Street Food – Page 3 – Virgo in Wonderland

The Chowdermobile Rolls On…

Posted on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

NewEnglandClamChowder-350px — Courtesy of http://www.samschowdermobile.com

Sam’s Chowder House is one of the many restaurants to jump on the street food bandwagon. Their “Chowdermobile” (@chowdermobile) travels to Brisbane, San Mateo, and Redwood City on a regular basis. I decided to give these guys a shot since I was in the mood for a nice bowl of chowder on a winter day.

Their menu is a truncated version of their restaurant’s. And like the restaurant, it’s also a bit overpriced. Between myself and my dining partner, we ordered their famous lobster roll, clam chowder, fried calamari, and fish tacos.

My fave dishes? The clam chowder would come in first and the fried calamari second. Both were seasoned well and full of fresh seafood flavor. I hate when calamari has too much breading or grainy cornmeal in the batter. This was not the case here. It was crispy and had great flavor to go with the perfectly fried calamari.

And the chowder wasn’t too thick, floury, or too rich with cream. It had tons of fresh herbs, clams, potatoes, and great overall flavor. If anything, it didn’t need the extra pinch of salt that was added. It would’ve been perfect, otherwise.

Courtesy of http://www.samschowdermobile.com

The fish tacos weren’t anything to get excited about, however. Though the fish was fresh, it was flavorless and the batter added nothing. The tortillas were cold and bland. A definite miss.

And surprisingly, I’m not a huge lobster fan, but the lobster roll did live up to it’s “Best Sandwich” reputation (it’s been rated as such by the folks at the Today Show). They didn’t skimp on lobster meat and it was butter, tender and delish.

All in all, if you’re in the mood for this kind of fare, I’d definitely suggest you pay them a visit if they’re in your area. However, be prepared to plunk down a pretty penny. No one can eat just one fish taco and be satisfied. So if you order just one small fish taco and a small bowl of chowder, that’ll set you back $10 for lunch. Add an order of calamari and you’re talking $16 for lunch. Definitely not, “street food-like” at all.

Sam’s Chowdermobile – Various locations (original restaurant located in HMB) – @chowdermobile on Twitter

Events, Food, San Francisco, Street Food

Not Too Shabby for a Second Choice

Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010Saturday, February 13, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

Despite the herd of family and events over the holidays, I was able to carve out an afternoon to the San Francisco Ferry Building Street Food Farmers Market. This is my favorite place in the city for just wasting an afternoon enjoying the people, the view, the architecture, and the food, of course.

I was on a mission to get me some porchetta sammies from Roli Roti. I’ve been dreaming of them ever since the FoodBuzz food event late last year, and it’s been hard to get a hold of one ever since. Of course, once we got there at 1:30, they had JUST served the last sandwich. I was pissed, to say the least.

But since there were so many other vendors around, there had to be some other good eats. I picked up a Margherita pie at Pizza Politana, which served as a good appetizer. That’s when the hubby ordered some Korean tacos from the guys at Namu.

I should’ve known to come here from the start. They catered our final dinner at the big FoodBuzz event last Fall and the menu was was fresh, lively, inventive and surprising.

We ordered some Korean Tacos which had chopped up bits of Korean marinated shortribs (kalbi), short grain sticky rice with scallions, daikon, kimchee, and a bit of sweet soy and mayo. Oh…my…gawd. These things are the real deal! Forget all the other Korean taco posers that drive around in their trucks. These guys mean business! All the ingredients are super fresh, organic and melded together on two sheets of seaweed (nori) to create this fantastic Californian/Asian fusion “taco” that was just out of this world!

And as a side dish we also ordered the Korean Fries that were on special that day. They were tasty too, topped with the same shortribs, scallions, Asian inspired sauce on top of some wonderfully fresh fried potatoes.

Now, the porchetta sammie will always be the first reason why I make it down to the Ferry Building on Thursday or Saturday, but the guys at Namu have made it damn hard to say no to their fare if I ever get down there again.

And word has it, their actual restaurant has some killer Monday and Tuesday night specials, as well.

Namu – SF Ferry Building Farmers Market – Thursdays, 10am-2pm

Events, Food, San Francisco, Street Food, Travel

Street Food Night for Foodbuzz Foodies

Posted on Monday, November 9, 2009Saturday, February 13, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

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.

Food, Peninsula, San Francisco, Street Food

Street Food Hits the Burbs

Posted on Saturday, November 7, 2009Saturday, February 13, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

Trucks, carts, even guys on bikes have shown up all over San Francisco and Oakland to peddle their cheap and tasty food. You can find both gritty and straightforward eats, as well as the artisan gourmet variety disguised as street food.

