Food Trucks are all the craze these days. Gourmet food truck fever is sweeping the urban foodie scene in full force and now it is making its way to our very own Oceanside, California. Here are a few of our Favorite Food Trucks that frequent the Oceanside Area. (If you have a favorite food truck that isn’t up here tell us about it!)

Mad Mantis Food Truck

Eclectic, delicious and surprisingly healthy food from a mobile kitchen. Follow Mad Mantis Food Truck on twitter or facebook, find them and come try some delicious food! Note that they are also available for catering services.

“Not your ordinary food truck! Great and delicious combinations of some of the greatest entrees. I got the mahi-mahi fish tacos, not your ordinary since it has delicious cranberry sauce, avo, and all the reg rest! Can’t wait to try something else next! Added bonus: The take credit cards!” Yelp Review: Tiffany G.

The Sushi Bus

Entrepreneurial sushi chefs selling take-out bento boxes out of the back of an old ice cream truck might not ring your bell. However, The Sushi Bus is offering up fresh California cuisine at local breweries, private parties, or business events. Track them down by following The Sushi Bus on facebook or twitter.

“You would have a hard time finding better sushi in a brick & mortar restaurant, especially at their price points!  The flavor of their sauces and quality of the fish are top notch.” Yelp Review: Michael S.

 

Red Oven Pizza

Red Oven Pizza is a la vera pizza Napoletana mobile pizzeria where every ingredient is prepared in the wood oven. Ask them about lunch service, catering, weddings, school fundraisers, or other public events. Then, don’t forget to follow them on facebook and twittertoo!

“A recent find, but I’m already head over heels. These guys haul around a real brick oven on the back of their truck. They set up this thing every time they touch down in an office park or brewery. That’s real love for pizza, guys. Real love.” Yelp Review: Lindsay L.

http://www.visitoceanside.org/blog/oceanside-street-food-food-trucks/

Richard Linskens, owner of Smoken Pig Express, cooks a double cheeseburger for a customer during lunchtime Friday in downtown Neenah. Linskens says a new $250 fee may prompt him to take his business to Menasha. / Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media

NEENAH — Mobile food vendors operating on streets and sidewalks now have to stay 500 feet away from events like Communityfest and the downtown Neenah farmers market, under a new ordinance.

They also must pay a $250 annual licensing fee.

The law applies to food vending carts like Smoken Pig Express and to food vending trucks like Kangaroostaurant. It also covers the popular ice cream truck that’s been traveling through Neenah neighborhoods for decades.

City staff had recommended ice cream trucks be exempt from the ordinance, but the Public Services and Safety Committee disagreed.

“I think we lose a little bit of credibility if we try to target certain kinds of mobile vendors,” Alderman Todd Stevenson said.

The Common Council approved the ordinance last week. It prevents food carts from selling in front of brick-and-mortar restaurants, and in the central business district it restricts food trucks to seven specific locations.

Before the ordinance, Neenah hadn’t regulated mobile food vendors. They were able to operate anywhere in the city by obtaining a license for food sales and a permit for a solicitor, peddler or transient merchant.

The arrival of mobile food vendors in the central business district has drawn concerns from downtown restaurant operators, who argue the mobile food vendors are siphoning off business without paying property taxes or the special assessments to pay for the downtown Business Improvement District.

Chris Haese, director of community development, said mobile vendors can add interest and ambiance to a community, “But if you overdo it, and we start to see storefronts go empty, then we’ve got a real problem.”

Richard Linskens, owner of Smoken Pig Express, brings his food cart to the southeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Commercial Street on weekdays. He’s not opposed to the ordinance — other than the $250 license fee. He said the fee could force him to move his business to Menasha, which doesn’t charge a fee.

“I don’t know,” Linskens said. “Time will tell.”

• Only six trucks and three carts will be licensed to operate in the central business district during a year. There will be no limit in the balance of the city.

• Mobile vendors will pay a $250 license fee.

John Skyrms, a downtown property owner and a member of the Business Improvement District Board, said the ordinance provides a balance between competing interests.

“No one is going to be thrilled with this,” Skyrms said. “From one side to the other, mobile vendors want this, and restaurant owners want this. I think this is an excellent compromise.”

