This year’s contestants on The Great Food Truck Race are bound to learn lessons about the operational elements of a food truck that they’ll take with them and use after the show. While they’re learning lessons and taking notes, what about the other side of the truck — the customers?
…
Read the rest on the Food Network website…
by Sienna Mintz
You may think that ice cream trucks are old school, but when you walk up to the Chunk-N-Chip truck, you’ll be wow’d by their incredible menu. With crazy combos that include anything from marshmallows to candied bacon, you won’t be left disappointed by this SoCal pheNOMenon. We talked to truck owner and baker extraordinaire Claudia Gonzalez and here’s what she had to say:
ROAMING HUNGER: What inspired you to start this food truck?
CLAUDIA GONZALEZ: We knew that our business was growing. I had been in business part-time for over six years, selling ice cream sandwiches in a booth at various festivals in Southern California. We were wanting to expand and we wondered about the whole gourmet food truck scene and it looked like it would be a quick transition. We launched the truck August 2010!
RH: What differentiates you from the other ice cream sandwich food trucks?
CG: We’ve been around for over eight years, serving the exact same product. That means we’re all about handmade cookies and ice cream, made with simple yet premium ingredients. They’re made in small batches by hand and we don’t use any preservatives. The cookies are made just the night before. And the unique thing about us is that we serve oven warm cookies, so you’ve got the cold part and the warm wow factor.
RH: What’s your most popular ice cream sandwich?
CG: The ones that have been very popular are the Moulin Rouge, which is our red velvet, white chocolate fudge ice cream sandwich. And then our Mumjo Jumbo, which is chocolate brownie with peanut butter cups.
But there’s also the Elvis; we won an award for that one. It has peanut butter cookies with banana foster ice cream and warm candied bacon as a topping.
RH: What is one of your weirdest combos?
CG: We have one that launched this summer called the S’mores Galore. It’s our version of a gram cracker, but it has marshmallows woven into it. And then there’s a marshmallow based ice cream with Hershey’s and almonds in it.
RH: How do you come up with such wacky names for your sandwiches?
CG: Within our team. We call our team members Booya Loompas. The name comes from the look of the product and the ingredients. For example, we see Red Velvet as seductive. It’s a spin off of the whole Moulin Rouge thing. The French Kiss is with brioche cookies and French Toast ice cream.
RH: How does your ice cream sandwich compare to the original Itsit?
CG: Kudos for them! The one that comes to mind is the classic chocolate chip. That’s one of the ones that we first kicked off seven years ago, so we call it the Old School. Our cookies are a little different from the average cookie because we use a variety of spices. And also just that we serve ours with super warm cookies.
RH: Do you have anything new coming out for the fall?
CG: Oh yeah! We’re always launching new flavors by the season. We’re looking at doing a carrot cake version and bringing back the basil bacon ice cream and the pumpkin spice cookie. But we’re definitely going to be doing some new stuff that ties in with the fall season!
Drooling yet? It’s okay, we are too. Check out Chunk-N-Chip on Twitter and Facebook and let us know what you think!
by Sienna Mintz
When your boyfriend broke up with you, mom said, “He’s a schmuck.” When you were fired, your boss was one too. Well, there’s a new schmuck in town who mom won’t be so quick to write off. His name is Matthew Koven, fondly referred to as the Schmuck with a Truck.
It’s one of L.A.’s latest and greatest food trucks, imported straight from NYC. It’s a bright yellow deli on wheels, complete with a giant cartoon of Matt looking like anything but a schmuck. Serving up the juiciest pastrami, corned beef, and brisket you’ve ever had (sorry grandma), the sandwiches from this truck will have your mouth watering before you can say Yum Kippur.
These sandwiches are piled high with sizzling, juicy meat, and schmeered with sauerkraut, coleslaw, Russian dressing and more, all between soft bread speckled with rye goodness.
If you like the concept, but meats not your thing, Matt’s got plenty more chutzpah where that came from. Try the PB & J Schmuckwich, complete with dark chocolate peanut butter, jelly, and bananas, or the Mensch, a veggie burger topped with slaw and onion rings! He’s also got some finger lickin’ sides. The potato salad is creamy and the knish is spiked with garlic. Don’t miss their lip smacking lemonade or Dr. Brown’s sodas. Stewart’s too if you’re into that kinda thing.
