Yes, yes, the official start of summer is Sunday, June 21, but here at Eater SF, the true harbinger of summer is the release of the Outside Lands food and drink lineup. Sure, we already know that Charli XCX, The Strokes, and Rufus Du Sol headline this year’s festival, which runs from Friday, August 7, through Sunday, August 9. That’s all fine and good for Brat Summer 2.0, but what of the food? What will we all be drinking?
The Outside Lands team shared its list of food and drink highlights for the festival this year, and while 90 percent of vendors are returning, there are plenty of noteworthy newbies to seek out. Most exciting: This year’s food curators have also fallen hard for our local pastry scene. Pastry carts will be stationed throughout the park serving trendy desserts from Parachute Bakery and Tano, both debuting at the festival this year. Parachute Bakery brings in its vanilla and passionfruit croissant cubes and yuzu and black sugar pastries, while Tano plans to serve ube diplomat cream salt bread, sourdough focaccia crazy bread, and sesame toffee chocolate chip cookies.
Also big this year are the chef collabs. The carb-friendly team of Wise Sons x Outta Sight Pizza promises hot pastrami dip sandwiches, pizza bagels with burrata cheese, and cacio e pepe french fries. Reem’s pairs up with Lion Dance Cafe for what the Outside Lands team dubs an “Arab-Singaporean-Italian flavor marriage,” serving fried eggplant and potato flatbread wraps with sambal tomat (and yes, it’s vegan). Lastly, Oakland’s Jaji and Tallboy crosses Afghan food with martini flair, serving herb-crusted lamb tenderloin lavash wraps and dirty martini olive potato chips.
Restaurant Naides
Also in the mix are three long-running, San Francisco icons of the restaurant scene: Perry’s, Original Joe’s, and Balboa Cafe. Is it rude to name how old a restaurant is? Well, together, they have a combined 259 years of restaurant experience, but this is the year they’re debuting at Outside Lands. And by all accounts, they’re bringing the (old-school) heat. If prime rib dip sandwiches and spicy rigatoni sound like your ideal of a dinner, festivalgoers should seek out Original Joe’s. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be a Balboa Cafe joint without espressotinis, so its team’s bringing that on tap with cold foam, along with chicken paillard tenders and Caesar salad wraps.
Also new to the (food) group chat is chef Nelson German’s restaurant with Draymond Green and Guma Fassil, Meski, as well as Jollof Kitchen. Restaurant Naides also makes its festival debut, serving dishes such as barbecue pork and garlic rice bowls, plus lobster lumpia in the VIP tent. Copra will also be in the VIP area with chicken kari and Mysore masala dosas, plus butter chicken basmati rice bowls. La Cocina returns with new vendors from its program: Mi Comedor, Chiricana, and Chi Chi’s Kiosko, each serving its own style of chicken wings.
For those among us with deep pockets and bougie tastes, Golden Gate Club will have another Ken Fulk-designed area to lounge in. Chefs Tyler Florence of Miller & Lux, Dana Younkin and Nancy Oakes of Boulevard, and Melissa King will all have food at Golden Gate Club.
For drinks, Wine Lands and Beer Lands return with new brands to keep things fresh. Festival wine director Peter Eastlake brought on Auteur, Cakebread Cellars, Merriam, and Seppi into the fold for Wine Lands. Meanwhile, brewmaster Dave McLean once again curated the Beer Lands lineup, adding in the Leopard Mark and Wondrous.
To see the full food and drink lineup, head to sfoutsidelands.com.