Meals on Wheels: The Food Truck Movement

My experience with the Chairman Bao Food-Truck at an intersection in San Francisco was all too memorable and delicious to be omitted from my food-related accounts of the past week. (pictured above- both from Chairman Bao's Facebook page)

We happened upon the Chairman Bao food truck amongst a cluster of others, occupying a small intersection at McCoppin and Valencia Streets in San Francisco. Other trucks in the market offered Indian cuisine, Vietnamese sandwiches, Mexican food, and ice cream from a local dairy. The area between the ring of trucks was filled with plastic folding chairs, continually re-arranged in new clusters by each set of patrons. 

Similar scenes are part of a growing food-truck phenomenon, found in cities and neighborhoods nationwide. I have seen them crop up in my hometown in Durham, North Carolina and countless places in San Francisco, where they appear to have particularly strong patronage and good organization. 

These mobile restaurants have actually chosen to serve their foods from a truck and travel between several local locations, in this story, within the Bay Area. Who knows the real motive, but I'm guessing the investment in out-fitting a truck versus opening a restaurant is lower, and changing locations to follow demand allows for a more consistent stream of customers.

The ability for these restaurants to move is also their Achilles' heel. To help with the reliability of their availability, most trucks have Facebook profiles and/or websites to catalog their upcoming schedule including the intersections at you can find them and menu offerings.

The most important point to make is that the food is actually good. By no means has quality been compromised by the fact that the kitchen fits in a truck. In fact, in San Francisco in particular, most trucks consider their food gourmet. Serving good food is essential to attract loyal diners who either follow the truck's whereabouts or return to a regularly scheduled spot.

Chairman Bao's Asian-inspired dim sum sandwiches, available on either baked or steamed rolls, were absolutely incredible. We tried the authentic steamed rolls, which look like a small dough-y pita and taste somewhat like a sweeter pancake. The food and flavor combinations were like nothing I've ever had before and couldn't have been more (as their Facebook says) "savory and addictive." Five star meal.

We tried four little sandwiches: the steamed pork belly with pickled daikon (my favorite), Sesame Chicken with Scallion and Bok Choy, Chinese Spiced Duck Confit with Fresh Mango Salad, and another pulled pork sandwich not listed on the menu below. As a girl from North Carolina to whom pulled pork equals flavors of Carolina Barbecue, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised with how good pulled pork can taste with entirely different, asian-inspired flavors. 

Bottom line: YUM. Don't be afraid to try your local food truck, great surprises may await. If you want more assurance, look into it first! Many food trucks have an online presence, and most likely, online reviews to point you in the right direction. 

Check out Chairman Bao Food Truck's Facebook Profile for more information.