As most of you may know, little ol' LuLu*s is based out of Chico, CA, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from San Francisco. So I tend to spend quite a few of my weekends down there visiting friends, going to shows, and above all, eating. I wouldn't really call myself a foodie, but I do love to eat and one of my favorite places to get some grub in SF is Fogcutter, a torta/brunch truck that is out of this world.
Founded by Guillermo Perez, formerly of Matini House and Ame, and Caroline Hummer, former operator of The Chairman Bao food trucks, Fogcutter's food is influenced by the melting pot of culture that makes San Francisco so great! The ingredients for their tortas are not only inspired by the tastes of Mexico, but also Japan, America, India, Italy, and Vietnam as well.
I went on the weekend (when they serve brunch!), where they were posted up at Proxy on Hayes and Octavia. As I am a vegetarian, I met up with my sister so she could tell us about their meat tortas. Below you can see Caroline chatting it up with one of her customers!
I ended up getting my go-to, The Baker Beach. It consists of tomato-braised butter beans, sauteed chard, white cheddar, and garlic aioli, and I added a fried egg to the mix for $1 extra. The sandwich was warm and savory, with a kick of garlic to give it that extra spice. Adding the fried egg is what really makes this sandwich for me. The yolk complements the rest of the ingredients perfectly.
The fusion of my two favorite foods, Italian and Mexican, will always win a special place in my heart, no matter what. Warning: you will definitely need napkins and be willing to get a little dirty, because these tortas (mine especially) are deliciously messy! Or you can always dig in with a fork and knife.
I'll let my sister expand on her carnivorous adventures with her Torta Mi:
The Torta Mi is the Fogcutter take on Vietnamese bánh mì-- and the perfect sandwich for a warm, late spring morning. I of course gravitate towards pork belly-- put that on your menu, and I will order it (I sometimes fancy that I will turn into a pig ala Willow).
The pork was fresh from the grill and savory, tender delicious! A wonderful conterpoint to the savoriness was the crunchy, sweet, tangy, and midly spicy pickles (daikon, carrots, and cucumber). Inviting the perfect about of zest, the lime aioli completed the experience. All-in-all a refreshing sandwich, and optimal for the fantastic turn the Bay Area weather has decided to take these past few weeks.
An important factor for both me and my sister: the bolillo had the perfect consistency for sandwich bread. Firm, almost crunchy crust and soft inside, but not so fine as to absorb all the sauces and become mush. There's no greater sandwich turn-off than the bread getting soggy and disintegrating, making it impossible to pick up without a pulpy, drippy mess. Not so here!
We both decided to share the Sour Flour French Toast as a desert after our tortas. I am not a huge sweet person, but the french toast was the perfect conclusion to our meal (plus, my sister"requires" desert). The combination of the sour toast with the rich, buttery homemade whipped cream, and the slightly tart strawberry rhubarb compote, made the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and savory. It was a flavor explosion with every bite.
Besides the delicious food, one of my favorite things about Fogcutter is the amazing illustrations that cover the truck. Done by SF local artist Michael Jeter, he creates a badass scene of a pimp rooster, and mustached pig, and beautiful, SF style houses.
You can follow Fogcutter on Twitter or their Offical Site to find out where they will be and what they will be serving!
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