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Community Corner

Albany Bursts into Food Cart Scene with "Behind the Cart" Extravaganza

The city's first food cart pop-up restaurant event proves there can't be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Sunday night, behind , 50 foodies pulled up chairs side by side, and dined al fresco at long communal tables to sample in Albany's first "" dinner. 

Let's hope it's not the last. 

Michael Davidson, better known as GrilledCheezGuy, hosted the event, which featured food from a range of vendors organized around the theme of American grub. 

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There were two kinds of sliders, mac 'n cheese, donuts with ice cream and coffee, and delectable fried chicken and waffles. 

The Sam Chase played throughout the night as the musical accompaniment. 

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The two-hour meal was followed by a discussion by the vendors who shared stories about how they got into the business. 

Many cited inspiration from their families and satisfaction from happy diners as the reasons behind their work. 

Albany residents Penny and John Barthel said the event seemed like a good way to end the summer, "before we take our son to college."

"It felt like a community of chefs putting something on," said John Barthel. "It was kind of like them saying, 'I'm going to throw a picnic for you.'"

"And we could walk to it," added Penny Barthel. "That was a major plus. We met one couple who came here from Sunnyvale. It was nice to spend three hours getting to know new people."

Paul Midgen, of Angry Man Eats, said food carts are a way to bring a different culinary experience to the masses.

"Good food should not be something inaccessible," he said. "It shouldn't be words on a menu that you don't understand. It should feel like your mother's kitchen. If people support efforts like these, we'll get there." 

Diner Alana Jelinek, of Farm Creative, added that "these kinds of dinners are such an amazing experience. Tasting so many flavors, so many personalities in food, is an eye-opening experience. It makes you wonder, why don't we always eat this way?"

Hannah Hoffman, of Cibo Per Strada, said she grew up in her parents' restaurant, starting "on the counter in a bowl" and ending up making ice cream in the freezer. After spending years studying "food anthropology," and how immigrant groups maintain cultural cohesion through food and drink, she said she just "can't help" cooking.

"I do it because I must," she said, adding that food carts are a response to a public desire to eat different kinds of food than they can find in traditional restaurants. 

Events such as Behind the Cart, and the food cart movement as a whole, she said, offer a "convivial journey toward eating in a different way."

Rhasaan Fernandez, of Boffo Cart and , said he liked seeing how events such as this can bring the community together. 

Sam's Log Cabin has been operating since the 1930s as "a space where so many people have enjoyed food with their families. We hope to have 100 years of making people happy," he said.

Fernandez added that he's begun the League of Urban Eaters, and hopes to hold classes in cheese making, butchery and other urban homesteading in the restaurant.

Organizer Davidson said Behind the Cart is a way to "give the underground dining experience a chance to grow." He hopes to hold events monthly around the Bay Area.

"We're here to stay," he said. "How we'll evolve, I don't know. It's all so new."

Food cart afficiandos should make a note to check out Golden Gate Fields' "" events, which begin later this month and will run through September. Sign up to learn about future Behind the Cart events at www.behindthecart.com.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com. 

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