Promising to be even better than last year, this year’s Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square will showcase new vendors and producers, as well as local favorites. 

The three-day food extravaganza runs through Sunday, Sept. 25.

The annual fest will include bread-making classes of all kinds — sourdough, baguette, pretzel and more — as well as ongoing demonstrations featuring Oakland’s Starter Bakery. 

Eat Real’s Craft Marketplace will feature products from local food crafters. A bag check will be provided so shoppers can stow their homemade goods while they enjoy the festival. Oakland crafters will include Oaktown Jerk beef jerky, Baia Pasta, Barlovento Chocolates, Cranky Boots Cold Confections and more. 

This year’s food demonstrations will feature a Jam Bar, where unique local food crafts, like Blue Chair jams and Studebaker pickles, will be paired with local artisanal spirits by St. George, Square One and more. Festivalgoers also can get a glimpse into the making of Bitters — the elusive concoctions that lend depth to cocktails. Greg Lindgren of Rye on the Road will teach simple bitters recipes.   

Street food vendors will hawk their fare for $5 or less — a significant bargain, considering the quality of the food.

“The reality is that, for any of them, trying to do a $5 product is difficult; but everybody knows the value of Eat Real,” Eat Real Director Susan Coss said.

Organizers help vendors with their menus and portion sizes — which tend to be larger than a sample, but much smaller than a full portion.  

The festival requires every vendor to incorporate two local or sustainable ingredients into their menu. To facilitate this, organizers connect vendors with Thumbs Up produce distributor.

“A lot of the vendors already have good sourcing protocols, so we don’t have to assist the majority,” Coss said.

Those who are introduced to responsible food distributors through Eat Real sometimes continue to work with these companies.

“We love it when the relationship continues,”  Coss added.

Organizers also are strict about the quality of meat vendors use.

“It’s a focus for us this year to get everyone on board with using clean meat in all of their products,” Coss said. “We’ve always encouraged this, but this year we’re really pushing.” Eat Real’s relationship with Del Monte Meat Company means vendors get special pricing on antibiotic and hormone-free meats.

A few new food carts will grace the festival this year: The Green Guys food truck, which serves a mix of Irish and Eritrean food; and a couple of underground trucks — San Francisco’s Kitchen Sidecar, purveyor of the famed pork belly banh mi and the Grilled Cheese Guy. 

Kasa Indian Truck — the mobile manifestation of Kasa Castro — also will be there along with Emeryville’s Doc’s Of The Bay and their Midwestern smash-burger.  Fruitvale ice cream maker Nieves Cinco de Mayo will be on site with a rainbow of flavors — Mole among them. 

“You have to spend a day here,” Coss said. “There’s so much going on that you really want to stay for a while.”