by Matthew Thorsen

“We’re running out of food.” That was the word at 7 p.m. last Friday from Felix Wai, one half of the ArtsRiot team and an organizer of the South End Truck Stop.

Wai’s looming problem was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, what is a food-truck event without any, well, food? But on the bright side, the night’s crush of hungry diners was a ringing endorsement of the fledgling event, then in its second week (the first one was forced inside by rain). Clearly, Burlington-area foodies were willing to turn out in droves to knock back tipples, chow down on tacos and meet up over smoked meat.

In fact, the parking lot behind Speeder & Earl’s Coffee Roastery on Pine Street was packed to the gills. Here, every Friday evening from 4:30 to 9 p.m. throughout the summer, Burlingtonians will find their very own food-truck bazaar — with barbecue, burgers and beer galore.

The event’s organizers had hoped the idea would catch on, but they weren’t expecting the crowd of hundreds that met them on May 31.

“We thought there’d be a little bit of a slow burn,” said the tall and lanky Wai, clutching a walkie-talkie at his side. “I didn’t think we’d reach 500 people until the sixth week.”

As the evening wore down, security staffers working the entrances were putting the night’s cumulative estimate even higher — somewhere around 1000 or 1100 people, one doorman guessed.

But the volume of diners, coupled with the presence of only three vendors that evening, meant waits were long and food was going fast. Already, waits at Muchacho Taco, Southern Smoke and the Burger Barn were exceeding 40 minutes. “Which is unacceptable,” Wai conceded.

He was distracted; even as he fielded questions from other vendors and well wishes from friends and admirers, Wai was orchestrating a spur-of-the-moment Hannaford run. Southern Smoke and Muchacho Taco were perilously close to running out of food, and long lines of diners still stood waiting. Wai’s plan? Bring in hot dogs and sausages and sell them for $1 or $2 a pop. It wasn’t gourmet, but at least no one would go hungry.

More than eight months pregnant, I’d come prepared to eat for two — and dragged my husband, Colin, along to help. We jumped in line at Muchacho Taco at around 6:15. Little did I know it, but we were about to make the biggest mistake of our night: We opted out of ordering a full dinner and decided to split a small taco instead. I hadn’t yet been clued in to the diminishing supplies at the other food trucks and was still daydreaming about sampling wares from each vendor. (Providing such opportunities to graze, Wai said, is the Truck Stop’s ultimate goal.)

With temperatures surpassing 90 degrees that afternoon, it was sweltering inside the food trucks camped out in the courtyard.

“My poor husband’s about to pass out,” joked Laura Miller, hanging out of the order window at Muchacho Taco. Sure enough, a sheen of sweat covered Jamie Miller as he slaved away inside the mobile kitchen. The Millers came prepared to do a lot of business that evening: “We planned for our busiest day [ever] and doubled it,” Laura Miller said.

Her personal favorite on that night’s menu was the pork taco, and the recommendation proved spot on. The taco — dished up about 20 minutes later — was pleasantly spicy, topped with crisp cabbage, a drizzle of sour cream, salsa and pleasantly sharp pickled red onions. My only regret? That we didn’t order more than one.

We washed down our $4.50 taco with iced tea from ¡Duino! (Duende). Owner Lee Anderson and his assistant, Sarah Grant, were selling tea and fresh-squeezed lemonade beside Anderson’s 1985 Jaguar XJ6. Anderson has a street-food cart he plans to tow behind the Jag for future truck-stop events. He’ll be dishing up pincho, a popular Puerto Rican street snack. Typically made with pork or chicken, his pincho is slathered in a spicy marinade and slow-cooked on a barbecue. “It’s basically meat on a stick,” Anderson said. “It’s everywhere in Puerto Rico.”

Sadly, there was no pincho to be had on this particular evening. The cold drinks were a hot commodity, though. Anderson and Grant had daydreamed about taking orders from the front seat of the Jag and serving from the back. They opted instead to set up a small table alongside the sleek, black car when, Grant said, they realized their first plan was the “stickier” of the two.