(Craig Hartley) Houston’s booming food-truck community also will be well-represented at the festival:
Bernie’s Burger Bus

We’re waiting for the day when the upcoming Free Press Summer Festival is as known for its food and beverage programming as it is for its music schedule. And while it’s not quite there yet, Houston’s hottest music festival is steadily adding to its culinary offerings each year.

This time around, Houston’s own Saint Arnold Brewing Company is creating a craft beer inspired by FPSF. White Noise will be available on the festival grounds at Eleanor Tinsley Park June 1-2 and in limited quantities around town.

Organizers call White Noise “the liquid equivalent of sunshine in a glass, unfiltered and bursting with the fragrant blend of orange peel and coriander.”

Also new this year is an exclusive multicourse breakfast with Uchi Houston chef Philip Speer and rapper Bun B on June 1. Just 20 tickets — $175 each — will be sold, and ticket buyers must also be holders of Fancy Pants or High Roller FPSF tickets. Tickets will be released at noon Monday, May 27 via e-mail blast to qualified ticket holders.

(Greg Morago) Anvil returns to Summer Fest this year with a new lineup of innovative cocktails exclusively for Fancy Pants ticket holders. No details yet on the menu.

The breakfast, which will benefit the Blaffer Art Museum, is part of the museum’s fundraising dinner series, “Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art,” which pairs chefs and artists for a unique meal served in an intimate setting, allowing diners to interact with the creative team.

So, if you’re a Fancy Pants or High Roller ticket holder, watch your inbox.

Anvil returns to Summer Fest this year with a new lineup of innovative cocktails exclusively for Fancy Pants ticket holders. No details yet on the menu, but we’re keeping fingers crossed that Philly Fish House Punch returns.

Not a Fancy Pants ticket holder? Keep your eye out for the four julep stations that will be serving bourbon-based cocktails created by Anvil’s Alba Huerta.

Foodies will recognize many of the names topping the food booths: Beaver’s, Fluff Bake Bar, Kim Son, Sammy’s Wild Game Grill and Pink’s Pizza. Houston’s booming food-truck community also will be well-represented at the festival. Trucks scheduled to work the fest: MuSuBi, Golden Grill, Bare Bowls Kitchen, Chi’Lantro and Bernie’s Burger Bus.

Sign up at www.houstonchronicle.com/contests for a chance to win VIP tickets to the sold out FPSF.

http://blog.chron.com/29-95/2013/05/the-food-of-free-press-summer-fest-2013/#12496-6

Maryland Mobile Food Vendors Association
The Gypsy Queen Cafe took first prize at last year’s Taste of Two Cities, a duel between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., food trucks.

The Gypsy Queen Cafe is hoping to roll out a third food truck by the end of the year.

Co-owner Tom Looney said the gourmet cafe on wheels, which has two trucks now, is aiming to add one truck a year. This marks the Gypsy Queen’s third year in business, and ultimately, Looney wants to have at least five trucks in his fleet.

There are a few options when it comes to buying a food truck — new, used or do-it-yourself.

New food trucks cost between $100,000 and $150,000, and used trucks run between $40,000 and $115,000, Looney said. Outfitting a food truck from scratch can be more cost-effective, but Looney said it takes a long time to complete.

The Gypsy Queen Cafe took first prize at last year’s Taste of Two Cities, a duel between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., food trucks. Looney said the truck will try to keep its top spot at this year’s second annual food truck battle, slated for June 1, when more than 40 trucks will gather for a taste-off at Rash Field.

“We’ll try defend our title,” Looney said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2013/05/21/gypsy-queen-eyes-third-food-truck.html

Back by popular demand, the Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars returns as a two-day culinary throw-down on May 25 and May 26 at Monmouth Park, Oceanport.

Gourmet food trucks will roll into the festival area to wage a food war.

With more than 20 trucks to choose from, who will win the most votes for the People’s Choice Award?

This year’s gourmet trucks include Ahh! La Cart, Amanda Bananas, Bacon On Wheels, The Burger Box, Cinnamon Snail, The Cow and the Curd, Cupcake Carnivale, El Lechon de Negron, Empanada Guy, Fork in the Road, Four Boys, Freezy Freeze, Gozen Yogurt, Greenlight Food Service, Hibachi Heaven, Jersey Johnny’s Grill, Kona Ice, Max’s Hot Dogs, Molly’s Milk Truck, Morris Grilled Cheese, Pizza Vita Wood Fired Pizza Truck, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Rickshaw Dumplings, Surf and Turf Truck, Thai Elephant Truck, The French Quarter, Tony’s Italian Sausage, Tony Boloney’s, Mustache Mobile, Wafels and Dinges, and Wrap Star.

