Urmila Ramakrishnan
Chef Shack co-owners Carrie Summer (L) and Lisa Carlson (R)

Twin Cities food trucks Vellee Deli andChef Shack are two of the best in the country, according to a new ranking by food website The Daily Meal.

Chef Shack, one of the Twin Cities’ pioneering food trucks, was No. 10 on the 101-truck list. Pan-Asian/Mexican-flavored Vellee Deli was ranked No. 84.

The Daily Meal considered 450 vendors from more than 40 cities, ranking them by Twitter and Facebook followings, reviews, originality and menu innovation concepts.

A New York truck, The Red Hook Lobster Pound, got the No. 1 ranking.

>Click here to see the full list

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2013/06/13/two-twin-cities-food-trucks-named-best.html

In just a few years, food trucks have flat-out invaded downtown St. Paul during lunch hour in the warmer months.

For the adventurous eater, this is good news. Options range from Indian to Japanese to Latin to burgers. But there are so many options it can be difficult to make a decision, so I’m here to help.

Here are the 10 trucks I’m digging the most right now, but with new street food popping up all the time, my list is sure to change next week.

There are food-truck gatherings two days a week on Kellogg Boulevard: Wednesdays near Wabasha Street and Thursdays near Robert Street. On other days, the trucks tend to congregate at Mears and Rice parks.

All the trucks on my list frequent downtown St. Paul with some regularity. Most entrees at the trucks hover in the 6-to-10 range. Plan to spend more if you order sides or drinks. Most trucks take credit cards.

The best way to know which trucks are on the street is to follow them on Twitter or Facebook or follow @tcstreetfood on Twitter, which aggregates and tweets a daily list of which are parked where.

AZCanteen: Veal tongue sandwiches and goat burgers might push us Minnesotans a little out of our comfort zones, and that’s the point. “Bizarre Foods” host Andrew Zimmern’s truck proves that expanding your protein picks is a delicious idea. Everything on the menu is good, including the tart Jamaican hibiscus punch. Twitter: @azcanteen; website: azcanteen.com

Cafe Racer: This newbie to the street-food scene is churning out tasty Latin food. I haven’t sampled the whole menu yet, but the juicy pulled pork, nutty rice and interesting carrot souflee I have eaten assure that I’ll go back for more. Twitter: @caferacermn; website: caferacermn.com

Cajun 2 Geaux: Chef Tim Glover grew up in Louisiana, and eating his red beans and rice and po’boys and jambalaya is like taking a trip to the Big Easy. He also fries beignets to order. His son often takes your order, and there’s nothing like a little Southern family togetherness to make you feel at home. Twitter: @Cajun2geauxTim; website: cajun2geaux.com

Fork in the Road: The BBQ pulled-pork grilled cheese is a monster sandwich, and the masses can’t get enough of it. The combination of Texas toast, tangy barbecue sauce, caramelized onions and American cheese is the ultimate street-food comfort food. The truck also serves such fun sandwiches as molten meatball sliders and a rocking Asian noodle salad, which would be perfectly refreshing on a hot day. Twitter: @forkNroadtruck; website: forkintheroadtruck.com

Hola Arepa: Last summer, this truck used to park in front of Ecolab Plaza every Monday, and I couldn’t stay away. Now, it hits St. Paul less frequently, sometimes joining the Wednesday food-truck court. I’ve tried nearly all the arepas, which are Venezuela’s answer to the taco: delicate, griddled corn cakes, split and filled with tasty meats, crunchy vegetables and inventive sauces. Fillings change frequently, but I’ve liked everything I’ve tried. Twitter: @holaarepa; Facebook: facebook.com/holaarepafoodtruck; website: holaarepa.com

