Sweet smoke filled the air over Folsom Street as thousands of hungry San Franciscans slurped down barbecued oysters, poked at powdered-sugar confections or settled into one of the many long lines that led to gastronomical bliss. The scene on Saturday marked the first San Francisco Street Food Festival, an event organized by nonprofit business incubator La Cocina.

"I'm really stoked that all of these people showed up," said Jamie Lauren, a contestant on the fifth season of Top Chef and the current executive chef at Absinthe. "It's great for the Mission and it's great for the city."

Lauren served up her famous hot dog for the masses, although her grill briefly ran out of propane and caused some people to leave the line.

La Cocina, the nonprofit that planned the event, is a community kitchen that gives local women the resources and teaching they need to establish formal eateries. Many of the businesses La Cocina helped start were selling their tamales, tacos, and pupusas alongside restaurants like Kasa Indian Eatery and Poleng Lounge.

The event fittingly takes place after a summer that could be known as the summer of street food. During the past few months, cart owners with names like Magic Curry Man and Sexy Soup Lady have used Twitter to mobilize impromptu gatherings in a city that has harsh laws against non-traditional eateries and heavy fines for carts without proper permits. Crème Brulee Man, a popular underground cart owner, had the opportunity to serve his flavorful French desserts on Saturday.

As the crowd of more than 5,000 proved, street food has become a hot commodity. The carts offered $7-8 "forks and finger" foods, $3-4 bites and $3 drinks. Because of the myriad options and heavy crowds, "divide and conquer" was the phrase of the day. Groups split up in order to sample the most food in the least amount of time.

"Having the food come to me midway in this line was key," said Ben Softness as he munched on a lemon grass pork vermicelli bowl delivered by his friend while waiting in line for a barbecue chicken sandwich from Zella's Soul Food.

By the time people reached the front of the lines, they were antsy from boredom and hostile towards cutters.

"I don't care how pretty you are and how nice your hair looks, if you cut in front of me, I will eat you," Heather Melton said about two women who attempted to stand in front of her.