VirgoBlue

Trucks, carts, even guys on bikes have shown up all over San Francisco and Oakland to peddle their cheap and tasty food. You can find both gritty and straightforward eats, as well as the artisan gourmet variety disguised as street food.

Of course, not all food that comes out of a cart is good food. There are LOTS of posers who are jumping on this popular foodie bandwagon, lately. It’s officially become a “trend.”  It’s gone mainstream.  Perhaps, it’s even jumped the shark.

But when cheap food is GOOD food, I have no complaints. That’s why these two newer food trucks that have hit the burbs have made me very happy. No more trekking to the city to find good street food!

Tacos Peralta (342 E. Hillsdale, San Mateo) – There are mediocre items on the menu that I’ve tried (the carne asada and pastor meats, in particular). And I’ve heard only lukewarm reviews about their burritos, though I can’t vouch for that, myself. But fortunately, there are some excellent items, including the torta (nicely toasted bread and a good amount of meat and fillings), super quesadilla (great flavorful beans and cheese), and the carnitas tacos (well seasoned moist pork, fresh onions and cilantro, and great with a squeeze of lime juice). And I love their hot sauce. It strangely reminds me of the taco sauce I used to get on taco day in elementary school. I don’t know if that’s a complement or an insult, but I used to go nuts for the stuff.

And in classic street food fashion, it’s cheap. Tacos are only $1.25 a piece (of course you need at least four to feel satisfied). And I appreciate that their ingredients are fresh and they use good quality meats. I just polished off five carnitas tacos for dinner and I could easily eat five more for lunch tomorrow!

Curry Up Now (Primrose & Howard in Burlingame, Near Marine Pkwy. across from Oracle in Redwood City) – Let me just say that I like Indian food, but it’s usually on the bottom of my list because of the way it makes me feel. Four out of the last five Indian meals I’ve had in recent memory gave me a headache before leaving the restaurant because of the MSG, or left me reaching for my TUMS. Not fun.

So when I found out about this place foolin’ around on Twitter, I was excited because it seemed authentic, fun, and fresh. And again, I didn’t have to trek to the city to find it!

I’m so happy to say that this food truck exceeded my expectations. Everything we had was flat out fantastic! The food is a mixture of authentic Indian dishes with Mexican touches. Between myself and my other two diners, we had the Butter Chicken special, Tandoori Chicken “Taco”, Kathi Roll, Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito”, and the Skirt Steak “Torta” sandwich. All the items were absolutely delicious with the perfect amount of spice that added flavor, depth, and character, not just heat. All the flavors just sang and melded together so well. It was just about the best Indian meal I’d ever had. The highlights were the Kathi Roll (so delicate in it’s mixture of special ingredients and sauce), the Tikki Masala Chicken “Burrito” (perfect amount of saucy flavorful chicken with special rice wrapped in parantha bread), and the Skirt Steak “Torta” (yummy special sauce again, and they did NOT skimp on the quality and amount of beef here!).

All that great food AND the owner was a whole lot of fun to talk to while we waited for our food. She was such a gem that it made me want to go back even more.

With such great “street food” options in suburbia, I don’t have to worry that I’m missing out on all the good cheap food in San Francisco proper. Let those city folks come down to suburbia instead!

I rarely get drawn in by what I’ve heard about a restaurant’s setting. But Gitane’s European bohemian chic decor seemed so right up my alley that I wanted to see if for myself. And it didn’t hurt that it was on the SF Chronicle’s list of Top 100 Restaurants, so the food had to have some redeeming qualities.

The place is named after a gypsy and the food is inspired from the Basque region nestled between Portugal and Spain. But there seemed to be a touch of Moroccan influence as well. The menu is very eclectic and decor exotic and hip without being snooty. In fact, the staff was very friendly without trying too hard. Even the manager came by to check on us and seemed genuinely interesting inhow we were doing.

