FoodBuzz Fest Street Food Fare

The kind people at FoodBuzz (--> I am a featured publisher!) held the inaugural FoodBuzz Food Blogger Festival in san francisco this year. That was my other reason for going out there for this trip. On the first night, they had a street food fare at the Ferry Building. Street food... Ferry Building... put them together and it's like a dream! There were tons of local vendors who let us grub on their fine grub. It was a nice variety as well, and everyone was super friendly. Even though we only ate little plates, I was beyond stuffed by the end of it. And yes, all this food was prepared on the site!
What's a trip to sf without tacos? Beef, of course!
The food above is not only completely vegan, but also completely raw. Scary sounding, I know, but surprisingly tasty. The cheesecake was good, even though there was a slightly funny this isn't real cheese taste. I still liked it!
The star of the evening... the porchetta sandwich from roli roti. What is it? Pork belly rolled into pork loin with crispy skin rotisseried the crack up, with fresh herbs, onion marmalade, and curly cress stuffed in between bread. Oh. My. Word. Yes, it is that delicious.
Delicious thin crust pizzas. Yes, the oven was there!
Freshly shucked oysters from Hog Island Oyster!
Mini meat pies! These ones were steak & gruyere. This was my second favorite of the evening!
Adorable little mini cupcakes of various flavors from Mission Minis. So cute and so tasty! You can even find these at whole foods in the sf area! Schmancy!
Freshly fried chicharrones. Ok, obviously, this wasn't an event for the health conscious.
Ok, here's one thing that was slightly healthy... vegetables! I had the beet salad which I loved. You heard it here people, I love beets! I love street food. I especially love it when it's within one confined area so I don't have to walk far between gourd stuffings.

Roasted Chestnuts On The Streets of Basel

After landing in Zurich, I hopped on a train to Basel, my actual destination. The train ride was fantastic. I'm not sure if you can eat on the trains (they're freakishly clean and spotless), but I was doing it anyway. These are my most delicious digestives that I picked up in Ireland. And they have a layer of caramel. Amazing.
My friend A had told me that they sell roasted chestnuts on the streets of Switzerland. I got most excited when she told me this. Then when I saw it in person, my heart skipped a beat. When I lived in the motherland, we used to get roasted chestnuts from street vendors all the time. During the wintertime, of course. But you can't really buy roasted chestnuts from street vendors in the US. If you can do that, please tell me where. And please make it somewhere near my home.
In any case, I love roasted chestnuts. If you've never had, you have to put a slice in them first before you roast them, otherwise, they'll explode. The moisture in the nut heats up and steam up, and if there isn't a place to release all the pressure, your little nut will explode. These are roasted from burning charcoal so they get nice and toasted and some even get some char marks. Because of the steaming, they're super easy to peel. I love chestnuts. Don't you?
You'll also see carts for pretzels. They're not like the ones from Philly! They taste similar, but the texture is completely different. Philly pretzels are dense and chewy. These are much more dry, more airy, and not chewy. I think I prefer the ones from home!