December 11, 2012

Did You Know?: Food Trucks Are Taking Over the World

If you live in any urban city you should know what a food truck is. If you leave your house most days of the week, you’ve probably seen them popping up everywhere. Actually, you don’t even have to live in a major city nor in a hip neighborhood. They are literally everywhere. Even if you can’t see them, you’ve definitely heard of them. People tell you they’re awesome, expensive, dirty and annoying. Though many of those things could quite possibly be true, we can’t deny that they are taking over the world. Is that good or bad? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

According to Emergent Research, the presence and revenue of food trucks will increase 3-4% within the next five years. That’s pretty fucking fast and they’re making a lot of money. Revenue is expected to increase to $2.7 billion to be exact, says Small Business Labs.

Not only are food trucks being developed by innovators with unique ideas, but major figures in the game we’re already very familiar with are jumping on the street food bandwagon. A good amount of fast-food companies have admitted to considering to add food trucks to their business. Chains like Chick-fil-A, Burger King and TCBY have already hit the road….which is ridiculous. If any fast-food chain needs a food truck, it’s definitely In-n-Out.

And for obvious reasons, starting food trucks are much cheaper. Like cheap as shit compared to brick and mortars. With the economy being amazing and all, people still gotta find ways to make their dreams come true right? USA Today lays out how the need for food and low production costs are contributing to this growing phenomena.

For more really interesting trends and statistics pertaining to food trucks, take a look at the complete Emergent Research’s 2012 Food Truck Report.

November 28, 2012

Chit Chat: Valerie Luu + Katie Kwan of Rice Paper Scissors

A few weeks ago I got to hang out with a couple of the coolest gals in city, the duo behind the Rice Paper Scissors pop-up Vietnamese cafe. And we made this video! If you live in San Francisco and eat food, you’ve probably already heard of them. Valerie and Katie worked their way through unrelated careers, food blogging and being individual Vietnamese vendors. Now they’ve become a favorite of Bourdain and pop-up throughout the city.

We talked about the knitty gritty beginnings of their adventures and how they couldn’t have done it without The Internet. Not only did social media and the interwebs help people find where they would be, it connected them to people who shared their passion for making good food.

Of course I had to try their food along the way and it was really awesome. It’s pretty rad that these fun ladies do their own thing and break the rules (sometimes).

If you’ve heard of them but haven’t had their food yet, make your way to Mojo Cafe where they pop-up every Thursday. Also, don’t forget to join their mailing list/follow them on Twitter and Facebook so you know what they’ll be up to next. 🙂

P.S. Please check out Vice’s Fresh Off the Boat mini series if you haven’t already. In episode 2/3, Valerie and Katie hit up their favorite spots in the Mission and shock Eddie Huang with their cooking superpowers.

Special thanks to: Valerie and Katie for just being awesome and letting me follow them around, Giovanni Chumpitazi for writing the music the day before this was due, and Mojo Cafe for letting us film!

November 7, 2012

Pop-up Profile: Double or Muffin

CC Image courtesy of Amanda Dias on Flickr

Have you heard of these guys? The guys that let you flip a fucking coin to determine how many muffins you walk away with? I had no idea about them until last week. My hapa brother from another mother filled me in about this ridiculously amazing way to eat muffins. I’m not really a muffin girl, but this sounds fun.

BFFs Ben Gifford and Sean Pears grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College in 2010. After being rejected from teaching programs abroad and deciding macroeconomics and financial markets was not their thing, the duo went straight into baking muffins. It was that simple.

Gifford told The Dartmouth, “It was the summer after college graduation and we were waiting in line, making bad jokes, when one of us said ‘double or muffin,’” said Gifford. “It’s really unclear who said it first, and we kind of forgot about it initially, but before long we realized that there was an actual game you could play that corresponded pretty much perfectly with the pun. You would buy a muffin and flip a coin — heads you’d get a second muffin for free, tails you’d keep the muffin you already bought.”

The chance of getting two muffins for the price of one? Done. Double or Muffin doesn’t have a permanent set up, therefore they’re popping up all over San Francisco. They frequent Dolores Park and Duboce Park during the week and weekends. Like many other pop-ups in the city, these operations are made possible via social media. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to find out where you can some great muffins, and maybe one for free!

The crowdpleaser flavors include banana chocolate chip and maple bacon corn muffins. Both flavors I’m definitely down to try.

They also have a theme song lol. It’s kind of weird but great.