The schmuck himself will take your order and feed you till you’re full. Not such a schmuck after all! “Just wait till you get to know me,” he says. This is one talented guy who will cater to your mom! And anyone else planning a Bar Mitzvah, wedding, birthday party, or special event. Follow the truck on twitter for live location updates and like ‘em on Facebook to stay in the know. Nosh on roamers!
by Sienna Mintz
Tapas – Spain’s take on the appetizer. They’re small and savory and enjoyed best with Sangria.
Tapas Bravas is Austin’s tapas trailer. It resides permanently at 75 Rainey Street, and even though it’s only been open a month, people think it’s a pretty big deal. Get the scoop with the Roaming Hunger exclusive interview with Tapas Bravas chef, Jed Holdredge.
Roaming Hunger: What inspired you to open this food truck?
Jed Holdredge: I used to live in Spain and I found that in order to have real authentic Spanish food in Texas, I’d have to cook it myself. I had been teaching cooking classes and my friends had been begging me for years to open up a restaurant.
RH: So why did you opt for the food truck instead of a restaurant?
JH: I was able to start a food truck in two months whereas a brick and mortar restaurant would have taken about two years. I do plan to roll this into a brick and mortar restaurant but this was a fast, easy, inexpensive way to get things started.
RH: In Spain, you order a bunch of tapas at once, is that right?
JH: Exactly, it’s kind of like sushi, where you just keep ordering as you go. It’s definitely a social event. I try to structure my menu so that one person can go and get two or three things to make a meal, but people enjoy it the most when they bring groups of friends. You can hang out for a couple hours and order things to share.
RH: So how does this translate to a food truck? Since we all only have two hands, how can a group of friends go out and enjoy a bunch of tapas?
JH: We’ve got lots of tables. We’re in a shaded courtyard area. We’ve got twelve picnic tables that we line up back to back. We’ve only been open a month and already we’ve had four birthday parties. Our food truck is stationary; it doesn’t move. We’ve established our authority as a destination. Groups of friends who have read about us make a plan…they’re not just walking down the street.
RH: How have people responded to such a lavish menu?
JH: The patatas bravas is our signature dish and one of the more popular tapas in Spain, and then we have three or four other items that people almost always order. Those would be the croquettes, which is chicken and Serrano ham and onions and spices in a béchamel sauce, breaded and deep-fried. You almost have to try it to really comprehend it. It’s my number one favorite tapa I had in Spain. Another is the imported piquillo pepper stuffed with honey, goat cheese, and roasted pine nuts. That’s really popular. So we have some things that almost everyone wants, and then there are a couple things that aren’t as popular, but if I’m gonna call myself a tapas trailer, I have to serve them. It’s just not tapas without Spanish potato salad for example. In Spain it’s actually called Russian potato salad. It’s with peas and carrots and some other things.
JH: We’ve only been open for a month and this week we were invited to participate in the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas. They do an annual Tour de Vin and it’s held at the W Hotel. I’m one of fifteen local chefs that’s been invited to participate. I’m the only food trailer in the group and I’m gonna be alongside some of the top chefs in town. So it’s an incredible offer, especially to be so new on the scene. There’s a huge established brick and mortar tapas restaurant in Austin that’s been open for fifteen or so years, and they asked me to represent Spain.
RH: Talk to me about some of your more ornate ingredients.
JH: The first thing that comes to mind is my rabbit terrine. I buy my rabbit from a local farmer who’s from France. I wasn’t sure how well it was going to appeal to people but it’s actually been popular. The quince preserve, something most people may not be too familiar with, pairs amazingly with the Spanish cheese. It’s almost the equivalent of having pears and grapes on your cheese plate. It gives that sweet, tart flavor.
JH: It’s definitely an education for a lot of customers, not only on ingredients, but on tapas alone. What I’ve found, especially in Austin – which every year is a more and more international and cosmopolitan town – is that we have so many people who have travelled or studied abroad in Spain and miss the cuisine. And with the Latino community in general, you have people who have been to Spain or their great grandparents came from Spain. And then there’s the ravenous local foodie scene that’s always looking for the next big thing.
RH: How does your Crema Catalana compare to the original?
