Over the festival’s three days, guests were treated to an overwhelming variety of restaurants from in and around the San Francisco area. Between all the delicious options, from southern comfort food to new cultural spins on familiar recipes, it was impossible to decide on where and what to eat. While many dishes were left on the table, the overall dining experience was a highlight of Outside Lands 2024. Bonus: all service items were eco-friendly!
Fowl + Fare: Citric Hot Combo Meal
The combo meal was $25 and came with a chicken sandwich and fries: a pretty fair deal. The fries were good enough. Some were crispy, while others were obviously left out too long. Although the seasoning tasted good, there wasn’t enough of it so a lot of the fries tasted like nothing. Despite the underwhelming fries, the chicken sandwich was surprisingly good. The chicken was fried incredibly well so that every bite was crispy with an audible crunch. Another surprise was that the sandwich was actually spicy; the heat even lingered after the meal was over. The spicy mayo added some nice moisture, and no hot chicken sandwich is complete without the pickles and coleslaw for that vegetal freshness. Between the great price and even better sandwich, Fowl + Fare was definitely worth a bite. 4/5
Gumbo Social: Po’Boy Combo
The po’boy combo came with a fried shrimp po’boy and fries, and was a decent amount of food for $29. Gumbo Social didn’t skimp out on the fries in portion or quality, as they were incredibly crispy and extraordinarily seasoned with a Cajun spice blend. The sandwich, however, was a bit underwhelming. The namesake of the sandwich, the fried shrimp, was battered, but wasn’t crispy or flakey. Also, all the shrimp was at the top of the roll so it was hard to get a bite that incorporated every ingredient – or just a bite where the shrimp didn’t fall out. There was a saving grace for the sandwich though, and that was the sauce. This sauce was mayonnaise based, dill forward and mustardy. Needless to say, it carried the sandwich. While Gumbo Social wasn’t atrocious, it wasn’t worthy of being the national cuisine of America claimed on the restaurant’s website. 3.5/5
Wahpepah’s Kitchen: Bison Frybread Taco
This is a compliment not often given to festival food venders, but the service was super friendly. Their small acts of kindness, like warning that the food was really hot, is not often seen in the festival environment of fast food and quick service. Onto the food itself, it was equally as amazing as the staff. The frybread was super pillowy soft with an almost donut-like flavor and consistency. The onions, lettuce and tomatoes were all fresh and the pickled jalapeños and salsa added nice acidity. As for the bison, it was unfortunately lost amongst the vegetables and humongous frybread. With that said, however, it all tasted very good and was reminiscent of an elevated chalupa from Taco Bell. While this comparison might not seem like a compliment, this was being served at a cannabis festival, so it is in fact massively high praise. In the end, service with a smile and amazing food made Wahpepah’s Kitchen one of the best venues at Outside Lands 2024. 4.5/5
Parche: Colombian Corn Dog & Salmon Salpicon Tostada
A corn dog with chorizo sounded a lot more exciting than it was in reality. The deep fried corn bread batter was pretty thick, but didn’t have any Colombian seasonings to make it special. While the chorizo provided a nice heat that broke through the fattiness of the meal, it wasn’t very big, and size matters when it comes to corn dogs, especially when it costs $16. Even though it was topped with jalapeños and crumbled cheese, it was hard to get a bite without them falling off. While the Colombian corn dog packed good flavor, it wasn’t the knockout punch it could have been. 2.5/5
The salmon salpicon tostada was at first a seemingly a simple dish. However, a plantain chip as the tostada shell was innovative and intriguing. This turned out to be somewhat disappointing as it was fairly difficult to eat. One bite into the dish, the plantain chip broke into multiple pieces and was hard to chew. This contrasted the fresh and buttery salmon coated in a tangy sauce. Each salmon piece had been cut to the perfect size for bites, but unfortunately there was not much “shell” able to compliment it. 3.5/5.
