SJ Eats

Lesson learned… I thought that SJ Eats would pair up with the San Pedro Square Market from now on… apparently not. On Saturday, SJ Eats shoehorned a set of food trucks into a small parking lot by the Peralta Adobe with limited seating. This is the exact situation that earned SJ Eats low ratings in the past.
The food trucks are still top notch. I would just go and make an adventure out of the experience and expect limited seating.

Sj Eats was happening 9÷17−9÷18. i was able to make one day and was pleasantly surprised to see the trucks parked in a line on the street in front of san pedro square. parking was easy, a block away.
lines were relatively short for ordering. the wait for the food was longer. figure 5 minutes to order, 10 minutes to wait. seating was available in the square.
locale: san pedro square (⁹⁄₁₈)
trucks present:
–mobowl
–Izit
–Le bon
–Sam’s Chowdermobile
–BBQKalbi
–House of Siam
–Soulnese
foodnotes:
–sam’s and house of siam had almost no line.
(sam was selling lobster roll @16.50, other entrée 9) —
–some vendors in process of getting credit card authorization.(le bon)

ATTEMPT #2 = SUCCESSFUL!
I was afraid that SJ Eats would be like last time, but my love of food drove me to go back anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t believe it! There was… S P A C E.
Room for lines? Places to sit? Knowing which truck you’re actually waiting for??? PRICELESS!
They still used the parking lot the first event was at, but this time they also used the adjacent street. The whole block was lined with food trucks. There were so many that I went to both the lunch and dinner session (again!).
Iz It — My FAVORITE truck there! I tried their combo platter that had a piece of everything they were serving. Their kickers (tacos) definitely had the KICK in them. Good for the spicy lover. The spam musubi is great. But their fried chicken is the star! The chicken is super moist while still having crispy skin on the outside! I wish I bought extra to bring home.
Seoul On Wheels — I saw «rib eye» and had to go for the bulgogi with kimchi fried rice. The flavor was there, but a little on the dry side. I was already full from the last truck so it was hard to finish the next plate.
Cabana Daves — I tried their Asian inspired ribs and tri tip sandwich. The rib was pretty good. I liked how you could taste the meat more than all the seasoning. But the tri tip sandwich was soooooo dry! None of the sauces they provided helped.
An The Go — This truck is owned by the infamous Crustacean Restaurant in San Francisco. You know I had to go for this! I was looking forward to their garlic noodles, but they ended up being too soggy. But their fried coconut shrimp had a lot of texture and was cooked just right. The dipping sauce was yummy. I also tried the five spice pork but it was way too salty.
Toasty Melts — A grilled cheese sandwich truck? YES, PLEASE! =D I tried everything they had that day. Their roasted bell pepper soup is DELICIOUS. It’s flavorful without being heavy. It tastes even better with a grilled cheese sandwich. Their basic four cheese grilled cheese is awesome. And if you want something different, go for their ABC (apple, bacon and cheddar) sandwich. Everything tastes better with bacon!
Southern Sandwich — I heard their hush puppies were good, but they were only OK. Their rib was more disappointing though. There was just something about it that wasn’t right.
I heard that they’re trying to make this event a weekly event, but I guess monthly will have to do now. Next time I hope Roli Roti comes! They can only get more organized as time goes by. I can’t wait for the next SJ Eats!

So I saw the reviews for the first event, and can’t really argue that being the very first one, things could’ve been run a little bit better. I myself stopped by, and once i saw what a mess it was… I just hung out a little bit before I ended up giving up and leaving. There wasn’t much experience besides that, so I didn’t bother writing up a review.
I had a few talks with Ryan prior to the second SJEats event, and was informed about his plans to make the second one run so much smoother. and smoother it certainly was! As I parked and approached the second SJEats event, it was obvious that they were able to obtain that much larger space. I also noticed the signs with the QR code, so for people with mobile phones that can read them. they can get instant access to a website that had information on the trucks on the event.
The improvement of dealing with lines, the amount of trucks and who came. were just amazing. Many of them came from the city, and most of them I had never had the chance to try them out until that day. Delicious food all around. and had to come back for dinner as well.
Can’t wait for the next one!

