Growing crop of vendors hitting the streets

Description

Celebrity has come quickly to the Creme Brulee Guy, and the strain is starting to show. His eyes are bloodshot; blond whiskers roughen his cheeks and he is getting married at the end of the month. But mini brulees bring in $3 each, and they seem to make people happy.

"It's one of the businesses you can start without that much money," said Curtis, who declined to give his last name because he operates without permits, although he says he wants to get them. "But it's more than just handing someone something for money. It's something they can participate in."

The Creme Brulee Cart is one of many licensed and unlicensed food vendors who have recently hit the streets of San Francisco, especially in the Mission District. The area's bars, streets and parks host a caravan of food sellers who connect to their customers via social networking Web sites like Facebook and Twitter.

But the trend, which is playing out across the country, goes beyond individual efforts. The nonprofit La Cocina will host its first San Francisco Street Festival in August, followed by a similar Eat Real Festival in Oakland from the organizers of Slow Food Nation. A new street food-focused market will premiere at the Ferry Building on Thursdays in July.

Flurry of new options

Partly due to strict local regulations - and the cost of meeting them - San Francisco's street food has generally been limited to taco trucks and holdouts like the bar-roving Tamale Lady. But the current economy has ushered in a flurry of Thai curry al fresco, mobile pho and escargot-on-a-stick, the latter served by chef-restaurateur Laurent Katgely of Chez Spencer at his new Spencer on the Go truck.

"I'm what we're calling fun-employed," said Dean, an unlicensed vendor who also declined to give ...

Original URL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/MN6317MLGI.DTL&type=food

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/MN6317MLGI.DTL&type=food