Street Eats Benefit Gala
Where: Ferry Plaza
When: Sept. 18, 6-10 p.m.
Cost: $125 to $225
Street food may have just jumped the shark. A charitable foundation that apparently exists to help its members tweet to each other is staging a "Street Eats Benefit Gala" next month at Ferry Plaza, with reserved seats selling for as much as $225.
Rather than force Thurston and Lovey to rub elbows with the riff raff outside Tacolicious or Roli Roti, the reserved seating allows them to wear the good jewelry.
However, if you're a little behind on your house payments, you could get in with general admission tickets for a mere $125 -- if you buy them before Aug. 31.
So what do you get for your tax-deductible money?
From the press release: "Guests will enjoy one-of-a-kind gourmet takes on street food along with wine, coffee, dessert and specialty cocktails from over three dozen of the Bay Area's top restaurants, food trucks and wineries. All admission tickets include bottomless plates, open bar and live entertainment."
The chef lineup is impressive: participants come from Ame, Ana Mandara, Aziza, Bar Agricole, Betelnut, Bluestem Brasserie, Bun Mee, Delfina, Dosa, E&O Trading Co., Epic Roasthouse, Humphry Slocombe, Le Colonial, Marinus, Restaurant Picco, Socola Chocolatier, SPQR and the Slanted Door.
There are even some actual street food people: Nom Nom Truck, which has been on the Food Network, and Little Green Cyclo, which must have snuck in because of the Vietnamese-American connection.
We wouldn't be quite so cynical about this event if it were for a charity that, say, helps poor people. Here's how the press release describes OneVietnam:
Launched in 2010, OneVietnam is an online network that allows Vietnamese expatriates around the world to take deliberate action to build their community where they are and abroad. It's social networking with a cause.
Which is all fine; people need to meet up somehow. And of course we'd like to see -- and taste -- what chefs like Hiro Sone and Charles Phan and Brandon Jew can do in interpreting street food. Maybe the San Francisco Chronicle will even notice street food now. It's safe at last.
Now if we can just get reserved seating installed at dive bars!
Buy tickets here. If your servant waits until after Aug. 31 and the price goes up, behead fire her.