Definitely a huge improvement over the last event!
My friends and I got there maybe a half hour after dinner started (so, 5 – 5:30ish). There was a good crowd of people but not annoyingly so. I think the longest we had to wait for any kind of food was 10 minutes, if even that.
Seating can be a bit difficult. There was one long communal table facing the street, and a scattering of white folding chairs in the Peralta Adobe courtyard, where a live band was playing (nice touch, btw). We remedied this by dragging 5 chairs together and taking turns going on food runs and bringing it back to share with the rest of our group, so as not to lose our seats.
We actually got to eat quite a bit and were still satisfied, considering we shared everything amongst 5 people.
Here’s what stands out to me:
Treatbot — watermelon sorbet was amazing, the perfect palate-​cleanser
Curry Up Now — we ordered a paneer tikka masala burrito and they accidentally gave us chicken. It was still delicious! Tried their mango lassi for the first time. It’s a little more sour than I am accustomed to but I liked it (clearly, I ordered two)
Toasty Melts — ABC sandwich (Apple, Bacon & gouda Cheese) had all the perfect elements: creamy, sweet, salty.
Louisiana Territory — Catfish po’boy was yummy and spicy.
Kara’s Cupcakes — OK, granted I don’t exactly have to wait for a truck to get this one, but I adore their Smores Cupcake (chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow on top YUM), and I was glad to be able to share it with folks who hadn’t tried it yet.
I can’t remember which truck my friend got this from, but he also had these garlic noodles that were ahhhhh-​mazing. I also didn’t bother hitting up the WOW truck or MoGo since I’ve had them plenty of times (but would recommend for first-​timers).
I guess it helped that a lot of people were elsewhere watching the Pacquiao/​Mosley fight. That probably eliminated like ²⁄₃ of the potential crowd.
It’s very easy to run out of cash, so going forward I would advise folks to go to the bank beforehand or be prepared to go around the corner and hit up the ATM’s at the nearby bars, haha.
Good job this time around! I will definitely be back.

5÷7÷11:
I heard a lot of bad comments about the first event but since I missed it, I told myself there’s no way I’m not making it to this one.. . and I’m glad I did! The setup was decent, no long lines, lots of great food, and live entertainment! It was awesome! Yeah it’s still a work in progress, but I love what I see (more so what I ate), and I love the potential this idea has! The one bad thing I noticed was the giant elongated table that was literally like 30yrds long with no breaks in it. Seriously? Wtf is up with that??? There were more than enough chairs to split the tables up so more people could eat on a table rather than standing or sitting on the curb.
I literally at at 4 different trucks and I loved everything I ate! Grilled 3-​cheese and an apple bacon grilled cheese sangwich, chicken tikka masala burrito, tofu kangkong adobo sisig, shrimp and sausage creole over rice, fried catfish po’boy sangwich, and last but not least some really yummy bread pudding! =)
Yeah I’m a fatass, so what? COME AT ME! lmao Jk, I’m gonna pay dearly at the gym (and so will anyone within smelling distance).
Can’t wait to try it again! =)
Peace & Poi

SJ Eats Round 2 was such a successful overhaul!
Fortunately, I read about the free garage parking before 6 PM right next to the event location so getting there was a breeze. Thanks, SJ Eats guys and gals! I came around 11:30 AM expecting there to be chaotic lines and crowds again, but I was surprised to see that everything was in order!
The lines were controlled and there was so much more room to breathe! Instead of waiting hours just to get food from one truck, you could easily get something from every truck within like 30 minutes. I was also very happy with the addition of extra seating and live music!
Live music, great food, and wonderful weather all make for an awesome day. Good job, SJ Eats. You really outdid yourself today. Here’s hoping for another successful SJ Eats event!

Um no. Too many people, too small of a location– bad organization. Nothing more than standing in line for hours (according to friends who actually decided to wait) for food trucks that are always around anyways.
MUCHO LAMEOS!

Yea. Disorganized. But when I saw 4000+ ppl «attending», I knew I better get there early or not go at all.
Parked in the garage SJ Eats suggested, plenty of parking at 11:15am. Short walk to the small parking lot (I checked the areal photo and already knew this).
As I walked closer, I saw a long line, thinking it was just to get in… if it was, I’d probably leave. Was told it was for Sam’s Chowdermobile, what I wanted, so I waited in line anyways, I figured they’ll be popular.
Pinged another friend who I knew were coming here «early». They were ahead in line.
My friends got there about 11a, a good fifty or so bodies ahead of where I was standing… the event starts 11:30am! Seems many people planned to arrive early.
I waited where I was until I was «inside» the lot and then some. It was maybe 30−45min at this point. I pinged my friend to order for me, and I eventually went up to join them as I was getting bored and tired of people asking me what line that was. We waited another hour before it was our turn.
Anyways, we placed our order shortly before 1pm and got it a few minutes later.
As I left the «lot», I see the streets filled with people all the way back to the garage. There were folks eating in the parking garage, steps, sitting next to buildings, shady spot, etc. Driving out, many eateries nearby had people standing, probably disgruntled with SJ Eats and hungry.
As i walked back to the car, the idea of getting Lobster-​jacked crossed my mind. I held tight to my bag of two rolls.
Sam’s Lobster rolls were delicious and size-​wise larger than I expected. $ 16.50 ea. See photo.

