Before I get into the meat of the matter, it’s time for my disclaimer. Some of you may be able to relate to that moment when you are really looking forward to photographing something, you charge your battery early in the morning or maybe overnight, make sure the camera is packed and then you reach your destination, take out the big boy to capture the moment and you realised nothing is happening. At first you check to see if you have in fact turned it on properly and then you open the battery compartment only to find it empty. Your heart sinks, you must have left the fully charged battery on the coffee table at home, which is too far away to return to and your dreams of all the great pictures you were going to take slowly fade away. Well that was my exact experience on Saturday evening, and then a waft of something delicious swept my way, picked up my spirits and I took out my Samsung S6 determined not to miss out on the opportunity to document deliciousness at Street Feast: Dalston Yard.
I had been looking forward to going to Street Feast all Summer but I wasn’t able to to make it happen until this past weekend. They’re pictures on Instagram will make anybody hungry. As if by some miracle the day I chose to go the sun was out and the vibe was sweet.
After scoping out the lay of the land and seeing all that was on offer, it came time to make some crucial decisions because my stomach isn’t big enough to taste everything unfortunately; my friend and I decided that the first stop would be Bill or Beak. As the name indicates there are two offerings and we opted for the latter: Vietnamese Duck and Pork Burger with Truffle and Parmesan Fries. 
The fries were probably the best thing I ate all night and although it didn’t necessarily feel like it married with the burger it was still all very delicious. The burger was nice, towards the end I got a touch of sauce, which was amazing it’s just a shame that there wasn’t more of it on the whole thing. It’s crazy how they fit so much into the burger without it being a messy mouthful. The crispy shallots and mint completely grabbed my tastebuds’ attention, in a good way.
I cannot stress enough how much I had to force myself to try to not eat everything in sight all at the same time, to the point where I had a 30-40 minute interval system to make sure my body didn’t suffer from overindulgence. Whilst there was wine in abundance, a Czech beer truck, and gin bar on offer, the next stop to find something refreshing was an easy decision since my spirit of choice is always rum so off to the rum shack we went.
Even though the Rum Shack needed some Jamaican vibes my Big Kahuna didn’t disappoint. I always order anything with rum and passion fruit and this decision did not fail me. The cocktail went down so easily, I saved the eating of the passion fruit garnish for last, which made my tongue all tingly. I was tempted to order another one straight but the responsible voices in my head said “pace yourself”.
Since having Scott Hallsworth’s Pork Bun at a Savour Jamaica dinner I am always excited when I see pork buns on any menu even though they never live up to that experience. Yum bun have a lot of great things going for them – great name, a beautiful woman taking your order and swift service but I did feel like the pork buns needed a little “sumtin’ sumtin'” maybe some spice, a little heat, a touch of acid, a bit of salt but something to make you feel WOW. 
I am a complete sucker for Mac & Cheese and this next stop is a perfect example of why you need to read instead of getting carried away but when you see an item called “Baby got Mac” it is easy to understand how the amusement can get in the way of comprehension. We ordered this thinking it was going to be a small bowl of mac and cheese with pulled pork with homemade bbq sauce and instead we got all of those things inside a toastie. Luckily it tasted good or else there might have been problems, but still consider the lesson learned. 
When I was a kid I used to always remember being asked “if you saw someone jump of a bridge, does that mean you would jump too?” when my reason for doing something was because so-and-so did it. Clearly I would always respond to the adult saying no I would not jump but there is an exception to this life lesson of not following others and that is when it comes to food. If you see a ridiculously long line of people waiting to purchase food, the chances are something tastes really good and you want a part of the action.
Introducing Smokestak, we kept seeing people with pork ribs on brown paper and when I saw the line instead of my usual repulsion of queues I couldn’t wait to join it. Good thing I did because the guys behind me said that by 8:30 they usually run out and at around 8pm I walked away with what the lady taking my order described as the best thing on the menu: Beef Rib. 
Not really a pretty picture but it is really tasty. My only regret is that for £12 there wasn’t more of it but it could have been worse. After all this food I didn’t have space for dessert but there seemed to be only two options anyway, something from Meringue Girls and this sweet treat with coconut ice cream from Yum Bun.
The Street Feast ends next weekend so catch it while you can, they also have Model Market in Lewisham (until Oct 02/03) and Dinerama in Shoreditch (until Oct 04). It’s free entry before 7pm, afterwards it is only £3. If you want to sit while you savour then get there earlier rather than later. This casual foodie experience is worth the visit I just wish I had got there sooner but better late than never! For more info visit their website.
Live, Love, Eat!
April x