Of course, not all food that comes out of a cart is good food. There are LOTS of posers who are jumping on this popular foodie bandwagon, lately. It’s officially become a “trend.” It’s gone mainstream. Perhaps, it’s even jumped the shark.

But when cheap food is GOOD food, I have no complaints. That’s why these two newer food trucks that have hit the burbs have made me very happy. No more trekking to the city to find good street food!

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.

And in classic street food fashion, it’s cheap. Tacos are only $1.25 a piece (of course you need at least four to feel satisfied). And I appreciate that their ingredients are fresh and they use good quality meats. I just polished off five carnitas tacos for dinner and I could easily eat five more for lunch tomorrow!

Curry Up Now (Primrose & Howard in Burlingame, Near Marine Pkwy. across from Oracle in Redwood City – @CurryUpNow on Twitter) – Let me just say that I like Indian food, but it’s usually on the bottom of my list because of the way it makes me feel. Four out of the last five Indian meals I’ve had in recent memory gave me a headache before leaving the restaurant because of the MSG, or left me reaching for my TUMS. Not fun.

So when I found out about this place foolin’ around on Twitter, I was excited because it seemed authentic, fun, and fresh. And again, I didn’t have to trek to the city to find it!

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!).

All that great food AND the owner was a whole lot of fun to talk to while we waited for our food. She was such a gem that it made me want to go back even more.

With such great “street food” options in suburbia, I don’t have to worry that I’m missing out on all the good cheap food in San Francisco proper. Let those city folks come down to suburbia instead!

East Bay, Events, Food, For Kids/Parent, Lunch, Street Food

Street Food En Masse

Posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009Wednesday, July 14, 2010 by virgoinwonderland

The Bay Area’s first Eat Real Festival happened this past weekend in Oakland’s Jack London Square. An estimated 30,000 foodies from all over the Bay Area came to enjoy live music, support local farmers and food purveyors, and sample food from over 50 different street food vendors. I couldn’t wait!

Jen and I arrived at around 10:30 am, which was about 30 minutes before showtime, so we could avoid what would be the inevitable long lines later in the day. We came on the last day of the event to avoid the heat from the past two days and avoid the mistakes of others who had ventured there before us. It was nice being there that early. The area had a distinct energy but it was quiet with just the right trickle of people milling about. Vendors were smiling, friendly, and getting their food and selling areas ready for the day’s crowds.

Although there were some other vendors I didn’t get to try, simply because there just isn’t that much room in this tummy, I did try the following vendors:

Urban Nectar (Lemonade & Strawberry fresh juices)

Adobo Hobo (Chicken Wings Over Rice)

Seoul on Wheels BBQ (Spicy Korean BBQ Pork Tacos)

SLRP Street Ramen (Pork Broth Ramen w/Sweet corn & Homemade Kimchee)

Liba Falafel Truck (Falafel ball w/Roasted Eggplant)

Kika’s Treats (Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker S’mores)

Gerard’s Paella (Seafood & Chicken)

Creme Brulee Man (Vanilla Bean & Lavender Flavors)

Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed with Liba’s Falafels. The accompanying roasted eggplant mixture was delightful, but the falafel balls themselves, were so overfried that their outer shells had been become dark brown and were more hard and crunchy than thin and crisp. And the accompanying flatbread was stale, doughy, and flavorless.

The three dishes that had notable elements were Seoul on Wheel’s Spicy Pork Taco (warmed tortillas that didn’t taste store-bought would’ve GREATLY helped), SLRP’s Pork Ramen (the noodles were soggy and flavorless, but the pork belly and homemade kimchee were delicious), and Gerard’s Paella (fresher shrimp and non-burnt ends would’ve made it great).

The one thing that DID live up to the cult following was the Creme Brulee Man’s vanilla bean dessert. It had the perfect crunch from the torched top and the flavor was rich and creamy like an ice cream and smooth and luxurious like a pudding. Pure heaven.

I wish I could’ve tried Roli Roti’s porchetta sandwich, Gobba Gobba Hey’s sweet treats, Jim n Nick’s BBQ (they drove all the way up from the South), roasted pig from Chop Bar, 4505 Meats, Wholesome Bakery’s doughnut bites, and Pizza Politana’s margherita pizza slices.

I have to admit that nothing I had blew me away. It was all good, but nothing was extremely noteworthy. Amazingly, though, I wasn’t disappointed. I was just happy to be there and share in the positive energy of the day from both purveyors and consumers. I enjoyed the company, the weather, the variety of food, the environment overall. And I can’t wait to try more next year…