SF Street Food Fanatics Unitefeatured

Street food fanatics descended upon the Mission on Saturday for the San Francisco Street Food Festival 2009, a day-long block party presented by La Cocina.

SF Street Food Festival: If you grill it, they will come.

With free admission and food/drink costing no more than $8, well over 5,000 eaters of all ages came out to celebrate SF’s vibrant street food community.

The sheer numbers that turned out was a tad overwhelming, but it was also heart-warming to see what good eaters we have here in SF. Lines snaked up and down the block, but surprisingly, the crowd seemed to be generally good-humored and calm (unlike the foaming-at-the-mouth angries at the Great American Food Fest a few months back).

Patience was handsomely rewarded, and street food, glorious street food, was consumed.

Elotes (Grilled Corn) from Los Cilantros

Anticuchos Chilenos (Marinated New York Strip and Beef Heart with Peppers & Onions) and Mushroom/Spinach Empanada from Sabores Del Sur

House-made Hot Dogs with Guinness Mustard and Chili Ketchup from Absinthe

Lavendar Crème Brulee from the Crème Brulee Cart

I braved the Aziza line and although their Squid Salad with maras pepper, preserved lemon, cabbage, mint and cilantro ($3) was sold out by the time I got to order, I was nicely satiated by the huge Moroccan “Taco” ($8) Chef Mourad Lahlou was serving up. The beverage pairing of iced Sweet Mint Tea hit the spot and cooled off the heat from the taco’s harissa.

Moroccan

For dessert, I followed the scent of sugar and fried dough to Endless Summer Sweets’ Funnel Cake with sweet strawberries and cream. If there was any question on whether the line was worth it, my doubts vanished as I saw satisfied customers milling about with showers of powdered sugar on their arms and traces of whipped cream on their faces.

Funnel Cake with Strawberries and Cream from Endless Summer Sweets

Gnom gnom gnomm

We ran into fellow Scavenger Hunt friends…

Soup Sluts, placed 3rd (but extra credit for the banana suit)

…and nemeses.

Attack of the Munchie Man

We had a great time people watching, chatting, and enjoying our curb-side cuisine, but beauty of the Street Food Fest was the greater vision of the event. For those who are unfamiliar with La Cocina, it is a phenomenal non-profit organization that acts as a food business incubator for low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs looking to start their own food business.

La Cocina Silent Auction

A Silent Auction was set up inside La Cocina’s kitchen during the festival. Bids are $100 and up…pricey, but some prizes are pretty phenomenal – like a day in the kitchen of Chez Panisse, Delfina’s Craig Stoll making dinnner for 10 in your own home, or pig butchery with Ryan Farr. The auction will close online Thursday 8/27. Proceeds will benefit La Cocina.

The SF Street Food Festival brought people together, across the spectrum of class and culture, to celebrate in the everyday food that we all eat and love. Here’s hoping that this is the first of many!

SF Street Food Festival 2009

SF Street Food Festival 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Folsom Street, between 25th and 26th
(in front of La Cocina)