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Best Bay Expanse food trucks

Our favorite picks for mobile dining in San Francisco and across

Chronicle food writers take to the streets and share their favorite Bay Area food truck fare, from Baja fish tacos to chaat to Sichuan noodles.

Aguachiles el Tamarindo

The newest member of the Mi Grullense taco truck family is cartoon big crowds for its enormous selection of seafood: Baja-style fish tacos, ceviche tostadas, aguachiles, shrimp burritos and hulking seafood towers. Nearly people load up on the raw stuff, but the sleeper hit is actually the smoked marlin taco. Chopped up and stewed with tomatoes and onions, the marlin'southward umami-rich, smoky flavor is tempered by a thick blanket of melted cheese. The truck boasts a relatively luxurious setup in the eye of Oakland'south Fruitvale district, with a parking lot, several large tables shaded nether a carport-esque structure, mariachi music flowing through the speakers and, near remarkably, a bathroom. — Janelle Bitker

Al Pastor Papi

The trompo is e'er spinning at Al Pastor Papi, the year-old truck dedicated to the United mexican states City style of spit-roasted pork. Here, owner Miguel Escobedo shaves off thin strips of sweet-spicy-tangy al pastor charred on the edges but still juicy. They're best enjoyed simply every bit tacos, finished with cilantro, onions and pineapple, or equally gringas, open up-face quesadillas loaded with stretchy Oaxacan cheese. Burritos and burrito bowls are on offer, too, as are steak, chicken, cactus and a soy-based alternative for toppings — but at a truck called Al Pastor Papi, why bother? — J.B.

Bowl'd Acai

Bay Surface area natives Reza Morvari and Angel Serratos jump-started the local acai bowl explosion in 2015 when they rolled out their get-go Bowl'd Acai truck in Mint Plaza. Fast-forward a few years, and they've got a fleet roaming downtown San Francisco, serving up smoothies, juices and the namesake acai bowls. The delightfully creamy blends of acai are combined with either vegetables (equally in the spinach-packed Green Goliath) or fruits (strawberry and banana), and then crowned with a medley of toppings such every bit coconut shavings, sliced fruits, dollops of honey and well-baked, fresh granola. Poke bowls are also available for the lunchtime crowd. — Paolo Lucchesi

Coolinaria

A fine-dining chef from Mexico City moved to Oakland and opened Coolinaria, a new-wave taco truck using high-forehead techniques in a street-food format. The huarache, for instance, comes with black edible bean foam, while the purple potato tacos feature perfect polka dots of whipped cream cheese. Favorites include the shrimp costra, similar little shrimp tacos finished with a thick layer of crispy cheese, plus avocado puree and cactus. Delicious. The beef tinga tacos are also a good choice, smoky with chipotle, meltingly tender and topped with a refreshing slaw. At that place isn't another taco truck quite like this — merely know the prices match the elegant presentation and the portions are a bit small. — J.B.

Del Popolo

The splashiest, most stunning food truck in San Francisco is really a shipping container hitched to a rig — an elevated kitchen enclosed in drinking glass so customers can marvel at the handmade wood-burning oven from Naples, Italy. Del Popolo's truck, open up since 2012, really predates the brick-and-mortar restaurant. Perhaps that's why the truck'southward quality has remained impressively high: It's non an expansion-oriented reconsideration. Compared to the eating house, the truck's carte du jour is slim but the individual-size Neapolitan pizzas — with their beautifully blistered, puffed crusts — speak volumes on their own. — J.B.

El Gallo Giro

For the past 17 years, Elena Caballero and hubby Jose Perez have been slinging some of San Francisco's best tacos from their El Gallo Giro truck. Earlier this yr, their abode was desperately damaged in a fire; they opted to proceed the truck open through the ordeal, which in turn allowed their customs to support them through the truck. With all respect to the lengua, cabeza and carne asada options, the thing to get here is the carnitas: a generous mound of juicy pork crisped on the edges to perfection and showered with a flurry of cilantro and onions. — P.L.