For $2, we chose a peppermint tea; Grant filled a cup with ice from a cooler and topped it off with the cold, minty beverage. The taste was just right: strong but not overbearingly herbal, and refreshingly crisp. Fortified, we pressed onward.

By this point in the evening, the lines had grown depressingly long. All but one item was crossed out on the menu at Southern Smoke, so Colin gamely camped out in the line for the Jeffersonville-based Burger Barn.

I took a stroll around the premises. Hunger pangs aside, I couldn’t help appreciating the festive scene, packed with twentysomethings and young families. The place was thick with kids and women trotting out their summer sundresses. The old-timey Burlington Bread Boys were strumming away on a mandolin, guitar and kazoo in one corner of the courtyard.

“We live in Burlington. We’re boys,” explained mandolin player Chris Cartier when pressed about the group’s name.

“And we love to make dough,” chimed in Max Krieger, the group’s singer and kazoo man.

Of course, hunger takes the sparkle off festivity. Courtney Butler said she had waited in line at one food truck for half an hour, only to leave empty-handed when the vendor ran out of food. Her friend Meghan Mason, up from Middlebury for the Truck Stop and the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, had arrived earlier in the evening and snagged a smoked-pork sandwich from Southern Smoke.

Butler, not so lucky, had resorted to a cup of SoYo frozen yogurt peddled by ice cream entrepreneur Brian Somers. He started his company, Tin-Pot Ice Cream, last summer, and on this evening was doing a booming business in novelty cones, Popsicles and SoYo treats from his bicycle-powered ice cream “truck.”

“The only problem we’re having is the crowd,” Wai said — meaning numbers. “Which is a good problem to have.”

Anderson ambled over, and Wai chided him: “Shoulda cooked, man. We’re running out of food!”

By 7:40, Southern Smoke was plum sold out. No more pork sandwiches, no more lamb burritos, no more fried chicken. No more French fries.

“I thought I was sitting heavy,” owner Brian Stefan said. But his cuisine, which relies on smoking meats over the course of many, many hours, isn’t well suited to on-the-fly accommodation of bigger-than-expected crowds. Looking ahead to next week and the rest of the summer, Stefan made this prediction: “I’m going to smoke everything I can get my hands on.”

By this point, Colin had been standing in line at the Burger Barn for an hour. (I didn’t have the heart to time the wait, but two customers just ahead of us were keeping track.) We were second from the front when heartbreaking news came from the server: “All out of fries,” she said, looking deeply apologetic. “Pass it back.”

We settled for a cheeseburger (which ended up being disappointingly dry — not that that kept us from devouring every bite). We talked to two friends, Maura McGovern and Katherine Monterosso, who were chomping at the bit to try the burgers; they’d read Alice Levitt’s review of the Jeffersonville burger biz in this paper and had high expectations.

Will McGovern and Monterosso be back? Probably, they said. Somehow, their spirits weren’t at all diminished by the hourlong wait at the Burger Barn.

“It’s such a good atmosphere,” said a chipper McGovern. “How could you let it get you down?”

Wai, and the food-truck vendors, are hoping that kind of excitement will keep diners coming back weekly to the Truck Stop. Wai promised more vendors — double the trucks next week, in fact — and shorter wait times in the future.

“We’re only going to get better and quicker,” Stefan vowed.

http://www.7dvt.com/2013burlingtons-new-south-end-truck-stop-popularity-blessing-and-curse

Thousands came out on a beautiful spring afternoon to enjpoy the goodies at a food truck rodeo Sunday, May 12, 2013, in downtown Raleigh.
Kyle Jahner — kjahner@newsobserver.com

Hungry people by the thousands packed five city blocks on Fayetteville Street for the first of four Food Truck Rodeos, as Raleigh hitched onto a trend started in Durham in 2010.

Attendees sampled culinary offerings including barbecue, crepes, gyros and pizza. Ice cream, pie and flavored ice provided dessert, and drink vendors including regional breweries offered various methods of washing it all down.

“Is this the line for the dumplings?” one attendee asked.

After receiving a nod in response, the young customer looked at the food truck a good 50 feet away – and back at the line that extended even farther behind the person he asked. In the background, a city street swarmed with a river of customers at dozens of food trucks in downtown Raleigh.