Hot Indian Foods: This colorful recent addition to the street-food scene already is making a splash. Choose from four Indian curries to fill what owner Amol Dixit, who charmingly takes orders street-side, calls Indurritos. Curries are joined by basmati rice and a crunchy slaw for a portable Asian lunch. Can’t decide which to try? Get a flight — three tacos, each filled with a different meat or vegetable-based curry. For me, it’s a toss-up between the spinach paneer and the chicken tikka masala. Twitter: @hotindianfoods; Facebook: facebook.com/hotindianfoods; website: hotindianfoods.com

Neato’s: Three words: duck fat fries. That said, the truck’s nicely seared, lunch-size burgers nestled in pillowy buns are nothing to sneeze at, either. If you’re feeling daring, give the jalapeno popper burger a try — the combo of peppers, cream cheese and raspberry preserves is a party in your mouth. Twitter: @neatosburgers; website: neatosburgers.com

Potter’s Pasties: Perfect for our cold, wet spring, these filling, handheld pies feature such inventive fillings as Thai vegetable or pork and apple stuffed into a flaky crust. There’s also chicken potpie or a traditional meat and potato for the less adventurous among us. Twitter: @potterspasties; website: potterspasties.com

Sassy Spoon: This truck’s slogan is “Wholesome food with attitude,” and owner/chef/registered dietitian Tamara Brown serves diet food that doesn’t make you feel deprived. My favorite, the Hungry, Hungry Hash, is shredded vegetables seared on a flattop that have just a little bit of addicting char, topped with andouille sausage and a runny fried egg. Twitter: @sassyspoontruck; Facebook: facebook.com/SassySpoonTruck; website: sassyspoontruck.com

Vellee Deli: If you like it spicy, Vellee Deli is a sure thing. I have a hard time choosing between the Chicken Currito, a combination of Thai coconut curry chicken, rice and potatoes, and The Mojo, a zippy lemongrass and ginger sausage topped with papaya and pico. Vary the heat level depending on your preference. I usually go with two of three available “kicks” of Thai chile, which is enough to leave my lips burning and nose running. Twitter: @velleedeli; Facebook: facebook.com/velleedeli; website: velleedeli.com

http://www.menafn.com/cea7f332-81bd-430b-9cac-059341763281/Food-trucks-on-roll-St-Paul-our-10-favorites–so-far?src=main

Facebook/HotIndianFoods
Hot Indian Foods Truck cruises through St. Paul, serving Indian food with a contemporary twist.

As food truck season arrives, St. Paul welcomes a new and vibrant food truck to their collection: Hot Indian Foods, a truck with a contemporary take on traditional Indian food.

According to Jess Fleming at The Pioneer Press, the cart opened last week and can be spotted on local streets with its hard-to-miss large logo of a young Indian woman and bright orange paint. The owner, Amol Dixit, started and currently operates the business.

At age 38, Dixit hopes to bring Indian food to the masses. He views Indian food as an up-and-coming genre, and wants to promote the traditional Indian flavors through the means of fun and creative street food. Being Indian-American himself, he enjoys the Indian food and culture the food truck promotes. However, he does not cook himself. Instead, he strictly runs the business, hiring chefs to do the cooking.

The food truck is known for their “Indurritos,” a curious take on how Indian dishes are usually served. The “indurritos” consist of curry, rice, and slaw then wrapped in a tortilla.To accompany the “indurritos” fries in Indian seasoning and Indian soft drinks are available.

The truck is active on both Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/hot-indian-foods-truck-opens-st-paul

 With so many new — and delicious — food trucks hitting the streets of the Twin Cities each summer, it’s almost too tough to keep up. Well, fear not, we’re here to help. Here’s this week’s food truck feature!

All that really needs to be said about this week’s food truck can be summed up in three glorious words: duck fat fries.

Yes, beyond bringing the retro feel of a good ol’ fashioned drive-in to the streets of St. Paul, Neato’s Burgers has given us the precious gift of duck-fat frying, without the hefty price tag or the cross-country journey. God bless them.

