Thursday Night Off the Grid

You know what makes living so far away from where I work worthwhile? I live in San Francisco, where the food never ceases to delight.

While I was away in the Netherlands last year, Sean discovered a particularly wonderful manifestation of the food truck phenomenon: Off the Grid - San Francisco.

Off the Grid is a weekly, evening meet-up of food trucks around the city, and every Thursday night they come to our corner of Golden Gate Park, where Haight-Ashbury meets the Inner Sunset. There is usually a good crowd selection, with everything from your standard taco trucks, to the Filipino tacos, to the Korean barbecue, Vietnamese and Indian street food, re-invented Americana comfort food, Japanese snacks and a cupcake cart. (We still need to persuade the Creme Brulee man to come visit us...we usually have to go to him elsewhere in the city). But best of all is Chairman Bao.

Mm mmm. Chairman Bao. Baked or steamed buns that unfold like a taco, stuffed with wonders like pork belly and pickled daikon, or shredded duck with mango, and several other items. I made my usual Thursday trip this evening, and was saddened to learn that the shredded duck has now been made into a seasonal item, so won't be offered till mangoes are cheaper again. I rallied though, realizing I would have room to finally try the Sisig taco from the Filipino truck, and it did not disappoint! It wasn't that far off from a carnitas style taco with a yummy sauce, but you get a hint of adobo (I think?) spicing in the braised meat, which is absolutely succulent, that goes beautifully with the cabbage and limey cream sauce. Between that and the crispy Pork Belly Bao, I was well satisfied.

This was followed by a Red Velvet cupcake from Cupkate, which was reliably moist and topped with a healthy amount of cream cheese frosting.

After several days of heavy working out and fairly light, minimalist dinners, my body was grateful for the additional protein and fat. Balance is everything!