The Crème Brûlée Cart

I was blessed they were at off the grid and I got a chance to fey them! Their salted caramel was sadly sold out but I tried their bourbon butterscotch was amazing. The bourbon balanced the flavors so that it was not overly sweet or creamy and the hint of butterscotch made it melt in your mouth good.

Last stop at Off the Grid: Fort Mason with Rodney H last Friday, March 4^th. I was grabbing a frozen custard and Rodney decided to get a crème brûlée. It was around 8:30pm.
He got the Bulleit bourbon butterscotch ($ 4.50). I had a small taste. I liked the crusty sugary top. It had a nice crunch when breaking through the torched sugar. The flavors of the bourbon butterscotch were delicious! I loved the combination of creamy caramel with a hint of alcohol. Though I liked the flavor, I thought the texture of the brulee was too soft. I like a thicker, more set crème brûlée.
Good choice as a last stop. Who wouldn’t want to end OtG on a sweet note?

I used to love this place! Great crème brûlée, great specials, nice people. I would always stop by when they were at off the grid: omca. They use to have 3 – 4 different kinds of crème brûlée and 4 – 5 special combinations. There also use to be a long list of toppings/​sauces for you to make your own!
But a couple months ago the person manning the truck changed and so did the product quality. Little by little less toppings were available, less specials offered. They use to have a stamp card, buy 10 get 1 free, which this guy is always «out» of. Sometimes he’s even out of lids! How can you be out of lids?
The last time I bought crème brûlée here there was no specials, no sauces, and no toppings. Straight crème brûlée take it or leave it. That was the last straw for me. I’ll be back when the quality comes back. Perhaps a new guy manning the truck because this guy puts 0 effort into the product.

it is because of them that makes Crème Brulee my most favorite dessert-​ever. I crave this all the time. :) when I go to OTG I always make room. Always double fisted with 2! You can never go wrong with the Vanille Bean– seriously my absolute favorite and Dark chocolate comes in a easy second. The line can be long sometimes, but moves pretty quickly… and definitely worth it. AND… I always get friendly service… no matter the chaos. See you again soon!

Got to try a crème brûlée at Burlingame’s off the grid! It was delicious. I recommend the chocolate and vanilla! Also, if you are lucky, do yourself a favor get your hands on the s’mores before they run out!
I love that they have customizable toppings.

A cart dedicated to just Créme Brûlée?! I’m there! I’m so glad that this place is brûlée’ing fresh on the spot! The very first time I visited was during Off The Grid Fort Mason & they didn’t do that but instead sold Créme Brûlée’s that were already brûlée’d so the hard, burnt sugar, caramelized top layer had already dissolved which defeats the whole purpose.
I gave it another shot & I ordered the Smorgasm which was a Créme Brûlée topped with marshmallows, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, & drizzled with caramel sauce. They brûlée’d the top so the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal & the caramel sauce were delicious together! I would’ve liked it to be more brûlée’d so that the marshmallows would’ve been toasted & melted. Also, I thought the custard portion would be the classic flavor but it was chocolate & it tasted like chocolate mousse. Instead of chocolatey custard base, I would’ve preferred the chocolate to be incorporated as a sauce, drizzled on top. Overall, the whole thing was way too glaringly sweet to the point where I couldn’t finish the whole thing! This place is also not exactly cheap! Hopefully the other flavors will be better!

You had one job.
The crème brûlée was not even set properly. All the vanilla beans were at the bottom it didn’t taste like anything. Just crème with sugar. It was bordeline liquidy. Bleh.

Unfortunately they did not set so it was just liquidy with burnt sugar on top. If you’re going to sell one thing and only one thing, you have to make sure it’s perfect. It is supposed to be a direct reflection of who you are, so make it amazing and don’t serve it unless it’s a great crème brûlée. French people would not appreciate your version for now

