Off the Grid: Lake Merritt at OMCA

Amazing, I love Off the Grid Fridays! I've been twice so far and each time I leave happy and full. The feeling of community paired with tasty food smells and fun music is always the perfect way to start the weekend. There's a great variety of food trucks lined up in front of the Oakland museum. I'm always partial to the Southern Comfort restaurant. I've had their po'boys, shrimp, and heavenly seasoned fries. But I also love when Señor Sisig and anything that sells ice cream make an appearance. Customer service is always awesome and as fast as they can with the amount of people that show up. Highly recommend going to this weekly event at least once!

I been coming to this market since July 2014. I wasn't going to attend the market due to a situation that occur with Off the Grid at the Oakland Museum of California May 2014. I got over my fear when Shakeel, the Market Ambassador at that time convince me to come. Even the other Market Ambassador Elon kept me company making sure I was OK at the market.I will admit every Friday Night I am at Off the Grid outside the Oakland Museum of California. I will admit I overdid it by checking out the exhibits at the museum weekly where I made a friend Preston, the Emcee at the Oakland Museum of California.Over 10 different food trucks to chose from. The highest food trucks they had at the market was up to 20 during the summer time. It is worth coming down to Oakland Museum to see all the different food trucks they have.I will admit I miss the past Market supervisor that ran the market (Adam, Alex, Paul, Henley, whomever ran the market that I can not remember their names). Ben, the current supervisor got this market running smoothly.I been enjoying the market. What makes this market to go to on Friday Night compared to going to Fort Mason is discount on museum tickets. You have a museum to go to while getting food from the food trucks. They also have a garden where children can run around in.The live music at the Oakland Museum of California is amazing. It is worth checking it out.This is the market to check out Friday Night.

One of the best Off the Grid markets outside of SF.They've expanded this market in recent years. Now you can expect upwards of 20 food trucks, so there is something for everyone! (You can find the full list of food trucks in-advance on the Off the Grid website.) The atmosphere is always great -- wide, open, spacious, and well-organized. There is plenty of seating (folding chairs provided by Off the Grid) and a number of stand-up tables scatted around. The museum next-door also provides outdoor seating with a live DJ and band that starts playing music later in the evening.The lines don't get long here, but I would still recommend arriving early. Parking is very limited. It is BART-accessible -- get off Lake Merritt and walk 5-minutes. Or you can find street parking a few blocks away and simply walk.Tip: the food trucks shut down at 9 PM SHARP to re-open the roads, so plan accordingly!The museum is also half-off on Friday nights ($8 admission for adults). Take advantage of this great date night.

This occurs most Friday's outside the California Museum in Oakland. Different food trucks and usually music playing. County and State workers emerge from their buildings and mingle with the 20s something's already there. This neighborhood has changed the last couple years with Mad Oak opening up and Off The Grid. A welcome change for a neighborhood that has so much potential. I come here sometimes when I know my favorite food trucks will be there. One star off because of the angle of the sun. Really not a big deal at all but enough to make one want to find shade. 4 stars!

Love me some Friday nights at OMCA! What a great place to hang out. Live music in the summer and DJ in winter time makes you wanna shake a leg and dance with strangers ;)Lively atmosphere through the dance floor, drinks and great food options from Off the Grid that's parked right outside the museum :)It's a great place for couples, families, kids and large groups that want to have a fun casual night out in the neighborhood.Parking can get tricky so get there early especially during sunny days! Bathrooms are available thru the museum. Good selections of beer, wine and hard liquor as well. Great food options - my favorites so far are:- Senor Sisig with their pork burrito garlic rice- Southern Kitchen with the old time favorite shrimp and catfish po boy sando - YUM!- Happy Dumplings - surprisingly yummy dumplings. Loved their shrimp and chives. Great portions too!Definitely must check it out! Super close to Lake Merritt BART - how convenient :D

