The Best Things Eater Writers and Photographers Ate at Outside Lands 2025

Eater

3 days ago

Outside Lands 2025 had it all: teenagers almost brawling to get the best angles for their 48 and counting TikTok followers, a drizzling layer of cloud providing musicians a reliable pity laugh ('I thought California was warm!'), and, here and there, captivating performance art rising above stupid commercialism. No reason to be bitter, though. Doechii riveted fans. Vampire Weekend even played twice. And Hozier made sure his audience remembered the global defense industry's ongoing expropriation of colonized people from their land isn't just for love of the game, but profit.
The food at Outside Lands keeps some coming back year after year, no matter the weather or the cost. Local chefs and cooks make exclusive items sprayed with caviar like a kid's thumb pressed over the garden hose on a summer day.
Here are a few of the ringers for most delectable meals in 2025.
Patricia Chang
Beef chimichurri pho dip at Bodega
By the time the fog rolled in thick on day two, all I wanted was something warm and comforting. Bodega came through with the beef chimichurri pho dip, a mash-up of banh mi and pho that somehow just worked. Thin slices of tender beef, bright pickled vegetables, and a tangy swipe of chimichurri were tucked into a crusty-yet-soft baguette. The move was to dunk it into the aromatic pho broth until it soaked just enough to drip down your wrist. It was a savory hug that took the edge off the fog's chill. — Patricia Chang, freelance photographer
Bodega, 138 Mason Street, San Francisco
Lobster tail Korean corn dog at Um.ma
Adrian Spinelli
The caviar was flowing liberally at Outside Lands this year. A dozen of the nearly 100 food vendors had a dish featuring generous dollops of cavi from Tsar Nicoulai or The Caviar Co and I made my way through many of them. But the lobster tail Korean corn dog from Um.Ma. achieved the perfect blend of decadence and highly delicious functionality. The Inner Sunset Korean outpost only made ten of these per day and I snagged the final one at the Polo Field booth on Saturday afternoon at around 4:30 p.m. while Bakar played on the main stage. The lobster tail was dipped in a mochi tempura batter mixed with kimchi and gojuchang. Fried and painted with spicy kimchi mayo, methodically topped with osetara caviar and sprinkled with chives, we can safely say that you won't find anything this over the top at a Seoul night market on the streets of Gangnam. But in San Francisco at Outside Lands weekend? This is the stuff festival food dreams are made of. — Adrian Spinelli, freelance writer
Um.Ma., 1220 Ninth Avenue, San Francisco
Patricia Chang
Chirashi bowl at Nobu
Nobu's chirashi bowl was my little treat on day three. Luscious salmon and yellowtail, poppable ikura, nutty roasted sesame seeds, and fresh microgreens for a bright, peppery pop all came together over seasoned rice. The bowl felt small, and at $30 I wanted twice as much to fuel the treks between stages, but the quality of the ingredients made it worth savoring. Each bite felt like a little luxury in the middle of all the craziness. — Patricia Chang, freelance photographer
Nobu, 180 Hamilton Avenue, Emerson Street, Palo Alto
Adrian Spinelli
Peruvian choripán at Michoz
Firmly in the mix of all of the food vendors at Outside Lands, the pop-ups were crushing it alongside booths from more established outposts. Let's be honest, pop-ups are built for this 'kitchen in a field' exercise. On a stretch of Hellman Hollow, Peruvian-Eritrean pop-up Michoz and Oaxacan fusion extraordinaire Provecho were side-by side on one of the best food drags of the fest. Late Friday night, Michoz's Peruvian choripán rocked my world. The homemade Peruvian chicken sausage was flavored with aji panca (a smoky and flavorful Peruvian pepper), chimichurri, mayo and salsa criolla (with red onion, lime, herbs) on a toasted ciabatta roll. While that Costco ciabatta roll wasn't necessarily spectacular, it was the appropriate vessel required to hold all of the intense flavors packed into this bad boy in place. The sandwich checked all of the salt/acid/fat/heat boxes, and a glorious sauce ran through the snappy sausage. I told people on Friday night about how fantastic this sandwich was and, by Sunday, my texts were filled with 'Omg that Peruvian chorizo sandwich was insane!' — Adrian Spinelli, freelance writer
Paolo Bicchieri
Curry rice at Taisho
I ate at Outside Lands, but I didn't eat food. I levitated from show to show, Artemis and Royal Otis and other kinky hotties talking about car sex. I was so close to the sun one would've thought I was Icarus if not for the thicc fog and recurring Liquid Death in my grasp. So, like that tragic winged son, I crashed after the crowds exhumed like one congested breath through the dark Eucalyptus. I needed to physically eat. Halfway across town, Taisho's pleasant vibes and unfussy food was my hard-earned respite. The curry was unremarkable in the right way, an cheap order of fries plentiful and thick, an order of chips and guac with blended edamame playing the role of avocado, subtle and herby. Then two patrons began a powerfully horrible karaoke rendition of Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. They did not eat.
Taisho, 1161 Post Street, San Francisco
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