An occasional collection of bites. Have you eaten anything good or bad, or seen a good scene while you munched? Send in your short bites to missionlocal@gmail.com. Full names only.
Deep-fried caramel pop from Clairesquares, $3. This hot mess of a caramel ball was amazingly gooey and melty from the first bite. With a hint of saltiness and a crispy shell, the melted caramel inside literally made my taste buds sing. The caramel was melted to a thin mush, a perfect balance of sweet and salty. This small treat on a stick was a great start to the eat-athon I was about to get myself into — Yoona Ha
Fried chicken sriracha butter from the Slanted Door. “I’m from the South, so it’s like I know my fried chicken because I’ve tried a lot. Personally, I wish these were a bit spicier, but this is well done. In the South, the fried chicken is breaded heavily and so when you take a bite the breaded layers are evident, but this fried chicken is not breaded that much. It’s really good.” — Richard, Street Food Festival patron
Deviled ham scotch egg from Il Cane Rosso, $8. Although it looks like a regular deep-fried ball of some sort, the inner workings of this fried craftwork are as layered as an onion — it’s a little galaxy of fried goodness. The core of the fried ball is a spicy soft-boiled egg, covered in layers of ham and bits of pork. This egg is a bold choice for your palate, and extra-savory when topped off with a mixture of barbecue sauce and hot sauce. — Yoona Ha
Funnel cake from Endless Summer Sweets, $8. “This is probably the best funnel cake I’ve ever had. I have no words. If I had to give it a grade it would be a 10 out of 10. Just 10 out of 10.” — Nicole, Street Food Festival patron.
Tomato fried in lard with 4505 chicharron from Jarred, $8. I’m a deep-fried tomato fan, but spending eight bucks for this might have been a little excessive. The tomatoes were adequately fried and topped off with creamy sauce and lightly fried, flakey chicharrons (which went really well with the tomatoes), but I still couldn’t get over the fact that it was eight dollars for two tomato slices. The fried tomatoes had a slightly sour and sweet taste. Maybe I needed a little more hot sauce instead of cream sauce. — Yoona Ha