Allie Mac Kay was live from the Los Angeles Center Studios with Founder of the Grilled Cheese Invitational, Tim Walker to talk what to expect at his annual event. Chef & CEO of The Grilled Cheese Truck, Dave Danhi shows us some of the popular sandwiches from his food truck.

About The Event:
The Grilled Cheese Invitational (GCI) is the largest, craziest, and most exciting Grilled Cheese cooking contest in the country and is the best thing to happen to sliced cheese since sliced bread! The GCI promotes an almost scary pursuit of perfection in a Grilled Cheese Sammich and allows for amateur and professional chefs to compete side-by-side in the hopes of becoming a true Grilled Cheese Champion.

The event was created by Tim Walker in 2003, in an artist loft in Downtown Los Angeles as a competition between friends and since then, has grown into a national movement dedicated to perfecting the art of grilled cheese, with thousands of cheese fiends and regional competitions across the country.

The 11th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational
Saturday, April 20
11am – 6pm

Los Angeles Center Studios
1201W. 5th Street
Downtown Los Angeles

Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/04/17/grilled-cheese-invitational-dave-danhi-from-the-grilled-cheese-truck/#ixzz2QmB6E9vt

http://ktla.com/2013/04/17/grilled-cheese-invitational-dave-danhi-from-the-grilled-cheese-truck/#axzz2Qm7lSEOo

Crispy’s in Rockledge will host Food Trucks for Families from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at 604 Barnes Blvd. The event will benefit Harmony Farms therapeutic horseback riding center. / FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Crispy’s in Rockledge will host Food Trucks for Families, a Winter Park-based array of food trucks, from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at 604 Barnes Blvd.

“They donate 8 percent of all proceeds to a charity, and for this event we have chosen Harmony Farms,” said Crispy’s owner Chris Pascale.

Harmony Farms is the Viera therapeutic horseback riding facility for disabled individuals.

Food Trucks for Families partners with local businesses to set up monthly food truck events to benefit specific charities.

After the food truck event is over, the trucks also donate any leftover food to food banks.

“We saw it as a win-win for everyone involved,” said Pascale.

Expect to taste offerings from 12 to 14 trucks that will be situated covered wagon-style in the parking lot. Crispy’s will have an outdoor presence with beverages.

Francophiles, take note: Crispy’s is also pairing with Palm Tree Café for a six-course French dinner paired with Belgian beer from 4 to 7 p.m. April 28 at Crispy’s.

Cost is $40 each or $70 a couple. If you’re interested, better hurry with the reservations, because the event is almost sold out.

Call 321-806-4119 to reserve.

After a hiatus of a coup

le of years, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra’s Wine, Beer and Food Festival returns from 5 to 8 p.m. April 28 at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd.

The evening unites more than 200 wines, beers and champagnes from food samplings from local restaurants and caterers.

Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door.

Buy tickets online at winefest.brevardsymphony.com or by calling 321-242-2024.

Saturday, Cabana Shores Tiki Bar and Grill celebra

tes its third year with 400 pounds of smoked wings, brisket, turkeys, ribs and oysters.

“We’ll be running the smoker all day,” said owner Josh Taylor.

Diners can opt for the pub plate for $10 or go whole hog for the all-you-can-eat option for $20.

In addition to the meats and oysters, you will be able to select from sauteed potatos, salad, corn on the cob, mac and cheese and whatever else Taylor can fit inside his restaurant.

At 4:20 p.m., just as he does every day, Taylor will be handing out free beer, but this time he is upping the ante with giveways, such as a Bud refrigerator, gift cards and other goodies.

No reservations are required for the all-day party. Cabana Shores is at 5240 N. U.S. 1, Palm Shores. For more details, call 321-254-2004 or see cabanashorestikibar.com.

• Aging Matters in Breva

rd will host is Passport to Wines Around the World event from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Space Coast Convention Center, 301 Tucker Lane, at State Road 520 and Interstate 95, Cocoa.

Among the wines will be the 2011 Zuccardi Series A malbec from Argentina, which earned a 90 percent rating from Robert Parker.

Local chefs, including Julie Shipley of the Soup Shop and Keiser University’s Culinary Program, have joined forces with Brevard Community Kitchen in the food, which will include temptations such as mini-crab cakes with mango salsa, turkey Wellington and beef dim sum, among many others.

The Florida Key Lime Pie Company is providing desserts.