Country stars Craig Campbell and Chris Janson will be playing from noon to 4 p.m.

May 26 is Family Fun Day. A live band will play from noon to 4 p.m. Children can enjoy the bounce houses, face painters, clowns and more.

http://exa.gmnews.com/news/2013-05-23/Front_Page/Jersey_Shore_Food_Truck_Wars_this_weekend.html

Lou Bustamante

Our monthly review explores the city’s food trucks gatherings, one at a time, breaking down each one with statistics, descriptions of the scene, and vital info to help you plan a trip there.

Location: 428 11th (near Division)
Schedule: Monday-Thursday, lunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner: 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Fridays, lunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner: 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturdays, 11a.m.-10p.m.; Sundays, 10a.m.-5p.m.
Market Info Website: SoMa StrEat Food Park
Approximate Number of Trucks: 6-13 at a time from a list of over 70 different trucks
Parking/Public Transit: Muni, street parking
Restrooms: Full-sized semi-permanent trailer
Music: Down tempo modern mix
Booze: Beer and wine
Seating: Outdoor picnic tables and covered and heated seating, along with a converted bus
Best for: Lunch, early dinner/happy hour, dinner before hitting Folsom street bars
Other notes: Because of its set-up, you will find trucks here you often won’t find out on the streets.

A little over a year into SoMa StrEat Food Park’s life as the RV park equivalent for food trucks, the little permanent seven-days-a-week rally has steadily refined the offerings. While we love the pop up ambience and bare bones simplicity of the kinds of gatherings that happen in random parking lots, StrEat Food Park’s amenities make it feel a little different, somehow more restaurant or a food court. Not that this makes the street food any less legitimate or delicious.

With covered and heated seating areas inside the barn and a converted bus, outdoor seating, five big screen TVs, free WiFi, semi-permanent restrooms on a trailer with running water, skeeball, and an extensive wine and beer selection make this one of the cushiest street food experiences out there. Add a fantastic happy hour (Monday-Friday 4-7 p.m.) with $3 beers or cups of sangria and $2 tallboy PBRs and you have a great after work hangout spot.

Because of its regular hours and location, the StrEat Food Park also plays host to a variety of special nights that range from game viewing to trivia nights to one I stumbled into one night called “Ask a Scientist” that involved UC Berkeley professors and scientists answering audience questions about the universe.

Lou Bustamante
Currywurst from Little Red Riding Truck

One luxury at this location that other truck gatherings don’t have is tables, and while it made for easier balancing of food and drink. The downside is that it also meant having to hunt for a clean table when it got busiest. Another bonus is the shorter lines for everything at dinnertime. Trucks that usually have massively huge lines at other events, have very manageable one here, making this a nice place to try a variety of trucks. It also offers a unique opportunity to rent out sections or the whole park for private events, something that would otherwise require hiring trucks individually and a space.

This mix of restaurant amenities at the park makes sense when you consider that the organizer, Carlos Muela comes from a restaurant family. “I grew up in the restaurant industry, my parents opened Esperpento restaurant 22 years ago and Picaro restaurant 31 years ago on Valencia street waaaay before the neighborhood was the hip trendy hood that it is now,” says Muela. After graduating from USF he took over and ran the restaurants for four years, but an interest in food trucks and seeing the need and opportunity to create a more permanent location for mobile food vendors led him to open up the park.

With systems in place and schedules running smoothly, Muela shifting his focus on ways to make the park more entertaining as well as delicious. It’s an interesting blend of selection and with many trucks getting their feet wet here, its also a great venue to find the newest trucks to hit the strEats.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2013/05/soma_streat_food_park_food_tru.php

Bill Ryan/The Gazette
Todd Blakaitis of Germantown gets lunch from Linda Jo Kushner of Silver Spring on Thursday at her lunch truck outside an office building in Rockville.

Silver Spring resident Linda Jo Kushner has always loved to cook.

Now in her 50s — after more than 20 years working as an interior designer — she is following her dream and taking her down-home cooking to the streets of Montgomery County.