They’re also having a lot of tasty fun when it comes to the classic drive-in burger on a bun. Their most popular patty, fabulously named the Mustard Tiger, features a mustard-grilled burger, duck fat fries, more mustard and a special sauce. There’s also the jalapeno popper burger and a “Hans Goober” burger, for those PB&J fans.

If the fierce flavors weren’t enough, you can feel good about the food itself — nearly everything Neato’s makes is Minnesota-made and fresh to death.

Let’s learn a bit more, shall we?

 Neato’s Burgers

Find them at @NeatosBurgers and at www.neatosburgers.com

Owner: Neal Lenzmeier and Antonio Gutierrez

Date the food truck opened: October of 2011

What kind of food do you serve? We try to do our take on a classic drive-in burger and then we try to get creative with that, little bit of fusion — we do a Mexican Elotes burger, a jalapeno popper burger. So we kind of play on the classic drive-in burger.

Price range of menu: Our cheapest item is the fries for $4, or $3 with a combo, and hamburgers start at $4 with the most expensive being $8.

Hours of operation: Usually on the streets from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, plus special events on weekends. We’re also looking into dinner service with a couple other trucks.

What was your job before opening the food truck? Tony and I were independent contractors. So we both had restaurant experience years ago and decided to get back into with this truck.

 What made you want to open a food truck? Mostly just to be my own boss, have a creative outlet, make my own hours, which has been pretty difficult but it’s starting to pay off.

What made you want to get into the food industry in the first place? My dad was actually a chef around town in the 80s and 90s so I started to follow in his footsteps after high school. He told me to not go down that path. So I kind of got out of the back of the house, did some front of the house work in my early 20s and then left the industry around 24. I’m 31 now. I got back into it at 29.

How is the food prepared? Well every morning, we get our meat fresh from Stasny’s — a meat market on Western. They grind it fresh for us every morning. And then we get our potatoes from a potato distributor, fresh cut them every morning and fry those in pure rendered duck fat. I believe we’re the only business in town doing that. And we get all of our produce fresh every morning. So we typically don’t have food inventory. Every morning we get fresh food, cut it up and sell it all.

 How did you come up with the name? It’s actually the first part of my first name — “Nea” — and then “To” for Tony. Tony came up with that. We thought it kind of had a 50s vibe to it so we created the character Neato.

How did you decide on the menu? It was kind of up in the air, even as we were starting the truck. And then Porky’s closed down. So we kind of thought, why not pick up where they left off? There aren’t really drive-in’s like that anymore so let’s try to do that. That’s kind of where we came up with duck fat because we wanted to do animal fat the way drive-in’s used to be before vegetable oil. And you can’t really find that anymore, except for we found this duck farmer, who was really helpful and let us know all about duck fat.

 What’s your favorite dish that you serve? It’s probably the Mustard Tiger. That was kind of something we created and put on twitter, just to drum up some business one morning and it took off from there. It’s a burger patty grilled, with mustard on it, to create a crust then cheese, onions grilled in duck fat, then we put it on a bun with fries, special sauce, tomato and a little more mustard on top. That’s our best selling product. I’m also quite fond of the jalapeno popper burger, with cream cheese, grilled jalapenos and raspberry preserves. So it’s kind of sweet, salty, spicy. It all really works.

Describe your truck in one word: Retro.

What’s your craziest story from working at a food truck? Actually, last year, our first day at this food truck court, our generator started on fire towards the end of the day, so at least we got some sales in. But yeah, we looked out of our window and there was all this smoke coming out and our generator and the generator cord were on fire. So that let us put in a new generator. Every different, crazy story we have is a learning experience and I feel like we had a lot of them last year. I think we’ve replaced everything on this truck so that it will run every day but I’d say that was probably the craziest thing that happened last year.

What’s one thing you want people to know about your food truck? That all of our food is really fresh, locally sourced. We don’t go out of our way to advertise or put a bunch of buzz words in front of everything that we have. It’s just really fresh. We try to incorporate as many Minnesota products as possible.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/curiocity-food-truck-feature-neatos-burgers/

via facebook

 Finally, it’s food-truck weather, and there are a few new ethnic kitchens on wheels to try.

