The opening night of the first Off the Grid market in downtown Menlo Park. Photo by Michelle Le.
With the weather warming up, it's once again time to enjoy dinner outdoors and line up in front of the Bay Area's funky food trucks painted with mascots like a hip-hop head rooster and a seafood-loving version of Poseidon.
Off the Grid, which curates food truck markets throughout the Bay Area, is bringing its Peninsula and South Bay markets back this week. The Foster City market will take place at Leo J. Ryan Park, and the Menlo Park market will be held at 1120 Merrill St. in the Caltrain parking lot. Both events will take place on Wednesdays from 5 to 9 p.m. and begin April 6. A Daly City location is expected to open soon, and the markets will close for the winter on Oct. 26.
While it might seem overwhelming to navigate crowds lined up for Southern-style barbecue, cheesy quesabirria and Singaporean satay, here are some trucks coming to the Peninsula we’re excited to try. Keep in mind that the rotating cast includes many more eateries than the ones listed below. The Foster City market will host 10 trucks, and the Menlo Park location will welcome seven or eight mobile vendors each week.
At Foster City April 6:
Dominic's Food Truck
The mobile outpost of a family-owned company with 34 years of experience in catering and restaurants, the Dominic's menu features items you might expect to see at a wedding banquet, not in a parking lot. While sandwiches like cheesesteaks and a grilled crab and cheese sandwich are offered, the truck also serves more elaborate dishes, including cioppino and porcini ravioli in cream sauce.
Dum Truck
Dum Truck serves Indian soul food, where chef Rupam Bhagat prepares family recipes with a touch of his Culinary Institute of America education. There's a variety of kati rolls that wrap lamb, spinach, chicken or paneer in thin parathas and biryanis that layer meat and basmati rice.
El Fuego
El Fuego mainly focuses on one thing: the bright orange tacos filled with slowly braised beef birria that have taken over the internet the last couple of years. Be sure to get a cup of consomé, the flavorful liquid the beef is cooked in, for dunking and drinking.
Hula Truck
Mixing food from the Pacific Islands with a Northern California flair, Hula Truck serves dishes like Da Situation, tater tots topped with chicken adobo, kalua pork, tocino or lechon. They also boast that they have some of the best lumpia around, the golden crispy Filipino egg rolls filled here with ground pork, shrimp and water chestnuts.
Six Fifty classics:
Ribs served with a side of mac and cheese cooked with paprika and other spices. Photo by Magali Gauthier.
Capelo's Barbecue
This Peninsula establishment has been Southern barbecue to the Bay Area since 2012.
Sam's Chowder Mobile
Avoid the long lines at the Coastside institution with Sam's food truck that dishes up the same lobster rolls, clam chowder and fish and chips that make its Half Moon Bay location a destination.
Satay by the Bay
Enjoy Singaporean favorites like charred chicken skewers and mashup dishes like a chili crab sandwich at Elly Greenfield's food truck.
The Waffle Roost
Known for sandwiches where Belgian waffles replace the bread and wrap themselves around buttermilk fried chicken, The Waffle Roost is sure to satisfy fans of combining sweet and savory.
At Menlo Park April 6:
Chick N' Bros
Showcasing thick Nashville hot chicken sandwiches spiced with peppers ranging from cayenne to sweat-inducing Carolina Reapers, Chick N' Bros is bold and brash. Get portrait mode ready on your phone to capture the sandwiches covered in sweet and tangy "chick sauce" and local honey.
Miss Subi
Miss Subi offers a selection of musubi, the Japanese-inspired snack ubiquitous in Hawaii. However, the truck goes beyond the most common form of musubi, a slice of spam wrapped together with rice in a sheet of seaweed, and incorporates fillings inspired by cuisines across Asia. The KBJ Beef Musubi pairs kimchee bacon jam with a beef patty, and a har gow-inspired musubi uses minced shrimp to imitate the dim sum dumpling.
Mozzeria
This Neapolitan pizzeria is dedicated to creating a space for experiencing Deaf culture and increasing career opportunities for Deaf people. While the San Francisco restaurant closed during the pandemic, the food truck is still serving a menu of classic pizzas with bubbly crusts.
The Chairman
One of the Bay Area's most well-known food trucks, The Chairman has built its reputation on fluffy steamed bao filled with everything from tender pork belly to crispy tempeh and roasted carrot puree.
Off the Grid's SFO Food Spot also hosts one food truck during lunch hours Tuesdays through Fridays. It is located on the departures level outside Terminal 1.
More Peninsula food truck pop-ups are organized by Moveable.
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