No Overhead = Gourmet for $10 per Head

It all started in a taco truck.

What is now a growing phenomenon of "nonrestaurants" in the bay area got its start with one guy named Anthony Myint. He was a line cook with a dream, a dream that one day he would get out from behind that hot and sweaty grill, escape the monotony of an established restaurant, and run - or drive, as it were - his own damn kitchen!

Myint decided to sublet a local taco truck - the cost of which was low enough to allow him to dive right in without too much planning or paperwork. Working out of that truck a couple nights a week, he started to create original, delicious sandwiches and sell them on the street in San Francisco's Mission District.

The mobile venture was so cheap in fact that Myint could afford to use only excellent, eco-friendly, local and generally P.C. ingredients - and for this he gained huge popularity with the crunchy foodies that abound in the Bay area.

The truckstaurant eventually could not meet the demand for Myint's creations, so he moved on to sublet a local Chinese restaurant for use two nights a week, with the help of his wife. To their own amazement, the (semi?)restaurant continued to turn a major profit, week after week. The couple decided that they would, after paying themselves a modest hourly wage, donate the rest of their proceeds to food-related charities.

They hope that what they've done will be profitable enough to really catch on as a business model, and that the idea of having a restaurant (or other business) that directly benefits the community will come to be so popular that it will be its own marketing strategy. Whether or not this happens, and I hope that it does, the idea is also a great way for restaurants and other small business to deal with decreased demand and profit during the recession - giving up their lease and sharing that of another restaurant, for example, and using the space on alternating nights.

Mission Street Food now has a blog, where they advertise their special events, favorite food charities, and menu. Some delicious-sounding and creative selections from the latter are: a pork belly jicama salad, shrimp and grits, smoked duck beignets, and a buttermilk panna cotta dessert. All of these at only $6 - $8 each!