Email

Print

Last week, our guest blogger visited Meats 4505 in San Francisco, and in that story I mentioned that he got a lot more than he bargained for. Actually, I should have said, “I got a lot more than I bargained for.” Andrew accompanied him as the photographer, and at one point asked our guest blogger to bring the camera bag over to him. A lot of you know that I’m a professional photographer. That being said, I typically carry some pretty pricy equipment around in my camera bag.

Unfortunately, he picked it up incorrectly, and two lenses came tumbling out, bouncing on the concrete right in front of the Meats 4505 stand! Needless to say, my lenses were completely destroyed. A $2500 visit to the camera store, and I was ready to shoot photos at Food Trucks at the Fairgrounds. Our illustrious guest blogger who had offered to pay for the lenses has decided that it was really Andrew’s responsibility to care for the lenses, so it’s not ethical to pay for them. Not ethical? That just takes the cake!

This review isn’t about cake, though… it’s about buns. The Chairman’s buns. We’ve had our eye on The Chairman for quite some time. We missed them at the Sacramento Mobile Food Festival in December, and didn’t want an opportunity to pass us by again. The Chairman serves traditional Gua Bao, or “bun sandwich” – meat or vegetables sandwiched between steamed or baked buns.

With new lenses in hand, we went out to San Francisco to find The Chairman at the Truck Stop on 3^rd St and Mission St.

The Chairman Truck, San Francisco, CA

They offer four choices of bun sandwiches in baked and steamed variations. We tried one baked and one steamed.

Coca-Cola Braised Pork, The Chairman

The Coca-Cola Braised Pork – Tender pork belly, braised with Coca-Cola on a perfectly baked, golden-brown, lightly sweet, glazed bun with Savoy Cabbage, Yellow Mustard seeds and Kewpie Mayo. This bun is fresh, fluffy and delicious, and the meat is outstanding. An excellent meal at $6.75.

Pork Belly Steamed Bun, The Chairman

The Tender Pork Belly – a slightly crispy, tender pork belly with Turmeric Pickled Daikon and Green Shiso, on a freshly steamed and fluffy bun is a delicious snack-sized sandwich at $3.75.

Overall, we loved this truck, and Stitch was thrilled that we finally caught up with them. We saw them again at Food Trucks at the Fairgrounds at the Alameda County Fairgrounds last weekend, and tried the Spicy Chicken with Toasted Sesame Puree, Pickled Carrots, Cucumber and Cilantro on steamed buns – Delicious! If you have the opportunity, you’ll want to follow and try The Chairman’s buns.

Overall Impression: 4.1 Plates! Find The Chairman on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheChairmanTruck and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/chairmantruck. And, with a couple of new lenses in hand, I’m ready to tackle next week’s review… What am I in the mood for? Any suggestions?