cluster @#$@#$@#$#@
Mad love to the SJ Eats crew… but holy mother…
I ended up eating at Sonoma Chicken coop… and eventually strolling around the event. but lines were too long…
this definitely reminded me of Bobby Flay’s thing he had at shoreline…

EPIC FAIL!
I had to work in the morning but maybe that was a blessing in disguise since my friends who went during the day said it was super crowded and disorganized. One of my friends waited two hours for Chairman Bao! TWO HOURS for a teeny tiny pork belly bun?!! Bf & I were tryin to be optimistic for the dinner portion so we got there around 4:30 and found parking on the street. There were only about 4 trucks when we got there & no Roli Roti which we wanted. We waited in line for the Wow Truck. At least those guys were nice and gave out turon for the first 50 people in line to follow them on Twitter. Despite only four trucks there… lines were still long and a mess! Some trucks came around 5:10 & shortly before 5:30 we just gave up and left. Event organizers were definetely not on their ish! They need to take lessons from Off The Grid.
Off The Grid, I’ll never try to cheat on you again!

The Sunday Mercury Newspaper (under the Local section) gave SJ Eats such high compliments and review. Well, I think we ( Unilocalers) tell a different story. Here’s the breakdown of the event… and I really mean the word «breakdown»:
Location
Tiny parking lot with no dining accommodations. Yes, it street food. And everyone was physically eating on the asphalt and street corners. I was surprised how these food trucks squeezed into the lot.
Attendance
This was not a family friendly event. The twitters, bloggers, and the check-​iners were in full force. The average age group was your typical Asian high school /​college crowd. Once you see these kids urinating on the side corners of the alley ways it was time to go.
Crowd Control
No organization or direction for the food truck line up. You couldn’t tell what line you’re waiting on unless you asked the right people or followers.
Waiting for Food
This was greatest failure. There was no way I’m going to wait 45 minutes to two hours for food. This reminded me of waiting in line for a ride at Disneyland. Yes, I was part of the thousands that left frustrated during the dinner section of the event. Once you saw the sea of people, it was time to go elsewhere. For those that got some food, I give you kudos for sticking around.
Parking
I’ll give credit that parking wasn’t a problem. Our party found convenient parking on 3^rd street and walked about three blocks to the event.
One star
I’m awarding the organizers one star for the concept of the event and posting an apology on their official website. Its shows responsibility and lessons learned. Hopefully the next event will be presented a larger location with careful logistics planning. On the next event, I strongly recommend to arrive one hour before the lunch section and start early. Skip the dinner schedule — it’s way too crazy. Bring your own drinks, napkins, utensils, hand sanitizers, and chairs. After leaving the SJ Eats, our party visited the SJ Made vendor faire on San Pedro Square and Santa Clara street. This made up of the evening because of the cool custom t-​shirts only found in San Jose!
My food truck experience recommendations:
If you’re interested in finding these unique food trucks, I would suggest visiting their websites for their next stop or inviting them to serve lunch at your work site.
We had Mogo BBQ in Palo Alto a few times and it was well worth the visit (less wait and more opportunities to try everything they sell).
Mogo BBQ
Treatbot
Wow Silog Truck
Curry Up Now
Chairman Bao

LOL! 00

In some sense I feel sorry for the organizers because it was a mostly a victim of its own success. Demand exceeded supply by a wide margin. El Toyense was the best with their little tacos. The House of Siam line moved 6 feet in the first 45 minutes. Their siam burrito (yellow chicken curry) was very tasty although the chicken portion was paltry. WOW gave us free snacks for following their twitter feed but the AT&T network was so clogged we couldn’t even hook in. They were also somewhat more organized, allowing you to pay and get a number independent of the people working in the truck. The beef silog was terrible but the chicken silog was good and the garlic rice was really good.
just going to stalk the trucks via twitter and skip these events… truck it.

i dont want to repeat the same thing that everyone has said, but seriously, major epic FAIL. so dissapointed.
granted, this is san jose’s first year, and yes, we are san jose, and we get excited for events like these. i had heard from a friend on a friday night that went to the sf one, and said omg, i waited 15 minutes for the chairman bao food truck, but it was really organized cuz they had the line roped off. i thot, wow, 15 minutes is nothing! was hoping my experience would be the same. of course not. we get to the parking lot around 1, starving, and see an utter complete mess. we had no idea where the ends of each line were, and split up in groups of 3. id say there were at least a 100 people in each line, and they were branching off in every possible direction. it was a constant, are you in line for this? are you in line for this? to find the end of each line.
while standing in line, we heard sams chowder mobile had run out of the lobster roll sandwich (which id want to try), and after waiting a good 15 minutes and not moving an inch (except to move aside for people weaving in and out), we came to the conclusion, not worth the wait, and most likely the truck would run out of food by the time we got to the front. we all took off, and it looked like a good majority felt the same.
the restaurants near the lot were all packed. a friend of a friend, who ditched the event said the wait at old spagetti factory was an hour and 45 minutes! we ventured farther and farther for a better spot.
seriously, understand that this was the first year for this event here, but if you see 4,000+ people rsvp on facebook alone, need to get more organized!

