Oh. How I love a good Taco Truck. What would I do after too much sparkling wine or one too many dirty martinis without a good corn tortilla, beans, some meat (sorry, Em) and avocado?? Since I have moved to the Mission, I have been feeling a bit, well, sick of Mexican food. I know! I know! It doesn't get much better than a naturally gluten free Taco. So hear me out...
In my effort to find some new on-the-go eats, I've been doing some research and everyone and their mom is talking about street food, late night eating, and of course, how to get a bang for your buck.
Lets go back to the very beginning: the truck.
Opening a restaurant during a recession when the Venture Capitalists and bankers go into hibernation is nearly impossible and more often than not, people close their doors rather than open them. The next thought as of late has been buying a food truck and a getting a permit to sell food on the street. Oh! Ya!
Seems easy. But it is still a difficult process. Permits. Permits. Laws. Parking. So why is with this trend? Why now? And
who is jumping on the taco truck?
The local summer food festivals start are revolving around street food to embrace the trend.
In the next two weeks we've got:
(jump)Some local favorites including
Absinthe, and
Ritual Coffee Roasters will be in attendance SF Street Food, and tons of local greats are going to convert themselves into street food vendors.
And then:
Eat Real, will reside in Oakland's Jack London Square and is brought to us by Anya Fernald the same person and coordinators as last year's successful
Slow Food Nation. It seem contridictory that the one who was so heavily publicizing the importance of slow food is now putting together the antithesis. She says in an article in the
SF Business Times by Sarah Duxbury, “Slow Food was always very limiting for me because I didn’t think the philosophy was very relevant for a lot of people,” said Fernald, "for whom changing the food supply is an explicit goal." And the article sums it all up by saying, "By nature, it tips toward the affordable, and it’s both convenient and fast."
A 7x7
article by Jessica Battilana wrote about these trends:
"At year’s end, when the food trend articles start rolling in, I suspect street food will top the list—thus far, carts, trucks and Twitter feeds have all but dominated the culinary landscape."
A weekly happening that is tipping the scales is
Mission Street Food. Every Thursday a Mission District Chinese restaurant,
Lung Shan Restaurant, is converted into a gourmet restaurant featuring a new chef and a new menu every week. The profits are donated to charities that focus on feeding the hungry.
This weeks menu provided by Fred Sassen of
Farallon looks like this:
House Made Charcuterie: Spicy Coppa, Bresaola, Tuscan Salami. Served with home made ciabatta and Guiness Whole Grain Mustard - $8
Scallop Ceviche: lemon-cucumber granita, edamame puree, fresh tortilla - $8
Mediterrenean Octopus Confit: Shaved Garlic, Picked Thyme, Leccino Extra Virgin Olive Oil - $10
Dungeness Crab Roulade: Hass Avocado, Levain croutons, Tomato Vinaigrette - $11
Chili Braised Pork Cheeks: sweet creamed corn, marinated cherry tomatoes, piccolo fino basil - $7
Rare Beef Salad: aged prime angus ribeye, seared cherry tomato, wasabi creme fraiche, basil oil, yucca crouton, katsuobushi - $9
King Trumpet: mushroom, triple fried potato, garlic confit, and scallion sour cream on a homemade flatbread - $6
Fig-Vanilla Sundae: Vanilla Ice Cream with house made fig vinegar, black mission figs, candied almonds - $6 (umm... YUM!)
Those who are sitting tight with their budgets but seeking out ways to eat well and benefit their communities have supported these trends by default. The money, the timing and the mobility fit with how the world looks at the moment.
Even with the recession hubbub, those who want to express their art forms and share their love of food to all those who desire it (as well tap into a customer base who love a bit a mystery) are still finding creative, fun and lucrative ways to work.
love you, mean it.
Barton
