(Finally) Inside Lands

At least twice a year, my neighborhood is invaded by buzzing throngs of suburbanites hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite rock luminaries in nearby Golden Gate Park. I know something’s up when I come home from a hard day’s work and can’t find a parking spot within ten blocks of my apartment. Or, when taking the University Shuttle, I’m accompanied by a group of chatty, drunk high-schoolers I do not recognize from lab.

One of these annual disruptions is the fantastic Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, a free event that takes place the first weekend of October. HSB has always felt like an extravagant social contract, through which I gladly tolerate the crowds, incense, and spiking incidence of cosmetic dreadlocks. In exchange, I receive a venue in which I can commune with friends, eat bánh mì on a picnic blanket, and take in an indie rock show, preceded by a children’s story from MC Hammer.

For the past 3 years, there’s been another event, during what we call “summer” out here in the Outside Lands. It’s Outside Lands: a high profile music festival that is most definitely not free. My typical vantage point of this festival is something like this: while favorite bands play a mile from my house, a correspondent from Brooklyn takes pictures and posts updates to a website in Chicago. I read this coverage (often a day later) with a simmering jealousy, as Erin and I strain to hear the headlining band from our backyard.

So when my ad network asked if I’d be interested in a 3-day pass to the festival, I replied: Hell yes. I feel like I’ve already paid for it. In exchange, Foodbuzz simply wants me to identify what bands I’m interested in and what I want to eat. Seems fair.

My wish list:

Day 1

As one of few people who weren’t disappointed by Some Loud Thunder, I’m incredibly curious to hear more of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s September release, Hysterical. They’ll undoubtedly also play songs from their self-titled debut, which wore figurative holes in my iPod mini during my first year of graduate school.

Feed me: Food that’s familiar, whose recipes I know by heart. I want classic picnic food: jap chae, kim bap, mandu, and yak bap.

Pairing: Korean food is notoriously bitchy to pair with wine. That must be why we’re always given skunky lagers and cheap liquor at Korean restaurants. But there’s nothing really challenging about the above menu—no kimchi, not much ginger… I’ll go with something crisp and light. The Vin Gris de Cigare, from Bonny Doon Vineyards.

Day 2

OK, Gregg Gillis’s shoutouts to the crowd come off as a bit awkward, but the fact remains that the man behind Girl Talk is still an incredibly talented DJ. I’m happy to keep listening to mashups if he’s the one making them. Expecting to see lots of violent head bobbing over a laptop.

Feed me: Some crazy-ass fusion food. The watermelon and mung bean salad from Dosa, my Italy vs. Japan okonomiyaki, and some green tea-black sesame ice cream from Humphry Slocombe.

Pairing: Kind of screwed myself, didn’t I? I’m at a concert, so I’m not going to have three different glasses of wine. I’ll go with an off-dry Vouvray, please.

Day 3

Wye Oak. I fully expect them to scare the bejeezus out of me with an abrupt volume change or seven.

Course 1: (quiet) Something cerebral. Aziza is currently serving an exquisite cranberry bean puree (soup), with pickled and raw fennel. Give me 750 ml and pack it in a Trenta cup.

Course 2: (LOUD) Kalua pork sandwich from The Wooly Pig, with a healthy dose of sriracha sauce.

Course 3: (quiet) Let’s pretend this is fantasy land, and that I can get Nathan Beriau from The Ritz-Carlton to whip me up a dessert à la minute. I’ll take the foie gras lollipop, which I first had at the Star Chefs and Vintner’s Gala back in May.

Pairing: Before Bacar shut, I had dinner there and split 2 bottles of the Navarro Gewürztraminer with my friend Maria. That.

* * * * *

So there you have it. My aging body will be rocking hard and eating well this weekend. Safety first, kids.

Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free 3-day pass to Outside Lands