MAN JOSE FOOD TRUCK FAIL!!!
Fortunately, I live in SF and can take advantage of the Off The Grid — Food Truck Gatherings that take place several times a week at various locations. However, wanting to try other food trucks that are exclusive to the South Bay, I gladly accepted my friend’s invitation to go yesterday.
I already knew it was going to be chaotic mess even before arriving as I saw people post «Tips» on Foursquare about the long lines and the event being disorganized.
The overall 2 STARS on Unilocal for this event doesn’t lie. As everyone else stated, the venue was way TOO SMALL and the trucks were non-​strategically placed. The space was like the size of a 7-​Eleven parking lot and food trucks were situated around the perimeter causing all the lines to collide with one another. It was basically a big mosh pit of confused people standing around.
I wanted to give Chairman Bao another chance since they’ve changed ownership, but a 2 hour wait – SERIOUSLY!!! Guess, I have another excuse to go to Happy Hour soon since they are normally outside of BloodHound Bar in SF on Wednesday nights.
We ended up leaving and passed by after eating nearby at Los Cubanos and saw some customers wearing a sloppily hand-​written sign that read: «Last Customer To Be Served» on their backs. Can we say, «TACKY»?

I agree with pretty much everyone and so happy that I wasn’t the only one to feel this way. It’s such a shame that a great idea for an event turned out to be soo sadly disorganized and chaotic.
My friends and I attempted to figure out the line situation, but gave up and decided to eat at a nearby restaurant.
The organizers should seriously reconsider this event or actually think about holding it at a bigger venue. Such a disappointment.
The other downer was the location of the SJ Made festival in the old Tied House location. Not enough room to stop and browse. The only positive note was on the way back to our car, we stopped in another SJ Made location and found a cool SF Giants shirt.
Epic Fail.

1 star for effort and good trucks. No stars for organization. Not even 2 hours of the event starting, there was no walking room. If you wanted sample any of the trucks, you would have been camping out the night before. My family and I didn’t get to sample anything.
Hopefully the next time this event will be more organized.

I came, I saw, I left.
Tiny space, tons of people, not enough food. There was absolutely no way of telling where to start lining up. I ran into some friends who had been in line for 30 – 40 minutes, and they were nowhere near the front. I stood there talking to them for about 5 minutes, and they didn’t even move.
Ended up going to Mmoon nearby, but apparently THEY had ran out of food because of all the SJ Eats people giving up on the food trucks. Then we went to the Brit for food, but their kitchen was so slammed from the SJ Eats crowd that it took about 2 hours to get food.
I feel like the majority of people trying to get food from SJ Eats just ended up elsewhere. So poorly organized…

I will not be re-​writing what everyone else mentioned already but…
SJEATS please learn from your mistakes this first time around…
1. NEED a bigger SPACE/​VENUE
2. Be more organized. Lines are EVERYWHERE because the place was so small… I kept on asking everyone what line they were in and some people didn’t even know where it ended or started! Waiting in line for 2 hours was not pleasant especially if you here some of the food ran out… WHY did I even come then?
Come SJ. I have faith in you to be like SF… We are not that behind in all the trends here.

I pretty much expected SJ Eats to be chaotic during lunch knowing that it was their first run and that the space was small from Google Maps. And chaotic it was! It was pretty much like stand in one spot and move forward and eventually, you’ll end up in line for something. LOL I think what a lot of folks weren’t prepared for was the fact that they opened a little early. I arrived not too long after 11:30am when it was supposed to start, and there were already long lines for everything! At that point I was really considering eating elsewhere, but since I drove all the way from South San Francisco, I stayed committed to the event.
Because it was really crazy and disorganized, I pretty much X’ed out any trucks that I’ve been to before and narrowed it down to Louisiana Territory and Babaloo. But looking for the line was tricky since the LT line was merging with the Babaloo line. Getting a little disgruntled, my sister and I decided to settle on Hapa SF since we somehow were at the end of the line and it was actually moving along pretty fast (
).
After finally getting our food at Hapa SF, instead of sitting down and eating somewhere, we just decided to go the Lousiana’s line and eat while waiting in line. That was a great strategy since we didn’t have to wait in line on an empty stomach. And then while waiting in line for Louisiana, I eventually found the Babaloo line and broke off from my sister while she stayed in line for LT. Whew!!!
Well, all I have to say is that it was a lot of work to try only 3 trucks in 3 hours. I can only imagine the dinner session to be even more crazier. They definitely need a bigger lot next time they hold this event.