The 13th edition of Outside Lands returned with a supersized edition of Taste of the Bay Area, a collection of 85 different restaurants and food vendors that included many newcomers. I went to the festival with one job—to eat as many different items as I could—and I made sure my pants were stretchy.
It became apparent on the first day that, despite the multitude of available options, the trick was to eat early in the day before the lines simply got too liney. There’s clearly both room and demand to keep expanding the culinary offerings at this music festival. Most of what I sampled over the weekend and can recommend to you are dishes that are regularly available through restaurants, pop-ups and dispensaries, so you can seek them out for yourselves without a wristband. Take a look!
Burrata, prosciutto and pesto sandwich by A16, a restaurant with locations in San Francisco and Oakland 
Pumpkin ricotta cannoli by A16, a restaurant with locations in San Francisco and Oakland 
Carioca mochi donuts with coconut caramel and passion fruit curd by Abacá, a two-month-old restaurant in San Francisco 
Pork lumpia by Abacá, a two-month-old restaurant in San Francisco 
Jerry’s Picks, guitar pick-shaped cannabis-infused berry gummies by Garcia Hand Picked, are available at SPARC and the Vapor Room 
Pork katsu rice bowl by Ox & Tiger, a Filipino-Japanese pop-up in San Francisco 
Mugi Mansi (barley tea, calamansi and lychee jelly by Ox & Tiger, a Filipino-Japanese pop-up in San Francisco 
The Outside Lands scene 
Carnitas tostadas by Otra, a six-month-old restaurant in San Francisco 
Signature burger by Smish Smash at Outside Lands 
Beef tallow curly fries by Smish Smash, a pop-up at Neptune’s Alameda