A limited number of tickets are available. Cost is $50. Purchase online at agingmattersbrevard.org or call 321-806-3716.

• The Green Turtle visits the foods and wines of Italy with a five-course dinner that begins at 7 p.m. April 18 and 19. Seven Italian wines will be paired with the meal, which costs $79 per person.

Reservations are required. The Green Turtle is at 855 E. Eau Gallie Blvd., Indian Harbour Beach.

Call 321-773-2001 or visit greenturtlemarket.com.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130416/STYLE09/304160047/Toast-Coast-Food-trucks-feed-charities-resources

Kansas City’s food-truck scene has wheeled onto the national landscape. Roaming Hunger, a food-truck locator, launched in KC Wednesday. The site, which allows eaters to find the current locations of trucks as well as book them for catering or events (Roaming Hunger derives its revenue from bookings), represents the fulfillment of a pledge that founder Ross Resnick made to lead developer John Morgan Martin as he built the site in 2009.

“I made a promise to John, who is from Kansas City, that we could eventually make it out there,” Resnick says. “We look for cities where there is a collection of 25 to 30 food vendors. It just took a little longer than I expected.”

Roaming Hunger, which is based in Los Angeles, now has dedicated food pages for 33 cities. And each has its own food-truck culture.

“Sweets are doing pretty well in Kansas City,” Resnick says. “I’d expect more barbecue trucks. But there’s a nice diverse group. Coffeecake [Fat City wrote about Coffeecake KC last April] is really unique. I haven’t seen that in any other city.”

In addition to the 25 carts listed on Roaming Hunger, Kansas City also has its own food-truck app.Truckily, a locally built app still in development from Derek Kean and Matthew Berkland, is expected to launch this spring.

“With the upcoming spring and summer weather, we are looking forward to busier schedules from our local favorite food trucks, and our app will be in full swing to help everyone in KC follow along,” Kean says. “This year is a great year for food trucks, and we hope to help locals find and eat more great food, saving both eaters and food-truck owners loads of time with our app’s automated marketing features.”

During a phone interview from Los Angeles, Resnick said he was aware of Truckily, but believed the app was more of a marketing tool for vendors rather than a direct competitor. And as he sees its, anything that helps foster food-cart culture in a city is helpful.

“Truckily looks like a really nice way for vendors to manage their profiles and get the word out,” Resnick says. “From our perspective, the more people paying attention to food trucks, the better.”

And if Roaming Hunger’s past launches are any indication, the food-truck scene in Kansas City could be poised to go into hyperdrive.

“As people learn about the food-truck scene, then more people become comfortable launching trucks,” Resnick says. “That’s what happened after we launched in Houston. Things started to really heat up. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in Kansas City.”

http://www.pitch.com/fatcity/archives/2013/02/21/roaming-hungers-food-truck-locator-is-rolling-in-kc

The food truck from D.C. restaurateur Jose Andres will be giving away sandwiches when it stops in Bethesda Row next week.

A Facebook announcement this afternoon from the Pepe Food Truck said the first 100 sandwiches will be free when the truck stops near the Equinox gym (4905 Elm St.) on Tuesday, Feb. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Equinox is partnering in the promotion.

Sandwiches include shredded beef, eggplant, fried chicken, Spanish pulled pork and the Futbol Club Barcelona, or club sandwich. The menu also includes chicken noodle soup, spinach and garbanzo bean salad, chips and patatas bravas.

One of Andres’ Jaleo tapas restaurants is on Bethesda Row (7271 Woodmont Ave.) and the chef credited with popularizing tapas in the U.S. lives in Bethesda.

Flickr photo by justgrimes

 http://www.bethesdanow.com/2013/02/21/pepe-food-truck-bringing-free-sandwiches-to-bethesda-row/

credit : Orfila Vineyards and Winery Facebook Page

ESCONDIDO — Escondido’s Orfila Vineyards & Winery will launch a weekly “Food Truck Fridays” event from 5 to 7:30 p.m. this Friday.

The event will feature five food trucks, live music and wine tastings. Admission is free, but there is a cost for food and wine.

The food trucks will be T1O Thai Food, Chubby’s, Chip’s Beach Eatz, Slow Cal BBQ and Yeti Frozen Custard. The musical act will be guitarist Paul Caston.

Food trucks are prohibited in the city of Escondido, but Orfila can host the event because the winery is just southeast of the city limits at 13455 San Pasqual Road.

Meanwhile, city officials said they plan to loosen their food truck regulations this spring.

