San Francisco Food Trucks

San Francisco is a good city to experience the food truck scene because it's not that hard to hunt the food trucks and options are diverse. We first went to the Fort Mason Farmer's Market  to catch a few...

 

We tried Happy Dumplings which had solid reviews on yelp. The long lines also helped in drawing us in but the food didn't live up to hype. 

 

Cabbage & Pork Dumplings ($3)

The dumplings lacked authenticity. It was dry and bland.

Green Onion Pancake ($3)

Better than the dumplings but that's not saying much.  

Good thing we also lined up at Roli Roti which offers healthy sustainable slow cooked chicken and pork. 

Roli Roti

RoliRoti Combo of Chicken and Potatoes ($7.50)

Juicy free range chicken with a side of potatoes. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Gourmet Porchetta Sandwich ($9.50)

Roli Roti always makes it on the list of the best SFO food trucks and their porchetta sandwich is the reason why. An explosion of flavors with its winning combination of succulent pork with crispy skin, caramelized onions, arugula, and chewy bread. The sandwich also oozes with natural pork juices making it a yummy but messy culinary experience. 

On a different occasion, while exploring Union Square, I spotted Señor Sisig, San Francisco Weekly's best food truck of 2012 & 2013! 

I got so excited because I've been wanting to try their famous sisig tacos ever since I heard of its existence a couple of years ago. It was also quite surreal to see the popular local dish sisig making waves in San Francisco. 

Menu

Though still very full from my lunch at Umami Burger (more on that next time), I made room to try their signature tacos.

Sisig Taco ($4)

 Señor Sisig's sisig taco was a revelation! They marinate the pork shoulder (not pork head) for over 24 hours, making the meat so tasty. The flavors are familiar but Señor Sisig managed to elevate our happy hour favorite with the use of  fresh lettuce and their own cilantro cream sauce.  Best of all, it's not greasy so you can probably pop a couple of tacos without guilt. 

Finally, we also hit El Tonayense, a Zagat rated food truck, on Harisson St. near Best Buy for authentic Mexican food. 

Tacos ($2 each)

There are a lot of  meat options at El Tonayense.  We tried the chicken, pork, and beef options for the tacos and enjoyed it all. 

Carne Asada Burrito ($6.50)

I don't usually enjoy the beans but  El Tonayense's burrito was so packed in flavor that I didn't mind. 

Super Quesadilla ($7)

My favorite from all the items we ordered. What made this quesadilla super was the inclusion of guacamole and sour cream.  Cheesy and hot with the right balance of acid.

For schedules and more information on the food trucks, see links below:

Happy Dumplings: www.happydumplings.com

Roli Roti: www.roliroti.com

Señor Sisig: www.senorsisig.com

El Tonayense: www.tonayense.com

You can also check out the website of Off the Grid here to know the schedule of weekly markets where food trucks gather.

In Theme with Jalapeño

Not wanting to deal with dirty plates and trash, the undomesticated lot that we are, decided to eat out for Pristine's bridal shower. 

Many options came to mind, but in the end, what mattered was that we do not stray from the Some Like It Hot theme.

I had a "light bulb" moment and remembered  that I once had lunch at a good Mexican joint, Jalapeño.

Not only did the name of the restaurant fit the theme lol, but its Ortigas location made it just a stone's throw away from Astoria Plaza, the venue of the bridal shower.

A bridal shower isn't complete without a few drinks. Mojito was our alcohol of choice.

Thanks to the mojitos, I really wasn't able to concentrate so I'll just leave pictures of the food that we had at Jalapeño.

Jalapeño Cantina Mexicana is located at The Food Street, Ortigas Home Depot, Julia, Vargas Pasig.  For more information contact 470-3474 or visit its facebook page.

Not for Purists: Agave Mexicana Cantina

The best experience I’ve had of eating Mexican food is at Mañana in Boracay. Nothing beats having the Boracay sunset as the backdrop while indulging in a taco or two. It’s not every day, however, that one could fly to Boracay for a blissful Mexican fix. We city folks have to make do with the crop of Mexican options available in Manila.

One of the more established Mexican inspired haunts here is Agave Mexicana Cantina. It’s a good place for decent Mexican influenced dishes whenever a craving hits and it’s exactly at Agave's Bonifacio High Street branch that I found myself one Saturday for Wamie’s birthday celebration and surprise announcement. I shared orders with my friend Dramin since both of us wanted light meals that night.

Burger ala Mexicana with Cheese (250php++)

The burger was a bit dried out but the big flavors of the patty were more than enough to compensate for its dryness. The burger tasted as if it were cooked on an actual grill giving it an authentic beef flavor. It also didn’t hurt that the fries on the side were made from real potatoes. I must say though that Agave didn’t attempt to give this undeniably American classic, a Mexican spin. Those who expect to have a little taste of Mexico with this burger will be sorely disappointed.

Shrimp and Crab Enchiladas (350php)

Agave’s version of enchilada was stuffed with only cheese, sautéed onions, and meat (crabs and shrimps in our case). Foodies who are familiar with Mexican cuisine might raise an eyebrow with Agave’s take on this popular Mexican specialty as enchiladas are commonly known to be filled with just about everything. I didn’t mind the lack of authenticity though since one bite of Agave’s enchilada and I knew that we had a winner! The enchilada had the perfect balance of sweet (shrimps and crabs) and salty (cheese) giving it a good solid taste. I was able to devour my share of enchilada in no time and its scrumptiousness also made me forget about the lackluster Mexican red rice that came with the dish.

While you won’t find authentic Mexican flavours in Agave Mexicana Cantina, it’s a place that I would still recommend to no fuss eaters who simply appreciate good food.

Agave Mexicana Cantina is located at Bonifacio Hight Street (near Nike) Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Visit www.agavecantina.com for more information and locations.