If you thought we’d stop at bands to see and comedians to laugh with (or at) in terms of recommendations, then clearly you didn’t realize how much the San Francisco Appeal cares about your festival experience. Dear readers, we’re ready to give you the ultimate Outside Lands meal plan. It’s the ideal breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, as well as our picks of what to try at the ever-expanding Beer Lands and Wine Lands. Imbibe and enjoy and definitely let us know your favorite foods and drinks at the festival.
Breakfast:
Start your day off right with a bit of a detox from Living Greens Juice. Choose from fresh-pressed juices that are sure to energize and refresh, or keep it simple with a coconut. Who says a liquid meal can’t be a healthy one?
Lunch:
Purveyors of the real Korean taco, Namu Street Food takes fusion to a simplistic yet delicious place. Seaweed wraps act as your tortilla, setting the stage for short ribs, kimchee, and a teriyaki sauce that perfectly complements a flavorful aoli.
Dinner:
Outside Lands’ Taste of the Bay does, in fact, extend all the way to Oakland. Kitschy mac and cheese joint Homeroom shouts out yet another facet of the region with a mac and cheese dish spiked with garlic straight from Gilroy. By the time it hits dusk, when the fog rolls in, and the layers come on, a hearty meal from Homeroom is your next best bet to stay warm and completely comfortable.
Dessert:
If you think cupcakes are just a fad food and have moved onto gourmet toast as your dessert of choice, you may want to hold the fuck on and head over to Chocolands. Unlike smaller offerings from similarly adorable vendors, Kara’s Cupcakes are the real deal. Of course you’re going to be met with a wide array of chocolate options but for those really wanting to get the full range of a flavorful cupcake, go with the ultra-moist red velvet.
Beer list:
Beer lovers need only look to the north to find quality ales and IPAs care of Marin Brewing Co. Their fruit-infused beers are absolute standouts, with blueberry ale allowing for just enough of a splash of flavor to color the brew and not overwhelm it. The blueberry ale is the type of beer that, like its North Bay home, tends to transcend hot and cold weather.
Wine list:
Never in my life have I been so excited about a wine. Summer of Riesling excels in one incredibly specific, surprisingly catchall wine and they do it with the type of fervor that will make a convert out of even the most hard-nosed Pinot drinker.
Odds and Ends: Cheeselands is now a thing and thought it has one lone curator of fine fromage and charcuterie, it may prove a worthy replacement of the gone but not forgotten Outside Lambs. Cheeselands runs the risk of being highly impracticle, though, as portable foods reign supreme and lavish boards and platters, well, aren’t very easy to transport.