El Sur

The Argentine empanadas that come up out of this truck twelvemonth after year are some of the best in the region. The unforgettable crusts are crisp, yet merely the correct thickness to concord in all of the juicy and arable fillings without whatsoever leakage — and it would indeed exist terrible to get grease on your sundress while you're out in the Presidio. Packed with delicious ingredients like minced beef, creme fraiche and Swiss chard, these pastries are piece of cake to snack on while you're waiting in more than backbreaking lines. That's the marking of great street food. — Soleil Ho

El Tio Juan

There's something positively adorable near El Tio Juan, a combo taco and ice foam truck in East Oakland where mariachi music always plays and at that place's nowhere to eat but the curb. The ice cream comes from 1950s-era local brand Loard's. Picky kids can order a corn dog. Only, of class, you are at El Tio Juan for tacos. At that place are no wrong choices when it comes to meat, served on ii soft tortillas with cilantro, onions and salsa, merely El Tio prepares offal cuts peculiarly well. Tacos with lengua are incredibly soft and rich, and tripas are crispy and muddy in the best way. Plates come up stacked with pickled carrots, sweet cipollini onions, blistered peppers and raw radishes, equally they should. — J.B.

El Tonayense

El Tonayense is the reliable old friend that'south always there for you. The taco truck has been a Mission standby since 1993, and these days, it's best known for continuing sentinel outside the All-time Buy on Harrison and 14th streets. The tacos here are smaller and more than workmanlike than nearby competitors, but the distinguishing component is the salsa roja, an inimitable spicy salsa that drowns the meat and runs downwards your wrist when you lot dive into the taco. — P.Fifty.

Kokio Democracy

At the terminate of 2017, Nathan Choi and Jae Jung closed their popular Korean fried chicken truck Kokio Republic to focus on opening their offset brick-and-mortar restaurant, Barnzu. The San Francisco restaurant remains open, only now the truck is dorsum. And thank goodness. Kokio serves upward awfully tasty fried craven: crunchy, boneless strips of thighs, ideally tossed in a sticky, spicy-sweet sauce laced with gochujang, the Korean fermented pepper paste. The playful kimchi balls, deep-fried spheres of kimchi fried rice, help place Kokio Republic in drinking-nutrient territory. Expert thing it's always parked at SoMa Streat Food Park, where there'due south beer and wine. — J.B.

Kolobok Russian Soul Nutrient Truck

The Bay Expanse's showtime Russian food truck hails from chef Ellen Doren, a Moscow native who has held stints cooking at high-end restaurants like Gramercy Tavern in New York. Out of the distinctive red-and-yellowish truck, Doren offers a eating house-style menu — appetizers, main dishes, desserts — of Russian comfort food. Tiptop entree choices include plump, chewy dumplings filled with pork and beefiness, drizzled with sour cream and paired with adjika, a flavour-packed spicy paste teeming with coriander. Another superlative choice is braised cabbage rolls blimp with turkey and rice in a luscious tomato sauce, with a fresh spinach-and-beet salad on the side. — J.B.

La Santa Torta

Birria is one of the harder-to-find taco styles in the Bay Surface area, though y'all'll discover it in its torso-warming stew format at places like SanJalisco in the Mission and Santo Coyote in Oakland. But La Santa Torta is all about this very Jalisco-influenced accept on the taco, eschewing the more ordinarily found fillings for shredded beef that's been slow-cooked for hours in a flavor-dense broth of dried peppers and aromatics. Each corn tortilla sucks upwards the flavorful and juicy cherry consomme of its filling as it grills on the plancha and comes packed with melted Oaxaca cheese and minced crimson onion every bit well, building upward to a bite that perfectly balances the soft, crunchy and gooey aspects of its ingredients. Elotes chidos, a basin of corn off the cob mixed with mayo, lime juice, cotija cheese and Flamin' Hot Cheetos, is an exciting melange of textures and flavors. — South.H.

Liberty Cheesesteak

This roving Philadelphian embassy has everything an expat might desire: Tastykake treats, Herr's potato chips and cheesesteaks with real-deal, gooey Cheez Whiz. Newspaper-thin slices of steak (or craven or portobello mushroom) are stuffed into hoagie rolls shipped from Philadelphia's Amoroso'south Baking Co.; the eight-inch is a hefty meal for 1, but you tin can go up to 12 inches if you're starving. And yeah, you tin can order the same way you would at Geno's or Pat's back east: "Provolone, with," is my order. — South.H.

