Night Market & Food Trucks

Kojah Truck!

Summer has bid us adieu, and so has the farmers market aspect of San Mateo Night Market. So long, farewell, we’ll see you on the sunny side.
Also seeming to have said their goodbyes are the event’s patrons. WHERE IS EVERYONE? The hubs and I attended ¹⁰⁄₃ and at 7pm there was nary a soul in sight. Luckily there were still seven awesome food trucks all lined up to the feed the beast (that’s my food baby).
Amazing pork ribs from Hill Country BBQ, a lobster roll dripping with butter and exploding with lobster awesome from Sam’s Chowdermobile, and a spicy beef empanada from Mama’s gave us the warm fuzzies. I wish there were a beer tent and some more people to goggle at, but still a great time. I also REALLY wish I had picked up an ice cream cookie. Next time, Treatbot, you will be mine.

I’m giving this night market 5 stars all because:
1) The location is so close to me, I love it.
2) LOTS AND LOTS OF FREE PARKING — also love it.
3) Tried 4 different food trucks and enjoyed everything that I ordered.
4) There wasn’t a lot of people there so barely had to wait in line or no line at all.
5) Came out as full as can be.

I have been there 3 times.
They are always out of 80% of the food by the time I arrive at or before 7 pm.
I was so frustrated I have not been back.

Love coming here everytime Chairman is coming by for the week. The event is on Wednesday evenings starting from 4:30PM. There is a private parking lot where you don’t have to pay for parking either.
It is a mix of food trucks event and farmers market. The food trucks usually come with about 7 or 8 different ones but there needs to be a little more variety too. Maybe invite a couple different trucks once a month or something to make it more appealing to come out. Other than that there is free live music and maybe other great things too!
The farmers market has veggies, fruit, and a lot of pastry items. There is even an italian farmers market booth too but didn’t really get to check that out.
Definitely will be back a lot of times when Chairman is there since I don’t want to wait in line for 1 hour at Off the Grid but I hope to see more variety of trucks next time too!

We went here tonight after a work out… I guess that’s considered balance.
Really yummy goodness, especially the korean barbeque beef in what seemed to be sammiched in a rice cake instead of a bun. Hello hello new friend.
Everything is closed just before 9 so go early
*** Wednesday eves btw
There were about 8 or 9 trucks and I’m not sure if they are stable or if they revolve each week.
Just go check it out & support it so it could continue :)
I like having this kind of option in the peninsula closer to home on the random days I’m not in the city.
yeah I’m selfish.
go check it out if you find yourself bored 1 wednesday evening.

Hosting a farmers market only event at the Fairgrounds in the late afternoon on Wednesdays is strategically not a winning proposition… but bring in 7 or so mediocre food trucks that delight most people hip to meals on wheels, and suddenly it becomes a première dining destination. We are never going to have an Asian style night market transplant like the ones in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, or even China… but we’ll have a parking lot or a closed down section of a street with not cheap gourmet roach coaches, heck we can call these pop ups too. RAWK! Thanks again to regulations and health codes that it’s not ok to use butane/​propane gas powered grills or woks to do some stir fry where flames can reach 3 feet high in an open air setting, or makeshift tents to charcoal grill stuff like Northern Chinese skewers, all this no no… so that roach coaches can thrive.
Pasadena already has tried an Asian/​Taiwanese style night market (complete with stinky tofu vendors), and despite it being a major flustercuck, one could in theory say that it was a bit of a success, at least to test the waters. Even though the most touristy night markets in Taipei and Singapore would look at this and laugh their asses off. San Jose has something but it is looking pretty dreadful (see the reviews), basically an Asian themed night market turned RoachCoachFest.
Dropped by last night to check out this Night Market & Food Trucks, hosted by Moveable Feast. 7 trucks, and maybe 5 farmers market stands (one selling strawberries, one organic produce, one prepared foods, and one bakery for those who want to do a picnic). As far as food trucks, Treatbot ice cream, some fried chicken sandwich El Pollo (now a Chik Fil A truck would be awesome), some Indian food truck, We Sushi, and a Peruvian street food truck that had the longest lines that would make TPumps and Purple Kow extremely proud. The truck offerings likely change weekly, but you can pretty much figure out the lineup between here and the Urban Table Farmers Market/​Off The Grid downtown San Mateo on Mondays, so if you need your roach coach fix, it’s twice a week in the region now.
So it looks like sitting on red upside down dirty buckets is the in thing to do now at these roach coach gatherings, since it’s in a parking lot and foldable stools don’t seem to be a logical sturdy option to the people setting this up. It’s an insult to even use the word ghetto to describe this type of seating arrangement, as even the mofos in Asia would stand and eat, or squat like the typical Mainlander (usually holding a cigarette).
Also what is up with calling this a Night Market when the hours are 4 pm to 8 pm and by the time it is 8, there is still sunlight? Somewhere in Asia, a real night market is laughing into past 2 am.