JH: For me, mine is the original. The difference between Crema Catalana and crème brûlée is that crème brûlée is seasoned with vanilla but with my Crema Catalana, I steam the milk with lemon peel and cinnamon sticks so it infuses the flavors. It has the ever-so-subtle, but also noticeable flavor of the lemon and cinnamon, which really reflects Spain’s culinary history. When someone orders a Crema Catalana, I sprinkle the sugar on it and pull out my torch so they can be a part of that experience.
RH: What is the next step for Tapas Bravas?
JH: We are looking at a second truck next year and then the year after that, a brick and mortar restaurant.
Follow Tapas Bravas on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and stop by next time you’re in the neighborhood!
by Sienna Mintz
La Cocina’s got a mission, or maybe two. One, is to provide low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs with the boost they need to start their food business. This means forking out affordable kitchen space and technical assistance where it’s needed most. Two, is to host the best damn street food festival San Francisco’s ever seen.
The 4th Annual San Francisco Street Food Festival is back this Saturday, and batter than ever. With 80+ vendors on the docket, you’ll
have no problem finding something you’re into. Half the vendors are a product of La Cocina’s love, while the other half reflect the city’s more plush dining hotspots. The festival is a “celebration of taste,” and aims to showcase the talent of La Cocina’s entrepreneurs in a setting that reflects their culinary superiority. Chaac Mool’s tacos, Azalina’s curry, and El Buen Comer’s Mexican comfort food are among the favorites of this crowd, but don’t miss big name favorites like Wise Sons, The Slanted Door, and Blue Bottle Coffee.
The event is totally free, though the folks at La Cocina wouldn’t mind a little donation here and there. Each vendor will be selling a “Big Bite Item” and a “Small Bite Item,” so you can pick and choose where your allegiances lie. Bring cash (no cards) or buy “Passports” online to make things easier. You can share these pre-paid meal vouchers between friends and family or buy your own based on your hunger intensity.
It’s all going down in The Mission District, where street food is second nature and community is what it’s all about. If you’re a hipster, a long-time local, a foodie, or just someone looking for something to do, you’ll find it here at the 4th Annual San Francisco Street Food Fest.
The Dirty Details
When – August 18th, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where – The Mission District, on Folsom St. from 20th to 26th, 21st and 25th from Treat St. to Shotwell St., and at the Cesar Chavez Elementary School parking lot, Parque de los Nino Unidos and Jose Coronada Playground
How – Bart: 24th St. Bart Station / Muni: 12, 14, 14L, 27, 48, 67 / Bike / There will be no parking at the event
Bike – monitored bike parking on 22nd St. between Folsom St. and Treat St.
Cost – Free! Bring cash for the vendors or buy your Passports here.
by Sienna Mintz
As if L.A.’s food truck scene couldn’t get any better, Nonna’s Kitchenette is rolling into town to mix things up. Lisa, Jessica, and Jaclyn, the three girls behind the counter, have reinvented their grandmother’s prize worthy Italian recipes to bring a modern twist to their old-time favorites.
www.foodnetwork.com/foodtrucks
Straight outta Jersey, these ladies don’t mess around. The menu speaks for itself, and will have your mouth watering in a heartbeat. Their “Cannoli French Toast” for example, is crusted in cannoli shells, with homemade cannoli whipped cream & chocolate shavings. Sound bad? We didn’t think so.
Nonna’s girls have got you covered for every meal of the day too. How does fried butternut squash and pancetta ravioli topped with sage honey sound? What about Wild mushroom, Fontina, and white truffle oil Arancini with vodka cream sauce? And to top it off, you might as well throw in a Gelato Sandwich while you’re at it. This is a serious Situation that’ll be Shore to satisfy your taste buds.
Nonna’s Kitchenette made waves at this year’s L.A. Street Food Fest, serving what we thought was one of the best samplers at the entire event: Maple encrusted crostini French Toast topped with vanilla bean cream and sautéed prosciutto. Not sure why this isn’t on their permanent menu; it’s that good. Imagine the best French Toast you’ve ever had, but about a thousand times better. They weren’t kidding when they said “maple encrusted.” The outside was crispy and sweet, while the inside was warm and soft. The prosciutto added unexpected pizzazz, and brought out the Italian essence of the treat. The vanilla bean cream, smooth and rich, was a unifying element, balancing out the intense flavors. Now don’t you wish you were there?