October 24, 2012

OTG: Picnic Edition

Photo courtesy of Off THe Grid: Picnic at the Presidio Facebook Page

It’s the last weekend for Off The Grid’s Picnic in the Presidio! And it’s free!! So reschedule your bougie brunch and bring out your warm blankets because why would you want to miss this? Off the Grid’s picnic takes everything to the next level by bringing San Francisco’s best restaurants to you with fun events. Not only does OTG bring you awesome food but there’s gonna be mimosa, bloody mary and Irish coffee vendors that will SERVE YOU BLANKET-SIDE…Oh my god. There are limited servings so get there early. Oh, and get this! After we’re all done force feeding ourselves one more bite of Humphry Slocombe’s Secret Breakfast ice cream, we can burn it all off by renting horseshoes and croquet sets. Okay, not exactly vigorous activity, but whatever. OTG will be providing free tarps to keep everyone dry and will also offer Army-style wool blankets for rent. If you ask me, renting blankets is kind of weird…so just bring your own. If playing classic lawn games doesn’t prevent you from passing out from being so full, bring a yoga mat! Because there will be FREE YOGA CLASSES TOO. I really don’t know what isn’t going to be happening because this literally sounds like the perfect outdoors food event.

When: October 28, 2012 @ 11am-4pm

Where: Main Post Lawn, The Presidio

Food:

Contact: 415-339-5888

October 17, 2012

Series of Pan-Asian Pop-ups Launches Tonight!

Photo from http://www.facebook.com/EasternAddition

Your opportunity to explore pan-Asian cuisines has arrived in the city! Eastern Addition will be a three-month long pop-up adventure that will take place at Vinyl Wine Bar (359 Divisidero). Every Wednesday, starting October 17, a different cuisine and a star chef will be in the spotlight. How awesome is that?! The goal of Eastern Addition is to basically showcase great chefs with different specialties that more people should know about. This is definitely something I support and you should too! There’s gonna be great food, so why the hell not?

Tonight’s pop-up (6-11 p.m.) will be featuring Tak Matsube, formerly of Bushi-Tei and his take on “Japanese Hard-Hat Cuisine,” which I’m guessing is more casual, comfort food. According to SF Weekly, the dishes will be priced at $3 to $11. NOT BAD!

I’m not really sure when tonight’s list closes, but since there is limited space, email you reservation to: easternaddition@gmail.com with your name, number and party size. Hopefully you get in! If not there’s always next week 🙂

Like Eastern Addition on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for updates and weekly schedules.

Happy Eating!

October 3, 2012

How to: Survive Off the Grid @ Fort Mason

I’ve come to learn that there is a simple strategy when it comes to enjoying large street food gatherings and maintaining your sanity. Sometimes these things get BUSY. The kind of busy that means waiting in line for your favorite dish and finding out the truck has sold out when you’re the next person to order. Because of events like this I’ve been on the verge of tears at numerous Off the Grid gatherings. It. Sucks. But there is good news! If you plan accordingly and go in with a plan, you can avoid being “that person” and stuff your face with everything you love!

Based on my experience from attending numerous Off the Grid events, in particular at Fort Mason (the largest weekly gathering of the Bay’s food trucks and food stands), I’ve put together a list of simple things you can do to make your experience much more enjoyable.

Alrighty, lets get started:

1) ARRIVE EARLY

Find out what time your street feast of choice is starting at (OTG Fort Mason usually starts at 5pm). Muni is often unreliable and traffic can also make you cry, so give yourself enough time to get there with a buffer for finding parking, meeting friends, hiding beer in your purse, etc.

Arriving early could also put you at the front of most lines! Oh and there will be lines because people in San Francisco live for these kinds of things (I know I do…). Arriving early will also almost guarantee that you’ve got a fair shot at eating the most popular items before they sell out. Trucks and stands only come with a set amount of servings. Once they’re gone, they are gone.

2) Drag your friends along

Well, don’t force them to one of the greatest things ever if they aren’t willing. But bring people you don’t mind hanging out with because why would you want to go alone? Being with a group is more fun! And you can all stand in different lines and try a lot more food!

3) Bring your own drinks

This isn’t essential to making your experience stress-free. However, I often get too excited about ordering my favorite item and always forget to get a drink. Keeping a bottle of water with you can be helpful if you don’t want to have to stand in a 20-person line again (something I’ve also done more than I’d like to admit…) Bringing your own beverages also saves you money! Street food isn’t always cheap and it doesn’t hurt to save a couple bucks. But please be adventurous and try some homemade drinks the trucks make themselves!

4) Don’t forget cash!

