VOICES Publishing from the AAJA National Convention
When I stepped onto Market Street, more than 3,000 miles from home, aromas reminiscent of my mother’s kitchen immediately greeted me. I inhaled the familiar scents of slightly sour, fermented dosa batter and spicy potato filling as I took in my first view of The City by the Bay.
With my suitcase still in hand just outside Embarcadero Station, I spotted a South Indian food cart. It was the first of its kind I had seen outside of India and the only I had ever seen advertising dosa as vegan-friendly.
I had truly arrived in San Francisco.
Before this week, I’d only spent a few days on the West Coast. As a life-long vegetarian born in Connecticut attending college in Boston, I was thrilled by the prospect of vast food options here. My Californian friends had told tales of vegan options in any restaurant and vegetarian meals on every corner. I didn’t believe them. But this week in San Francisco has proved them right.
At the SoMa StrEat Food Park, food trucks offered vegetarian udon bowls, vegan tofu salads, and Latin American empanadas. Pictures advertised vegan paella, mediterranean falafel, and even vegan ice cream sandwiches. This was no longer Boston, where I searched food truck menus for an item with minimal meat and then asked for a substitution.
My dietary preferences were now a normal part of the menu.
Even in the relatively limited realm of food truck cuisine, there were still so many choices. I didn’t have to take a 30-minute T ride to the North End for Italian or walk the 20 minutes to Chinatown for Asian food, as I often do in Boston. All this diversity was in one parking lot in San Francisco.
I wondered, “Is this how most people feel in a restaurant, when they can order nearly every item on the menu?”
I wasn’t the only one buzzing with excitement.
Kendra Eckblad, a San Francisco native and University of Southern California student eating vegetarian udon at SoMa on Tuesday, said she loved how most trucks provided vegetarian options that were very similar to the original cuisine.
“You still get the type of food that the place is known for, as opposed to getting a completely different menu,” she said.
Food truck owners seemed cognizant of this demand.
Miguel Vimes, owner of Calpe Paella food truck, said he added vegan paella and gazpacho to the menu when he noticed patrons asking for vegan options.
Thomas Eng, owner of Lil Burma food truck, which advertises four vegan options and a spread of vegetarian choices, said the meat-free items make up at least 20 percent of his daily sales.
As I explored the SoMa food truck park and enjoyed some vegan paella, I wondered if the ubiquity and diversity in vegetarian food that I discovered in San Francisco would make it to Boston anytime soon.
Will I ever step out of a T station and smell dosa on the street? That’s the dream.