In all, more than 40 food trucks lined the streets, and patrons literally ate up the offerings.

“The waits have been crazy long all day,” North Raleigh resident Roxanne Hoover said as she waited in line for Parle-vous Crepes, one of the more popular trucks. She said she’d been in line for nearly 45 minutes.

“At least it’s nice out,” Hoover said.

But the longest line belonged to Chirba Chirba, the dumpling truck. For much of the day, at least 100 people waited in the line, which stretched across Fayetteville and then along the street.

Attendees tried a variety of ways to deal with the lines. Richard Mihm, a Raleigh resident who learned the virtues of Chirba Chirba and Parlez-vous Crepes at a food rodeo in Durham, said having one person in a group hit the longer lines helped max out the experience. Having a friend bring a beer to the person doing the waiting would help too, he said.

“You have to divide and conquer,” concurred his friend in line, Dean McCord of Raleigh.

Even at 5 p.m., when the 5-hour rodeo ended, more than 40 people waited in the line at Chirba Chirba and there were plenty of people remaining on Fayetteville Street, which was blocked off from Davie Street to the state Capitol. The event extended to parts of Martin and Hargett streets as well.

The Mother’s Day edition of the Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo will not be the last of the season; encores are scheduled for June 9, Aug. 11, and Oct. 13, all Sundays. The one in August will run from 4-9 p.m. while the other two will last from noon-5 p.m., like the Mother’s Day event.

Raleigh’s City Council initially resisted the idea of allowing food trucks to freely operate in the city two years ago. Members cited food safety, impact on existing restaurants, litter, crowds, noise and parking as concerns. Food trucks have since been seen as increasingly legitimate and have operated without problems.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/12/2888695/downtown-food-truck-rodeo-wrangles.html

The Maine Lobster Lady receives a constant flow of customers at the festival. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HIDROSOLLO/THE REBEL YELL

Food trucks gathered from near and far to satisfy sophisticated palettes at the second annual Las Vegas Foodie Fest last weekend.

Over 30 food trucks participated in the festival, including many standout food fares, from the Southern-inspired Slap Yo Mama Truck, to the Maine Lobster Lady, bringing authentic New England flavors to the Las Vegas area. Many of the participating trucks came from neighboring states.

Tornado Potato offers a whole spiral cut potato on a stick

One notable appearance was the Las Vegas debut of White Castle, a popular fast-food chain originating in the Midwest. White Castle is well known for bringing the slider concept into the fast-food scene with their signature square meat patties. However, aside from the packaged frozen variety, the White Castle franchise has no permanent locations in the west coast.

Festival guests were eager to try the Midwest bites and were willing to wait over four hours just to sink their teeth into an original White Castle Slider. Sliders were available for purchase in pairs, packs of ten, or the whopping Crave Crate — which includes 100 sliders for $100.

White Castle was not the only vendor getting attention at the festival. Seoul Sausage Company also received a great turnout, with lengthy lines of eaters hoping to try their take on transforming Korean BBQ into a product more fitting for the mobile market.

Seoul Sausage Company is a Los Angeles-based food truck most well known for winning Season Three of The Great Food Truck Race on The Food Network. Famed celebrity chefs like Alton Brown and Giada de Laurentiis have praised this company. With a mission statement “to take over the world, one sausage at a time,” they have clearly won hearts in Las Vegas, showcased by the long lines approaching wait times of over an hour.

The lines for White Castle exceed four hours.

Food trucks tend to be successful when introducing new concepts of food. Jogasaki Sushi Burrito fused the idea of the sushi hand roll and the handheld portability of a burrito. Tortillas are substituted with thin soy paper to hold the sushi rice in with a choice of various fillings ranging from crispy deep-fried spicy tuna to fresh salmon ceviche. Portions are similar to traditional sized burritos.

Food truck concepts are often innovative, eye-catching and delicious — elements that Tornado Potato managed to capture. Whole potatoes are spiral cut, fried, then drawn out onto a stick, bringing together the appeal of both the french fry and potato chip.

In addition to the huge variety of food, the festival also included a main stage offering live music, dancing and contests appropriate for all ages. Carnival rides were also available for guests, offering a good range of entertainment if the food wasn’t enough.

