Off the Grid: North Beach

Great little neighborhood tradition. We get the diverse food truck experience from savory sausage makers, cultural faves featuring German/​Filipino/​Peruvian/​Hawaiian (and more!), and fusion cuisine like Korean Tacos to the sweet end of the spectrum (such as Cream Puff trucks and custardy French Toast Croissants topped with berries and vanilla syrup!). The last of the events are happening in Oct 2014… as the playground is being closed indefinitely due to renovation plans. Not sure when the tradition will start up again, but guessing at least 6 – 8 months. Some of the great memories thusfar have been «sponosor your local school» nites… I often go to support Jean Parker Elementary (where my nieces/​nephew attend). Franicis Ford Coppola supposedly was filming a scene one time, too… and there was a cast dressed in 50s clothes and old 50s cars parked on the blacktop… and the crew ate at OTG with the rest of us… was quite fun. But this is North Beach, and anything goes! :)

This place is definitely really awesome. They have multiple food trucks set inside the park with seating available. There is a good variety of different trucks with something you can surely find you’ll like. The koja and madd mex trucks were really good. I wish they had a place like near where I live. One of the better eating experiences I had in sf.

Any San Franciscan who knows anything about the local food scene should already be familiar with Off The Grid– a collection of food trucks that descend upon a specific venue at specific time to bring tidings of joy to all who are in that area. There’s the popular Off The Grid’s, like Fort Mason and The Presidio. Then there’s the lesser known ones like the North Beach OTG located at Joe Dimaggio Playground every Wednesday from 5 – 8.
I was lucky in that I discovered it on accident. Was heading down to play tennis and saw the food trucks as I was entering the playground. How genius is that? Ball a bit and then eat at food trucks! Because it’s lesser known, it’s not very crowded which is nice. But part of the appeal of OTG (to me at least) is the rowdiness and crowds that appear whenever these food trucks gather. I talked to one of the organizers and it’s pretty clear that they are also looking for ways to spread the news that OTG is in North Beach each week.
The day I went, I found my favorite Chairman Mao truck and got myself some buns. One of the trucks gave me and a friend each a free churro right before they wrapped up and headed out. The friendliness is alive and well at this OTG, it just needs the crowds.

Nice, quaint location. I really like the large space. There’s always a good lineup of food trucks.

This is my first time going to Off the Grid. I always envision it to be crowded and no place to sit to eat my food. However, this North Beach playground one was pretty not crowded. I think that night had about 8 trucks total with Korean, Mexican, American foods, etc. I know there was a dessert place too. There was a lot of kids running around, yelling and screaming and whatever.
Anyways, we tried Koja Kitchen because I have heard so much about it. I got their short rib burger and Tiramisu. I would like to try other trucks next time. I think they will have it every Wednesday from 5−8pm. Would definitely come back!

Time to kick back and relax with some good food truck grub!
Even though this Off the Grid location isn’t as spacious as the one that is held in Fort Mason, this place still serves its purpose. They rotate about 6 – 7 food trucks every Wednesday and stays open till 9pm. They have limited seatings and a couple of tables, but the event still suffices. This place is small and intimate. I like how it is not crowded.
Some food trucks that were here:
Koja Kitchen
Slider Shack
Tres Truck
The Chairman
Lumpia Hapa SF
Garden Creamery
Cheese Gone Wild
The Taco Guys
Crème Brulee Cart… and etc.
My favorite new discoveries that I thought was undeniably delectable: Korean Beef with Pineapple Koja and Kamikaze Waffle Fries from the Koja Kitchen and Maui Taco from The Taco Guys food truck!
All in all, bring a group of 3 – 5 people to pick and share the selections and wind down!

Didn’t realize it was inside a school’s yard, but parking was easy to find around this area which was great. There weren’t as many food trucks as I hoped in comparison to when they host at Fort Mason. The crowd was full of families with lots of kids and doggies! Not as crowded as most Off-​the-​Grids that I’ve been to but maybe because of the neighborhood and less food trucks to choose from. I had the pork belly from the Chairman and had their pork belly which was as good as I last tried it. I also tried the «Pull Over» from the Boneyard food truck, which had pork, bacon flavoring and a sunny side-​up egg on top. Nothing special to me but it came with two pieces of candy and a free side of potato salad. Before leaving, my boyfriend got the BBQ pork slider and Moa Slider which was really cute looking but super messy to eat because the meat was overruling the small bun. Again, nothing special. Next time I come, I will try out the other trucks for sure. Other than that, the customer service on all 3 trucks that I went to were super friendly and patient.

Great selection of food trucks every time I go. Great place to bump into new people as well. Bring a sweater!

Love this little food truck pod, conveniantly located near our new house!

