Since its 2008 inception, the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has lured major-label talent to its stages.
This year is no exception. British folk rockers Mumford & Sons, Ohio blues rockers The Black Keys (below left) and English piano rock legend Elton John top the bill for the annual three-day affair this weekend, along with an undercard that includes Compton hip-hop sensation Kendrick Lamar (right), Philadelphia neo-soul singer D’Angelo and Swedish electronic dance music duo Axwell & Ingrosso.
But what’s also no exception this year is the festival’s lineup of wine, beer and food.
The festival has evolved into a NorCal foodie’s paradise, delving deeper each year into the Bay Area and Northern California eateries for its lineup.
One restaurant involved with Outside Lands since its initial installment in 2008 is Pacific Catch Westcoast Fish House, which will serve Hawaiian ahi poke, Alaskan cod fish and chips as well as sweet potato fries at the festival. Its chief operating officer, Tom Hanson, said he’s helped encourage other Bay Area restaurants to join the table.
“It’s gratifying to see it all come together,” Hanson said. “When we first started, I couldn’t tell how many local restaurants I was familiar with, but since then, not only has it probably doubled or tripled in number of vendors, they have food trucks up in there and they just added more areas for food vending. It’s really become a food festival.”
Months away from launching Pacific Catch’s seventh restaurant this fall in Dublin, Hanson said feeding thousands for a few days is a tall order – 1,800 pounds of sweet potato fries, 1,100 pounds of Alaskan True cod, 750 pounds of ahi tuna, 30 gallons of sweet Thai chili sauce, 40 gallons of ginger wasabi aioli and 40 gallons of jalapeño tartar.
Since Pacific Catch deals with raw fish, Hanson said his restaurant effectively sets up a refrigerated, diesel-powered mini-kitchen on site.
“All the prep work is done in a cold atmosphere,” he said.
As to the size of the line to order food, Hanson said they’re at the mercy of the music schedule.
“It ebbs and flows like a tide,” he said. “As one band is finishing, another is starting on a separate stage and you just watch the wave of people go from one side to another side, back and forth. The challenge is when the flow comes to your side of the tent or field, you have to be prepared for 30 minutes to go as fast as you can. Then it slows back down. . . . That’s not how a restaurant runs.”
Jared Crabtree, catering operations manager for Tacolicious, which will serve “shot-and-a-beer” braised chicken tacos, veggie tacos and Baja-style fried fish tacos, agreed that it’s a different animal than a restaurant.
“Staffing can be difficult with this kind of volume,” he said. “We call all of our friends and family to come help for a few hours and enjoy the festival.”
For Crabtree, Outside Lands means more than 650 pounds of tortillas, 300 pounds of cod for fish tacos, 80 quarts of salsa verde and 50 40-pound hotel pans of braised chicken.
In addition to Pacific Catch and Tacolicious are nearly 70 other restaurants and food trucks, from Freshroll Vietnamese Rolls and Bowls to Little Skillet's chicken and waffles (right) to newcomer Michael Mina’s Tailgate, which will serve hickory-smoked brisket, sorghum pickles and bourbon barbecue sauce.
In addition to the food are special food and beverage-related areas which celebrate their names: Wine Lands, Beer Lands, Choco Lands and Cheese Lands. Wine Lands will feature nearby Napa wineries such as Menage à Trois and Calder Wines.
This year's lineup for The Barbary, the comedy tent, stars Tig Notaro, Pete Holmes, Jen Kirkman and former members of “The Daily Show” news team.
One artist that will not perform is Toronto’s Alvvays, which canceled Wednesday due to international travel issues. Taking their place is English rock band Wolf Alice.
Now in his sixth year at the festival, Crabtree said it’s an experience unlike any other.
“(Outside Lands) is a unique festival that takes advantage of a beautiful public space,” Crabtree said. “It’s a showcase for talent, both musically and of the local culinary scene. We have never tried to reinvent wheel. We just make damn good tacos – with an Elton John garnish.”
The sold-out festival runs from Friday through Sunday in Golden Gate Park. For more information or to view the three-channel webcast each day, visit sfoutsidelands.com.
The Black Keys and Classixx images Daily Republic file photo.
Farmerbrown Little Skillet- Chicken and Waffles photo courtesy 44 Communications.
Kendrick Lamar photo courtesy Merlijn Hoek.
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