Hot Indian Foods will hit the streets of both downtowns in a few weeks, serving contemporary Indian food in a burrito format.

Indurritos, as they’ll be called, will come in chicken, lamb, spinach paneer and vegan varieties, wrapped in Indian flatbread. There also will be Indian snacks, said owner Amol Dixit.

Janene Holig, formerly of Wise Acre Eatery, is running the bright-orange truck’s kitchen.

“When you think about Indian foods in restaurants and grocery stores, they tend to be more traditional, authentic,” said Dixit, who worked in marketing at General Mills for 15 years.

“I thought there was an opportunity to do something more modern, contemporary,” Dixit said.

To see the truck’s location for the day, follow Hot Indian Foods on Twitter @hotindianfoods or facebook.com/hotindianfoods.

via facebook

Meanwhile, Jose Alvarez, who has worked for 20 years in Japanese kitchens, including Benihana, decided to start his own hibachi truck.

The pink-and-purple truck, called Hibachi Daruma, has been out a few days and will increase its presence now that the weather is warmer.

Menu items include hibachi grilled meats, vegetables and fried rice.

For more information on the truck or to track its whereabouts, visitfacebook.com/HibachiDarumaMN.

And in the final bit of food truck news this week, the meals-on-wheels gatherings will continue this year along the river in downtown St. Paul, and they’re starting this week.

Check out the food truck courts on Wednesdays near Kellogg Boulevard and Wabasha Street and Thursdays near Kellogg and Robert Street.

Jess Fleming can be reached at 651-228-5435. Follow her at twitter.com/jessflem.

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_23198319/new-ethnic-food-trucks-joining-twin-cities-popular

(credit: Crystal Grobe)

It’s not even spring and the food truck scene is already buzzing. It seems the newest thing in food trucks is to secure a place without wheels where customers can sit down and enjoy great food and service. First there was Chef Shack opening their outpost in Bay City, Wisconsin where they continued to churn out tasty seasonal creations to delight road trippers and locals alike.

(credit: Crystal Grobe)

Next came Foxy Falafel, who had a big 2012 with the launch of a food truck, multiple farmers’ market booths, and a brick and mortar location in St. Paul that has been going strong with not only the signature falafel but delicious sides like cauliflower steaks and cheese curds too.

(credit: Crystal Grobe)

Then we had another personal favorite of mine, World Street Kitchen open in my neighborhood. It’s been a treat to run over there for yum yum rice bowls and walk out with multiple desserts. The soft serve is unbelievable! It’s tough to resist chocolate coated almonds, marshmallows and salted caramel.

Next we had the long-awaited Smack Shack which finally got all of the approvals to open a lobster focused restaurant in the North Loop last month broadening their ability to cater to non-seafood lovers too with fried green tomato po boys.

Now, sushi lovers rejoice as we can get our Sushi Fix long before the snow melts. You may remember me talking about this sushi after the truck launched last spring and I’ve been raving about it ever since. Not only is the sushi amazing, but the owner, Billy Tserenbat is a kind and generous soul. He’s enthusiastic about creating an excellent experience for his guests and you can see the joy in his face as he talks about his journey to get to where he is today.

I was thrilled to preview the Sushi Fix space this week and I eagerly await the official opening on Friday, March 1st. The menu will offer a variety of sushi options including his popular rolls like the 2-14 (aka Valentine’s roll) and don’t miss some of my favorites: tuna poke and squid salad. He has a loyal following from his days as a chef at Yumi’s and earned more fans through his food truck. That strong fan following combined with a little bit of sake is sure to produce a very joyous opening.

Be on the lookout for more food trucks opening storefronts in the near future. Next on deck: Potters Pasties & Gastrotruck. Have you heard of any others?