Call 760-738-6500, ext. 22 for details.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/30/escondido-food-truck-friday-orfila-vineyard/

The Fuel Food Truck spent the day feeding the cast and crew of ABC’s hit series ‘Nashville.’

The Fuel Food Truck loaded up and headed east this morning to cater ABC’s hit program, “Nashville.”

Owner and operator of the Fuel Cafe and Fuel Food Truck, Erik Proveaux has a history in catering film projects and has made several trips to feed the cast and crew of television show shot in the Tennessee capital.

“Every couple of weeks they have a double-up unit where they have a second crew that films and often they hire me to come up and take care of the second crew,” Proveaux said. “This is the fourth time so far.”

Proveaux has some experience in this type of catering, He also catered last year’s blockbuster hit “The Hunger Games” and its upcoming sequel, which were both filmed in Atlanta.

He gained exposure for catering to film sets during filming of the 2008 movie “Nothing But the Truth,” which was filmed in Memphis.

The jobs pay well also, making the long haul worthwhile.

“They pay me for a prep day, my travel expenses, they pay for the wrap day and they pay me as a teamster,” said Proveaux. “For one day’s work, it’s like getting paid for three.”

To find out when the Fuel Food Truck is in your area, follow it on Twitter.

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/blog/2013/01/fuel-food-truck-finds-boost-in.html

Delta

You know what sounds perfect for the cold weather? Hot chocolate and cookies. You know what sounds even better? FREE hot chocolate and cookies.

Today and tomorrow, Delta Air Lines is sponsoring a food truck giveaway with FREE hot chocolate and cookies.

The Delta truck will be at Madison Square Park today at 23rd & Broadway from 11-3.

Tomorrow the Delta truck will be in the Meatpacking District in front of the Apple Store on 14th St & 9th Ave. The truck is scheduled to be there from 11-3.

As always, enjoy!

http://newyorkstreetfood.com/37703/delta-airlines-has-a-truck-with-free-hot-chocolate-cookies-today-tomw/

In an effort to bring more exposure to Saratoga Gateway businesses, business owners will host a monthly food truck event called “Foodie Fun on the Run.” Although the name implies people will be on the move, the owners said they’re hoping potential customers will stop and shop.

“Many times I have been told by prospective new clients that they have driven by our building thousands of times and never even realized we were here. Once they discovered us, they were thrilled to learn we exist so close by,” said 4EverFit owner Brenda Kashuba.

The food truck event will take place every fourth Saturday of the month with the first one to be held on May 26, 4-8 p.m., in the parking lot of Alameda Family Funeral and Cremation, 12341 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Subsequent events will be June 23, July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 22.

Moveable Feast will bring in a host of food trucks, including Sam’s Chowder Mobile, House of Siam, Curry Up Now and Treatbot (which offers karaoke and ice cream). Local band Sound Eclipse will also perform at the May 26 event.

The possibility of a food truck event has been in the planning stages for some time. But a few Gateway business owners and employees finally came together to hash out the details and get it done. They included Zoe Alameda, Heather Durham and Jessica Burroughs of Alameda Family Funeral and Cremation, Deni Green of Azule Salon and Kashuba.

“This area has many businesses that do not get the exposure like the Saratoga Village,” Alameda said. “The focus is always about the ‘success’ of the Village businesses, but Saratoga forgets that there are many other shopping districts with businesses struggling to grow and stay profitable.

“We lost Blaine’s Lighting, an old Saratoga established business, to bankruptcy. I do not want to see any further businesses fail in this shopping district.”

The businesses in the area have worked hard to make a name for themselves and want to stick around, Green said.

“We, as business owners, are always thinking of ways to improve the environment we work and help the community see the value of a small business to them and their families. Most of us have been in business for over 30 years, and we’d like to see another 30 years in this community,” she said.

The idea of using food trucks to attract customers came from Green, who had invited some to the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce grand opening at her business last October when she opened her new location. The trucks attracted more foot traffic and led to more walk-ins for the business, Green said.

That gave Alameda the idea to host a monthly event to help all the businesses in the area. Kashuba, who said she was uneasy about the idea at first, eventually jumped on board and said that a part of the profits should go to charities and nonprofits. Mayor Chuck Page, who attended one of the event meetings, added that the beneficiary of the donation should be local.

The first nonprofit group to benefit will be the Relay for Life of Saratoga, an event that raises money for the American Cancer Society. Beneficiaries for future events could include local schools and the Saratoga-Monte Sereno Community Foundation.