Some trucks and stands do accept debby and creddy, but some don’t! Keep cash with you just incase so you can avoid ridiculous ATM fees. Also you can be a tipper! The lovely people that serve you your yummy food work hard to keep us happy, so show a little gratitude if you can 🙂

5) Bundle up

Fort Mason is right on the water. Therefore it gets pretty damn cold. You know what to do.

If you’re planning on enjoying the nice weather this weekend at Fort Mason, heads up! San Francisco is expecting high masses of people because there’s a bunch of cool shit happening this weekend. According to SFGate, “More than a million extra people will be jamming in San Francisco this weekend.” That’s a lot… Luckily OTG is extending their hours for America’s Cup / Fleet Week Friday this Friday, October 5th, from noon to 10 p.m. With that said, good luck!

September 26, 2012

Pop-up Profile: Hapa Ramen

Hapa Ramen has redefined traditional ramen by keeping things simple. That means using fresh and local ingredients only, and giving it their own style. They swear by using the best local ingredients that produce the best results. Ramen heroes Richie Nakano and Susanna Ok have stuck to creating what they love and make some seriously good food.

Richie Nakano, formersous chef at Nopa, started making ramen because he found that nobody was using really good ingredients. This inspired his dedication to use local farmers like Knoll and Marin Roots. Nakano told Menuism that “the idea with the ramen was to form a cuisine that has its roots in traditional Asian cookery, but that draws on Western techniques and ingredients to elevate itself.”

Though Hapa Ramen has been around since before I moved to San Francisco, I just recently made my way to one of their pop-ups to check them out. Why didn’t I go sooner? I have no idea, but I was stupid and didn’t. My first experience was when they popped-up at Wing Wings (which is another great joint! As the name says, they make wings. They have these “angry Korean” wings that keep me coming back) in the Lower Haight. I had their staple tonkatsu ramen and it was love at first slurp. The depth of flavor in their pork broth surpassed every other ramen place in the city (including Katana-ya, in my opinion). Hapa Ramen isn’t traditional, like they say, but it tastes really good. So I could care less if it’s made the old school way.

Nakano and his team are in the works of opening a brick and mortar, which I’M SO EXCITED FOR. The lease has been signed and is ready to go! (They used the oh-so-clever Kickstarter to raise enough money to replace their worn equipment and to help with building their kitchen.) I talked to Ok at last week’s pop-up at Wing Wings and she mentioned that once construction issues are finished, they’ll be open! After a few years of borrowing kitchens and cooking out of stands, their team is looking forward to having a place of their own. The spot will be at 1527 Fillmore St. and will be called Hapa. Until then, follow their Twitter to find out where they’ll be next.

Oh! And lucky for us, Hapa Ramen will continue to have their stand at the Ferry Building every Tuesday and Thursday! Which I must say will be crucial in my survival of the upcoming winter.

Until you get your hands on a bowl, check out their Tumblr for great drool-ery.

September 18, 2012

Konnichiwa!

For those who aren’t familiar with the translation, hello! I’m Nicole Kiana Dobarro, your not-so-typical “island girl” who is really a city girl. I was born and raised in Honolulu and recently left everything I knew for San Francisco. I’m a Hawaiian-Argentinean-Korean-Portuguese-American (quite a mouthful, I know). I believe every aspect of my heritage finds its way into my daily life, especially my cooking.

I’m currently studying journalism, but I’m really a chef that loves to write. And I only love to write about food…or restaurants, techniques and other chefs. Well, technically I’m not a chef yet, but I will be!

As for fun facts about me: My last meal would have to be Momofuku’s pork buns, a spicy ahi bowl and dim sum. I will one day have a corgi because they are the best dogs. I just started watching Dawson’s Creek…and I’m hooked. And I often cook as a form of procrastination to avoid homework. Oops.

PopStreet is my effort to collect all the latest news about the coolest food trucks and pop-ups in San Francisco. This blog will help you find the best and the worst of the street food world. I’ll keep you updated on returning pop-ups and newbies! PopStreet will also get you inside the kitchens to get to know the great people behind these establishments.

Are you new to the this growing food phenomenon? Get out there and eat! Check out the people behind the Bay Area’s greatest food trucks and hear their stories. Let’s not forget about the Bay’s quality pop-ups! Find out how they got started and where the inspiration came from.

For veteran food enthusiasts who are looking for a great new spot, check out The Bold Italic’s Food & Drink section. They’ve got some really cool stories on how to cover Off The Grid in 24-hours and what the cool kids behind the city’s best pop-up do for fun.

Want to keep up to date with weekly pop-up schedules? SF Weekly’s SFoodie does a great job at keeping tabs of what’s happening in your neighborhood. Pop-ups and food trucks are all around us! So please, for the love of god, go eat some good food.