A large turnout made it to the festival for its second year, attracting both casual eaters and foodies alike.

Judging by the huge crowds at the second annual Las Vegas Foodie Festival, the food truck trend is not set to die down anytime soon.

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/2013/04/29/food-celebration-reaches-masses/#.UYEOMaJmiSo

Editor’s note: Behind the Scene is an occasional series meant to take readers places they might not otherwise see. This week, Jason Ashley Wright spends a day inside a popular food truck.

It was fitting that Philip Phillips had Patsy Cline’s “If You’ve Got Leavin’ on Your Mind” on his.

He pointed out the irony while stuck a few blocks from Guthrie Green, where he was supposed to be at 10:15 a.m. Thursday.

His food truck had broken down. Again.

On the bright side, these experiences have allowed Philip, owner of Lone Wolf Banh Mi, to learn a new skill set.

“I’ve definitely turned into a mechanic,” he told us while his truck was stuck south of the railroad tracks on Elgin Avenue near First Street. “I’ve had to.”

No doubt, there was a little stress involved that morning as Philip waited on his wife, Danielle, to bring back a distributor coil from an auto parts store so they could make it to the Green’s Food Truck Wednesday event – the first of what organizers hope will become a summer tradition.

Despite the Lone Wolf truck’s setback – and a second trip for another auto part – Philip, Danielle and cook Jeff Crow maintained a light attitude peppered with the occasional random song lyric.

Usually, the three of them – or four, if it’s a busy event – arrive at least an hour early to calmly clean and set up for lunch or dinner service. But their 10:15 arrival time was going to be pushed until at least 11 a.m. on this day, giving them 30 minutes.

You’d think he might take his frustration out on the truck. But no tools were thrown, no doors slammed.

In fact, he even praised the truck.

“I will definitely keep this truck forever,” Philip said while waiting on Danielle to return. He might get a better truck eventually (multiple ones, if he follows his dream); but this is the original Lone Wolf.

That name comes from doing things his own way, Philip said. He’s operated Lone Wolf about seven months, and out of about 100 times he’s worked it, he’s sold out of food 97 times.

While they waited on the side of Elgin, a car stopped by the truck.

” ‘We were on our way to eat you,’ ” Philip quoted them. ‘ “When you gonna be there?’ “

A little later, another guy in a white truck parked on the opposite side of the street, walked over, saw that the food truck wasn’t open and walked back, looking disappointed.

Close to 11:30 a.m., when other vendors like Andolini’s, Local Table and Lola’s had already started serving at the Green, that second part was installed on Lone Wolf.

“In the words of James Brown, ‘Please, Please, Please,’ ” Philip said. Seconds later, it started, and they let out a little celebratory Lone Wolf cry.

Minutes later, with Lone Wolf driving behind us, people spotted the food truck as it turned onto Brady near the Green and started clapping.

The truck looped around the park and settled in a space on the east side. They had barely parked when more than 20 people formed a line.

“I’m so sorry,” Philip told the crowd, letting them know forces beyond his control made them late – and would make the line wait an extra 30 minutes.

“It’s worth it,” one woman shouted back, smiling.

They plugged in the generator and started setting up. Philip started by cleaning the kitchen surfaces, then sliced 60 loaves of Antoinette Baking Co. baguettes open for his banh mi sandwiches, a French-Vietnamese delight of spicy pork, cilantro, cucumber, carrots, jalapeno, pickled daikon radish and aioli.

Their accelerated prep time was like watching choreography in the tightest, best-smelling space imaginable. Philip washed and cut the cilantro while Jeff started cooking meat on the grill. After Danielle tore pieces of tape and adhered them to a shelf (a timesaver when wrapping banh mi orders in paper), she wrote the menu on the outside window.

“By the time we’re ready to open, I’ll be ready to pass out,” Philip said, laughing.

He told Jeff that they’d start serving as soon as the pork was done. More folks were getting in line, and Philip knew they all needed to get back to work.

“OK, we’re open, yay!” Danielle said out the window to the first customer.

