Charlie’s Corn & Sons – Newark

Based in San Leandro but it’s also found on certain Sundays at the Newark Farmer’s Market. I haven’t tried their baked potatoes that I see other people ordering on top of the elote, BUT their elotes are THE. BEST!!! I’ve never tasted grilled corn sweeter than this. It’s seriously sooooo amazing (I’m a corn lover, if you can’t tell: D)!!
They ask if you want butter slathered on the corn, and of course you MUST if you want other condiments to stick. The condiments are on the side; sadly, you must add them on your own. BUUUT *tip* use the foil they give you as a spreader. First slather some mayo on the corn and turn your corn around against the foil. Then, sprinkle some of that Mexican cheese on top along with a generous amount of chile powder. Don’t forget to spray some lime juice at the end! I promise it’s the biggest bang for your buck at $ 2.50/piece!!! I’m going to come verrrrrry often.

I’m a sucker for a well-​done baked potato. THIS is my gold standard for what a baked potato should look and taste like.
I stumbled upon this farmer’s market as I was doing my blood bank rotation at Kaiser San Leandro. There were fewer vendors than last week so I opted to have baked potato as lunch.
For $ 6 I got a baked potato that is at least twice the size of my fist in a tin foil plate. It also the standard fixings: bacon bits, jalapeños, shredded cheese and scallions. They also pour a little bit of chicken broth at the end so that your potato is still fluffy and you can take off bits of skin from the potato. Supposedly according to people it used to be $ 5.
$ 1 for water or soda. Yes they take credit.
Best $ 6 I’ve spent in a while! There was so much potato I saved half for the next day. Still tastes great even when microwaved.

Stumbled upon this food vendor gem @ my local San Leandro Farmer’s Market in the parking lot of Englander. Perhaps it was the hunger and the smell of grilled meat in the air, or that the bright yellow oven was steaming and the sweetness of fresh roasted corn aroma was my calling, but it called and I came. The menu was simple:
Baked Potato (5)
Roasted Corn (2.5)
Lemonade/​Pink Lemonade (2)
Water/​Soda (1)
+(.5) for any additional potato toppings.
That corn is so special because it’s just slow roasting in that giant, yellow oven so old school and classic, where you know that’s why the food is some delicious. Their famous corn should be topped with: salt, butter, cheese, chile, lemon and mayonnaise. I’m not a huge mayonnaise so I skipped that, but the rest melted all into a buttery drizzle went perfectly with the corn. They don’t have the butter out, so let them know you want butter with your corn. Plus, the corn is ON the cob!
The potato is amazing. It’s huge so huge it’s about twice the size of a regular sized person’s fist. It’s baked and the skin is crispy. Meaty potato loaded on top with different cheeses, salt, butter, green onions, bacon bits, sour cream and jalapenos. It’s the perfect hotness and they wrap it up beautifully for you. I’m not even sure if these words should be used to describe food, but I am and they can because I have no other words. Must come try the baked potato because you won’t regret it. Absolutely delicious and makes me love farmer’s market to discover food vendors that you can’t have every day.
The lemonade isn’t bad and not overly sticky or sweet. The pink one is always better!
If you ever swing by the San Leandro’s FM, this is the one stop that you should duck into for a second to indulge yourself-​never had a better baked potato. Plus, it well worth that five bucks you have. The carbs are worth it because an extra hour at the gym won’t kill.