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/02/27/bite-of-minnesota-from-trucks-to-tables/

]]> http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/03/minneapolis-mn-bite-of-minnesota-from-trucks-to-tables/feed/ 0 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/01/st-paul-mn-potters-pasties-food-truck-takes-it-inside/ http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/2013/01/st-paul-mn-potters-pasties-food-truck-takes-it-inside/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:00:46 +0000 MFN Editor #1 http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/?p=38121 By Mark Reilly | BizJournals.com

Food truck Potter’s Pasties is joining the trend of mobile eateries opening full-time restaurants.

The Pioneer Press reports that owner Alec Duncan is taking over the former Broadway Pizza counter at Joe’s Market on Como Avenue, near the University of Minnesota, with plans to open in March. It’s counter-service only; no seats, but he’ll offer delivery.

The menu will be familiar to anybody who’s visited the food truck (which will also return when it gets warm): Lots of hand pies, with some less-expensive options for the student crowd.

Several food trucks have leveraged their curbside success into brick-and-mortar restaurants. World Street Kitchen has opened on Lyndale Avenue in South Minneapolis, while Foxy Falafel opened in St. Paul and Smack Shack is due to open in the North Loop this month.

Sushi Fix continues the trend of trucks opening storefronts

When Sushi Fix first arrived in downtown Minneapolis, serving sushi from a food truck, there were skeptics.  Doubters were soon converted to believers, falling hard for the freshly flown-in seafood mixed with their perfectly seasoned rice. It was hard not to be pulling for the enthusiastic Billy Et, who was reaching out to customers with the fervor of a revival tent preacher. Soon that fishy love will be spreading beyond the downtown borders, as Sushi Fix moves beyond the curb and into a storefront in Wayzata Village Shoppes. It will be taking over the former Black’s Ford Eatery. We spoke with owner Billy Et about his plans.

Sushi sampler from Sushi Fix

The restaurant will only be open for dinner service, allowing the crew to continue working the truck during the day. There is room for 24 to 30 people in the dining room and another 8 to 10 seats at the sushi bar.

 With more space, they are looking forward to expanding the menu. “Of course Sushi will be our main focus,” Et says. “We want to step up the game a little more.” There will be sushi parties all around Lake Minnetonka.  ”Downtown Wayzata is the perfect destination for downtown Minneapolis.”

Employees Periscope advertising agency enjoy an employee party catered by the Chef Shack food truck,Thursday August 2, 2012, in Northeast Minneapolis, (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

I recently was walking through Loring Park when I spotted Smack Shack, the local food truck popular for its lobster rolls.

Since the truck doesn’t circulate in St. Paul, I got excited and dragged my husband over, mouth watering.

To my chagrin, the truck was serving, but not to me.

Mini rolls stuffed with succulent little pieces of dressed lobster were being handed to a mob of hungry wedding guests. It was a private event, catered by truck.

Have you ever wondered how the dozens of food trucks that clutter the streets of the downtowns make a go of it, especially when there’s so much competition?

The answer is simple: Catering.

“When you get a truck, you do catering,” Smack Shack’s catering and events coordinator Keith Endres said. “Otherwise, you have the truck just sitting in a parking lot not making money.”

Dan Rusoff takes orders while Brent Freeman (left) does the cooking for the Chef Shack food truck during a catered event for Periscope advertising agency Thursday August 2, 2012, in Northeast Minneapolis, (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Food trucks cater to everything from intimate backyard shindigs to moderate weddings to large corporate parties. Just like a traditional caterer, they are paid upfront and plan for a set number of guests.

Smack Shack charges anywhere from $19 (boxed lunch) to $60 (lobster boil) a guest. Endres said they will serve any number of guests, but he does set a minimum dollar amount.

Each truck has different requirements and prices for catering.

Though food trucks are seeing more catering business, traditional caterers I talked to said they haven’t seen a downturn in their business due to food trucks.

“It doesn’t seem to directly affect us,” said Lancer Catering marketing director Jackie Northard.

