Cooking
Last Friday night I was glad to join the street food revolution, at Off the Grid. Off the Grid takes place Friday nights from 5 pm until 9 pm in the Fort Mason Center parking lot, right near the entrance by the little guardhouse. It's a great mix of carts, people, food and drink. Families, couples and groups can be found mingling, eating, chatting and discovering deliciously affordable bites of food.
There was plenty of room to walk around, chairs and a few tables and there was even some live music. There was no overcrowding, significant waits or lines (Chairman Bao had a line but it moved quickly). The most difficult decision may be what to try because with about 10 vendors, there is no way to try it all. They ranged from traditional taco trucks like El Tonayense to the new fangled Creme Brulee cart.
I started with potato beef curry puffs from Malaysian Lacy Crepes. They were freshly fried to a crisp on the outside with a tender and mid curry on the inside. Like most things, the portion was good for sharing. I want to try their chai banana fritters next.
I was very impressed with Chairman Bao. I tried both a duck confit and mango bun and the pork belly bun, steamed, $2.75 each. Both were juicy and fresh but I think the crunchy daikon pickle in the pork version made it my favorite. They also have a baked version. Next time!
Lee had a cup of chai, which came in various flavors such as rose and vanilla almond. It seemed a bit pricey to me at $4 a cup. Most of the dishes were in the $2 to $6 range. He also approved of the lemon mochi and succulent adobo chicken.
The spiciest bites came from Curry Up Now. The Indian street food truck. The Kathi roll made from roti stuffed with pickled onion, chutney and chicken was hot stuff! In the future I'd love to see Chinese dumplings or some kind of noodle dish along the lines of the Noodle Fest in Chinatown. But the variety thus far is terrific and I will be back!
More on Off the Grid:
A Little Yum post
SF Weekly slide show
Yelp reviews
- Azalina's Malaysian Pop-up Dinner March 10
Suvir Saran with Azalina Eusope at the SF Street Food Night Market, 2012There are some chefs who cook with their whole being, with their blood, sweat and tears, with their heart and with their soul. Azalina Eusope is one of those chefs and you can taste...
- The San Francisco Street Food Festival 2011
There are so many reasons to go to the San Francisco Street Food Festival it's hard to know where to start. First and foremost, for just a few dollars (nothing is over $8) you can eat things you love like chicken wings, cheeseburgers and ice cream...
- Noodle Fest 2010
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer You can keep Disneyland, for me the happiest place on earth is Noodle Fest. I am an absolute noodle fanatic, so from the moment I heard about the event, fostering unity between North Beach and...
- Dew Drop Inn: Restaurant Review
Ok it's time I reveal a secret. In addition to reading blogs and putting out requests for advice on Twitter, there are a couple of other ways I find good restaurants in Honolulu. One is on Yelp. You have to carefully evaluate each user submitted review,...
- Shanghai Dumpling King Restaurant Review
The Chinese are masterful when it comes to dumplings. You can enjoy an amazing variety of dumplings in just one sitting when you eat at a dim sum restaurant. But there are other types of Chinese restaurants that specialize in dumplings and serve them...
Cooking
Off the Grid
Last Friday night I was glad to join the street food revolution, at Off the Grid. Off the Grid takes place Friday nights from 5 pm until 9 pm in the Fort Mason Center parking lot, right near the entrance by the little guardhouse. It's a great mix of carts, people, food and drink. Families, couples and groups can be found mingling, eating, chatting and discovering deliciously affordable bites of food.
There was plenty of room to walk around, chairs and a few tables and there was even some live music. There was no overcrowding, significant waits or lines (Chairman Bao had a line but it moved quickly). The most difficult decision may be what to try because with about 10 vendors, there is no way to try it all. They ranged from traditional taco trucks like El Tonayense to the new fangled Creme Brulee cart.
I started with potato beef curry puffs from Malaysian Lacy Crepes. They were freshly fried to a crisp on the outside with a tender and mid curry on the inside. Like most things, the portion was good for sharing. I want to try their chai banana fritters next.
I was very impressed with Chairman Bao. I tried both a duck confit and mango bun and the pork belly bun, steamed, $2.75 each. Both were juicy and fresh but I think the crunchy daikon pickle in the pork version made it my favorite. They also have a baked version. Next time!
Lee had a cup of chai, which came in various flavors such as rose and vanilla almond. It seemed a bit pricey to me at $4 a cup. Most of the dishes were in the $2 to $6 range. He also approved of the lemon mochi and succulent adobo chicken.
The spiciest bites came from Curry Up Now. The Indian street food truck. The Kathi roll made from roti stuffed with pickled onion, chutney and chicken was hot stuff! In the future I'd love to see Chinese dumplings or some kind of noodle dish along the lines of the Noodle Fest in Chinatown. But the variety thus far is terrific and I will be back!
More on Off the Grid:
A Little Yum post
SF Weekly slide show
Yelp reviews
- Azalina's Malaysian Pop-up Dinner March 10
Suvir Saran with Azalina Eusope at the SF Street Food Night Market, 2012There are some chefs who cook with their whole being, with their blood, sweat and tears, with their heart and with their soul. Azalina Eusope is one of those chefs and you can taste...
- The San Francisco Street Food Festival 2011
There are so many reasons to go to the San Francisco Street Food Festival it's hard to know where to start. First and foremost, for just a few dollars (nothing is over $8) you can eat things you love like chicken wings, cheeseburgers and ice cream...
- Noodle Fest 2010
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer You can keep Disneyland, for me the happiest place on earth is Noodle Fest. I am an absolute noodle fanatic, so from the moment I heard about the event, fostering unity between North Beach and...
- Dew Drop Inn: Restaurant Review
Ok it's time I reveal a secret. In addition to reading blogs and putting out requests for advice on Twitter, there are a couple of other ways I find good restaurants in Honolulu. One is on Yelp. You have to carefully evaluate each user submitted review,...
- Shanghai Dumpling King Restaurant Review
The Chinese are masterful when it comes to dumplings. You can enjoy an amazing variety of dumplings in just one sitting when you eat at a dim sum restaurant. But there are other types of Chinese restaurants that specialize in dumplings and serve them...