The Tamale Lady
Rather than set up shop on the street, a growing number of pop-up food vendors are following in the footsteps of the beloved Tamale Lady (see below), hawking their wares in established venues. This group includes:
Kitchenette SF: Providing self-billed “spontaneous covert nourishment,” this cult sandwich slinger serves fresh lunches to-go out of a garage door at the American Industrial Center (958 Illinois St.; Monday–Friday, 11:30 AM–1:30 PM; learn more at www.kitchenettesf.com/).
Left Coast Smoke: This pop-up distributes its house-smoked barbecue sandwiches at sundry Mission Bars such as the 500 Club. Although it's occasionally shut down due to neighborhood complaints about its smoker, you can check its whereabouts at www.twitter.com/leftcoastsmoke.
Little Skillet: farmerbrown’s chicken 'n' waffles outpost started as an evening add-on to bar 333 Rich, but became so successful that it now operates daytime hours from a take-out window (see more details at www.littleskilletsf.com).
Mission Burger: This offshoot of the popular pioneering pop-up restaurant phenomenon, Mission St. Foods, flips burgers at Vietnamese supermarket Duc Loi every day except Thursday, from noon until the supplies run out (2200 Mission).
Virginia the Tamale Lady: This beloved patron saint of Mission drunks is the city’s original mobile food vendor, and she still shows up fairly regularly late at night at the Zeitgeist toting $4 tamales.
– Meesha Halm