So how does food truck catering work? Owners I talked to said they’ll serve from the truck, bring in platters of food or even offer traditional dinner service.

Cook Brent Freeman puts adds a spoonful of black beans to shredded pork tacos in the Chef Shack food truck during a catered employee part for Periscope advertising agency Thursday August 2, 2012, in Northeast Minneapolis, (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

The party host reaps several advantages from serving out of the truck.

First, there’s the cool factor.

“It’s fun, and it fits with the artsy, hipster crowd,” said Ben Van Sistine of Worell, a local industrial design firm that recently hired Hola Arepa to cater a corporate party. “It’s not pretentious food, but it’s really good food.”

Hola Arepa pulled up to a set of open garage doors at the party, which was held in the company’s sleek, open warehouse space in Northeast Minneapolis.

Guests ordered and were served just like on the street, but they didn’t have to pay.

Sandwiches were still made to order.

“They’re excellent,” said party guest Nancy Giacchetti of Chanhassen while munching on a chicken arepa, which is Venezuelan street food. “I saw two women eating one and I had to have one. … We don’t work downtown, so I don’t see (the trucks), but I like the concept because they offer lots of variety.”

Van Sistine said he got lots of similar feedback from guests, and there was an unexpected social benefit.

“You’re standing around for a few minutes, waiting for your food, and you strike up a conversation with other people waiting that you probably wouldn’t have talked to otherwise,” he said.

Another advantage? Trucks bring their own kitchen.

“We already have the truck and the kitchen,” Endres said. “So logistically, all I have to do is roll up and serve. … I don’t have to bring propane tanks or hot plates.”

Business is booming as customers discover how convenient food truck catering is, said Chef Shack co-owner Carrie Summer.

“Everybody’s happy, then we pull away,” Summer said. “It’s no muss, no fuss. It’s the upper echelon of catering. It’s super popular.”

Both Summer and Potters Pasties owner Alec Duncan said private catering makes up at least 50 percent of their businesses.

“The word is definitely spreading,” Duncan said. “This year, we’ve had four times the number of catering gigs as we did last year.”

Duncan offered another reason to hire food trucks.

“You get to have the actual owner and chef work with you every step of the way and then actually serve you,” he said.

Jess Fleming can be reached at 651-228-5435. Follow her at twitter.com/jessflem.

TIPS FOR HAVING A FOOD TRUCK CATER YOUR EVENT

• Get out and try some trucks. There are food-truck courts on Kellogg Boulevard in St. Paul on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Follow @tcstreetfood on Twitter to keep track of trucks all over the Twin Cities.
• Once you’ve narrowed the field, call a few trucks and ask what they can do. Tell the professional, who has experience catering, about your event and let him or her make suggestions. Be specific about the number of attendees and your budget.
• Want something off the menu? Ask. Chefs run the trucks and they usually can accommodate special requests.
• Be prepared to pay catering prices. Food trucks might be a little less expensive, but you get what you pay for, and local trucks turn out seriously good food.

http://www.twincities.com/restaurants/ci_21373353/haveffood-trucks-will-cater-weddings-backyard-bashes-corporate

Brace yourselves, Minnesota: Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern is opening a food truck called AZ Canteen, and he’s doing it in the apex of all things Minnesotan, the Minnesota State Fair. Come August 25, the Canteen will open serving food inspired by Zimmern’s global travels. And before you start getting nervous about eating crickets or whatever, it’s not actually all that out there: the menu has dishes like cabrito butter burgers (with a new custom goat blend by Pat LaFrieda), crispy pork belly with green papaya salad, and griddled veal tongue sliders. It will also serve ice cream sandwiches from Izzy’s in St. Paul.

Zimmern is also in the process of opening two sandwich shops, one at the Minneapolis airport and one at LaGuardia in New York City. AZ Canteen will be stationed at the Fair through its end September 3, after which it will roam around the Twin Cities. Also, you can rent it for events — Bizarre Foods birthday party, anyone? Above in the slideshow, the menu and the truck art. Below, the press release.

