Beef

Eddie Huang Totally Pissed About S.F.’s Chairman Bao Truck

To Mobi Munch's Josh Tang, Huang writes,
To Mobi Munch’s Josh Tang, Huang writes, “Fuck yo couch!” Photo: via Chairman Bao Truck’s Facebook

Yesterday Urban Daddy alerted us to the entrance of a new food truck on the S.F. scene, the Chairman Bao Truck, a collaboration between Pacific Catch and Chicago’s Charlie Trotter’s. They serve gua bao, which are steamed buns topped with meat filling and folded over like a taco, usually found at dim sum places. The thing is, Eddie Huang of New York’s Baohaus has been serving a bun called the Chairman Bao at his Lower East Side restaurant since last December, and as the Voice notes, he penned an angry blog entry today saying, “These people straight took the name of my #1 item and set-up shop with it.”

Huang plans to get lawyered up, saying, “I have used the mark in commerce and shown the intent to trademark it.” Also, he’s pretty annoyed that someone as big as Charlie Trotter, who so far hasn’t expanded to SF, is looking to “own a bunch of trucks like they’re a fleet of taxi medallions,” and potentially ripping off a name from a small, independent chef-owner.

As for the listed operator of the truck, Josh Tang of Mobi Munch, Huang reserves his favorite Dave Chappelle insult: “FUCK YO COUCH.” Josh could not yet be reached for a reply.

Update: The Voice gets a slightly defensive response out of Mobi Munch rep Jane Yuan, who says she has no idea if Josh ever visted Baohaus, and adds “we’re in a whole other market,” and, “The name, it’s a common play on the word, so I think for him to claim it as his own – he can try, but I think it’s going to be hard.” [Voice]

Update 2:
Turns out Charlie Trotter’s got nothing to do with this truck. We thought that sounded off. [SFoodie]

DO NOT SUPPORT THE CHAIRMAN BAO TRUCK [Fresh Off the Boat via the Voice]
Earlier: Take a Bao: Dim Sum, Day and Night [Urban Daddy]

Eddie Huang Totally Pissed About S.F.’s Chairman Bao Truck