Root for Nonna’s Kitchenette on this season of The Great Food Truck Race, premièring on The Food Network August 19th! You won’t see them around too often yet, but we think they’re the next best thing that’s happened to L.A. food trucks. Look out Jersey; they’re coming for you too.
by Sienna Mintz
It’s not your ordinary waffle, light and fluffy, topped with a bazillion sugary sweets. It’s Waffles de Liege, and all it needs is a little powdered sugar.
The Waffles de Liege truck is an L.A. gem, serving homemade, completely fresh, and utterly delicious waffles to Angelinos since 2010. The Liege Waffle, owners George Wu and Lawrence Tai explain, is the lesser-known fraternal twin on the Brussels Waffle, which is the popular choice in the States. The LW is made with Belgian peal sugar, which is slightly chunkier than your regular refined stuff, giving the outside of the waffles a caramelized, crunchy texture.
Regular waffles are made with a batter, but if you’ve seen what the folks on this truck do, you’ll know you’re in for something special. They press a thick ball of dough in the waffle iron before dusting it with powdered sugar and handing it your way. The result is a treat with a slightly crunchy outside that artfully conceals the soft chewiness beneath. It doesn’t taste doughy, like you might imagine, nor is it flimsy like many Belgian waffles. You can definitely taste the quality of their ingredients, which are all fresh and totally natural.
Unlike many other waffles, each Waffles de Liege waffle is unique. Instead of conforming to the expected square or circle form, these each take their own form, however the waffle iron sees fit. This, combined with the stellar taste of the waffle itself, lets you know that this is your waffle, not some mass produced piece of overpriced cardboard. In fact, an original Liege Waffle only costs $4.50! If you think the plain and simple option isn’t enough for you, opt for the Speculoos Waffle, with fresh banana slices and Speculoos, a Belgian cookie spread that sorta takes your back to your gingerbread cookie making days. The spread melts atop the waffle, creating a sticky layer that you’ll be glad to lick off your fingers.
Find the Waffles de Liege truck whenever you can. If your mouth isn’t already watering, it will be the second you smell what’s coming from that truck. It’s called Waffle Envy, and it’s very real.
by Sienna Mintz
The Kogi BBQ Truck in Los Angeles was one of the first to kickstart the gourmet street food movement. Now you can go behind the scenes with award-winning chef Roy Choi, the mastermind himself, to get a better idea of the inspiration behind his signature dishes. Check out this film by Alison Chernick and start salivating!
Riding Shotgun with Roy Choi from Alison Chernick on Nowness.com.
by Sienna Mintz
What do snow cones, sorbet, shaved ice, and ice cream have in common? They’re things of the past. The Los Angeles based Fluff Ice Truck has reinvented dessert, creating a treat that melts in your mouth without the extra calories. Roaming Hunger sat down with truck owner Matt Hui this week to discuss the inner workings of the Fluff Ice Truck. Check out the interview to find out about edible plastic, frozen cotton candy, and the precarious road trip that started it all.
Roaming Hunger: Can you tell us about the history of Fluff Ice?
Matt Hui: We started as a store in April of 2011, and then we had the idea to start a truck. We grew up in Monterey Park, which is where our store is located and it just grew from there. We had a lot of support from the community, a lot of fundraisers, and a lot of people liked it. But we were sort of limiting ourselves to our town, so we were like, “How can we expand? All our friends own food trucks…”
RH: Which trucks?
MH: The Mighty Boba Truck helped us out. Francis and Luca gave us a lot of advice in the beginning. We talked to the guys at Truck Norris too. They told us to find a builder and that was a pretty interesting experience, because when we started this we didn’t know anything about the industry. We found this used truck in San Diego. We didn’t even know how to drive a truck when we started! The first trip was 120 miles, so it was kind of scary. We were building a store, but on a different scale. My friend from college who designed a lot of the characters for our store in Monterey Park was on board to design our truck, which is why the truck is so cool. It works together because you can see those characters in our stores and also on the truck. The truck came from the idea that we could bring our product out to whatever market we’re at.
RH: What exactly is a Fluff Ice?
MH: A fluff ice is a really different kind of shaved ice. It’s most similar to shaved ice because we freeze it like a block of ice but then we actually infuse the flavor into the blocks before we shave it. So for our Thai Tea fluff we actually brew the tea before we freeze it and shave it. Each process to make a block takes about 8 hours but when they come out they look really cool, like fine ribbons woven together.