North Beach Park is a GREAT location for OTG, sadly there aren’t enough trucks. Usually only 5 – 6 of the same trucks each week but it’s real friendly and well organized. Also, the only OTG where Chairman Bao attended and there wasnt a gigantic line.

Undoubtely and undeniably my favorite Off The Grid location. I’ve been to two other OTG locations, Fort Mason, and the now closed North Berkeley. The new North Beach loccation resembles the intimacy of the North Berkeley location. It’s small and not overly crowded and parking isn’t nowhere near a hassle as Fort Mason. I think the inside of the Joe DiMaggio playground is a prime location for the covergance of eight food trucks.
The first time I visited OTG North Beach, I treated myself to the holy lobster roll from Sam’s Chowdermobile. The $ 17.50 delicacy epitomizes everything Sam’s stands for, which is to serve authentic New England style seafood. If you’re unfamiliar with the lobster roll, it consists of delicious Maine lobster that is lightly tossed in warmed butter on a toasted bun. The sandwich is so mouthwatering delicious that it’s been featuerd as one of the Top 5 Sandwiches in the country by «The Today Show.» Although the sandwich packs PLENTY of flavor, I like to add douse mine with tobasco to give it an extra kick.
Unfortunately, the first time I visited OTG North Beach it began to sprinkle. However, OTG does a good job of providing canopy tents for its food truck lovers. There’s bathrooms on site and were cleaner than one would expect. More importantly, the laid back vibe of OTG North Beach is simply great and a far difference from the chaos of OTG Fort Mason. I’ve made a conscious effort to go every Wednesday after school, but their limited 3 hours makes it difficult at times. Lastly, I did have a less than stellar meal with Kung Fu Tacos my last time around, but that isn’t so much a reflection of OTG but of the vendor itself.
Pros:
+ It’s OTG!
+ Great location
+ Small and intimate
+ Great vibe/​ambiance
+ Seating/​tents
+ Food trucks always vary
+ Parking isn’t too difficult
+ Bathrooms
Cons:
— 3 hours only

Despite signing up with the event’s newsletter for a while, I haven’t been able to attend many Off-​the-​Grid food trucks/​vendors events. Most of the events take place during lunchtime in the city’s financial district, an area I don’t go at all. And during dinner, most events occur outside of San Francisco.
But within a month and thanks to fellow Unilocaler: Luis C, the Off-​the-​Grid organizer has brought a fleet of selective food trucks to historic North Beach Playground on Wednesday night for dinner.
Some of you know what I do on most nights. So I have taken my break from my usual and decided to bring my daughter to this food truck event for dinner. What we see are seven of the most popular food trucks parked in the play area and next to the famous swimming pool facility.
Of the seven, we grabbed food from two of them. We had the popular pulled pork sandwich and side of Yucca fries from the Sanguchon Peruvian food truck (one of my favorites) and a $ 9.00 Garlic Pork over Fried rice dish from the PhatThaiSF truck. As many of you read from my review of the Peruvian food truck, the pulled pork sandwich is still one of favorites. My sandwich:
My daughter’s first taste of the Peruvian sandwich is truly one she will never forget. She also made a mocking remark on the logo of the pig of the food truck. «No, I don’t look like that pig!» Truck’s logo:
The Thai truck was my first time and that fried rice was good with the grilled pork. I thought the dish was pretty good. Despite not a Thai-​food person, I may try other dishes from this Asian Truck. Thai dish:
Among other trucks, there are Five-​Ten Burgers, An-​the-​Go noodle truck, KoJa Kitchen, Cookie Time, and Fins on the Hoofs from Wednesday night’s gathering. The event in North Beach was a huge success and will be at this location for a while on Wednesday nights with 7 – 10 rotating food trucks.
You need to sign up with the Off-the-Grid’s newsletter and receive E-​mails for upcoming events and follow where the food trucks travel.

OTG: North Beach
Organizer website:
Hours: Wednesdays 5−9pm
8 – 10 food trucks
Today was opening day for OTG North Beach, joining other dinner time OTG events in SF (Upper Haight, and Fort Mason). It’s a welcome addition for residents, and seemingly propitious timing too. Same day as the SF Giants win over the Tigers in game 1. Go Giants!
The food trucks park inside the Joe DiMaggio Playground (multi purpose courts area), located on the same block as the soon to be renovated tiny North Beach Public Library. Enter on Lombard street.
Unlike other OTGs, the site was suggested by neighborhood groups. The only restriction is no Italian foods, so they don’t compete with neighborhood restaurants. Therefore u won’t see any pizza or panini trucks. I love that food trucks bring a wider variety of dining options to this area.
Not much street parking available. The Muni #30 bus stops in front of the library. And the Powell-​Mason cable car stops nearby, at Columbus and Lombard. My reviews for individual trucks are posted separately.
Just for reference, the North Beach farmers market happens on adjacent Mason street, Sunday mornings.