Update From Zimmern’s PR: The event at the State Fair is a preview event. Between 12:00PM and 5:00PM on August 25 (and only August 25), the truck will hand out goat sausage samples. After that, the truck will stick around and “additional activities” will happen, but they’ll no longer be handing out samples. (Advice? Get there early.) The official launch of AZ Canteen will happen sometime after the 25 — check out their Twitter for details — and the truck will be located in the Twin Cities.

AZ Canteen Menu

· Andouille, Oyster and Crab Gumbo
· Crispy Pork Belly With Green Papaya Salad, Chiles, Lime With Fried Egg
· Cabrito Butter Burger With Roasted Tomatoes, Charred Onion, Pickles
· Cabrito Sausage Grinder With Cabbage Slaw
· Griddled Veal Tongue on Butter Toasted Bun With Lemon, Capers, Arugula and Tonnato Sauce
· Izzy’s Handcrafter Ice Cream Sandwiches
· Nicaraguan Dulce de Leche Shaved Ice With Pound Cake “Loly’s Style”
· Jamaican Hibiscus Punch, a Selection of Natural Homemade and Artisanal Sodas, Juice of the Day, Bottled Water
· Sides Available: Potato Salad or Chips

ANDREW ZIMMERN TO UNVEIL NEW FOOD TRUCK AT 2012 MINNESOTA STATE FAIR

AZ Canteen to Showcase Menu Items from Around the Globe,
Inspired by the Acclaimed TV Host’s Culinary Adventures

St. Paul, MN (August 16, 2012) – Andrew Zimmern, the two-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer and teacher is rolling into new culinary territory on Saturday, August 25th with the launch of AZ Canteen, an Andrew Zimmern Food Truck. Widely recognized for hosting Travel Channel’s popular Bizarre Foods series, Andrew will unveil his latest culinary venture at the Minnesota State Fair, one of the largest food events in the world.

The model for AZ Canteen naturally evolved from Andrew’s experiences visiting hundreds of food trucks and street stalls around the world, as well as creating several airport restaurant concepts. Designing a mobile restaurant affords Andrew the luxury of traveling alongside AZ Canteen for events and appearances around the country.

“The menu will be differentiated and delicious. I have been lucky enough to travel and eat my way through over 100 countries tasting everything I can along the way,” Zimmern said. “I want to expand the protein choices of Americans with the overarching goal of restoring health and wellness to our food system one plate at a time. Take goat for example. I love it and we’re featuring it first and foremost. I partnered with Pat LaFrieda to create a goat burger blend and a goat sausage that is indescribably superb.”

From savory options like Cabrito (goat) Sausage, Crispy Pork Belly and Griddled Veal Tongue Sliders, to sweet selections that define truck dining, including Ice Cream Sandwiches from Andrew’s favorite scoop shop, Izzy’s Ice Cream in St. Paul, MN, AZ Canteen is paving the way as a flavor and ingredient thought leader in the industry.

The graphics for AZ Canteen were inspired by the foundation of what the food truck represents: flavorful food and a unique experience. The icons embody the perfect intersection of food and travel, reflecting the ingredients used in the menu items, with a nod to vintage travel stickers and suitcases.

During AZ Canteen’s inauguration, fans can expect to see Andrew behind the truck’s grill serving up delectable dishes, then throughout the year for select days and events. Regardless, diners can anticipate great food and an even better culinary experience.

With future plans to expand the AZ Canteen roster beyond a single truck, Andrew hopes to capitalize on his extensive international “Bizarre Foods” fan base, launching food trucks in several countries.

For updates on locations, hours and menu items, AZ Canteen devotees can defer to the company’s Twitter (@AZCanteen), Facebook (www.facebook.com/AZCanteen) or website www.AZCanteen.com.

http://eater.com/archives/2012/08/16/az-cantina-andrew-zimmerns-twin-cities-food-truck.php