San Francisco Food Trucks and Food Carts: The Best of the Best

As in most other big cities, the gourmet food truck and food cart trend is in full swing here in San Francisco. It's pretty surprising, too, considering the fact that San Francisco has yet to change it's legislation to better accommodate this rising food trend, like other cities have. But maybe all the struggle and determination required to open up a food truck in San Francisco makes the food that much better!

Here are some of the most popular gourmet SF food trucks and carts, along with their twitter names so you know where to find 'em:

* One of the most popular is the one-man-operation, the Crme Brle Cart. He serves warm and uniquely-flavored crme brles, such as Mexican Chocolate, Lavender and Honey Vanilla. Follow him at @cremebruleecart.

* Another staple is the Magic Curry Kart. You wouldn't expect such delicious chicken & vegetable curry to come from a little cart covered with neon lights, but it does! And, if you bring your own bowl, you get a discount. @magiccurrykart

* Probably the most gourmet gourmet food truck, Spencer on the Go!, is side project of the French restaurant Chez Spencer. They serve a twist traditional French fare like escargot "lollipops," grilled sweet breads and ratatouille. Follow them at @chezspencergo.

* The Chairman Bao Bun Truck serves gooey steamed (and interestingly, baked) Chinese buns and omelettes. Fan favorites include the Pork Belly with Pickled Daikon bun, and the Chinese Sausage and Egg Sandwich with Hoisin. @chairmantruck.

And if you can't decide which food cart to try out, try them all! A new foodie tradition recently started up called Off The Grid -- a collection of Street Food markets around the Bay Area. Each market features at least five vendors and often some live music. They currently have three weekly locations: the Fort Mason Center, the Upper Haight and Civic Center. More info at http://www.sfcartproject.com/archives/824.

Rebecca R is the founder of Inhabit Vacations, a travel company that discovers hip, unique vacation rentals with local flavor -- and collects them online.

They currently have vacation rentals in the Sonoma Wine Country and San Francisco. For more tips on either of these areas, check out Inhabit's blog at http://blog.inhabitvacations.com.