Peaches Patties: Jerk Chicken Meal
The jerk chicken meal was a great portion size and made the most of its $25 price tag. The meal came with a jerk marinade chicken drumstick and breast, Jamaican rice and sautéed plantains. Starting with the rice, it was very fluffy and had a depth of flavor and textural variety from the beans. The plantains were plantains, which is to say, they were fantastic: soft and mushy with a subtle sweetness. As for the chicken, it was a bit underwhelming. While bone-in chicken never disappoints, the marinade was lacking any distinct flavor. Even though the skin was coated a deep brown color, it mainly just tasted like chicken. All of that said, Peaches Patties was serving up a hearty meal that had enough going for it to make it worthwhile. 3.75/5.
Bini’s Kitchen: One Veggie and One Chicken Momo
Bini’s Kitchen gave a very interesting dumpling experience. The food was covered in a deep orange sauce that was super cold and oddly spicy. While the sauce was a bit unpleasant, the momo fillings were good. The veggie momo had shredded cabbage, carrots and diced white onion. Unlike the sauce, the veggies were warm and seasoned nicely with spices reminiscent of tikka masala. The chicken momo was a bit bland but still good. The chicken mixture had some diced onions and green peppers for some added subtle flavor and texture. Overall Bini’s Kitchen served up a unique culinary experience, but not in the best of ways. 2/5.
Sandy’s: Meat Muffuletta
Out of all the items on this list, the meat muffuletta took the longest to prepare, so Sandy’s gets bonus points for that. Since the bread is the unique ingredient for this sandwich, it stands to reason that it should be the star – and it was. The bread smelled incredibly fresh and the sesame seeds were beautifully toasted, giving a depth of flavor to the light and flakey bread. Between the slices were Italian meats and an olive spread. The Italian meats were rich and balanced incredibly well against the brine from the olives. Tying each bite together, literally and figuratively, was the melty cheese that added a creamy funk to the fatty meats and salty spread. While this was a simple sandwich, simplicity can equal perfection. 5/5
Wooly Pig: Asian Cubano
Wooly Pig’s Asian Cubano was a good sandwich and pretty fairly priced at $16. The bread was lightly burnt, but in a good way that added smokiness to the sandwich. The cold cuts of ham were faintly sweet, and the second meat was shredded and hard to place, but still quite good. There was also a chimichurri-esque sauce that did a lot to liven up the heavy sandwich. Since this was a Cubano, it wouldn’t have been complete without the pickles and a lot of mustard to add that perfect touch of acidity. Even though there weren’t any distinctly Asian elements, a great Cubano is still a great Cubano. 4/5
AyDea: Beef Hand Pie
The beef hand pie from AyDea left a lot to be desired. A super soft puff pastry was stuffed with beef and diced bits of potato that lacked any noticeable flavor. Another detail the hand pie lacked was textural variation. The entire meal was mushy since there was no crisp whatsoever on either the pastry or potatoes. The dish also came with a side of broth that added nothing to the experience. This broth came in a tiny cup and tasted like light chicken broth with faint notes of dill: think chicken soup without the chicken. This addition also didn’t enhance the hand pie flavor wise because it didn’t have anything to add texture wise, so it was just putting a wet ingredient onto an already mushy item. While the beef hand pie didn’t taste bad per say, its lack of any noticeable texture or flavor made for an incredibly lackluster meal. 2.5/5.
Jo’s Modern Thai: Thai Chicken Wings
At $18 for five pieces of wings, purchasing the Thai chicken wings from Jo’s Modern Thai was a bit of a risky move. Would the taste be worth the price? Would the booth live up to the hype of modern fusion dishes? The answer to that was yes! Though there were again only five pieces without any additional side like rice, the wings had a super nice crunch and were covered in a garlicky, peppery sauce. The wings had just been double fried and the sauce packed just the right amount of spice to compliment the chicken along with the basil. Overall the meal was good, only really lacking in the quantity. 4.5/5.
