Off The Grid: Justin Herman Plaza

Today there were five food trucks at Justin Hermann Plaza. The number is small as the plaza can’t accommodate more than that. There’s the seasonal holiday ice skating rink and a bunch of regular street vendors. Tight real estate.
We purposely came down cuz Johnny’s Donuts truck was going to be there at 11am according to its Facebook page. We found street parking by the Two Embarcadero Center and walked two blocks over.
Johnny’s wasn’t quite ready for business so we walked across to street to the Ferry Building Marketplace. Picked up three sandwiches at Acme Breads and went back to OtG.
Why didn’t we pick up lunch at OtG instead? Who can resist Acme Bread that’s why.
Anyway we ordered at Johnny Donuts’ truck window. Walked back to our car and drove home.
I noticed there was plenty of OtG provided chairs but no tables if you were to eat at the plaza.

OTG: Justin Herman Plaza
Organizer website:
Hours: Sundays 11am-​3pm (seasonal, winter only: Nov-​Jan.)
5 – 6 food trucks
** Update 1: 2^nd annual OTG JHP — 2013 season from 11÷10÷13 to 1÷5÷14.
OTG has added another seasonal (11÷11÷12 to 1÷6÷13) event this year, right after the Sunday picnic series in the Presidio, and with the same weekend schedule. Only 2 more Sundays left for the first 2012 season.
I think that it’s nice to have food trucks complement the Embarcadero Center’s Holiday Ice Skating Rink (FYI — San Jose «stole» the Kristi Yamaguchi name many years ago), if only for a short period. The trucks are parked at the back of the Hyatt Regency hotel, facing Justin Herman Plaza. The only minor drawback (your opinion might vary) was the typical SF’s Xmas weather = cold, windy and rain. So my first visit was brief.
Note: Someone at Unilocal renamed the original link to just OTG, see:
That incomplete name makes it harder to differentiate locations, so I’ve posted my review here. Hopefully this 2^nd link won’t be renamed.
My reviews for individual food trucks are posted separately. Happy Holidays!

It’s a smaller Off the Grid compared to its bigger brothers at Fort Mason and Upper Haight but it’s still a great location. There are 5 – 6 trucks on Sundays thru the wintertime till January. It really takes good advantage of the foot traffic coming in from those skating at the Kristi Yamaguchi Skating Rink and those shopping at the arts & crafts vendors. There are plenty of chairs provided in addition to the outdoor seating that’s already on the plaza. It’s also a great compliment to the Ferry Building Marketplace on Sundays. Great location and I hope they make this a more permanent location in the future.