People ordered banh mi, picking the kind of aioli they wanted and saying they liked this on it or that left off. They ordered kimchi fries, too, with candied bacon and extra cilantro, or no cilantro and an egg on top.

“The bay is full, and this order’s done,” Philip told Danielle.

“Got it,” she replied, then looked at a customer: “I’m going to get these orders out, and I’ll be right with you.”

They made multitasking look as if it could be a style of dance, greeting customers, jotting down their orders, taking cash, handing them food, wrapping sandwiches – and smiling the entire time.

“I should’ve eaten breakfast,” Philip said, echoing our own sentiments as he squirted sauce on orders of kimchi fries, his plastic gloves stained yellow-green at the finger tips from stuffing cilantro in banh mi. “I just want a slice of pizza from Andolini’s.”

Close to 1:30 p.m., Philip called for a bread count.

“We have seven banh mi left,” he said. “We might have exactly what we need to finish.”

Most folks who ordered banh mi got it, but they did run out – they almost always do. But the last few customers were quite content with kimchi fries.

“Even though Lone Wolf showed up late, it was definitely worth it,” said fan Philip Jaques, who ordered kimchi fries. “Two words: Candied. Bacon.”

Lone Wolf’s Philip, smiling after the last order was placed, seemed happy with how the day went.

At one point during the thick of things, Danielle started singing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Apparently, it’s a “mission” for each of them to say or sing a lyric that gets stuck in the others’ heads, Philip said.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed. “I’ve had ‘If You’ve Got Leaving on Your Mind’ in my head for hours.”

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile.

Journey to Lone Wolf began with Mom

Philip Phillips’ foray into food didn’t start with banh mi sandwiches and kimchi fries.

It all started with potato soup.

“Right when I moved away for college, I realized I didn’t like living off fast food,” said Phillips, who grew up in Cleveland and went to junior and high schools in Sand Springs. “I called Mom and had her teach me how to make all her recipes I grew up on.”

His “culinary journey” started at Kokoa Chocolatier with chef Steven Howard. Then, he trained under Geoffrey van Glabbeek at the late Lava Noshery.

He’s also been a wok cook at Keo and a sushi chef at the late Tsunami.

After that, while cooking a little more than a year at Whole Foods, Phillips worked toward having his own food truck, Lone Wolf, which had its first service in September 2012.

Popular as his Vietnamese-French fusion offerings are, he and his wife, Danielle, aren’t necessarily eating that at home.

“(We) always cook this five-hour, slow-roasted whole chicken stuffed with Anaheim or hatch green chilies,” he said. “The pan gravy from this bird is like heaven. Best leftovers ever.”

You can find Lone Wolf most weeks from 6 p.m. until “sell out” Wednesdays through Saturdays at Soundpony, 409 N. Main St. Their schedule changes, so Phillips advises checking outfacebook.com/lonewolftruck

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Lone_Wolf_food_truck_pleases_sell_out_crowd_at_Guthrie/20130428_43_D1_CUTLIN462488

A customer purchases lunch from one of the hundreds of vending trucks that set up shop along the streets of Washington, DC. (Photo credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, Va. — Food trucks in Arlington will have a whole two hours to sell their goodies now, as the county board unanimously approved doubling the previous one-hour parking limit Tuesday.

By 3 p.m., the lunch rush might be over on Wilson Boulevard but there are still plenty of people interested in making a quick run for a curbside cupcake. Now that he’s got an extra hour to work with, Brandon Lawson tells WNEW’s George Mesthos that he can keep his pink truck on the curb and scoop up the snackers and stragglers.

“That little bit of time can make the difference,” he said.

But brick and mortar businesses still aren’t thrilled that the food trucks can cut off the path to their doors.

RELATED — Food Truck Association: DC Trucks in Jeopardy

“You know, you walk down from the Rosslyn Metro and there’s five food trucks serving breakfast,” said Spencer Lacey, general manager of Brown Bag Rosslyn. But his restaurant is fighting fire with fire.

“We just started our food trucks about two months ago… trying to capture some of that business that all these trucks are seeing.”

Lawson says the changes in Arlington are a good start, but he and other food truckers are worried about changes the District is considering.

