2011 S.F. Street Food Festival Lineup Firms Up

Chris MacArthur

The 2010 Street Food Festival.

​ Even though the 2011 SF Street Food Festival isn't taking place until Saturday, August 20, organizer Caleb Zigas says the lineup of vendors is "98 percent firm." This year, as SFoodie reported in April, the festival is significantly bigger -- there's only a slight increase in vendors, but a giant increase in the size of the site, with more room between trucks and seating areas for diners.

Zigas, who runs sponsoring organization La Cocina, is posting logos of the participating trucks, restaurants, and La Cocina vendors on the festival site as fast as he receives them.

Most are returning from last year. "The biggest new thing," Zigas says, "is that we're bringing in vendors from across the country to represent their cities." They're flying out the cooks from Big-Ass Sandwiches (Portland, Ore.), Skillet Street Food (Seattle), Global Soul (Los Angeles), Schnitzel & Things (New York), Ingrid's Lunch Box (Madison, Wis.), and Along Came a Slider (Austin) to the festival, and the proceeds from the sale of food they cook will benefit La Cocina.

Tickets are already on sale for the associated Street Food Conference, which will be held at Fort Mason Aug. 21-22, but the lineup of speakers is still taking shape. Zigas says that LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold and Francis Lam of Gilt Taste are already on board, and the conference brunch will be hosted by Suvir Saran, the New York chef many people know from Top Chef Masters.