Street Eats Benefit Gala
Where: Ferry Plaza
When: Sept. 18, 6-10 p.m.
Cost: $125 to $225, with 35% discount for SFoodie readers
A couple weeks ago, I mocked the Street Eats Benefit Gala, an all-you-can nosh event to benefit the charity OneVietnam.
I called OneVietnam: "A charitable foundation that apparently exists to help its members tweet to each other." I also wrote that the $225 reserved seating means that street food has jumped the shark.
One of these statements I'd like to retract. I have since been in touch with One Vietnam about its mission. (As for the other, how long street food will stay fascinating before people move on to the next big thing is an open question.)
I would like to give a little more detail about the menu for the event and the charity.
First, the food. Most of the 23 participating vendors are brick-and-mortar restaurants, not actual street food vendors. There are some intriguing dishes planned that you won't easily find served from a truck, at least locally. Here are a few:
Ana Mandara: Bo tai chanh -- seared rare beef on fresh plaintain; banh knot -- savory mini blinis with prawns and scallions; prawn & crystal seaweed salad
Bar Agricole: Tea-smoked egg with tonnato
Betelnut: Lemongrass pork sausage, sticky rice & chili lime sauce
Delfina: Chilled tripe Naples street-vendor style
E&O Trading Co.: paper-wrapped chicken
Now, about the charity. OneVietnam founder James Bao says it's his goal to use social media to encourage Vietnamese Americans to keep sending money to the homeland. Expats send $8 billion a year to Vietnam; it's about 10% of the nation's economy, Bao says.
Bao says by using social media to provide updates from domestic Vietnamese charities, he can address the two biggest impediments that he believes prevent young Vietnamese Americans from sending money: lack of trust and fading cultural ties.
For one project, Bao gave seven disabled Vietnamese people each an iPad so they could tell their own stories to people here. The idea is that seeing their difficulties would spur young Vietnamese Americans to donate. Bao says OneVietnam's budget for the awareness project was just $5000, which is incredible considering what iPads cost.
It's a niche market charity: not all of us are Vietnamese American. But my description was flippant and harsh; there's more to it than tweeting.
I was wrong. I'm sorry.
Bao may or may not forgive me, but he holds no grudge against you, SFoodie readers. He has offered a 35% discount for tickets to the event.
Entered the code SFoodieLove when you buy tickets here. If you want to spring for the reserved seating, we won't say a word.
