Tag street food

SF Mobile Food Truck Birthday Lunch

At Parties That Cook, we are huge fans of the SF street food and mobile food truck scene. Having recently tried Alameda Pies, our hankering for delicious and delivered meals had just begun. In honor of Crissy’s birthday, it seemed only appropriate to have a meal made up of local mobile food vendors for the office street food enthusiast. Thanks to Bibby’s love of Twitter and its legion of street food vendors, we had a tasty spread delivered from mobile food trucks (and bikes!).

Banh Mai (@banhmai)- Having grown up in Southern California and only minutes away from Little Saigon, I’ve had my share of traditional Vietnamese sandwiches (Banh Mi). I wasn’t sure if Banh Mai could rival the sandwiches I grew up eating, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. The fresh bread, juicy pork and pickled carrots and daikon were simple and delicious. The vegan option, made with mushroom pate and seasoned tofu was just as tasty. We also enjoyed these as leftovers, and they were just as good!

Who’s Your Daddy Real Bacon Handmade Potato Chips (@baconpotatochip)–
Yes, you’ve read that correctly, bacon potato chips. “Meet the bacon potato chip guy at Dolores Park Café for the pickup,” Bibby instructed. It felt like some sort of illegal transaction. We were trying to keep the food deliveries and pickups under wraps in order to surprise Crissy. I handed Bill (bacon potato chip guy) an envelope of cash and received the ‘goods’. As I drove back to the office the box of bacony perfection was staring back at me! The chips did not have an overwhelming flavor of bacon, but just the perfect amount of salty, mouthwatering goodness.

Bike Basket Pies
(@bikebasketpies)–
The potato leek pie was my personal favorite! For dessert we enjoyed pumpkin and plum pies delivered by bike from Natalie. Both pies had spices that transported me to Thanksgiving dinner. And the crust! We were fawning over how delicious and flakey the crust was.


Batter Bakery (@batterbakery)–
To end our meal we had Halloween-themed cookies. The hand-decorated cutouts with royal icing were too precious to eat. Of course with us that didn’t last long, as we devoured the scrumptious creations.

Have a favorite mobile food truck or street food vendor? Tell us about it! Until next time, bon appétit!

Cookbook Club The World of Street Food

Like most of San Francisco, Parties That Cook can’t get enough of the latest trend: street food. So for this month’s cookbook club, we chose The World of Street Food: Easy Quick Meals to Cook at Home by Troth Wells and we feasted on flavors from Mumbai to Colombia’s Antioquia.

Ragda Patties (India) – In preparing this recipe, Mary stumbled upon a few ingredients she’d never used before and we’re sure glad she gave it a whirl! These delicious potato patties were filled with a mixture of peas, green chilies, cilantro and ginger and pan-fried to golden perfection.  They were topped with thinly sliced red onion and the ragda, made of chickpeas and potatoes. The tang from fresh tamarind was perfectly balanced by brown sugar and an array of exotic spices, including the most pungent spice in the pantry, asafetida. We agreed each dish would be just as good on its own.

Tagine (Tunisia) – Unlike a traditional Moroccan tagine, Michelene’s dish was more of a casserole. She couldn’t imagine how the ingredients would come together, but it turned out to be a group favorite. The mixture of cubed chicken, cannelloni beans and monterey jack cheese was flavored with cinnamon and paprika, topped with a layer of scrambled eggs and baked in a rustic clay dish until browned and bubbly. Luckily, Mich took it upon herself to add salt to the recipe even though it didn’t call for it!

Bandeja Paisa (Colombia) – Crissy was also intrigued by the sides suggested to accompany this simple dish of ground beef, tomato and lightly smashed kidney beans. Though she skipped the rice, fried eggs and arepas, the meat was served with fried sweet plantains and crispy bacon. The recipe could have been improved by the addition of a few spices, but the salty bacon and sweet plantains made for a tasty flavor combination.

Eggplant with Coconut Milk (Indonesia) – Bibby tried her best to stick to the recipe, but knowing better, she made a few necessary changes to this one. The recipe called to simmer cubed eggplant, tomatoes, chilies, shallots and garlic in water until tender before adding the coconut milk. Bibby fought her temptation to sauté the vegetables first and instead salted the eggplant first to remove the bitterness, boiled off extra liquid and finished the dish with a dash of fish sauce, lime juice, and cilantro. Her rendition was delicious served over Erin’s red rice.

Ha Gow, Potstickers and Sesame Buns (China) – Having forgotten her recipe over the weekend, Carolyn resurrected the situation with dim sum to-go from Wing Lee Bakery in the Inner Richmond. No complaints here! Though not found in the cookbook, we doused our dumplings with soy sauce and enjoyed the sweet and chewy sesame buns for dessert.

Hungry for more? Check out this great List of Street Food Vendors using Twitter on Serious Eats. Go on, track down Roli Roti or the Mobile Pho Truck and take to the streets!