Off the Grid: Civic Center

Seoul of Taipei… BOMB! Try the pork belly taco and the short rib bowl.

Ça c’est du food truck ! C’est sur la place du civic centre que j’ai pu tester «Liba» un food truque Libanais parmi d’autres à cet endroit. Bien situé, il sera parfait pour une pose déjà après une promenade à coté de l’hôtel de ville ou une visite du musée des arts asiatiques.
Prévoyez 5 – 10 bonnes minutes de queue et le même temps pour recevoir votre commande. Mais ça vaut le coup, promis ! Et puis si vous êtes un touriste comme moi, vous pourrez vous amuser et entrainer votre anglais en écoutant les conversations de boulot des travailleurs de SF, souvent basé sur l’argent…
D’ailleurs, je vous conseille de prendre un menu avec un sandwich falafel, ou bien une bonne salade avec aussi des boulettes falafel extrêmement bien cuites, ça fait du bien. En accompagnement, testez les frites de patates douces à l’ail. Vous pouvez payer en cash ou par carte. (10 – 12 euros max) si vous payez pour cash, n’oubliez pas que vous pouvez donner le change aux nombreux SDF à coté de ce lieu… Une fois servis, vous pouvez remplir votre salade ou votre sandwich avec de multiples bons aliments comme des carottes râpées avec de la bonne sauce, sauce piquante, oignons cuits où frit, cacahouètes… Une dizaine de choix super pour bien se remplir le ventre ! Vous pouvez demander à la serveuse (qui est super-​sympa) une boisson faite maison, je suis sûr que c’est une chose à tester.
Vous pouvez désormais déguster votre menu, dans l’herbe, chez vous, sur une chaise… N’oubliez pas de prendre deux trois serviettes et une fourchette, ça sert toujours, et j’en parle d’expérience ! (ma nouvelle chemise…)
Bref, une bonne expérience food truck lors de mon séjour à SF. N’hésitez pas à me faire savoir si la boisson fait maison est bonne, j’ai oublié de la commander…
Coup de coeur: Le fait qu’on puisse prendre une infinité de garnitures!
Coup dans le coeur: le monde, le monde, le monde…

Forget what I said about popularity waning! OMG! Crazy long lines on this beautiful sun shiny day! Looks like even some Twitter folks forsake their free dining, and The Market options!
Cheers!

I haven’t had the pleasure of really lingering here after a purchase because I’m usually in a rush when I’m in the area, but I’m still grateful that this is here. It’s nice having options for lunch, even if they’re not permanent.

This is another great location for Off the Grid. I was at the Main Library and decided to pop on over for a late lunch — perfect! The homeless are quite prevalent though in this area (the only drawback), but if you mind your own business and don’t bother them, then they won’t bother you!

Just stopped by for a bite, had no idea what to eat. They had an excellent selection of food trucks and it was right in front of city hall. I grabbed a «Hella Vegan» burrito from, «Curryup Now.». Fantastic. Lax and chill atmosphere, short wait time, excellent vibes. Hella recommend going.

Sumptuous chicken gravy with brown rice. Impulse lunch on a lazy afternoon.
If you’re around the civic center area, and looking for some to-​go inexpensive option, this ones worth checking out.
Or even the other food trucks lined up with assorted cuisines.

Food — The Caribbean food was simply aweaome. The right flavors and good meat amd shrimp.
Service — Fast and well managed.
Ambience — Great place for a nice day.
Cost — $ 12 per pax.

What a great experience for the whole family. We ate at Bacon Bacon SF truck and loved the food. They set up chairs which makes it more comfy. The BBQ pork sandwich was moist and flavorful. The bacon fried chicken sandwich had a thick and moist chicken breast with a crisp outer layer. I definitely recommend the porky fries.

Rebecca Black wishes it were Friday every day.
That’s because the Friday edition of OTG @civic_center features an incredibly scrumptious lineup of your favorite foodtrucks.
Senior Sisig? Ko-​Chi-​Viet truck? Bacon?
You’ve had a long week at work. Do yourself a favor and enjoy the bounty our SF food trucks have to offer.

Love the food truck scene. The city and people of San Francisco really do a great job supporting the small merchants.

I did not realize how neat it was to have food trucks every Tuesday and Thursday since they were right outside the office. I think it is cool they change up the trucks so it wasn’t the same trucks every week. They bring chairs and tables, but honestly sometimes it isn’t a pretty sight to eat food while transients are drunk and worshipping the sun. So sometimes i would take the food inside and eat it in the office.
Other times I would walk over to City Hall and chill if the weather is right.
I do understand the trucks need to pay make their profit but some of them have some pricey plates like $ 10-​$ 12! Yipes, that’s why sometimes I wouldn’t do Off the Grid.
Overall, Off the the Grid is great thing in SF. It give the opportunity for different food trucks to go to different parts of the city. Civic Center/​UN Plaza is a perfect spot!

Three little words: Bacon, Bacon, Bacon.
I haven’t heard that the Haight Street version is back yet — I’d wanted to try it after hearing great things. Good stuff.
The whole menu looked delicious. I had «The Bird» — a Turkey, Provolone, Avocado, Cole Slaw and (yes) Chicken-​Fried Bacon sandwich. I should have had the Fried Green Tomato BLT. The Pork Belly sandwich sounded good too. I also had the fries, which were topped with freshly grated parm and fried with herbs. Very good.
Unlike Off the Grid UN, there were nice chairs under the trees. It probably didn’t hurt that it was the most beautiful afternoon ever. And, I saw a few newly married couples emerging from City Hall.
Only knock — a long wait. But, hey, it was worth it. I’ll be back next Friday for more food truck (mis-?)adventures.

