Off The Grid – North Berkeley Bart

I come here every Sunday evening. My Sunday ritual. This is the place to be at before the weekday begins.
Does it attract people that come out from BART? Yes it does. There are people that come but do not stay at the market long. Maybe it is windy or they want to bring food home.

Smaller than most Off the Grid gatherings but the variety of food trucks will do. The last we were there, we tried a rotisserie chicken from a truck and it seemed too ordinary to garner all the raves it received from previous customers.
This one is nice to hang out at because of its location and the chairs and table set up off to the side.

I was so glad when this OTG got set up. I agree with some previous posters are no longer a way to get good cuisine at cheap prices (I’m sometimes surprised by how expensive food truck fare can be!) but there are a few vendors here that show up that I love seeing.
Liba Falafel is a good reason to go to this alone. With their crispy, fresh falafels with incredible toppings, as well as the garlic lime sweet potato fries, I always look forward to OTG.
Kasa Indian was a great addition to the mix.
The cupcake place and the frozen custard spot are also top notch.
Why you’d pay more for some tacos to eat them in a parking lot out of a food truck is not really understandable to me. But hey, if folks want to do it, go for it.
But the diversity here is key, and it’s very family friendly.

I’m definitely biased in this review, in that I live two blocks from the event and love me some food truck food.
Off the Grid, an event that I’d become familiar with via various spots near work in SF, moved into Berkeley a couple months ago. The trucks surround a parking lot at the North Berkeley BART station. There are a ton of chairs, a DJ or live music, and of course the food trucks themselves.
The variety is good (and getting better). It seems like there are two major rotations of the same food trucks, and some new ones rotate in and out. No Señor Sisig, sadly, but Liba Falafel, WhipOut!, and Bacon Bacon are staples.
The crowd is definitely a slice of the neighborhood — lots of families and Cal Students are in the mix.
Dog-​friendly venue, but heads-​up — there are a lot of delicious food scraps in the parking lot, and tons of kids with sticky fingers looking to pet your pooch.

This is a very mellow «Off the Grid.» I usually attend the El Cerrito version, so I’m used to a lot of people and long lines. Because this one is less attended, there are MUCH shorter lines and lots of ample parking. However, there are also not quite as many trucks as El Cerrito, so be sure to check out their website to make sure there’s something you want to eat that evening.

I’m FED UP! … so to speak ;) with FOOD TRUCKS!
The definition of «Street Food» has always been, and should be: Cheap. Quick. Easy.
IT IS NOW NOTA!
Cheap? Hell no. Tiny portions and high prices.
Quick? Not. Wait in line for 20 – 40 minutes for duck buns? I’ll pass!
Easy? (see above)
Low overhead, no brick and mortar, quick turnover; so why is it I can get:
Better food /​Larger portions /​Same price or LESS, at a regular restaurant?
Well hon, I’m here to tell ya:
Food Truck culture has been usurped by greedy entrepreneurs pandering to yuppies and wanna-​be hipsters (Oh– come to think of it, that pretty much describes the Bay Area these days; the heart and soul has been sucked right out, for the sake of $$$.
Remember the good ol’ days of cheap tacos and hot dogs, etc?
THEY — ARE– GONE, my friends!
Because it’s style over content: Unilocal the place on your Me-​phone, drive up from Silly-​con valley and make the scene. stand in line and look desperately hip… GET — A — LIFE!

Tonight we enjoyed,
Kasa Indian — $ 3 mango lassi, a bit yogurt but not bad. Also, enjoyed saag paneer roll for $ 6. Not very creamy, good flavors, but a bit far from tasting like saag paneer.
Whip Out! — sliders; veggie option was a smashed pea-​based patty; pass
Casey’s Pizza — no single slices; only 2 large or a complete pie, too much for the two of us; pass
Burr-​Eatery — «Sonoran» style Mexican food. Three types of veggie (but not vegan). Got the carne asada and smashed bean, two for $ 9. Small but good.
Lexie’s Frozen Custard — line was too long on this nice summer evening. Pass
Lobsta Truck — $ 13 + $ 3 for lobsta roll and Maine root soda. Soda was relish. Lobsta roll was OK but needed salt. Recent had better at New England Lobster Co. in Burlingame.
No Worries — Vegan filipino food. Two small lumpia for $ 3. Tasted like egg rolls. Wished we had more sweet n sour sauce.
El Porteno — Empanadas. Were too full by this time to order. Pass.
Easy parking (it’s a BART station), decently quick service, great vibe. Small but good selection. Lots of chairs, curbs to sit on, and decent live music as well. Many vendors — but not all — use Square so able to use credit card. Will come again! Sure beats cooking at home on a Sunday evening.

