First, my apologies for being so tardy with this post. Hopefully I still remember how much fun I had!
To set the weather stage - it had been an unusually cold and gray summer (yup, pretty much the whole summer). I kept hoping for the weather to turn around, like it seems to most every September and October.... but this year, I wasn't so sure. I pictured us hudling in our blankets, gulping down our food, our fingers frozen to the wrappings, then scurrying back to the warmth of our cars as fast as we could. Then suddenly one day, the sun came out, and not only did it get warm, but it got darnright HOT. Then two more days of cold, then another day of hot. Who could predict?! Alas, when the day of our outing finally arrived, it was HOT again (perfect for eating outside, I thought!) - but as the day wore on, it was SO hot that I thought we might be dreaming of a nice air-conditioned restaurant rather than the sidewalk along Piedmont Avenue. As we arrived at Jon's Street Eats (a truck - no more, no less), it was blaring hot. But 15 minutes later, when we arrived at our dining spot (more on that later), the edge of the heat came off, and we sat there in perhaps the most glorious summer evening that Oakland saw all year. Talk about good timing!
The 6 of us arrived at Jon's Street Eats just about at the same time - right when they opened! The truck was parked on Piedmont Avenue on the cemetery side of Pleasant Valley - right hand side if you were on your way to the cemetery (which we were!). After persuing the sandwich-board menu, deciding what to order (more than one thing, for the most part!), and then watching them cook and assemble it before our eyes, we followed Gayle through the cemetery gates to a an absolutely perfect little spot in which to enjoy our food, the company, and the evening. There were two small concrete benches, facing each other, just a few feet apart. Three of us sat on one, three of us sat on the other, and we ate.
I ate duck tacos with pomegrante-cucumber salsa, french feta cheese, frisee, and cilantro. There were two, and they were GREAT. Simple, tender, very flavorful, and unusual. Several other people had the duck tacos as well.
I also had truffled deviled eggs. They were yummy, but at least for my tastebuds, not as unusual as the duck tacos. I believe I was the only one of our group who had deviled eggs (I'm a sucker for a good deviled eggs - I make them with curry powder and currants!).
I had water to drink (free). Others had the lemon/lime-ade. Not sure why I didn't, as I love lemon and lime flavored things, and it was certainly a nice night for a refreshing drink (but the water, all in compostble glassware) was a good stand-in.
One person had the grilled cheese sandwich with house-pulled mozzarella and a tomato confit, served with side salad. Unfortunately, we were so busy talking about other stuff, that I believe that I forgot to ask her how it was!
And, due to an error on their part, Gayle, I believe, got a complimentary order of "Blue Figs & Ham" (kadota? figs with blue cheese and house-cured ham). Again, so busy talking...
And for dessert? Well, somebody splurged and ordered the "Apple Caramel Bread Pudding" - and then proceeded to pass it around for tastes - to RAVE reviews (although honestly, it wasn't my favorite, although I have never been a bread-pudding fan - soggy bread?! - i just don't get it!).
Many in the group this evening had never been on an Oaktown Crawl event (in fact, 2 were men, so aren't typically invited!), and many of us didn't know each other than that evening (friends of friends, etc.). The peacful setting and beautiful night were very congenial to getting to know each other. We talked of ourselves, of each other, of the cemetery, of going on walks, of riding our bikes, of architeture, of the history of Oakland, of baseball, and of how each of us were going to spend the rest of our evening when we left this little spot (all had fabulous, if disparate, plans).
His schedule is flexible and change-able, but as of now, he parks on the cemetery end of piedmont avenue on saturday evenings from 6-9 or 10, or until the food runs out. He posts his menu daily - "like" him on Facebook, or simply go to twitter.com/jonsstreeteats whenever you're in the mood for some quality, tasty, simple (in a good way) food from a truck, with a very nice bench nearby. Maybe I'll see you there sometime! (or call me and I'll meet you!)
No comments:
Post a Comment