I finally had the chance to try this renowned San Francisco-​based crème brûlée cart after years of hoping it would conveniently pop up on my side of the East Bay – and thank GOD it did, because it was more satisfying than I ever expected.
Silky smooth custard. Torched on top with a live flame to caramelize. And BAM! You’ve got yourself a crème brûlée! I’ve only ever had very few crème brûlée’s in my life, and I’ve always thought the others were just «okay.» They weren’t enough to convince me I was a crème brûlée lover… So I waited and wanted to try the real one that people have raved about for years from this cart.
It seems their flavors run out fast early on in the day. They came to Off The Grid: Pleasant Hill this week and were out of the Honey Vanilla by the time I got there. Their staff and customer favorite combinations seemed to DIE for – for $ 6.25 you can get a custard base paired with a crunchy topping and liquid topping. (Pecans and dark brown sugar chocolate? Whoa.) I decided to go basic and try their crème brûlée as is for $ 5 and got the Bourbon Butterscotch which was… surprisingly not as scary or strong or overly sweet as you’d expect from its name! The guy torched it up, I handed over my five and took a bite and… WHOA. I was in love.
The crispy caramelized top broke through the smooth and silky sweet custard and delivered a lovely texture balance. It wasn’t overly sweet and the flavors weren’t overpowering. It seemed like a pleasing silky caramel with light hints of bourbon to make it interesting (but I could barely notice it). It was delicious.
I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I would, considering I wasn’t hungry nor craving it when I got there. But, I knew I had to order it while it was right in front of me and I was not disappointed. It did not feel heavy or extra creamy at all – just a nice silky smooth custard-​y brûlée to call it a night… And make myself a fan.

My favorite cart at Off the Grid — Presidio. I got The Gentleman (or something similarly name), which was Bourbon butterscotch with candied pecans and caramel sauce. I’m not usually the type to splurge on toppings, but it was worth the extra dollar or two… they didn’t skimp on the nuts/​sauce. The top was nicely brûléed and crisp like glass. Rich flavor that made putting the spoon down very difficult. Perfect for a sweet little splurge!

I LUV CREME BRULEEEEE :’)
This dessert truck runs out quick of their speciality items. I visited this truck about 40 minutes before closing time and they were practically out of 98% of their items except some particular flavors. Luckily, they had a few more of the San Francisco Gold’s, I’m so happy I got the chance to try this ^_​_​^
– San Francisco Gold Crème Brulee ($ 6.25) –
This is a vanilla bean crème brûlée topped with dark chocolate shortbread crumble and there’s drizzled sea-​salted caramel sauce over it all! The dark chocolate is yummy and dense in flavor and fortunately not too sweet. My favorite part is the dark chocolate shortbread crumble, which says a ton, considering I’m not usually a huge dark chocolate fan. The crème brûlée itself was delicate, light in flavor and not too sweet. Perfection!
Awesome dessert to cap the night off, looking forward to come again: D

Ordered the following:
SF Gold — Vanilla bean with dark chocolate shortbread crumble & sea-​salted caramel sauce.
Sweet Southern Lady — Vanilla bean topped with candied pecans & bourbon caramel drizzle.
The Golden Ticket — Salted caramel topped with dark chocolate shortbread crumble and sea-​salted caramel sauce.
Vanilla Bean — Classic French
They were all delicious! The crème brûlée was torched to perfection on site.
TIP: Get a frequent buyer punch card, buy 10 and get 1 free.

Holy crap this is no joke.
I could hardly even select just two little cups of sweet, torched, love to try — I wanted one of each.
Logic ruled the day however, so we tried the San Francisco and some southern one with pecans and bourbon drizzle and ohmygod. I am still baffled that I ever did not like crème brûlée. This stuff is like sweet, silky, custardy, crunchy CRACK and I am definitely addicted.

The Crème Brûlée Cart features crème brûlée from the fridge, sugar torched on site, and additional toppings on top. Watch them do it – if there’s just one person in the cart, they prepare it quickly and immediately after taking an order, instead of lining up multiple orders and calling out names. That was the procedure at Off The Grid in El Cerrito during my visit in early April.
It wasn’t clear to me that the toppings would be on top since the ingredients are simply listed after the name. The website says it more clearly.
Sweet Southern Lady ($ 6?) Vanilla bean crème brûlée torched to perfection and topped with candied pecans and bourbon caramel drizzle
— You get a small but fairly deep cup of cream, and with the Sweet Southern Lady you can see quite a bit of the tiny black vanilla beans in the cream, though most seemed to have settled on the bottom.
— Didn’t really see how well they torched the sugar, but I didn’t get any burnt taste, so it must have been at least okay.
— Remember to dig deep to get cream with your topping, and scoop inward from the edge to avoid toppings escaping.
— What is tasty here isn’t a crème brûlée per se, but the pecans and caramel drizzle. That dominates the flavour until you run out of them (which you will if you don’t dig deep with each spoonful). Translation: «Did I just spend $ 6 for a tablespoon of pecans?»
— Price for portion is reasonable, especially considering food carts tend to be pricier but you don’t have to pay tax.
Since the topping is on top, you basically get cream plus toppings and you would really have to pay attention to taste any caramelized sugar crust. And since the cream was still cool to cold, this dessert came across sort of like a big scoop of ice cream with extra toppings. But obviously it is less sexy to run «just an ice cream truck».
TIP: If you really like them, make sure to look into their «buy 10 and get the next one FREE offer».