Off the Gird-​North Berkeley is now at the North Berkley Bart station, not in the food ghetto. sundays now instead. parking is available albeit may require some driving around
vendors (⁶⁄₈):
–bacon bacon
–dock of the bay
–voodoo van
–cupkates
–lib’s falafel
–smokey and the oyster guy
notes:
–not so busy near 6, short, if any, lines
–finding parking feasible but time consuming.
3 stars if i didn’t find parking.

The food was not what I expected it to be considering it is pretty pricey. The portions are EXTREMELY small. I particularly didnt like that after my meal, it left me more hungrier than anything.
The lines are soooo long. This is not really the place for me considering all the food isnt what I usually eat. I ended up going to Mcdonalds afterwards.

Hooray for OTG in the East Bay! I hadn’t been to an Off The Grid event in years, so it was really cool to see how it’s grown and shaped up with so much organization and infrastructure. Lots of chairs, good crowd control, free parking for cars & bikes, and a perfect variety of food truck options (about 8 total).
The North Berkeley BART station is, surprisingly, a really great location because it’s away from the hustle & bustle of downtown, and has nearby views of the Berkeley hills. Last week, they had a jazz band playing and it made for a really lovely evening: eating lobster rolls while the sun was setting over the hills, chill music setting the scene, and happy families chowing down on street eats. Quite an experience!
We tried the Lobsta Truck, since it’s new to the Nor Cal food truck scene. It’s probably the most expensive truck at OTG, but my goodness, those rolls were divine! I tried the crab roll with light mayo (you can choose butter or mayo for the rolls; they’re mixed to order). My date had the lobster roll with butter. I actually thought the crab was more flavorful, and the bread they use is perfectly soft, lightly buttered and toasted. I could have eaten two, easily.
The lobster bisque was way too creamy, and not flavorful enough for my taste. Kind of like eating heavy cream with a hint of seafood flavor. So lesson learned, splurge on the rolls and you’ll be very happy!

It works like this: 6 or so food trucks roll in each Sunday from 5−9pm, and chairs are provided. On our visit we saw lots of neighbors and had excellent (though somewhat pricey) selections. The place was hopping, with each truck’s cooks working top speed.
The only downside was the… Off The Grid… part. The place runs on gasoline generators that at first put us off a bit in ordering food. The wind changed a bit and it was fine.

Finally, the food trucks have arrived in Berkeley. Smart move for Off the Grid to move in college town of Berkeley, about 12 food truck are here every Thursday. The food is pretty good, a little more on the pricey side, since the food truck try to use local and organic food. Definitely check it out if you haven’t!
Avoid this area if you are driving, there is so much traffic!

In case u haven’t heard, this OTG event location won’t be returning next year. OTG North Berkeley is now CLOSED.
The official excuse story is that Berkeley plans to reconfigure that parking area, and construction begins in early 2013. So they won’t renew OTG’s permit for 2013.
But the strange thing is that the farmers market scheduled on Thursdays, at that very same spot will not be cancelled. How is the FM different? If the city can keep one event, then they have the ability to keep both. I think they lied and chose not to.
At the same time, Berkeley city’s manager had stated that nearby restaurants had complained to him about revenue loses: …losing as much as «$ 1,000 worth of business». Really? the OTG event is only 3 hours long.
That sounds like wishful thinking and BS from restaurants (assuming that city manager wasn’t exaggerating). Only a prison cafeteria knows exactly how many customers they’ll have each day. I believe the restaurants were jealous of the long lines they saw at the food trucks, and assumed that those people could have dined at their place instead.
If I had a reservation at Chez Panisse (not accusing them, just an example) or one of those Italian restaurants in that area. I’m not going to cancel that to go eat at a food truck. That’d be ridiculous!
The truth is that this OTG event attracted a lot more visitors who wouldn’t otherwise come to this remote area. I’ve seen some people who got tired of waiting in line and others who said the streetfood prices were too high for them, who then decided to dine at a local restaurant instead.
It’s just sad how some misinformed business owners are anti-​food truck. They shut down a really cool event.
U can suggest new or alternative OTG locations via email (
).

