We are full on INTO food trucks in my house right now. There are some local Sonoma County trucks we really enjoy [Couchon Voulant, Street Eatz, Fork, the Rosso truck] and two great weekly events that bring the food trucks right to our neck of the woods - Sebastopol's Totally Truckin' Thursday and Iron Horse Vineyard's Food Truck Fridays. For several weeks now we had the pleasure of enjoying this local food truck bounty. My husband Rick, who is admittedly a horrible wait-er, will track them down and wait with ghandi-like patience for one of Street Eatz pulled pork sandwiches. And Couchon Voulant, whom we stumbled upon while at Iron Horse with friends, is the stuff that dreams are made of. Their pulled pork is the best we've ever had. And of course we had to try the watermelon/feta/toasted pumpkin seed salad served with a with slow-smoked chicken drumstick, which still delights my palate with its memory, it was that good.
So when it came time to head to Fort Mason on Friday afternoon, in part to see our dear friends' American Craft Council exhibit (which was inspirational, btw), and in part to finally partake in the magical event called Off The Grid: Fort Mason Center, I was pretty excited. This was the beginning of a whole new world of food trucks. Behold:
30 Trucks. Yes, 30. Trucks arranged in a square, with beer, wine and music in the middle. And hungry people everywhere. Asian BBQ had a heavy presence and some awesome names (Seoul on Wheels, was my personal fave), and strong competition from the multitude of tacos, curries, empanadas, noodles, dumplings, sandwiches, and there were sweet choices too - the Creme Brulee Cart, Cupkates, and on and on and on. But to us there was one clear choice: nom nom. That mythical truck of Food Network fame that started our whole craze. Let me explain.
See we saw the food truck show, and we learned about bahn mi. It sounded so..... well, weird. Then we found a bahn mi in Santa Rosa, at the totally unassuming Noodle Bowl, that rocked Rick's world. It has the heavenly Costeaux bread, the pate (um, weird?), the yummy veggies, the jalepeno, the mayo, and though he usually orders the chicken, you can't go wrong with any of your meat choices. Since finding Noodle Bowl in the spring, we have proudly shown our friends. And I do mean proudly, and friends with an s.
And then, after we discovered Noodle Bowl, the food truck events began this spring. It sounded too good to be true. Right here in Sebastopol? The 4 truck per week limit, which always includes Fork and the Hot Dog Guys, can feel a little limiting, but it seems to be the right number for the crowd in our town. So, all summer we've had the bahn mi on lock, and we had the food truck events going on every week, but we had not yet experienced the beauty of the food truck bahn mi, not until Fort Mason on Friday.
And let me just say, hit. the. spot. And with all of the excitement we already had going on that day (read: visiting with out of town friends, enjoying the company of a delightfully energetic 3 year old, being in the city on a Friday night), it was the perfect meal. From a food truck, sandwiches just make sense. They are wrapped neatly, they travel well, and you don't have to worry about all of the hassles that accompany, say, tacos. I did have the nom nom tacos by the way, and to me, searching for a GF option, they were well worth the hassle. Although with all of the action going on, by the time I could find a place to eat and take a bite the tacos had gotten cold. Yet, the flavor of the grilled pork and the crispy veggies and aioli in those tacos was so outstanding that I ended up eating every last bite with a fork. The sandwich, however, was on another level. Rick bought two, with the idea to take one home and eat the next day. He ooohed and ahhed over the first one so much that our friends had to see what this crazy bahn mi nonsense was all about. I don't think that second sandwich ever had a chance at making it home.
Needless to say, the scene in San Francisco on a Friday afternoon, at Fort Mason where you can always find a little corner of your own, with a drink in your hand, a good friend nearby, warm clothes on your back and some good food in your belly, well, that's a chronic nonsense sort of scene.
Off The Grid - you guys are inspirational. Thank you!
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