Oakland’s Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square was like an old-West circling of the wagons, except here it was a circling of taco trucks and ice cream carts with a shipping container full of beer at the center. The longest lines formed for the comeback of Seoul on Wheels, whose Korean barbecue rib-eye and pork tacos were a massive hit. Ritual Coffee Roasters’ new red java trailer kept the crowd caffeinated, and we’ll be looking out for them at future events. Also catching raves were the hot links from Jim & Nick’s BBQ, who drove their smoker rig from Alabama but sourced their meat locally. The fish taco from Sam’s ChowderMobile, topped with red pepper aioli and mango salsa, was an easy winner after their lobster roll sold out early each day. The event highlight of the weekend was Saturday night’s butchery contest, in which two teams competed to break down a quarter-steer live on stage. The Marin Sun Farms team took home the prize, producing a panoply of cuts in about twenty minutes, to many carnivorous cheers as the sun set over the harbor. Check out our slideshow for a taste of what was on offer, and swing by our Flickr pool for an extended view.