Date: 8/25/2017 Time: 7:10 PM 65° SunnyIt's been about three years since I have been to this OTG, which is always on a Friday evening from 5 PM to 9 PM.I am one of the many followers/fans of Roderick's BBQ on Facebook. I found out a few days ago his food truck would be here at this OTG. It's Friday and my husband wanted to know what we were having for dinner. Suggestion: Roderick's BBQ for the Cajun catfish. Plus, I was hoping that the BBQ nachos would be on the menu board.Before getting our food from Roderick's, my husband and I decided to take a stroll toward Oak Street to see what other food trucks were there and there were some pretty good choices - Caribbean Spices, Bombzie's BBQ, 3-3-3, El Sur, Bonito Poke, Chairman Truck, Señor Sisig, etc. The donut truck from San Rafael had an assortment of donuts and apple fritters that looked very scrumptious.OTG Lake Merritt @ OMCA is the place to be to start the weekend. Good eats from the various food trucks, live music for listening enjoyment and 1/2 off the admission price to the museum. If one loves to be around a fun diverse group of people, see families having a swell time and get on the dance floor and move/groove to the music, come by and enjoy the outdoor party. Eats: Husband had the Cajun catfish with mac 'n cheese ($13) and I had the Bash Brothers loaded BBQ nachos ($15). Since we love their coleslaw, we asked for a side order of it. I was beyond thrilled that Roderick's had the BBQ nachos and it was more than enough to feed two people. More great news from Roderick's. They will open a brick and mortar (B&M) on 98th Avenue near the MacArthur Freeway (Hwy 580) in October. Hurray! I am looking forward to their B&M.Returned trips: Yes, for the food, the music and a visit to the museum! Love it!!!

Great evening hangout atmosphere. There's live entertainment (music/performers/etc) outside the OMCA patio area so it gets lively and even fun for kids! Grab a few different types of foods from the different food trucks and take a seat and enjoy! Afterwards, (or even before), you can buy tickets to tour the museum! Very educational and opens your mind to other things outside of our hectic lives! We always split up to grab different items and eat family style! Fun to experience the variety and hang out with your groups. There are lots of food options, and often dessert options as well! It is always a nice cool evening at Off The Grid Lake Merritt! Check the food trucks that are there (they often change): https://offthegrid.com/event/lake-merritt

This is where my husband and spend date night once per week and I love it. The selection of bands/music, the bar, the events, the dance lesson have all made this fun for us. The only problem for me is the sheer number of children. This is Oakland at it's best. The food trucks are cool and the vibe is awesome. This is my favorite Off the Grid event and I look forward to coming each and every week.

There is always something great to eat at this Food Truck gathering. From Vegetarian to Carnivore to Dessert fare there is always something to please everyone's palette.I've been coming to this location of Off The Grid since they opened in January of 2013. I used to work in SF so I was more than familiar with Off The Grid: Civic Center and Off the Grid: UN Plaza. As a result, I was overly excited when I got the email saying there was going to be a new market open Friday evenings in Oakland. My usual go to(s) are: a pork belly steamed bun from Chairman Bao (to start), Sisig Fries from Senor Sisig, Short Rib Koja from Koja Kitchen or Crab Fries from Southern Comfort Kitchen. Every now and again I'll switch it up and get the chicken and waffles from The Waffle Roost. Then there's the days I get lucky and it's warm enough to get some Frozen Kuhsterd and maybe a doughnut too. There's usually plenty of chair adjacent to the trucks, but downstairs past the bumping band and dance floor, seating can be a challenge. There are cleanish bathrooms down there as well a small bar with beers, wine and a few cocktails. It really is a family fun event to be enjoyed by all with an awesome opportunity to explore the museum as well.

Fun place to hangout and eat yummy food on a Friday night!I came here with a group of friends around 6:30pm Friday night, and there was a moderate crowd though lines were still relatively short for almost all the food trucks. I counted around 10 trucks selling a variety of Mexican, Chinese, American, Cuban and dessert foods. A friend and I got stuff from 3 food trucks. The first was a combo platter of chicken tenders/wings + tots/fries: super well fried/nongreasy with the most amazing mango habanero sauce! We also got some frozen vanilla custard and a chocolate vanilla creme doughnut. Loved the custard, the doughnut was a but too dense/doughy.If you like the food truck concept, definitely recommend if you're in the Oakland area. It's a smaller food truck event than most places in SF but still a great place to pop by!