Los Carnalitos

I don't know about y'all, but I'm definitely downwards for a taco after a visit to the gynecologist. Every day except Sundays, the Los Carnalitos food truck holds court in the parking lot of Redwood City's Planned Parenthood, providing the sort of stellar clinical aftercare that your insurance definitely won't cover. Its Mexico Metropolis-way fare includes carnitas with serious juice and yes, they have cabeza and lengua, but their vegetarian goods are a highlight. Attempt the lip-smacking mixture of cactus, mushrooms, huitlacoche and squash blossom (called "azteca" on their menu) on a quesadilla or huarache. — S.H.

Momo Noodle

Momo Noodle specializes in a soupless but hot noodle way common to the streets of Wuhan and Sichuan, Prc, in which the very absorbent backdrop of dried noodles brand all the deviation. The thin dried noodles used here can assimilate strong flavors and sauces while maintaining a springy chew, delivering a tingly, piquant gustation that really slaps you in the face — handy if you need a option-me-up for the rest of the afternoon. You can customize your order with more than meat or heat on the iPad ordering system, but I similar the basic, dandanmian-esque Momo Spicy Noodle, a heaping bowl of thin egg noodles with spiced ground pork, shredded black fungus, arugula and chopped peanuts. — S.H.

New Delhi Chaat

Of all the chaat trucks in Sunnyvale, New Delhi Chaat has it all: a basic spice level that doesn't speak down to you, a lovely seating surface area, well-spiced masala chai and a great variety of snacks that will plough your mouth into a mixtape of urban India's greatest hits. The key to succulent chaat lies in how well the dishes' cooling, fiery, crunchy and soft elements complement and dissimilarity each other; here, each dish is an feel. Nestled nether a willow tree next to a liquor store in southeast Sunnyvale, the cart has a tranquility about it that seasoned street-food fans know they tin't take for granted. — South.H.

RoliRoti

If you've been to a big farmers' market in the Bay Area, you've probably looked into the maw of this animal and watched the meats spinning, dripping their fat onto the supple yellow potatoes lying in wait underneath. You lot might keep walking, planning to spend your precious dollars on dates or fancy eggs instead, but the aroma of crisp chicken pare and brussels sprouts seasoned with rosemary salt will inevitably draw you lot back. Luckily, the line is rarely long — RoliRoti's crew keeps upward the pace well. Go ahead and grab a whole chicken, to go with the kale and fresh bread that you picked up elsewhere at the market. — S.H.

Sabor Catracho

Honduran comfort food is the highlight hither, so kickoff with simple baleadas, thick flour tortillas filled with mashed beans, mantequilla and crumbled cheese. You can upgrade to the baleada regular, with scrambled egg within, and even upward to the baleada super, which adds chorizo and avocado, to have a more substantial meal. Every bit y'all seize with teeth into it, the mantequilla, its loosely creamy texture halfway between sour cream and room-temperature Camembert, oozes out the side; apply the tortilla to sop it upwards. The bigger entrees, similar the whole fried tilapia (!) are very shareable and perfect options if you want to get big for luncheon. — Southward.H.

Senor Sisig

Started in 2010, Senor Sisig now has half dozen Filipino-Mexican food trucks and a brick-and-mortar coming to the Mission — it'southward basically an elder statesman when it comes to the Bay Area's gimmicky food truck scene. Sisig, the sizzling Filipino chopped meat, stars in tacos, burritos, nachos, fries, rice plates and salad, but the burritos are deservingly the most popular medium. The classic burrito with pork is a fun version of the Mission burrito, only the sisig shines even brighter against crispy fries, cheese and guacamole in the California burrito. — J.B.

Tacos El Gordo

When Tacos El Gordo opened in Fruitvale, the taquero offered tacos with cabeza, lengua and sesos. All of those offal cuts remain on the bill of fare, alongside buche, suadero and taco truck standards, and at present the Tacos El Gordo empire has grown to include two restaurants in San Leandro. Just regulars withal line up at the truck daily, particularly late at night — information technology'south open until 2:30 a.g. nearly nights and 3:30 a.1000. on Fridays and Saturdays. Tacos are gloriously packed to the brim with meat and come with a generous serving of sweet onions. Information technology'south unusual to find tacos with suadero — a thin cut of beef near the belly, here nicely charred on the edges — on a truck bill of fare, so accept advantage of it. The state of the trompo on the left side of the truck is inconsistent, simply if y'all spy meat on the spit, order tacos al pastor. — J.B.

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