Off the Grid, you never fail to amaze me! I LOVE food truck gatherings. If you have never been to these type of events, you are sorely missing out. The food truck scene is quite a lively one, with food ranging all across the board, from yummy burgers to scrumptious Korean food, with fusions and new creations galore!
I’ve been to the Off the Grid in North Berkeley a couple times now, and have never been disappointed. It’s located across the Safeway north of the UC Berkeley campus, with a decent number of trucks every time.
On my latest venture, I stopped by the Koja Kitchen truck for a tasty order of BBQ pork on rice patty buns. A very interesting concept, and all the elements worked well together. The pork had an amazing flavor and texture, and the rice patties were not burnt.
Whenever I find myself back in Berkeley, I’ll always save room for this amazing food venue!

I love the idea of food trucks and eating outside. I just had to check out the North Berkeley location since I was in the area and was hungry after spending a day trekking around the Berkeley Marina. This is an overall review for the concept of OTG.
LOCATION
Shattuck and Rose is a 15 min. walk from the downtown area, which isn’t too bad of a journey.
ATMOSPHERE
I like how they set up chairs, tables, and provide tarps for ppl who want to sit on the grass to eat. It’s only a one block radius, so maybe they can expand sometime in the future. It did get super crowded around 7−8pm, which makes it hard if you want to eat with a bigger group of people.
FOOD
Different variety of vendors – from BBQ, asian fusion, mexican, indian, cupcakes. Some trucks offer gluten free and veggie options, so keep an eye out for those if you have dietary restrictions.
PRICES
Okay you have to understand that many of these trucks are operated by local restaurants. And many of them try to maintain a sustainable and organic menu. Therefore, the prices are going to be a bit on the moderate side. But hey, you’re paying for the experience as well as the food, so I say it’s a pretty fair deal.
This is a pretty unique eating experience, so I’d definitely come check it out again. And they’re opening another site on Southside near the old Intermezzo site (sighhh, a tear still comes to my eye when I think of that place), so OTG is now accessible all over Berkeley.

There are usually about 8 – 10 trucks parked at this OTG mid-​week.
I’ve been here recently to grab something that could deliver with quick turnaround (date with the Rep)! Though I really wanted to try this korean truck (whose name I now cannot recall), the line was just too long for what I could afford. Default: Hapa SF. Ordered sisig tacos. Have had them before at OTG Ft Mason.
Sisig is delicious, but I honestly prefer that grilled piggie with rice. Altogether too salty for me in taco form. But marinade is right!
PS My 2^nd choice outside of mystery Korean place was Arki truck. They too had a solid line; but fortuitous for me, the latter were hangin’ around for the Larkspur FM, and I nabbed ‘em then. Very friendly guys, excellent chicken. More to follow…
PS it’s KOJA — that’s the name!

We went on a rainy night and it was fantastic. No crowds!
I had a BLT from 3-​Sum Eats — it was monstrously huge! The bread and aioli were good but the bacon was pretty fatty and there was too much tomato relish — and a gigantic slab of iceberg lettuce. Not the best thing on the menu.
My son had a plain burger and tasty garlic-​oil fries from Fiveten Burgers. He said it was awesome. Proof? It was pouring with rain and he ducked out from under the tent we were sitting under to hold his burger up to the sky and twirl in the rain, saying «I love this burger!»
For dessert we headed to the CupKates truck — he had the double chocolate and I had salted caramel/​chocolate. Super flavorful.
Total spent: $ 26. Seems like a lot but that’s a good value if you count all the fun that’s rolled in!

