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Street food gets its own SoMa pod

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Thierry Tournache slices banana in the Golden Waffle food truck during SoMa StrEat Food's opening day on Wednesday, June 7, 2012. Photos: Alex Washburn/SFBay

Kona Gurion surveyed the crowd at SoMa StrEat Food and plunked down at a table with a few friends:

“This place is rockin’.”

Gurion was in good company today as one of hundreds of people that paid a visit to SoMa’s little triangle of food trucks (known as a pod in parts north).

As his plate steamed in front of him, Gurion explained:

“Some people might think it’s too hipster for this area, but it’s local people and local business.”

The first dinner crowd at SoMa StrEat Food had their bellies filled by Slider Shack, Garden Creamery, Curry Up Now, Sunrise Deli, Eire Trea, San Francisco La Pastrami, Mayo and Mustard, Golden Waffle, and Mr. Nice. The rolling Top Shelf Boutique truck was also in attendance, which had Justine Yee and Paloma Belara gushing.

Belara vowed to return to the truck she declared her new favorite boutique, as she and Yee ate up offerings from Eire Trea and Curry Up Now. Yee said she appreciated the “chill environment with a bunch of foods reasonable priced” while Belara liked the overall concept and how easy parking was.

In addition to plentiful street parking, SoMa StrEat food had cleaning staff on hand the entire day, bike parking inside the facility, accessible restrooms, an ATM and heat lamps to warm up its covered eating space for when they bay breeze kicks in. Which it did.

Around 8:30 p.m. the crowds thinned a bit, although the line at Golden Waffle was frequently 10 deep as Thierry Tournache furiously worked the waffle iron, topping his golden goods with chocolate, caramel, fruit, whip cream or powdered sugar depending on the order.

People of all ages, plenty of dogs, East Bay residents and locals alike mingled amongst the tables eating almost a dozen types of food as Latin music provided festive background noise making the sounds of Highway 101 above unimportant in the glow of heat lamps and smiles.

Gurion summed up the relaxed environment and eclectic mix of food and people best:

“I’m a foodie. I don’t care what it is, it just needs to taste good.”

Last modified November 13, 2012 12:37 am

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