Choose these food trucks in San Francisco, California, the “City by the Bay”

San Francisco, CA, could also be called “Food Truck City,” with nearly 200 food trucks. Everyone knows that San Fran is obsessed with culinary goodness, but seeing a line of food trucks in SF is no longer a novelty.

San Francisco, CA, Off the Grid food truck round-up.Todd Lappin - Flickr

It seems food trucks are popping up everywhere across the country. Food trucks were already a hot item before the pandemic. However, the pandemic caused many restaurants to close, either temporarily or permanently.

Popular San Francisco Food Truck Company Señor Sisig Opens Restaurant in the Mission District

KPIX uploaded this video to YouTube.

Many of those brick-and-mortar restaurants opened food trucks to continue serving their meals to the masses. Some of those owned their restaurants, while some that had rented buildings had to give up. Others transformed their business by cooking at the restaurant, filling orders online, cash and carry, and fulfilling orders for food truck operators.

Food trucks are big business

Even White Castle, Starbucks, and Chick-fil-a are getting into the food truck business. Food trucks contribute nearly a billion dollars to the national economy, $1.2 billion in 2020, and that figure is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2021. That’s not small change.

However, it’s not as easy or inexpensive as it could be. Many municipalities charge excessive licensing fees and permits. Plus, you can’t park just anywhere. Look for start-up costs to be about $55 to $60,000. It’s cheaper than a brick-and-mortar establishment, but still not peanuts.

It’s inexpensive but not “a walk in the park”

Don’t believe everything you see in the movie, Chef. You can’t just take an old truck, dress it up, and start a business. Evan Kidera, the Filipino CEO of Señor Sisig, says, “It’s really not as easy as pulling up to a location and serving; it’s hard work. If you don’t have the passion, it can wear you down.”

Besides getting the truck ready, making the menu, buying the groceries, cooking, and cleaning, you’ll also need to deal with the politics of city hall; you will have to:

• Secure licenses and permits.
• Deal with health inspections.
• Know and adhere to the regulations concerning food trucks.
• Know where you can park and deal with anyone taking your space.
• Know how close to a brick-and-mortar restaurant you can park. BTW, that includes other industries that serve food, like microbreweries (check with the owner, they might want to start a partnership).

The average cost of all the initial permits and paperwork in San Francisco, CA, is slightly more than $28,500. However, according to Small Biz Genius, if you set up in the right place and hustle, you could pull down $250K to $500K per year.

Typically, not all foods can be cooked on the truck. Therefore, you might need to rent space if you plan to serve more than tacos and a cup of chili and do not have a big kitchen at home. Renting a restaurant-type kitchen can cost about $2,000 or more per month. Likewise, more space means you can hire more help.

San Francisco, CA The Curry Up Now food truck.Todd Lappin - Flickr

Curry Up Now

Sure, you can go all Indian authentic with the tikka masala bowl, but if you’re game for something strangely different and delicious, try the Indian-influenced “poutine” sweet potato fries with cheese curds and your favorite paneer or chicken. You might also like the Quesadillix, a stuffed parantha (wheat potato) flatbread with paneer or chicken. Just try anything on the menu. They’re all exquisite!

If you hurry up, you might catch them at 255 Bush; look for the Standard Oil sign) from 11 am to 2 pm on weekdays. There are several Curry Up Now brick-and-mortar restaurants around SF, even in the Mission.

San Francisco, CA, Senor Sisig's food truck.Todd Lappin - Flickr.

Señor Sisig

If you’re unfamiliar with Filipino cooking, Sisig is made with chopped parts of the pig’s head mixed with chicken liver, onions, hot chili peppers, and fried crispy, crackling, and spicy. Don’t turn your nose up until you try it.

San Francisco, CA, Señor Sisig various dishes.Todd Lappin - Flickr.

However, if you cannot bring yourself to try it with parts of a pig’s head, Señor Sisig uses pork shoulder, and if you can’t do pork period, there’s also a chicken or tofu version you will surely love! Diba?

As you can see above, he’ll put Sisig on just about anything, fries, tacos, burritos, you name it. You can also get the traditional Piñas-style with a fried egg.

Catch up with Señor Sisig at Off the Grid from 11 am to 4 pm on Sundays in Presidio Picnic or Fort Mason Fridays from 5 to 10 pm. There are five trucks in San Francisco, so that you might see them anywhere.

Sam’s ChowderMobile

You’ll wonder if you morphed from California to New England with Sam’s New England-style Chowder. Sam’s always frying up some goodness, such as popcorn shrimp, fish & chips, and po'boys loaded with shrimp. But guess what else? That’s right; he has an authentic Maine lobster roll!

Sam’s truck has a website schedule. You can usually catch them at the Presidio Picnic every Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm and at Fort Mason Fridays from 5 to 10 pm.

Final thoughts

Those are a few of the San Francisco’s #HiddenGems that you can find “Off the Grid” and around the Bay Area. So, if you can’t get to Pier 39, where they serve Clam Chowder in a bread bowl, no worries. These truckies have lots of great food too!

About the Author.Photo by Jean Springs from Pexels.

Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Also, a Top Writer in Books & Authors, Travel, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, and Short Stories.

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