If Mayor Vincent Gray’s latest proposed “Mobile Roadway Vending” regulations are enacted, trucks would become illegal in most of downtown D.C., representatives of the DC Food Truck Association said in March.

“They’re trying to force it so that we’re not close to certain restaurants all around D.C., and a lot of hot spots where we do sell at, there’s restaurants there already,” Lawson said. “So, it’s making it very difficult… it’s a real big, big issue.”

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/04/24/food-truck-climate-warms-up-in-arlington/

Chef Paul Litwin, of Hallandale Beach, prepares “The Caveman” taco at BC Tacos during the Monday night food truck roundup in Hollywood. (Staff photo by Eric Bojanowski)

Reggae music emanates from Jefe’s Original Fish Taco and Burger food truck.

Patrons sit nearby waiting for their orders beneath bright yellow umbrellas as the cook prepares their dishes. On the other side of the grass, a line waits outside of the Ms. Cheezious grilled cheese truck, and there are about 20 other trucks filling the plaza with a range of specialties.

“It smells really good,” said Sumana Balkaran, a regular at these gatherings.

Her friend, Melissa Khan, who came for the first time, said she loved her order.

“The cheese is nice and gooey, and it’s really stringy when you pull it apart,” she said.

The weekly food truck roundup has drawn a large crowd from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Mondays in downtown Hollywood’s ArtsPark at Young Circle since it started in August 2011.

Nalina Khan, her mom and her husband sampled various fare, buying fish tacos, dim sum and a hot dog.

“I didn’t realize how nice of an event this was,” Khan said.

Chris McGowan, a Hollywood resident and vegan, said he often makes a beeline to Mushaboom Vegan, but other food trucks also have meatless items.

“It’s a pretty diverse selection of food,” he said as he cradled his chickpea parmigiana burger. “I find that a couple of the trucks are really accommodating.”

His friend, Jorge Posada, eats meat, but he’s found inspiration to expand his horizons.

“I just met a really nice girl who is a vegan, so I am adding a lot of vegetables to my life,” he said.

Mojo on the Go features an eclectic mix of Cuban, Cajun and soul food, including chili lime mojito chicken wings, gator tail, frog legs, baby octopus and ever-changing menu items. Those who patronize Anthony Fernandez’s food truck never really know what to expect.

“We cook whatever we want,” he said.

Also drawing a big crowd was the Los Chamos truck, serving up Venezuelan fare.

“The food brings us a lot of customers,” said owner Charlis Hajjar. “Rain or shine, we always have a line.”

Bryn Keddie and her boyfriend, Julian Rodriguez, came from Miami Beach just to eat from them.

“We follow them on Facebook and Twitter, so we know where they are going to be,” Keddie said. “We’ve eaten Venezuelan food all over Miami, and it’s nothing like this. … The quality is really good, and their empanadas are the biggest, and they are filled with everything.”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/hollywood/fl-cn-foodtrucks-0421-20130419,0,156251.story

(credit: NYSF)

We were downtown for lunch yesterday, which is a fairly rare occurrence, but one we wanted to take full advantage of. What better way than to have lunch from Veronica’s Kitchen?

Veronica’s Kitchen is a stalwart of the Financial District, serving lunch on Front St by Pine St for many years. In fact, Veronica’s was a Vendy Award Finalist in the 3rd Vendys, back in 2007.

Because of the snow, the cart was on Water St by Pine St, but that looks to be a temporary situation.

It was our first time at Veronica’s Kitchen, and the line was about 12 people long, so we did our best to see what others were ordering.

Even though the menu is a decent size, everyone seemed to be ordering jerk chicken, and we did the same. A small is $6 and a large is $8. Both come with your choice of 2 side dishes.

(credit: NYSF)

We know from the Jamaican food vendors in midtown like Jamaican Dutchyand Jerk Pan that a large is usually way too much food for lunch.

The list of side dishes was long, and we went with mac & cheese and candied yams. Unfortunately, they only had a few yams left, so Veronica supplemented our platter with potato salad too.

Opening the container, we were right to get a small. There were 2 pieces of chicken, a large wedge of mac & cheese, a nice portion of potato salad, and the last couple of candied yams were buried underneath.