This is probably my least favorite of the Off the Grid locations, and it still rates four stars. OTG always has a good selection of options and I love they create the little temporary space at each venue.

A friend had recommended the food trucks to us during our trip to San Francisco. I had to check things out and I’m so glad we did! The Off The Grid event is a gathering of food vendors, primarily food trucks. We were lucky to go on a Tuesday because they offer live music only on Tuesdays. They set up chairs for the patrons as well so that we could sit and listen while we ate. It was a wonderful sunny day in San Francisco which made our visit out to the Civic Center area so much better! There were about five food trucks when we went. The best about the trucks is that they take credit cards as well as cash. So there is no reason to miss out on the food!

My friend and I decided to meet up here for lunch. There’s nothing like dining outdoors in December. Yeah, we’re nuts, but we had the sun shining on our backs to keep us warm, at least until we finished our meal.
There were 5 trucks there that day — The Chairman, Señor Sisig, Cupkates, Seoul on Wheels and Southern Sandwich Co. Given that we had both been to other OTG events, both of us had never tried the food form the Southern Sandwich Co and decided to split the pulled pork and the BBQ beef brisket sandwiches and some sides. The sandwiches were good, but the sides, especially the really dry hush puppies, could use some improvement. Perhaps an off day?
There were some tables and chairs available for diners and plenty of room in the area to grab a seat on ledges. As with other OTG events, there were trash, compost and recycling containers. The area was well maintained and the lines were short. They had a good variety of food there, which I’m sure was much appreciated by the folks in the area.
Metered parking is available in the area, along with a parking garage or two. If you love people watching, this is the place to do it while munching on some gourmet treats. On the day we stopped by we were watching folks set up some sort of hill or ramp and dump thousands of pounds of fake snow all over it for a family festival to take place the following day.
I do appreciate the consistency and professional manner with which OTG folks manage their events. I find them to be well run, clean and a great place to try some good food.

I absolutely LOVE Off the Grid! I’m so glad that they are helping out these brilliant chefs/​entrepreneurs showcase their cuisine. I also like how they are bringing live entertainment on sunny days.
I’ve been to at least 5 trucks now and I can’t wait to see more innovative street food.
Check Off the Grid’s facebook page to see if any of the trucks catches your fancy!
I blogged it:

Back to OTG but Civic Center location… 5 trucks at this location for lunch on Fridays & its still a hit.
Who was there? Chairman Bao, Cupkates, Seoul on Wheels, Japa Curry, and Southern sandwiches. Lunch schedule: 11:30a-230p
My party decided to split up and get 3 of everything. Our choices were Chairman bao, Seoul on Wheels, Southern sandwiches and Cupkates.
Southern sandwich had a deal for two choices of meats and two sides for $ 12.00. We ordered the pulled pork and beef brisket with bbq sauce, our two sides were coleslaw and hush puppies. Results? Pulled pork was a lil bit greasy but went well with the bbq sauce, the brisket? I wasn’t to fascinated with it. Their hush puppies tasted like curry? I don’t know if they were intended to taste like that. Sowee…
Chairman bao– the highlight of my lunch! Pork belly on a toasted bun. Not my first time, but ORGASMIC… love love love it, for my friends it was their first time, and they had the same response as me. LOL they even got seconds. OINK OINK
Seoul on Wheels-​bbq chicken, spicy pork, and bulgogi tacos. I’ve had better, I’m so in love with NAMU’s & Takorea’s tacos. Sowee
Cupkates– Shout out to Cupkates!!! Red Velvet & Salted Carmel made me feel like coming back for seconds!!! moist, flavorful popping cupcakes! Cukates, you never let me down =)
Next stop, I’ll be checking out the Upper Haight on Thursday evenings.

For the time slot (11 am-2:30 pm) & location, Off The Grid Civic Center is perfection. Five trucks serving lunch staples best enjoyed under the sun – the people who work in this area have something truly amazing to look forward to on Fridays.
Last week, in a neat row, were:
– curry up now: did not try
– an the go: eggroll $ 2, coconut shrimp 3 for $ 5. Loved the sweet & spicy dipping sauce.
– hapa sf: chicken adobo bahn mi, $ 7. A little too much bread, needed more veggies. Chicken had a nice vinegar flavor but I was mortified by the skin & fat I had to pick out.
– ebbett’s: did not try
– liba: they give out free samples of falafel… a little gritty & oily, made me glad I didn’t order a sandwich. I did try their sweet potato fries, $ 2, which was dressed with lime, garlic & cilantro. Not too crispy but the flavor was off the hook!
Walking distance from BART, decent prices, short lines when I was there at 11:45, the ability to try a multitude of flavors in one location – five stars!

It’s a great idea but they need to start rotating these food trucks more often bc now we’re kind of bored eating here. The only reason I will eat here is for the Japa Curry truck! The pork katsu curry is delicious, tastes fresh, curry is smooth & not too thick, and they give you generous portions.
The Seoul on wheels truck was bad last Friday. My coworker ordered the bulgolgi & her meat was dry & tasted like smoke. Now that makes me skeptical on trying their korrito/​Korean burrito. Maybe I’ll just get it with a different type of meat.

HOLYGUACAMOLE! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!
This location is so close to my workplace that I have decided to never bring lunch on Fridays again. (Not that I really do in the first place)
Even though there are and probably will be only 5 trucks or so, for this area it is plenty. Also the Civic Center Plaza is spacious so you’re not confined to a small space like at the Fort Mason Center.
I can’t really comment about the lines since I got there at 11am when it started. Haha. But I can say that the Sisig Fries from Señor Sisig are the bomb! OMG. It’s pretty much like carne asada fries and I say they’re lip-​smacking finger-​licking goooood!
If you Unilocalers are heading over there, let me know. I will join you! I may just go back for a snack later on! =D