I’m torn. I really wanted to like what I had at the Crème Brulee Cart at Off the Grid but.but.but…it didn’t have the crunchy, crystallized, burnt sugar top!
My friend and I each ordered the Sweet Southern Lady — vanilla bean crème brûlée topped w/​pecans and bourbon caramel. They must not have used a lot of sugar on ours before torching because we didn’t get that satisfying *crack!* when we dug in. Yes, the toppings and the custard were exceptional, but if you’re going to hock crème brûlée, at least get the sugar top right!

I first was introduced to Crème Brulee when coming to Off The Grid in Belmont! After looking at the menu of the different varieties I couldn’t help myself to see what it taste like.
I bought the Salted caramel and overall it was ok.
Would I buy it again? Um maybe but I wouldn’t jump for joy like I did the first time.
I would love to try the Vanilla Bean as that sounded good.
The prices are kinda high to me but hey, what can I say!
Cant knock it till you try it! :)

Crème Brûlée Cart (C.B.C.) specializes in crème brûlée and participates in Off The Grid every now and then. Though C.B.C. serves only one item, they offer different flavors with recurring ones. They can serve anywhere from three flavors to eight flavors depending on your luck. Fortunately, there is a flavor for everyone since they offer simple, classic flavors and a special, unique flavor that may cause you to shudder at its creativity or may just be so innovative that you’ll try it. However, the special flavor usually costs a buck more.
Flavors that appeared were: Vanilla Bean, Dark Chocolate, Banana, and Lavender
VANILLA BEAN ($ 4): Delicious, creamy, thick, and torched to order crème brûlée; Bursted with authentic vanilla bean flavor; Thick layer of brûlée and gritty; We got two of these
I love crème brûlée so I am sure to return if this «cart» and I ever meet. I love the concept of serving and specializing in just one item and getting creative with it with the additions and flavors. The crème brûlée is a bit small and pricey for the size so we didn’t buy too many but this cart is definitely worth it especially if it’s your first time and you’re a crème brûlée addict.

Tried this dessert cart at the SF Street Food Festival in the mission. I had the specialty crème brûlée cup with cookie crumbles and caramel on it.
While I am not a huge fan of crème brûlée in general, this place does it as well as you could expect from a food stand. The crust was not too sugary or sticky as many crème brulees turn out. The cookie crumble added a nice texture and flavor to the cream underneath.
Unfortunately, the cups are tiny and for the high price, you really are only getting a few bites out of this.

Major disappointment. Tried this at OTG– Fort Mason. Not sure if it was because it was late or just a bad day…
They didn’t really have many interesting options that day– vanilla, chocolate, nutella, and coffee. No lavender or dulce de leche or honey vanilla bean here. And they were out of nutella and coffee, leaving vanilla and chocolate.
Opted for vanilla with a midnight crumble (or whatever it’s called, but it’s just crumbled chocolate shortbread cookie) for $ 5. Tiny size. Cold crème with an absurdly thin layer of brulee. Aren’t crème brulees supposed to be warm, or at least luke warm? This was like it just came out of the fridge. Also, I like using my spoon to crack the bruleed sugar topping, but there was nothing to crack here. It was pretty much a glorified pudding.

I love it, i stop by here at least couple of time a month, sooo goood. i get the caramel or butterscotchy flavored ones every time and they taste so good. The guys that work here are awesome and really friendly. just reading what they have on the menu is intriguing, smorgasm, bourbon butterscotch, Kentucky, nutella strawberry (aquired taste, not really my fav) etc.
Tip: don’t forget to get a punch card. you buy 10 of them, and trust me you will buy 10 sometime in your life, you get one free.
Just do it, don’t think about a diet or anything, you deserve it.

