh, how wrong I was! This was quality beef that was sauced wonderfully, moist, rich and so flavorful. And that pastry was light, flaky, buttery, and not at all too thick. I was kicking myself for not taking a few more to stuff in my purse!
But as good as The Pie Truck’s edibles were, it can’t compare to what was believed by most to be the best thing we had all night, by a mile! Frankly, I think it’s one of the best damn sandwiches I’ll ever have in my whole life. Seriously, it IS that good.
The folks at Roli Roti are genius. Their porchetta sandwich is just culinary genius! Now I know why people line up at the Ferry Building Farmers Market on Thursdays for 30-45 minutes just for one of these babies. It’s a rotisserie pork loin stuffed with pork belly (!) and herbs. Decadent, right? But it’s also got pieces of the pork’s crispy skin for texture. Wait, there’s more! They take the bread and use it to sop up the meat’s juices on their cutting board! They top it off with a wonderful onion marmalade and curly watercress. This is not a greasy, sloppy mess. It’s about as perfect as a delectable sandwich can get.
This event made me appreciate the artisan foodies, both consumers and producers, that make San Francisco’s culinary scene so exciting. We are spoiled. Truly.
Stay tuned for the memorable dinner we had to cap off the weekend.
Tacos Peralta (342 E. Hillsdale, San Mateo) – There are mediocre items on the menu that I’ve tried (the carne asada and pastor meats, in particular). And I’ve heard only lukewarm reviews about their burritos, though I can’t vouch for that, myself. But fortunately, there are some excellent items, including the torta (nicely toasted bread and a good amount of meat and fillings), super quesadilla (great flavorful beans and cheese), and the carnitas tacos (well seasoned moist pork, fresh onions and cilantro, and great with a squeeze of lime juice). And I love their hot sauce. It strangely reminds me of the taco sauce I used to get on taco day in elementary school. I don’t know if that’s a complement or an insult, but I used to go nuts for the stuff.
Curry Up Now
I’m so happy to say that this food truck exceeded my expectations. Everything we had was flat out fantastic! The food is a mixture of authentic Indian dishes with Mexican touches. Between myself and my other two diners, we had the Butter Chicken special, Tandoori Chicken “Taco”, Kathi Roll, Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito”, and the Skirt Steak “Torta” sandwich. All the items were absolutely delicious with the perfect amount of spice that added flavor, depth, and character, not just heat. All the flavors just sang and melded together so well. It was just about the best Indian meal I’d ever had. 
The highlights were the Kathi Roll (so delicate in it’s mixture of special ingredients and sauce), the Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito” (perfect amount of saucy flavorful chicken with special rice wrapped in parantha bread), and the Skirt Steak “Torta” (yummy special sauce again, and they did NOT skimp on the quality and amount of beef here!).
I rarely get drawn in by what I’ve heard about a restaurant’s setting. But Gitane’s European bohemian chic decor seemed so right up my alley that I wanted to see if for myself. And it didn’t hurt that it was on the SF Chronicle’s list of Top 100 Restaurants, so the food had to have some redeeming qualities.
For our entrees I got the St Jacques, which was pan seared royal sweet scallops with parsnip puree, fried padron peppers, and chorizo on top and chorizo oil sauce. It was wonderful. The combination was unexpected and yet delicious. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the chorizo oil was such a wonderful complement to the light scallops and parsnips. Yum!
But it was the Vins de Fruits that impressed me. I’m not one for alcohol desserts, but this dish was so incredibly fresh and fruity, again made warm with the cinnamon and star anise. It was so fragrant that it was like perfume. Again, another surprising dish.
Fried chicken is like the king of fried foods. When done right, it’s the perfect combo of juicy flavorful meat and crispy savory crunch. We’re lucky to have several places in the Bay Area that do it well, but all have their slight variations on the original classic. Little Skillet’s version is classic with Southern flair.
The fried chicken was probably the best classic version I’ve had in the Bay Area, to date. It had a perfectly crisp skin that wasn’t to thick (my friend said it was like really good pork rines) and a wonderful flavor. It had a tinge of paprika, black pepper and cayenne pepper along with a slight smokiness. My theory is that it was Old Bay Seasoning they used in the flour coating. The best part is that the meat was juicy and flavorful, not dry or tasteless like some fried chicken can be. The skin was tasty, texture was great, and the meat was perfect.
A birthday celebration calls for meat, that’s what I say. Screw the sugary treats (cakes and ice cream do nothing for me), let’s move on to the savory stuff.
Virgo in Wonderland 
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