So my pals and I went for the Yelp Eats! prix fixe menu, and all the dishes were ones you could find on their regular menu. For our appetizers I ordered the Bastilla which was almost like a fried samosa filled with duck, chicken, nuts, spices, and raisins. It was served with some roasted red peppers for savory contrast. The dish was excellent, rich and meaty, and sweet with warm spice. It’s a heavier appetizer, so I’m happy I ordered the scallops for my entree. But more on that in a minute…

My friend ordered the Taboule appetizer, which was a revelation. It was bursting with lemon and mint and fresh shrimp, in this cool couscous salad. It was wonderful. The flavors were so fresh yet somehow, not overwhelming.  Perfection.

For our entrees I got the St Jacques, which was pan seared royal sweet scallops with parsnip puree, fried padron peppers, and chorizo on top and chorizo oil sauce. It was wonderful. The combination was unexpected and yet delicious. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the chorizo oil was such a wonderful complement to the light scallops and parsnips. Yum!

My friends ordered the Solomillo, which was pork tenderloin and braised pork belly with a five spice sauce and carrot puree with pine nuts. The dish was rich and warm with those spices. And again, it all was perfectly cooked. The perfect autumn dish.

For dessert, we had beignets with a lemon, chocolate, and honey sauce, and the Vins de Fruits which was a chilled sangria with yogurt sorbet, berries and spices. Both were fantastic. The beignets were soft, warm, and perfectly fried. Sometimes they’re a little too brown on the outside but they were perfect here. The sauces were good, but honestly, they could’ve been better. Either way, a great dessert.

But it was the Vins de Fruits that impressed me. I’m not one for alcohol desserts, but this dish was so incredibly fresh and fruity, again made warm with the cinnamon and star anise. It was so fragrant that it was like perfume. Again, another surprising dish.

This place has so much character and diversity in both its menu and decor, it’s hard to imagine a more charming place to go in the city. It’s hip without making you feel out of place. It’s like a tiny European bistro because it’s in this little cobblestone alleyway and the service makes it a neighborhood gem. There’s also outdoor seating, but because of it’s size, I wouldn’t recommend it for a group larger than 6-8 people. And if you’re into that sort of thing, the bar was a super hot place to see and be seen on the Friday night we were there. Although personally, I wasn’t a fan of their special cocktails. A little too much spice, but that’s just personal preference.

We were truly entranced by this gypsy, for sure.

Fried chicken is like the king of fried foods.  When done right, it’s the perfect combo of juicy flavorful meat and crispy savory crunch. We’re lucky to have several places in the Bay Area that do it well, but all have their slight variations on the original classic.  Little Skillet’s version is classic with Southern flair.

There’s no ambiance to speak of, but that’s okay.  It’s literally hole in the wall, or actually a takeout counter where you walk up to order and take your food away to eat either out on the sidewalk across the street or back to the office.

My friend and I decided to take our eight piece chicken meal with two sides (the macaroni salad with herb vinaigrette and seasoned fries) and buttermilk biscuits, home. We’d finished the fries before we even got home. Total car snacking food and they were great. And the ketchup was a nice sweet tangy sauce that tasted like it was house-made (or at least a tinkered version of the bottled stuff).

The fried chicken was probably the best classic version I’ve had in the Bay Area, to date.  It had a perfectly crisp skin that wasn’t to thick (my friend said it was like really good pork rines) and a wonderful flavor.  It had a tinge of paprika, black pepper and cayenne pepper along with a slight smokiness.  My theory is that it was Old Bay Seasoning they used in the flour coating.  The best part is that the meat was juicy and flavorful, not dry or tasteless like some fried chicken can be.  The skin was tasty, texture was great, and the meat was perfect.

The buttermilk biscuits were nothing to scoff at either.  They were so buttery and good that they almost tasted like a croissant!  My only complaint is that they weren’t warm and there was no honey to go with them.  That would’ve sent me over the moon.

I was also impressed with the macaroni salad, though my friend wasn’t a fan of the herb dressing.  I loved it.  It was fresh and perfectly seasoned, not gloppy or heavy like most pasta salads.  The perfect foil for a heavy chicken and biscuit meal.

You could tell the quality in all their ingredients, including the organic local chicken they use.  And though they’re known for their long lines at lunch (they’re only open 11 am – 2 pm), we must’ve missed it since we arrived at 1:30 and there was no line to speak of (and parking on Townsend was easy-peasy).  If I’m in a decadent mood, I’ll try the chicken and waffle combo next time around.