AMAZING! Why haven’t I stopped at this cart before?!
I was in the area and spotted the Crème Brulee cart on the street so I decided it was time to try it out. There was only one girl in front of me in line, so I had time to read the menu and decide what I wanted (which was actually quite difficult because everything sounded delicious). It’s cool that they have the basic flavors, but you can add toppings as well which is something I’ve never seen before.
The nutella strawberry sounded good but the guy said they mix the strawberries into the custard so I passed on that. I went with the traditional vanilla =D The guy takes out the flavor, adds the sugar, and whips out a blow torch to caramelize the sugar right in front of you. It smells HEAVENLY! It was really nice of him to offer a cover for the custard, as well as a bag, because I had to hop on the bus and wanted to protect my treat.
Once I got home I popped it in the fridge for a bit to save it for after dinner. After I ate, I dug in and the first bite was a burst of delicious vanilla flavor in my mouth. You could really taste the VANILLA! WHOOT! One look at the bottom of the cup revealed why… there were little specks of vanilla on the bottom, which means they use the real beans! YUM YUM YUM. The single serving was a good size, I actually ended up sharing some with my BF because he needed to taste how delicious it was. I would definitely come back here and try something else, or maybe just order another vanilla because it was amazing. FIVE STARS!

S’MORGASM
I never thought I’d unregrettably spend $ 6.25 on dessert, but yes, the S’morgasm lives up to its name. Once you finish it, you’ll be tempted to return to the carte a la Oliver Twist and beg «Please Sir, I want S’more».
Think chocolate crème brûlée, burnt roasted marshmallows, graham cracker squares reminiscent of cinnamon toast crunch, and drizzled in chocolate syrup. It’s decadent but not too decadent, sweet but not too sweet, creamy but not too creamy, burnt but not too burnt. In short, the perfect mesh of childhood memories and classy adult dessert, with wonderfully varied textures. The only downside (besides the lack of affordability to grad students, who need it the most) is all the hesitation to begin eating it, in fear that all the delicate tower of toppings will fall apart. (Hint: start from the edge and go slowly but surely. Think about how much $ each marshallow costs…)
I doubt I have the guts to get the luxury S’morgasm every time, but it’s one of those things that must go on a lifetime bucket list. The crème brulees are indeed excellent, and I’m sure that for next time I’d be more than satisfied with the classic vanilla. The chocolate one, available plain or as part of the S’morgasm, looks more like chocolate pudding than crème brûlée, but I assure you it is not one of those Jello chocolate pudding cups repackaged in aluminum – it is brimming with luscious crème brûlée texture and flavor.
The salted caramel is delicious as well, especially with the crunchy salty caramelized top layer. However, as is with most salted caramel things, it is best only in the sample portion. It tastes great at first but the sweetness becomes increasingly overwhelming, so I highly suggest sharing this.
The cart itself manages to pull off being cutesy and elegant at the same time. They actually finish up making the crème brûlée to-​order, flambee style with a flamboyant torch. Just be sure to look up and pay attention when they are making it, because being that it is a food truck, it’s not right in front of you so is easy to miss. Oh and lastly, we were served by a cute Asian guy: yay more 5-​star-​factors to this already 5-​star review kekeke.

I would err on the «simpler» flavors if you try this truck. My favorites have always been the ones with minimal to no toppings like the Mexican Chocolate, Yes Please, or Vanilla. You can’t go wrong with vanilla here.
Recently, I made the mistake of getting the Choco de Loco which is Dulce de Leche (made with goat’s milk) then topped with cookie crumble and salted caramel. I don’t know what in my mind made me think it wasn’t going to be diabetes-​inducing but it was. It was overly sweet AND overly salty all at the same time while masking any semblance of dulce de leche.
There are major pluses for this truck because of the variety of their offerings, that I still do not see in many restaurants, but it’s up to you to pick that one that suits your palette.

«Si, por favor» on the menu = Nutella and strawberries = SI, POR FAVOR. This was DAMN good and I might just need to steal the recipe from them. It’s taken me a long time to finally getting around to trying the Crème Brulee Cart and I can see what the hype is about. Much appreciation to the energy and creativity of these guys.

Must. Find. The. Crème. Brûlée. Cart.
*drool*