Long time no update! A lot has happened since my last post, one of the main things being that I moved to San Francisco. It’s been a crazy few months settling down and trying to find a job. One of the greatest things about this city is it’s diversity; the people, culture, and most importantly food…this city has everything.

I had the opportunity to visit Off The Grid on a Friday night recently and was really able to experience the melting pot that is San Francisco. To give a little bit of background, Off The Grid is a group that operates weekly public markets all throughout San Francisco. The markets are made up of various food trucks and local businesses. On Friday nights, Off The Grid can be found in Fort Mason with a ton of food trucks, great drinks, and live music.

Walking down the line of food trucks and vendors, I was excited to see so much variety. From Ethiopian to Vietnamese, there were so many different trucks and cuisines to choose from. My friends and I thought the best plan of action would be to share things from multiple trucks so we could really try everything.

One of my favorite trucks was The Chairman Truck. They specialized in one of my favorite foods; Taiwanese pork belly buns. I’m a sucker for the traditional soft, sweet outer steamed bun with fatty braised pork belly and crispy pickled turnip greens. I’ve even written about them before, in case you haven’t read.

The Chairman Truck offered their version of the traditional pork belly bun and also had a few great creative spins of their own. On the left is their traditional bun. One of their special creations was the Coca-Cola Braised Pork with Savoy Cabbage and Preserved Yellow Mustard Seeds, pictured on the right above. Both pork buns were pretty amazing. The traditional pork belly bun came with pickled daikon radish and green shiso, a light herb that is often used in Japanese cooking.

I was definitely a fan of the contrast in textures between the succulent pork belly and the crunch of the crisp radishes. The Coca-Cola braised pork bun was also phenomenal. The preserved mustard seeds really added an interested level of flavor and complimented the sweet and savory Coca-Cola braised pork. The pork itself had was nice and crisp on the outside which would immediately melt in your mouth once you take a bite. Paired with the watery crunch of the savoy cabbage which was slightly pickled, the whole pork bun was truly incredible. Follow The Chairman Truck on Twitter to get updates on where they’ll be throughout the week!

Before I had even made a dent on the countless great food vendors at Off The Grid I was already full from only visiting 3. I will definitely be back and am hoping to share that experience with you guys as well. Be sure to check it out if you’re ever in the San Francisco Bay Area- you can visit Off The Grid’s website and follow them on Twitter or Facebook for more information.