Love this location. North Berkeley is one of the areas that I just love to walk through because it’s just. Beautiful. Off the Grid is located at the end of Shattuck as it turns to Henry. It’s an awesome area for gatherings like these and farmer’s market (Thursdays).
Another reason why I love the location is because of the mixture of college and family atmosphere. There are a lot of college students (like myself) who come to feast after a hard day of classes, but there are also young families who come with super cute kids! SO CUTE! There was this cool balloon maker that made gnarly pieces such as a dragon with teeth! Even though I am allergic to balloons I couldn’t help but to take a closer look.
Live music for the little kids to do a little jig to. He was really awesomely happy and yodled with lotsa glee.
The food:
The Taco Guys: Yes, these tacos are pricey for tacos, but they are so UNIQUE! The ingredients are SO cool! I had the Maui Fish Taco and it was really great. The sauce was just too delish everything from the veggies and fish meshed perfectly together. Bf got the eggplant which interestingly had pomegranate seeds in them. Both were good, but a little difficiult to eat. Bring hand sanitizer!
KoJa: Japanese Korean fusion truck was very fancy indeed! Great presentation of the food with delicable pictures temping people to join the long line. By far the longest line for any of the trucks. My friend and I waited in line for awhile; it went relatively fast. I was pretty distracted by balloons and music, so it wasn’t boring waiting in line. Kamikaze friesss! It was an intereting twist on the chilli fries with Korean/​Japanese flair. Korean BBQ, kimchi, Japanese mayo, etc over wafer cut fries. MMM. I liked it. The absense of cheese which is sad, gives it less of a heavy feeling. REALLY wanted to try the mochimisu, which is… like italian/​asian? BUT I’M ON LENT FOR DESSERT. Sad face.
Senior Sisig: I wasn’t a fan of the Sisig taco. It might have been because it was the last thing I ate, but the fish taco is just too hard of an act to follow. Decent price though, I think my bf said it was $ 6 for 2. I would still much rather get the fish one though.
I really want to commend the worker of these trucks for the service. It was honestly one of the friendliest service I had gotten. The guy from the Taco Guys called everyone «love» and «sweetie» (minus the male customers) and the guy from KoJa made jokes and had smiles for days even though he must have been CRAZY swamped with such a long line. Really awesome.
One complaint I would have was that everything together was a tad bit too salty for my taste. I was thirsty for a couple of hours. I would definitely recommend bringing a bottle of water or to buy a drink. Still giving OTG a 5 star because even though food wasn’t perfect, all the other factors together made it lots of fun. I will come again with water and hand sanitizer prepared!

I went to Off the Grid yesterday around 5:15 — 5:30. It was pretty packed by the time I got there. There were about 7 – 8 food trucks there: Filipino food, falafel, burgers, Cupkates, Taco Guys, snowcone, and two others I don’t remember.
I ordered the Maui Fish Taco, Spicy Strawberry Lemonade, and Cinnamon Hibiscus Tea (??) from the Taco Guys. Then a Tiramisu Cupcake from Cupkates.
Maui Fish Taco: I’ll give it a 3.5. It was good, but it was slightly too salty. The taco part was not too dry. Slightly on the expensive side IMO; I feel like they are not worth $ 5 each.
Spicy Strawberry Lemonade: Funky name, yes. Tastes good, yes. I’m a big fan of spicy food, and this one is such a summery drink! The heat from the chili brings out the tangy-​ness and it’s quite refreshing. I’ll give this a 5.
Cinnamon Hibiscus Tea (??): I really don’t know if it was just juice or tea or what. At first it was an acquired taste. I’ve tried some type of herbal tea before and had this taste. Maybe it was coming out of a taco truck, so I had this reluctance to say that it’s very delicious. I saw a lot of kids enjoying it. It’s about a 3.5. It tastes a bit better when the ice melts a bit.
Tiramisu Cupcake: I might have mentioned from my other reviews that I’m not a fan of sweets. This cupcake is delicious! (Still too sweet in my books, but I did enjoy it!) The frosting on top reminds me of the whipping cream you would add in your tiramisu. Had that hint of coffee at the back of your throat. Maybe I’m a bit biased, since I do love to eat tiramisu. 5 if I don’t care about the price; 4 if I do.
Definitely come early. I saw long lines by the time I was done with my taco. Otherwise I would have tried more foods from Off the Grid.

Duh. The lines are long. That’s because Off the Grid basically a local food festival. Don’t come unless you’re willing to wait about 15 – 20 min for an order.
Now on to the food! I tried 3-SUM’s sandwiches, the Cuban and Turkey, and immediately fell in love! (Read that review here:
) Cupkates also deserved an honorable mention, but didn’t place high on the overall cupcake list. I prefer the Red Velvet over at Virginia Bakery.
One compliant I do have is that Off the Grid isn’t very eco-​friendly. They should have more compost and recycling containers as well as encourage all food trucks to use only biodegradable utensils and NOT plastic. Hey! It is Berkeley after all. Also, sinks to wash hands would be extremely helpful. Until then, I’m prepared to bring my own utensils and lots of wet wipes. Nothing will stop this gal from street food!