Every year, cities nationwide host an open-air food market called Foodieland, bringing a unique multicultural food experience to its town in 13 cities across the United States, including Austin, San Diego, and San Francisco, and it is usually held in the summertime from May to July.
San Francisco’s Foodieland was held this past weekend, bringing the city together and including a section of carnival games such as a trampoline and ring toss. During the later hours of the event, live music was hosted for people to enjoy along with their food.
The event hosts various vendors serving different cuisines to bring foods and flavors worldwide to one location. The varieties of food ranged from Asian barbecue to Filipino Lumpia.
“My favorite thing I tried at Foodieland was the Tanghulu, and I have never been able to purchase it anywhere else. I also had a lot of new foods, like fried mac ‘n’ cheese balls and Hawaiian honey cones,” said Anuja Kamatkar, a participant at the event.
Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese snack consisting of fruits like grapes, strawberries, and mandarins on a skewer and dipped in a sugar coating. It is a complicated process to make Tanghulu, so being able to purchase it at Foodieland provides opportunities for customers to try out new foods.
Aside from all the food, there were many desserts, such as the Hawaiian honey cone ice cream, cream puffs, and churros. There were also options for drinks, including boba, lemonade in giant baby bottles, and sugar cane juice.
Foodieland invites attendees to expand their culinary horizons by trying new foods not typically found in traditional restaurants. From foods such as sushi pizza to potato chips on a stick and Ghostix, there is something to satisfy everyone.
“I think it is a great place to try new foods like alligator bites, and there was a long line to try them,” said Dezire Perez, a visitor of Foodieland.
Alongside all the food vendors, Foodieland provides a platform for many small businesses to sell their products. One of these was Bungalow Glow Candle, which Alexandra Pacheco founded during quarantine. Pacheco had a booth at the event and sold various products such as candles, body oil perfumes, and air fresheners for cars.
“Events such as Foodieland are important for the Bay Area community because everybody supports each other. The vendors come here to provide entertainment for the community, and the community comes out and supports us,” Pacheco said.
