Street food is by definition down and dirty, fast, cheap, and filling. It’s for those of us who just don’t have the time to ponder a menu, order courses, and pontificate over the remoulade’s base. It’s food that’s meant to be eaten on the go. And it’s great. But it’s often the cheapest ingredients prepared in the fastest ways — which isn’t always the best for us.
So we’ve taken a look at some chefs around the world who are trying something a little different with some of our street food favorites. Below you’ll find a small collection of street food that chefs are bringing indoors and turning up to 11.
Street Corn
This Mexican mainstay of street cuisine is making its way across the United States. And with good cause, it’s goddamned delicious. The original is a steamed or grilled cob of corn buttered and covered in a hard cheese and a smattering of other sauces (often crema). Chefs are taking that foundation, removing the corn from the cob, and amping up the sauces to make a bombastic and fantastic version of the iconic street treat.
Pho Fusion
Pho has already taken the western world by storm. So the fusion of its major elements into other forms was inevitable. Over at Komodo in LA they took that leap by taking the street food soup of Vietnam and reimagining it in one of California’s most popular inventions — the burrito, or the ‘phoritto’ if you will.
Vegetarian Tacos
Is there anything more street food than the humble taco? Carts, trucks, stands, tables … it doesn’t matter because the taco can be served from them all. Of course as tacos proliferate across cultures and borders high end cuisine is going to take a stab at the what’s essentially the most famous Mexican sandwich of all time (come @ me bros).
One of the best new waves is the vegetarian tacos coming out of Puesto in La Jolla where art meats taco.
Indian Street Food
A trip to India is a culinary exploration into new galaxies of flavor (with entire street food solar systems). So it’s no huge surprise that we’re seeing more and more spots like Bollywood Theater in Portland riff on the Indian street food tradition.
In the central Bay Area you’ll find Rasa — where Indian street food is taken very seriously. Dosa are formed into new shapes and sizes, sliders show up with Mumbai ingredients, and stone cold classics get the chef treatment.
Oysters All Day
Oysters are the original street food of America. And they’re making a comeback in a big way. Today getting a simple oyster is more than just shucking and slurping, oyster farms like Hama Hama Oysters up in Washington are bringing in heavy hitting chefs, in this case Chef Luke Reyes, to take oysters to new heights.
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Bao Burgers
Bao is a staple of Chinese cuisine. As the softest of all the sandwich-like-tacos made its way around the world through restaurants and food trucks, it became a catch all to stuff with anything. One such purveyor of the amped up Bao is at the street food market in Berlin, Markethalle Neun. They use the soft and subtle Bao bread as a base for local classics. It’s always good, inventive, and a little brash.
The Best Hot Dog
Claiming the best hot dog is a futile challenge. Most of us have our favorite dirty water dog joints near our homes. Sometimes though, you need a little more than a squirt of mustard and/or ketchup with a dollop of kraut or relish. Sometimes you need a dog that transcends and takes everything up a notch. Hey Doggy Dogg in the ATL started as a push cart that sourced every ingredient locally and to the best degree. Now they’re a brick and mortar mainstay constantly sorting out where to take the hot dog next.
