Love or shove: Off the Grid with a kid?

As I was driving a carpool home from camp last month, I ran across another incarnation of the fabulous Off the Grid series of food truck extravaganzas. They are now popping up all over the East Bay. As of this writing, you can find them most days of the week:

• Monday dinner in Hayward
• Wednesday dinner in North Berkeley (pictured below)
• Thursday dinner in S.E. Berkeley
• Saturday lunch in Alameda at the South Shore Center

I love Off the Grid and the not-so-new food truck renaissance. For me, it is a big win. Though I whine at waiting in line, the ease of ordering delicious local food from inventive chef-entrepreneurs wins out. I have been known to chase after food trucks like a fangirl when I work from home; and I think OtG makes a creative date night (Can’t agree on cuisine? No problem!).

This is where children enter the picture and muck it all up. Little ones can be picky eaters, impatient, and prone to running into traffic. My sons are currently seven, five, and one-year old and have tried the various street fests with mixed results.

• When I was pregnant, we packed the kids dinner in their lunchboxes to battle the picky problem. They nibbled this and that off our plates. The lines were my downfall. Ow, my aching feet.
• With a newborn, we brought him to the flagship event at Fort Mason. With no other appetites to worry about, my husband and I enjoyed all the food we wanted to try. Too bad I was nursing the entire chilly evening.
• With all three, well just shoot me now.

Tell me what you think in the comments. Sunny loves Off the Grid with her kids.

Follow Off the Grid events on facebook to find out when and where to find them.

Photo credit: Ira Serkes