(credit: NYSF)

The chicken leg was dark and foreboding, but the thigh was more inviting. When Veronica was making up our dish, we saw her ladle several spoons of sauce over everything, and it was some serious jerk sauce! Our lips and tongue were on fire, with a vinegary, peppery blast that hit you right away.

The chicken was cooked long enough that it came right off the bone, and was very tender and moist. When people talk about jerk chicken being really hot, this is what they’re talking about!

Digging into the mac & cheese for a little relief, not much was forthcoming at first. The spoonfuls of jerk sauce had seeped down into the mac & cheese, and it had quite a kick too. Luckily, it was only near the top.

The base of the mac & cheese was good, but pretty basic. However, the top crust of the mac & cheese had a nice tang from what seemed like a Swiss-type cheese. The tangy crust was able to stand up to the jerk sauce, and some relief was found underneath the crust.

(credit: NYSF)

The potato salad and yams didn’t get any of the jerk sauce, and the potato salad was also cold, which made it the bestsolution for  cooling off our mouth. It was creamy and solid potato salad.

We were sorry to have only gotten the last of the candied yams, because we really enjoyed them. The yams were very soft and sweet, and would be very welcome on our Thanksgiving table. It might be too sweet for some people, but not for us.

Lunch from Veronica’s Kitchen was very enjoyable, and we look forward to trying some of her other dishes when the opportunity arises. They don’t have a twitter account or website, but if you go by Pine St and Front (or Water) St at lunch, you will see a cart with anywhere from 6-12 people lined up, and that was in mid-February. It’s probably longer in the nice weather.

We almost went for the curry shrimp, but when 90% of the people were ordering jerk chicken, that’s what we did too. The fried chicken is on our list too, and the stewed red snapper on Fridays sounded great too. So many choices, so little time.

http://newyorkstreetfood.com/39419/street-eats-jerk-chicken-platter-from-veronicas-kitchen/

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The number of food trucks in Jacksonville has tripled in the last year and the industry isn’t slowing down.

Joe Snowberger is a regular customer for the Gourmet Aviator. He says he follows Jacksonville food truck locations on social media.

“Every day, you get a different freshness and taste for my gourmet palette. It’s really a nice surprise every day,” said Snowberger.

And as awareness grows, so does the number of trucks. The company Jax Truckies supports local food trucks and says since last year, the number of restaurants on wheels in Jacksonville has grown from 12 to almost 40 now.

That matches M & R Trailers’ success in the last year. The company, based out of Baker County, builds custom food trucks and trailers and says its revenue tripled to $1 million. In 2012, they built 54 food trucks for customers all over the country.

Gourmet Aviator food truck sets up at different Jacksonville locations

“I believe that this business has caught a niche in the market. We’ve had a bad economy fall in the last few years. A lot of people in the higher-priced income area were laid off from these high paying jobs and these people have some capital in the bank and they’re saying ’I'm going to spend $25,000, $30,000 and I’ll get a food truck and I’ll be out there making revenue every day,’” said Bob Pierson, owner of M & R Trailers.

M & R trailers customizes every food truck to the customer’s specifications. They’re currently finishing a coffee truck that even has a lower window to let customers visually pick out baked goods.

From custom-made barbecues, to catering trucks with bathrooms, to full coffee shops, food trucks have evolved.

“The trucks that come around serving the lunches, roach coaches, well those days are gone. These are gourmet kitchens; they’re built like that and they cost like that,” said Pierson.

M & R builds about three trucks a month and these restaurants on wheels range anywhere from $25,000 to $200,000.

Owner of the Gourmet Aviator said the average daily revenue is $350 dollars, but depending on the location, their mobile restaurant could bring in up to $800 a day.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/296158/483/Food-truck-business-speeding-to-success

ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Ribs were sold at the SOWA open market.

The food truck business in Boston is really starting to cook.

Come April, the city will have 56 trucks dishing food across Boston neighborhoods, up from just 15 when the city first cautiously kicked the tires of the trend in July 2011. Food trucks are coming to new parts of the city, including East Boston, Roxbury, and Charlestown, and those locations that started with one truck now have three or more, bringing a diverse mix of cuisines and cultures to the streets of a city once famous for its parochial tastes.

