In season 2 of The Great Food Truck Race, The Lime Truck teased America with a taste of California’s eclectic food culture. From their Crab Ceviche to Carnitas Fries, foodies couldn’t get enough, and the crew rolled home as champions.
Owner and lime visionary, Daniel Shemtob, enlightened Roaming Hunger on his team’s experience as a food truckers in Southern California.
RH: What is the funniest thing that has happened to you inside a food truck?
Lime Truck: Difficult to isolate the most comical event because we have our fair share of laughter, but…we used to make these insanely hot sauces and chilli powders that we would use in pranking each other on the truck.
One time, my previous chef put a ridiculous amount of scorcher sauce on a chicken wing and proceeded to douse it with a second layer of BBQ sauce. I came across what appeared to be your average chicken wing, and took a large bite. As I did so, a customer approached the truck; in an attempt to clear my mouth, I quickly swallowed the bite whole. I did not realize the repercussions of my actions for another 20 seconds. My eyes were waterworks and I could not breathe. It was hardly funny at the time, but looking back on it now, I can appreciate the moment- he got me.
RH: What is your favorite “food trade” with another truck?
Lime Truck: I love making trades with the Burnt Truck. They have this one slider that haunts my dreams- it’s like a bite of Thanksgiving. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy between a baby bun. The part that really gets me though is when you add the fried quail egg; I smother that yolk all over the slider till I black out in a delicious coma of taste bud ecstasy.
RH: What part of food trucking did you think would be popular that ended up not being so (locations, trends, menu items)?
Lime Truck: When we first started, we tried to do super lite and healthy during the day and bring on the savory decadence at night. We still adhere to the same mantra, but our fans didn’t vibe with the original concept of super healthy to go salads and such. That’s the advantage of being a truck though, you can play around and see what fits.
RH: What is the street food culture heading?
Lime Truck: I’ve noticed a trend with craft product- whether it is food, fashion, whatever.
People seek good value- the most bang for their buck. Gone is the old mentality of eating whatever is “convenient”. I think the truck scene will be popular for a while, although it is evolving and moving in different directions. Local organizations, such as schools, are realizing the value of the trucks in terms of fundraising; this avenue gives us great community involvement, which is super important for small business. Another trend I have noticed is, several trucks are starting to go out of business- which has both good and bad implications.
Obviously, I hate to see my fellow comrades fail, but this has definitely helped to correct the common notion that this is a get rich quick deal, and that the people behind the food truck movement are individuals extremely passionate about providing stellar food, yet don’t necessarily have the capital to fund a restaurant.
RH: What on your menu MUST I try?
Lime Truck: Our menu is very dynamic and constantly changing, but lately I’m diggin the PBLT (pork belly, arugula, roma tomato on thick parmesan crust grilled bread). It is actually unreal; we pickle the pork belly for 2 days before serving and once it’s on that homemade parmesan crusted sourdough- GAME OVER.
Definitely a guilty pleasure that hits the spot.
For all Lime Truck novices, carnitas fries are the ticket.
12 hour pulled pork, homemade fresh limey guacamole, homemade crema, and a homemade chipotle honey cabbage. Everything uber fresh and made from scratch.
It is also an insane value at $7 and you don’t feel that heavy tummy itis after it’s over because we use all top notch ingredients. Basically a win-win!
See what’s on today’s menu at The Lime Truck
