When the group of women who run La Cocina, a Mission District food-business incubator, launched the San Francisco Street Food Festival two years ago, they underestimated how popular the pavement-cuisine phenomenon had already grown – and the event drew thousands more than expected. Last year it expanded greatly and still filled all available space with hungry revelers curious to check out portable offerings from a mixture of restaurants, wandering vendors, and independent food businesses. This year it's bigger still – with additional street space, a school parking lot, and a new park – yet we still expect the space to be packed because the offerings are just that good. Vendors include popular brick-and-mortar establishments Pizzeria Delfina, the Slanted Door, La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, and Nettie’s Crab Shack. They serve alongside buzzed-about street food businesses such as the Crème Brulée Cart, El Huarache Loco, and Hapa SF. Cart and truck aficionados take note: A number of out-of-town guests roll in, including Seattle’s Skillet Street Food and L.A.’s Global Soul. It's the ultimate day of grazing.
Sat., Aug. 20, 11 a.m., 2011