Trucks across the city now serve ­everything from Southern comfort food to Asian barbecue. The trend has become so popular that local truck chefs have their own food festivals and cooking contests, and some operators are even opening their own brick-and-mortar restaurants. Meantime, there is a growing network of businesses such as truck repair and emergency staffing to support them.

“It’s become a job creator,” said Edith Murnane, director of food initiatives for the City of Boston. “It’s incubating new businesses, and it has become a real launching pad, for healthy, creative food in the city.”

One of the biggest success stories is Clover Food Lab . The company, which emphasizes fresh, seasonal foods, opened with a single food truck with two employees a few years ago, and now has a workforce of 250 people.

The company operates two restaurants and seven trucks, from Dewey Square to the Longwood Medical Area to Harvard Square. Its founder and chief executive, Ayr Muir, said he is planning to open four more restaurants this year, including the company’s first suburban location, in Burlington.

“It’s been a lot of work,” said Muir. “I don’t sleep a whole lot, but I love what I do.”

To be sure, the influx of food trucks has upset some restaurant owners, who are concerned about losing parking and customers to mobile competitors.

“I understand the restaurants’ complaints. They are investing huge amounts to serve their customers,” said Peter Christie, chief executive of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. “But I also understand food trucks saying, ‘This is an emerging market and we’re trying to make it work.’ ”

Christie also noted that many restaurateurs are getting in on the trend, with the popular Blue Ribbon Barbecue and others rolling out new food trucks, in the suburbs as well as in the city.

“Overall, the restaurant scene in Boston is doing incredibly well,” Christie said. “And I think the mayor and city planners have done a good job controlling” the food trucks.

City regulations prevent trucks from opening within a 100 feet of a stationary competitor serving the same type of food. For example, a pizza truck could not open next to a Santarpio’s or Regina Pizzeria without risking a fine, as well as the ire of workers from the restaurant.

All trucks must be inspected for food safety and public safety before hitting the streets, and again after they begin operating. But Murnane said the extra workload has not forced the city to hire additional inspectors.

Starting in April, she said, the city will have nearly 20 public food truck locations, including four spots with multiple trucks including the Christian Science Plaza and at Kilby and Milk streets in the Financial District.

One of the most successful locations is the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, which first tested food trucks in a 2010 pilot program.

The nonprofit conservancy that runs the parks system expects to earn $250,000 this year in leasing revenue, up from $25,000 in the first year; this spring it will have 22 food vendors, compared with just six at the outset.

“With so many more trucks, we’re seeing a lot of competition for the best spaces,” said Jesse Brackenbury, chief operating officer of the conservancy. “This industry has a lot of creative, entrepreneurial people, and it’s fun to work with them and see their success.”

Last year, the Greenway hosted the city’s first annual Food Truck Throwdown, a competition between vendors from New York and Boston. The event attracted more than 20,000 people, and will be held again this year, along with new events involving vendors from other cities.

City officials said they expect the program will continue to expand, with existing and new vendors seeking to spread out across the city.

“There is still a good amount of opportunity out there, and much of it is in the neighborhoods,” said Murnane, noting that this year’s new vendors are stretching out to the Charlestown Navy Yard and across Boston Harbor to Maverick Square in East Boston. “The food truck industry is just in the midst of emerging.”

Peter Lynch and Alison Fong — the husband-and-wife owners of the Asian food truck Bon Me — are looking to roll out a third truck while planning their first restaurant, in Kendall Square.

Lynch, who left a job in finance to run the operation full time, said the city’s initial food truck pilot program was the nudge he and his wife needed to jump at the dream of opening their own restaurant.

“My wife is a trained chef, but I had never worked in food service,” he said. “We started with the idea of creating a concept we could expand. We were optimistic it would be a popular option for the downtown lunch crowd, and it’s gone very well for us. We’re hopeful that we’ll continue to grow.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/25/boston-food-truck-industry-expands/2JYHTiY6t4XhAWXDcTX4CM/story.html