RH: Is it more like sorbet or a snow cone?
MH: It’s more like sorbet, but it’s also creamy. We use the same shavers as Matsumoto’s in Hawaii. It has a really light texture, but really strong taste. Kind of like, frozen cotton candy. Once it hits your mouth it just melts there. It’s a totally different experience. With such a new product, you have to introduce it to people. So everyone compares you to something. When we try to book events, sometimes, they’re like “We already have a shaved ice truck,” but we’re really different.
RH: Where do you think the truck works best?
MH: We do really well at family events and schools. We also do a lot of catering events. We’ve been on Sony’s lot in Culver City. We did the red carpet premiere for Mirror Mirror. We’re just all over the place. We did KTLA the other week with Roaming Hunger, and we were also on the Cooking Channel last Saturday.
RH: What makes people want to have a Fluff Ice?
MH: I think it’s because we’re so unique; because it’s such a new product. We grouped all our favorite parts of dessert, but took away the bad parts. Ice cream is creamy. So is our stuff, but it doesn’t have the same fat content as ice cream. Each serving is roughly 50 calories, which is nothing compared to the 200 calorie count that’s in the same cup of ice cream. It doesn’t compromise on taste. We top our product like yogurt, so you get that part of it too.
RH: What are some of your more unique flavors and toppings?
MH: The Thai Tea one is definitely one of the more popular flavors. No one has anything remotely like it. Our Fusion Green Tea is also one of my favorites. We use two different kinds of green tea, Japanese matcha green tea, which is powdery, and Chinese jasmine green tea. My other favorite is our almond flavor. It’s not nutty, it’s more like Amaretto and it pairs really well with fruits. Our mango flavor is also out of this world.
RH: How does someone go about ordering a Fluff Ice?
MH: We usually have set combination. We pride ourselves on being really efficient. A lot of trucks that I’ve seen take 10-15 minutes to get an order out. You’re only on a lot for 3-4 hours sometimes, so it’s really difficult to generate sales when the bulk of your time is spent cooking. We can actually get an order out in one minute or less. We just did a catering event for a company picnic and we got 150 orders out in 2 hours! Our stores allow you to customize your order with toppings, but we like to keep our more popular combinations on the truck.
RH: What are some of those more popular combinations?
MH: Our classic one is really cool. It’s a milk flavor but it’s actually non-dairy based. We use non-dairy creamer, so it has the taste of cream, but not the heaviness. We actually source our fruit fresh every night because we have a lot of contacts in the Downtown Produce Market. Being in L.A. is really cool because we have access to all this fresh produce. We source our strawberries fresh from Oxnard and in the summertime, our mangos come from Mexico, but in the winter we have access to the ports in South America. So we have an ample supply year round.
RH: What are some weird toppings that we have?
MH: We have cheesecake bites! There’s this new combo called the Coffee Cake. It’s actually not available on our truck yet, but I’m planning to introduce it next week. It has our Coffee Fluff and it’s topped with gram crackers and cheesecake bites. It has three really different textures. The Coffee Fluff has a different consistency from the others, the cheesecake bites are frozen so they’re a little chewy, and the gram crackers are crunchy. So you get all that together in one serving.
RH: Tell us a little about popping boba…
MH: We have this really cool popping boba. It’s like edible plastic. We put passion fruit juice and strawberry juice, so when you take a bite into it, it has a burst of flavor. Those are really different; I haven’t seen them in many places. Our boba is actually blue in color. It matches the color of our store so we try to keep things very thematic. It’s been a very interesting experience so far, figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
by Sienna Mintz
A Brasil Kiss Latte is a great way to get your morning caffeine boost. But Luciano can’t always be parked along your daily route to the office. The latte actually isn’t too difficult to make, as long as you can find the ingredients. If made correctly, it’ll be slightly sweet, with a strong coffee flavor and a hint of Brazilian flare. Here’s the recipe so you can try to make your very own in the comfort of your home!
Makes 1 Brasil Kiss Latte
1. Pour the espresso into a cup
2. Add the vanilla and caramel to taste.
3. Pour the steamed milk to the top of the cup.
4. Enjoy!
by Sienna Mintz