A Fun Thing To Do on a Friday Night in San Francisco
Looking for something different to do on a Friday night in San Francisco? Check out Off The Grid – held Friday nights from 5-10pm (rain or shine) at Fort Mason Center near the Marina Green. Off The Grid features the largest market of Gourmet Street Food on the West Coast. For this city of foodies, It makes a FUN night out!
We met a few friends at Greens Restaurant (located at Fort Mason) for a glass of wine at 5pm before venturing outside to Off The Grid – an area surrounded by about 30 Gourmet Food Trucks. In the middle of it all were hundreds of people – and a band providing the evening’s entertainment.
We decided to split up and walk around to each food truck and check out their gourmet offerings – there was everything from Indian and Vietnamese to Thai and Chinese. See below for a listing of the rotating Off The Grid vendors that you might expect to see on a Friday night:
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- Doc’s on the Bay – Flippin’ Good
- An the Go – An Family Garlic Noodles
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Namu – hand-picked local and organic Korean
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fivetenburger – artisan burgers and sandwiches made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients
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Mama’s Empanadas – oven baked empanadas with a Mediterranean flair
- Street Eatz – Flavors of the World
- Onigilly – The Samurai Snack
- Pizza Politana – hand-tossed pizzas with toppings direct from the farm
- Red Truck – Food Truck Revolution
- Roli Roti – Gourmet Rotisserie
- Sam’s Chowdermobile – Your mobile “seafood shack”
- Seoul on Wheels – Korean BBQ
- Skylite Snoball Truck – shaved ice laced with natural, seasonal, homemade syrups
- Southern Sandwich – Hitch a ride. Eat. Trucker honk!
- Spencer on the Go – French Take-Away
- Kung Fu Tacos – Asian Inspired Tacos: East meets South…of the border
- Le Truc- eat the street
- Let’s Be Frank – dogs gone good
- Liba Falafel – Let Your Falafel Affair Begin
- Little Green Cyclo – Eat. Drink. Vietnamese. Street Food
- Louisiana Territory – bringing cajun to the bay area
- MogoBBQ – Korean-style BBQ
- Iz It Fresh Grill – IZ… good food!!!
- JapaCurry – Japanese Gourmet Food
- Jett Cakes – baked with LOVE!
- Kara’s Cupcakes – a sophisticated twist on an old fashioned favorite
- King of Currywurst – The San Francisco Original
- Get Jerked – Caribbean-inspired tacos, burritos and sandwiches
- Gorilla Pete’s – Hotdogs
- Dim Sum Charlies – we love you long time
- Ebbetts Good To Go – delicious sandwiches
- El Tonayense – authentic Mexican food
- The Taco Guys – the best tacos you’ve ever tasted
- Twirl and Dip – natural handcrafted soft-serve ice cream, fruitsicles, sundaes and more
- Blue Bottle Coffee – microroasters of organic coffee
- Brass Knuckle – stylish street food
- Curry Up Now – Indian street food
- The Rib Whip – gourmet mid-western style BBQ
- Curbside Coffee – coffee, tea, espresso, drinks, pastries and desserts
- CupKakes – Butter / Sugar / Eggs / Flour
- The Creme Brulee Man – better living through dessert
- Chairman Bao – Chinese Steamed and Baked Buns
- BBQ Kalbi – Korean Fusion food
- 51st State – American Regional cuisine
- El Huarache Loco – from the D.F. to the S.F.
- El Norteno – Authentic Tacos and Tortas
- Eat Curbside – “don’t make me pull this kitchen over”
- Senor Sisig – Filipino Tacos, Burritos and Rice Plates
- Hapa SF – modern organic Filipino cuisine
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Here are a few items we tasted… and would get again:
- Mac & Cheese Springrolls (crispy fried outside and deliciously cheesy inside) – OMG! we thought they tasted yummy, but very rich. NOT a good choice if you’re watching your diet 🙂
- Fresh Dim Sum Dumplings (potstickers so light and flavorful)
- Homemade Potato Chips & Dipping Sauce (addicting… bet ya can’t eat just one!)
- Chicken & Pork Satay (topped with peanut sauce)
- Gourmet-baked Empanadas (cheese & vege is good)
- Wraps (healthy, hearty and tasty)
By 6pm, Off The Grid is pretty chaotic and lines are long so expect to wait. The crowds are friendly and we enjoyed chatting with others in line – and the people-watching is priceless. Seating is very limited; there are a few picnic tables but most people just eat standing up. It’s very casual and prices are reasonable. The event draws a younger crowd, but it’s fun for all ages.
Parking is available at Fort Mason and at the Marina Green. Arrive early if you don’t want to wait in long lines because it gets very crowded. And bring a jacket – if the fog rolls in it can get chilly.
NOTE: Seasonal market shuts down a week before Thanksgiving and returns in March.
Have any of you been to Off The Grid yet? What are your favorite gourmet food trucks and foods?
Feedback from Paul: It’s an excellent concept that’s at the tipping point of needing to morph to handle larger crowds as the buzz spreads. The food and value are good. The crowd is largely 20’s/30’s and very friendly. The circle of food trucks needs to be expanded to reduce lines and provide more room to roam. It’s best to arrive by 5:30 for the best experience.
Feeback from Candy: The OMFG! dessert bar (peanut butter, caramel, chocolate and shortbread base) was disappointing – it certainly wasn’t even an OMG! Food in general was interesting and my idea of street fair types of food – heavy on the fried foods – but definitely tasty. I had the mac & cheese spring rolls and an asparagus & gouda empanada which was quite tasty.