This year's Eat Real Festival was really yummy. My family and I spent the afternoon there, soaking up sun, listening to music and stuffing ourselves full of food. This is the second or possibly third yearly East Bay festival put on by a group whose mission is to make real food as accessible and as affordable as fast food at events held in strategic communities across the United States (that's straight of their website). Notably, it is a for-profit venture, which may have something to do with why we spent sixteen dollars on four measly sample sized ice creams made by somebody up in Marin. But, admission to the festival was free, there were tons of demonstrations on urban homesteading, cooking and eating and most of the food was more reasonably priced. Plus, each year the festival brings attention to many of the Bay Area's less publicized street food vendors, which is a noble gesture.
Sadly, we didn't make it to any of the demos, classes or even the Lit Fest, which I would have loved to attend. Our two children just don't allow me to do many of those sorts of things. Maybe when they're older I can leave them at home in front of the TV and go by myself. They did enjoy the food, though, sharing a bacon wrapped hot dog and all sorts of other things. I happen to know (from visiting El Güero Canelo in Tucson this summer) that this item is better known as a Sonoran Hot Dog and is an authentic and delicious Mexican phenomenon. You can see it for yourself in the photo above.
We also ate some tiny chicken tacos, spicy plantain chips, a tasty pork sandwich, a cone full of roasted nuts and the aforementioned ice cream. My favorite, and also the kids' favorite, were the nuts. They were roasting them right there, at the festival, and also sold packages to take away. I am very happy to say that you can also order them online, from Oren's Kitchen. I'll be ordering up the pound size sampler, which contains Oren's Wild Rosemary Almonds, Indian Ajwain Cashews, Smoked Paprika Pecans and Coconut Chili Macadamias. My kids' favorite were the somewhat spicy pecans, and mine was the shaved coconut with the macadamias. All are delicious, though, and they make great snacks and lunchbox additions, if you are allowed to bring nuts to your school. Definitely not a low fat snack, but full of antioxidants and protein - healthy when eaten in small quantities.
The most exciting part of the whole event were two specialty vendors. The first was Gerard's Paella, which has the biggest paella pan I've ever seen, complete with a rake for cooking and wheels for towing home on the road. Then we found the chicken cottages from Holland Hen Houses, which my children fell in love with and demanded we bring home. The cottages are so adorable that if our backyard didn't have an infestation of neighborhood cats, possums, raccoons and rats, I might actually consider moving a family of hens in. The chicken lady at the festival assured me her houses are varmint proof, but I'm just not ready for that sort of responsibility.
The most unfortunate part was that the event was so huge we didn't manage to find the friends we intended to meet. Hopefully they at least found some good food. I'd love to hear from other people who attended - what was your favorite part? And if you didn't make it, try to go next year.
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