We still had five blocks to walk, but we could already smell the medley of exotic flavors wafting up the street. Sam Love and I were headed to the third annual SF Street Food Festival, which took over blocks and blocks of Folsom Street this past Saturday, bringing together street food vendors from La Cocina, San Francisco, and even a few from across the country to share edible wares with local foodies.
Signs lined the street, warning us to “pace yourself.” This was no joke. It was hard to decide where to start, but we chose to stick with the stars of the event: the entrepreneurial women of La Cocina. When we finally picked a vendor line to wait in, some of were snaking half way down the block.
We started with some tamales from Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas. They were creamy and delicate, and as Alicia put it with a huge smile on her face, “stuffed with love.” We could have eaten a whole suitcase full of those babies. Yum!
Then we moved on to a more tactile eating experience, stopping at Eji’s Ethiopian Gourmet for some spongy injera topped with lentils and cabbage. Using the bread as utensil, we scooped the perfectly spiced veggies up, letting them drip satisfyingly down our chins.
After a pit stop for some agua fresca, we made one more beeline to Los Cilantos, to grab an elote (how had I never had one of these before!), which is roasted corn on the cob, smothered in mayo and parmesan cheese. So good. So good!
I have no idea how many zillions of people showed up for the festival on Saturday, but I do know that everyone at the stands was working their butts off to make sure no one went home hungry.