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Tempting festival foods
Barbecue
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Two dozen food purveyors, restaurants and non-profit organizations offering an inspired international menu of street fare extraordinaire will come together for this year’s Mountain View Art & Wine Festival, September 6-7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Castro Street.
Early arrivals can enjoy a healthy breakfast at Maui Waui Smoothies. The frothy drinks are made with nonfat yogurt, bananas and your choice of freshly puréed strawberry, mango-orange or pineapple-coconut. Breakfast-seekers with a bigger appetite can opt for something French at Lemoine Crêperie, where any combination of cheese, spinach, ham and bacon can fill the delicately thin, made-to-order crêpes in the traditional style of the Northern France region of Brittany. Return later in the day for dessert crêpes made with strawberries, cherries, peaches, whipped cream or Nutella, the irresistible hazelnut spread found in every French kitchen.
Some folks head straight for the aroma of sizzling meat. They’ll find no shortage at this festival, where several grills will be vying for their attention with sausages, kebabs and fillets. Lockeford Meat & Sausage Company will cook up its famous Dakota smoked bratwurst blend of turkey, pork and beef, served on a hoagie roll with onions and sauerkraut. At Uhuru Concessions, the Louisiana sausages are spicy beef, dressed up with grilled peppers and onions on a hoagie roll. Save your appetite, and you can go all-out with Uhuru’s garlic fries and their gotta-try-em-once fried Twinkies. The nationwide Uhuru Movement works toward economic development and social justice for the African community in the U.S. and worldwide.
Beef and lamb are the meats of choice at the Armenian Trex Fraternity booth, run by members of this nearly 100-year-old charitable club of Armenian men. Their lamb and beef kebabs are made with high-quality ground meat formed around a skewer and grilled over hot coals. They are served in the soft flatbread called lavash with onions, tomatoes and parsley. Similar ground lamb and beef kebab sandwiches are served Iranian-style at Rose International, which also offers chicken marinated in olive oil and lemon juice. The difference is in the accompaniments, which include fresh basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, onions and grilled tomatoes.
Sandwiches are also the starring attraction at Earthly Delights. Their grilled meat sandwiches include Italian garlic chicken topped with sautéed red peppers and onions; Cajun barbecue chicken slathered with real Cajun sauce shipped from Louisiana; spicy Thai peanut chicken; and slow-cooked barbecue pork. A side of Parmesan garlic fries rounds out the meal. Chicken and pork will be the featured meats at Thai Stick as well, but prepared in the signature Thai style — thinly sliced, skewered and grilled. The chicken will also be offered over rice with salad or in a spinach tortilla wrap. For another take on Asian chicken, try the teriyaki chicken rice bowl; battered orange chicken with fried rice and chow mein; or Chinese chicken salad with crispy rice noodles and soy-honey-wasabi sauce at Oriental Cuisine Express.
Seafood lovers will seek out the folks from The Fish Market Restaurants in Palo Alto and Santa Clara. They’ll be serving shrimp cocktails with the small, sweet bay shrimp from Canada’s cold waters, as well as skewers of large shrimp marinated in garlic and butter and served with an Asian cole slaw. The perfect accompaniment is their famous cheesy garlic sourdough bread. For fans of fried seafood, there’s Sonoma Teriyaki, offering fried calamari, prawns and fish, paired deliciously with garlicky fries. Willow Street also fries up calamari, along with zucchini and artichokes. Cheese and pepperoni pizza will be fresh out of the oven from two popular local restaurants. Amici’s will serve authentic thin-crust, East Coast–style pizza, while Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi, Too will have their thick-crust Italian version.
Need an afternoon energy boost? Load up on some carbs at Moon River Corn Company. They buy their corn from local farms, roast them in the husk, and serve them with butter or lemon pepper butter. Their colossal baked potatoes can be topped with anything from classic sour cream and chives to cheddar cheese and tomatoes. And their nachos come either with the traditional chips and cheese or adorned additionally with tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole and jalapeños. Olé!
Everybody’s favorite salty-sweet quick walk-around snack—irresistible kettle korn—will be popped at the Olde Tyme Kettle Korn and Suitcase Ron’s Kettle Korn booths. The weather in early September will probably be toasty, so cool desserts will be in order. WOOF Frozen Fantasies (raising funds to benefit trained rescue dogs) has super healthy fruit smoothies with options including strawberry, mixed berry, peach, pineapple and mango flavors, mixed simply with soy milk. They also have frozen chocolate-dipped fruit kebobs and ice cream bars.
Hawaiian Snow Shave Ice has guilt-free desserts in a rainbow of flavors including strawberry, lime, mango, cherry and Blue Hawaii (coconut and vanilla). If you’re OK with a little indulgence, check out their root beer floats, pineapple sundaes and ice cream bars. And while you’re considering the calories, don’t forget Baskin Robbins and their mint chocolate chip, jamoca almond fudge and cookie dough, scooped in either a waffle cone or (why not?) a chocolate-dipped cone. You can also opt for their root beer floats.
Refreshments are always a must for a day of strolling and shopping. The Mountain View Library Foundation has a delicious slushie-like soft frozen lemonade that’s been a hit for years. Barrett’s offers both regular and diet hand-shaken lemonade. And Orange Mint has its mysteriously magical frothy orange drink.