Urban Ritual: Creme Brûlée Tea
For those seeking a sweet treat, there were a handful of booths with boba on their menus. Urban Ritual’s creme brûlée tea satisfied sweet tooth cravings at only $12, being on the cheaper end of festival foods and drinks. The drink already came with boba as a topping and not at an up-charge, something that is typical at boba shops in The Bay and LA. Aside from the smooth taste of the milk tea, the boba was nice and chewy. The drink also had nice bits of creme brûlée that could be crunched every few sips. With the boba scene in The Bay rivaling many other areas in the US, Urban Ritual did not disappoint with their creme brûlée tea. 4/5.
Wah Jee Wah: Chicken Rice Combo
For $20, Wah Jee Wah offered up a Chicken Rice or Chicken Naan Combo. The plate came with four pieces of chicken, rice, some onions atop a chutney sauce and their masala mac & cheese. The chicken was not dry, the bare minimum one could ask for. It was seasoned nicely and shredded pretty easily. The rice and chutney sauce were both standard. The main star of the show was the masala mac & cheese. Bringing an innovative blend of Indian cuisine flavors to the East Bay, Wah Jee Wah created a truly delicious meal. Had there not been a big piece of hard cartilage in one of the chicken pieces, and had the chutney sauce a bit more special, Wah Jee Wah would have received a higher score. 4/5
Palmetto Superfoods: Bay Blend Bowl
Even with the cold weather, a popular spot to grab breakfast (at noon) or a quick snack was at Palmetto Superfoods. They were serving up açaí bowls and smoothies. The Bay blend bowl, which came with açaí, pitaya, coconut beach and blue chia pudding to name a few of the ingredients, was splendid. The fruits on top tasted sweet while the various mixtures at the bottom were refreshing. Each flavor intermingled with each other, creating an amazing mix for $16. One downside, it was hard to eat the ingredients at first since the cup was filled to the brim. It was more of an açaí cup rather than a bowl, but regardless the taste was great. 4/5.
El Garage: Birria Grilled Cheese & Esquite
After waiting for quite some time, the birria grilled cheese and esquite from El Garage was a bit underwhelming. The cheese to beef ratio in the sandwich made the food item good, but nothing more. Had there been more cheese, or even more melted cheese, it would have been a more pleasant meal as it was $22 on its own. The meat was nice and tender and the bread had a nice crunch, but it was overwhelmingly meaty and not so cheesy. 3/5.
Moving on to the esquite that costed $12, there was not much going on. The salsa macha, cheese and mayo that it came with were good, but again nothing more. Had there been another layer of the toppings in the middle of the corn, the ratio would have been much better. Once the top layer had been eaten, it was just loose corn at the bottom. With the wait time and inbalance of ingredients in their dishes, it might be best to skip out on El Garage. 2.5/5.
Koja Kitchen: Kamikaze Fries
A fusion of Japanese and Korean flavors, Koja Kitchen’s Kamikaze Fries were banging with flavor. From the sour kimchi to the crispy waffle fries, everything blended together nicely. The waffle fries on their own could have used some salt, but that was really the main con to this dish. The Japanese mayo balanced out the hot sauce and helped create a perfect bite with a bit of sauce atop a waffle fry, beef and kimchi. For $18 and a decently sized portion given the amount of fries that fit inside the boat, it’s no wonder Koja Kitchen had been a part of the food vendors at the festival once again. 4/5.
My Friend Fernando: Birria Fries
Seemingly a mix of Koja Kitchen’s kamikaze fries and El Garage’s birria grilled cheese, My Friend Fernando was offering up things like birria fries to hot pork milanesa torta. The birria fries costed $18, and like Koja Kitchen, came with a decent amount in the boat the item was given in. The meat was soft and separated easily. The fries were perfectly salted with a nice crunch. The cilantro and pickled onions added a nice sour taste to the dish. The main disappointing factor again was the cheese. It was not melted enough for the cheese flavor to mix with the rest of the dish, but that did not stop the dish from tasting great. 4/5.
Although there were still some disappointing meals and confounding culinary creations, Outside Lands 2024 served up an all around delicious feast.