“I have always tried my best as a business owner to give back whenever possible,” Kashuba said. “I do these things because it is a way of giving back and because it links 4EverFit to the community in a more important way than just to be profitable.”

Green said giving to a charity is a win-win for the businesses and the community.

“If we show the community that we care about what’s happening in the area where they live, then they will in turn support us by shopping in town and not driving somewhere else,” she said.

For more information about Moveable Feast, visit www.mvbl.org.

http://www.mercurynews.com/saratoga/ci_20623645/food-trucks-give-new-meaning-dining-out

Live reggae music spilled over into the parking lot. The smell of good food wafted from a circle of food trucks. Parking was at a premium.

Garfield’s Restaurant, 2620 Regatta Drive, took things outside Feb. 25 for a family-friendly festival simply called the Garfield’s Food Truck & Concert Event. It was so successful, the restaurant plans to host another one from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

The February event coincided with Garfield’s revamping its menu with an eye toward being “a lot hipper,” said executive chef Jean Paul Labadie. “The menu is just the beginning. Garfield’s has been open for about three years now and is doing OK. Still, things are kind of mellow … So we figured, how can we bring people in, appear cooler? You can’t get any more cooler than food trucks, reggae and good food.”

That good food included chicken katsu kaba curry, hot dogs, fried pickles, soups, salads, sandwiches, tacos and, for dessert, shaved ice. Garfield’s offered its own outdoor food — lamb sliders and ropa veja potato cakes with chimichurri sauce.

Jan Scarborough stood outside her food truck, the Rusty Pickle, and took orders on a handheld device. Inside the truck, Eva Lebrilla, a student at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, worked nonstop. Patrons unfamiliar with the menu asked questions about the food.

“It’s spicy,” Scarborough told one man, “but it’s not heartburn spicy.”

The music volume jumped up a notch every time the door was opened. Those who forgot jackets clustered around the heat lamps. Children tugged on their parent’s sleeve to point out the shaved ice truck.

Garfield’s Food Truck & Concert Event was an experiment, said Labadie, to see if the community would turn out.

“If Summerlin can support us on a monthly basis, we would love to do that,” said Labadie, who was credited with suggesting the event. “We may start earlier, like 5 o’clock, or we might do it on Sundays so it’s more a family thing. And the room across from us, we have for artists — the jewelry maker, this sculptor, a photographer and a painter — so we’re trying to give a whole festival feel to it.”

Kevin Celestino was visiting his cousin Melissa, who lives at Mountain’s Edge. What did he think of the event?

“It’s cool,” he said. “We don’t have anything like this in Arizona, or at least I haven’t heard of anything like this. It’s a really good idea.”

As for Melissa Celestino, she said the food truck concept was what brought her there.

“It’s something different. I think Vegas needs more of this cultural kind of thing,” she said.

Fabian Vincent of Summerlin said it was nice to have an event off the Strip and to have a variety of foods in one place to sample.

“Las Vegas is finally becoming a kind of a cultural, ethnic mix of things, especially the foods and the food lifestyle,” he said. “Nora’s closed and Rosemary’s closed, even though they had a great following … I think (businesses) need to reinvent themselves, change things. (You can’t) stay within that mold anymore. Get out of your comfort zone.”

Jodi Labadie said she really liked her husband’s food truck idea.

“They have them at the big events down on the Strip,” she said. “But there, it’s really late at night. So it’s kind of nice that it’s off the Strip and in a neighborhood like this. It’s not so late at night. I mean, I have my kids here.”

She had brought her sons, ages 12 and 15.

“All I’m doing is opening my purse and handing them money for food, so they’re happy,” she said. “They love it.”

Garfield’s is owned by Erik and Val Watts. He noted that even with the parking lot full of people, Garfield’s was enjoying its own crowd of patrons.

“You get as much as you want here,” he said.

“Some people think Garfield’s has a reputation as a gourmet restaurant and say they never went to dinner there. That’s fine, if that’s what you want. But if you … want … music and entertainment, then come to this side of town. You can say we’re offering everything for everybody. This is the happening side of town.”

http://www.lvrj.com/view/garfield-s-to-host-food-truck-and-concert-event-147704765.html

October 20 – The Newport Food Truck Festival, Newport Yachting Center, Newport, RI

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2012/04/food_truck_festival_pushed_bac.html