Linda’s Luncheonette, a brightly colored food truck that travels to different parts of the county every day, serves up a few of Kushner’s favorite recipes.

“We came right back to comfort food because that’s how I cook,” Kushner said, noting that she doesn’t deviate from being herself. “I cook every day what I cook for the family and enjoy it.”

Her daughter, Sara Kushner — a junior studying hospitality management at Ohio State University — has helped out on the truck five to 10 times. She said she is glad her mom has pursued this new venture, though she wasn’t too surprised.

“She’s been saying she is going to make a cookbook for my entire life,” Sara Kushner said. “I know she’s good at cooking because I’ve been eating her food for 20 years now.”

Linda’s Luncheonette serves up a baked five-cheese macaroni and cheese, a turkey meatloaf, a chopped salad certified as diabetic friendly and a trio of egg salad, chicken salad and tuna salad sliders. For dessert: chocolate chunk brownies.

Linda’s Luncheonette took off after 85 backers donated $20,265 between Jan. 9 and Feb. 6 through Kickstarter, an online fundraising website, surpassing her $20,000 goal. Through Kickstarter, Kushner could give gifts based on the amounts donors pledged.

For pledges ranging from $10 to more than $2,500, backers received free lunches, Linda’s Luncheonette window decals, T-shirts, mugs and lunchboxes, a Linda’s Luncheonette office party or a private party.

One gift from the fundraising campaign was an invitation to the Linda’s Luncheonette opening party, which Kushner said was attended by about 70 people. Attendees could tour the truck and try the food before the truck hit the road.

Bill Ryan/The Gazette
Linda Jo Kushner of Silver Spring smiles in her lunch truck Thursday outside an office building in Rockville.

“A lot of people see food trucks, but it’s still new and novel for a lot of people, especially out in the suburbs,” Kushner said.

Kushner said she got her hands on a retired FedEx truck, which she brought to East Coast Custom Coaches in Manassas, Va., to have built up. The truck is equipped with a full gas range oven, prep tables for salads and subs, and a warming area for the food.

So far, Kushner said, she has been requested for neighborhood parties, horse shows and pool functions, in addition to visiting industrial parks and other office spots in the county that lack food options for lunch.

Last week, Kushner was joined on the truck by her sister-in-law, Sheri Rothstein of Potomac.

“It’s a dream of hers. She was just so motivated and excited, and it spilled over in everything she did,” Rothstein said. “I think it’s great. Linda’s Luncheonette is going to be a great success.”

After about a month of business, Kushner said the people pleaser in her is most excited about customers coming back for more. She is ready to make some changes to the menu.

While thinking about starting the new business venture, Kushner said, she took to the streets. She said the food truck community was “warm and welcoming” — people handed her a business card, should she ever need help or advice.

“We all do better if we all help each other,” Kushner said. “… There’s enough to go around for all of us.”

The food truck has allowed Kushner to draw on some of the creativity she channeled as an interior designer. Though there was a “learning curve” in her first couple weeks, Kushner said she has fun at the truck window interacting with patrons.

This business venture is just another chapter in the experience of life beginning again at 50 years old, she said.

“When I started this business, I picked something that I think would be fun and make me happy at the same time,” Kushner said. “That’s important to me: to not lose sight of the basics.”

http://www.gazette.net/article/20130522/NEWS/130529734/1081/home-cooked-meals-on-wheels&template=gazette

Mari Herreras
Kadooks maduros, with whipped cream and spicy Nutella sauce.

Kadooks, the home of maduros (fried plantains) that are so good that we named them one of the 100 Essential Tucson Dishes, and Seis Curbside Kitchen, producer of award-winning gourmet tacos, are currently hanging out down the street from Weekly World Central on Hemisphere Loop, north of Valencia Road and near Palo Verde Road.

They’ll only be around for a little while longer, ’til 2 p.m., so if you’re jonesing for some excellent food truck chow, head down this way!

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2013/05/21/hungry-check-out-the-food-trucks-by-weekly-world-central

Jessica Noto served Jordan Todd from a truck parked outside West Sixth Brewing Company on Thursday. The proposed ordinance would allow food trucks in metered public parking spaces in some downtown locations. Councilwoman Shevawn Akers said she plans to bring up the proposal at next week’s session, with passage possible in early June.

Lexington’s Urban County Council spent two hours on Tuesday discussing details about a proposed six-month pilot program to create five food truck zones downtown.

