A VIP hangout area for Dynamo Donuts, Blue Bottle Coffee and other treats
As a couple hundred thousand people descended on Golden Gate Park for three days of some of the world’s biggest musicians at Outside Lands, San Francisco is truly represented by food, wine and beer that shames what typically passes for “festival” food and drink. Raising the bar for all festivals, James Beard restaurants serve celebrated appetizers from their restaurants, artful, boutique wines are poured, whole lambs are cooked in array of delicious interpretations, California craft beers flow. This year in the woods near Choco Lands, three bars (two SF, one Oakland) poured quality cocktails… hopefully next year, even more local cocktail bars will be represented.
In the midst of unforgettable shows by Sir Paul McCartney, Jurassic 5 and dozens of other musicians, we were certainly satiated.
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- Beer Lands on the main concert field
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- Choco Lands (dessert booths in the woods)
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- 3 cocktail bars represent
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- An Alembic cocktail: bourbon, chai-infused vermouth
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- Cantina pours 5-spice Margaritas & Pisco Punch
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- Wise Sons’ ridiculously good pastrami fries
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- Creative Malaysian nachos from Azalina’s w/ curry chicken, yogurt, blueberry sauce, peanuts
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- From the wood-burning oven inside their truck, Del Popolo churned out Italy-worthy pizzas the entire festival
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- Juicy, tender lamb burgers from Lamb Lands stands in the woods
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- Lamb Lands mantra
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- First sake on tap at any festival: Momokawa in Wine Lands
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- Glowing Outside Lands after dark
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- Sir Paul McCartney plays a magical, 3 hour set
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- Willie Nelson gets the crowd singing along
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- Nighttime glow during Red Hot Chili Peppers set
Among the best eats at OL 2013: Rich Table’s famed sardine chips & my favorite, their porcini doughnuts (right)
Roaming the Wine Lands tent: taste highlights included wines by one of my favorite small Napa producers, Forlorn Hope, as well as Scribe, Hobo, Robert Sinskey