So much fun in my own backyard. Well, not actually my backyard but really close :)
Food truck festivals are all the rage right now, so it only makes sense that they bring the fun to San Mateo. We Peninsula people like to indulge in a little food truckery every now and then.
What we ate:
Garlic noodles and lemongrass beef from An The Go…
$ 10 for a generous portion. So good!
Pork Katsu Burger from Saruno burger
$ 7 and I liked it more than the BF
Apple crisp from SF Delights
$ 4 beautifully presented and a steal!
All of this was tackled within an hour or so… It’s very nice of the Moveable Feast folks to provide buckets for seating, makes for a much more enjoyable eating experience.
My only complaint is the ill-​behaved children at every turn you take. Seriously, people need to tell their kids «no» every now and then and if they misbehave, take them home! Or get a babysitter. It’s not fun to try and eat with a kid screaming in your ear.

Ill take what new food trucks I can get as long as they keep bringing the variety. I like the Farmers Market/​Food truck combo. Little Chef Truck and SF Delights made for a great meal after a long day of work. Plenty of trucks and parking.

3 ¹⁄₅ stars.
Lots of food trucks but they run out of food so quickly. Why? I went at just after 6pm one evening and the truck I wanted to eat from was out of half of the items :(
The farmers market is nice but they need some more vendors.

So I am on the fence with this one… it was good, but it could be better. The food was good and the vendor selection was good. the only issue I have is why park them so close together. There is a huge parking lot and it would be better if there was some more space. The way it is set up the lines overlap, you stand in line only to find out that you are waiting for another place.

Stumbled unexpectedly on this while bicycling home from San Mateo. A few farmers stalls, a meats-​and-​piroshky vendor, and bread from Crepes & Brioche, but the highlight for me was food trucks (coordinated by Moveable Feast,
). I am currently happily filled with a sushi burrito.

A nifty mid-​week event! Three cheers for FREE PARKING, great trucks, and fresh produce in one spot!
I really like the wide range of trucks that show up here. Seems that the variety ensures that everyone will find something they like — a key highlight if you’re bringing the whole family or if you’re meeting up with a big group of friends. I also appreciate that I’m seeing some trucks I don’t normally see on this part of the Peninsula, including Mayo & Mustard. It’s fun to mix up the old favorites with some new eats.
As for the farmer’s market portion — the first week was pretty small (maybe two tents?), but on July 4 they had about five vendors. I assume they’re rolling out more as time goes on and they gauge the popularity of the event. The fact that this happens in the evening, as opposed to the morning, is probably a factor regarding how many farmers show up – they may not want to head home around 9 at night if they have a long way to travel, and then have to wake up at dawn. That said, I think it’s OK that there aren’t *that* many farmers — there’s just enough to refresh the produce stash mid-​week, and head to the Saturday market for a more complete shopping trip.

Tonight marked the first night of the San Mateo Night Farmers Market which will be held every Wednesday from 4:30 — 8:30pm at the San Mateo Event Center. Not only has it got local Farmers selling fresh local produce but also a great selection of food trucks to feast on.
The market itself was very small — just a few stalls selling Fruits & Vegetables, I expected there to be a lot more stalls but of course the main attraction was the food trucks. The line up for the evening was:
Treatbot, We Sushi, Sam’s Chowdermobile, Pollo Fritto, Kasa Indian, Hiyaaa, Sanguchon and Yumsilog.
There was also meant to be Pollo Fritto but it was a no show (booo!). I was really disappointed as I specifically went there for the Chicken Sandwich. Shame on the event center for sending me an email just hours before it started telling me it was there. I got all excited for a Chicken Sandwich but ended up having a Barbacoa from Sanguchon instead (review for that can be found here:
) so it wasn’t a complete bust.
Great event with a big turnout. Yay for food trucks in San Mateo!
*TIP* There is FREE parking at this event too!
EDIT: The amount of farmers stalls has increased! Last week (4^th July) there was twice as many stalls and the organizers say they will be adding more which is good as I think it’s lacking somewhat for a Market. The stalls that are currently there are selling fresh locally grown Fruits and Vegetables as well as one selling fresh Breads and tasty looking baked goods.
**************************** Wednesday 24^th October food truck line up ****************************
* Last one of the year*
Supplied by Moveable Feast: Treatbot, KoJa Kitchen, An the Go, Mayo & Mustard, Curry Up Now, Chairman, Taqueria Angelica’s & Saruno Burger.
No Farmer’s stalls this week though as they have packed up for the season.
**************************** Wednesday 24^th October food truck line up ****************************