The discussion covered everything from where and when the trucks can set up on the street to who would enforce the rules, and how. Council members at Tuesday’s work session eventually voted to send the pilot project to Thursday night’s council meeting for a first reading.

Under the proposal, food trucks would be allowed to set up in five zones that have metered parking spaces. Trucks could park there for two hours between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. As long as they are in line with other zoning regulations, the food trucks could operate downtown — or anywhere in Fayette County — between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

The trucks cannot be within 100 feet of the entrance to a business establishment during its regular hours of operation, or within 100 feet of a residential area.

Moments after the start of Tuesday’s meeting, some council members asked for some of the zones to be changed or eliminated. Councilman Steve Kay asked that South Limestone between Main and Vine be removed from the list because of limited on-street parking, and because it put the trucks too close to businesses, including several restaurants.

Kay said Bill Owen, president of the Lexington Center Corporation, had requested that food trucks be banned from an area around Rupp Arena because they would compete with food vendors inside the Lexington Center.

Chris Ford pointed out that all metered spaces on Elm Tree Lane between Corral and East 4th Street, near the Lyric Theatre, were within 100 feet of residential areas. He wanted that zone removed.

Harry Clark reminded fellow council members that the project was only a six-month pilot. “We have to have enough spaces to prove food trucks have viability,” he said. If zones are removed, “There would not be enough left to make any sense.”

Julian Beard said he did not see how food trucks on South Limestone would hurt downtown restaurant business. Besides, Beard added, competition is part of the American way of doing business.

Council eliminated Elm Street Lane as a zone, but added two blocks nearby on Corral Street between Spruce and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Another concern was who would enforce the two-hour parking limit — Lexington police or the Lexington Parking Authority, the agency responsible for the city’s parking meters.

James Frazier III, board member of the parking authority, said the agency would enforce parking until 5 p.m., and enforcement would be complaint driven. The parking authority wants some discretion in enforcing parking decisions because the food truck program is new and they aren’t sure how it will work.

The food truck project would be evaluated in October, Councilwoman Shevawn Akers said, using information such as the number of police citations issued, parking authority citations and the volume of business by food trucks.

Sean Tibbetts, director of the Bluegrass Food Truck Association, said earlier that many of the food truck operators are concerned that the ordinance is too restrictive for them to be able to operate.

“The longer the process has gone on, the more restrictive the process has gotten,” he said. The first food truck task force was set up two years ago.

The food truck association currently has about a dozen members, many of whom have more than one truck.

He said the ordinance would require the trucks to open for business immediately upon parking, but it takes 20 minutes for his griddle to even warm up. “We just don’t see how we can actually make it work,” he said.

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/05/21/2648574/lexington-food-trucks-pilot-program.html

Save a spot on your favourite park bench — food trucks are officially coming to Saskatoon.

Food trucks will be sizzling in Saskatoon this summer.

Come June, food trucks will be allowed to park in Saskatoon’s public parking stalls throughout the city, after city council unanimously approved the city’s first food truck policy Tuesday night.

Trucks serving everything from pizza to tacos to shawarma and seafood are a red hot food trend in North America and have even inspired a reality television show.

After months of debate about the exact recipe, city officials finally cooked up something all ten city councillors and the mayor could agree on.

“Not as much from the restaurateurs, but certainly the citizens are looking forward to it,” Coun. Darren Hill told council.

The only point of contention at the meeting was how far away the trucks should operate from existing restaurants. Mayor Don Atchison and a minority of councillors — Coun. Troy Davies, Coun. Randy Donauer and Coun. Eric Olauson — wanted a special 30-meter “buffer zone” downtown.

In the end, however, council approved a policy that restricts food trucks from operating within 20 meters of any existing restaurant in all neighbourhoods throughout the city, including downtown.

The business improvement districts (BIDs) will be able to override the buffer zone, allowing streets like Broadway to have food trucks.

Though not required to do so, city officials will help make arrangements so that adequate washrooms are provided, council heard.

The program will be reviewed in 2014. Atchison said at that time he would like the see the BIDs take more control of food trucks.

“I think we should be looking to see if the BIDs should play a bigger role in this … it’s the BIDs that deal with this on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

All food trucks will have to obtain a business license from the city and be inspected by provincial regulators.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Food+trucks+approved/8416370/story.html