NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Last year, the Metro Public Works started a pilot program that designated zones for mobile food vendor parking. One of those zones has drivers upset their parking spaces are gone.

Reedy Reynolds came to the Birch Building on 2nd Avenue North Thursday and had a hard time finding street parking.

He had to get out of his car to see a sign posted on all the parking meters close to the courthouse.

“I wanted to see what the time limits were, to see if I could get in here, but it’s 10 to 2, so I can’t park,” Reedy said.

Many people have complained about the mobile food vendor parking on that street, because they have never seen a food truck park there.

“Not one. What does that say,” Reedy asked.

The designated zones are part of a pilot program to help find places for food trucks to park.

“We tried to find locations that worked for everybody,” said Jenna Smith from Metro Public Works.

This is a pilot program that the department is constantly evaluating.

“Because we understand, this is not what we want, that there’s an empty spot and no one’s there because the food trucks aren’t there and somebody wants to park there,” Smith said.

The people who drive Nashville’s food trucks also understand the concerns people have raised about parking.

“Right away, when food trucks hit the scene, people were concerned about the potential issues, so we wanted to address them straight away,” according to Nashville Food Truck Association President B.J. Lofback.

The truck owners have worked closely with Metro Public Works to try and find the best approach to parking in downtown Nashville.

“And we understand people are looking for parking spots, and so are we, and how do we find that balance, well, we’re working on that right now,” Lofback said.

There are eight different sites located on downtown streets.

Changes are already planned for the zone in question on 2nd Avenue North. Public Works will reduce the number of spaces at that location next week.

“Basically reducing the size of the zone. So right now about three trucks can fit, probably one, to two trucks, depending on the size of the trucks, will be able to fit there,” Smith said.

The department is also looking into a reservation system. A vendor would call in the morning, reserve a spot and then the city would go and bag that spot. That way, only the spots actually needed would be off-limits to drivers.

There is an on-line survey you can take that will allow you to evaluate Nashville’s food truck program. Click here for the survey.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/22275775/food-vendor-parking-cooking-up-controversy-downtown

Eat the Street: Food Truck Festival is coming back to Downtown Franklin on Friday, May 10th from 4pm to 8pm. There will be amazing food trucks, live entertainment and kids activites! The festival will be located between public square to the end of five points and up and down 4th Avenue.

It is free to attend, but food is for purchase. With 26 food truck vendors, you can eat your heart out and participate in raising money for 21st Drug Court.

Participating Food Trucks:

1. Biscuit Love

2. Blue Monkey Shaved Ice

3. Bradley’s Curbside Creamery

4. Brother’s Pizza

5. Chapman’s Pie Wagon

6. Deg Thai

7. Delta Bound

8. Dixie Belle’s Cupcakes

9. Dough Works

10. Grilled Cheeserie

11. Honey’s Vintage Sweets

12. Hoss’ Loaded Burgers

13. Hot Diggity Dog

14. Ken’s Hot Spot

15. Mobile Chef

16. Moe Better BBQ & Fish

17. Puckett’s Trolley

18. Retro Snow

19. Riff’s

20. Smoke Et Al

21. Smokin’ Thighs

22. Tiger Meat

23. Waffle Boss

24. Wrapper’s Delight

25. YaYo’s O.M.G.

26. Yiannis Gyros

For more information and updates, you can visit the Event Website.

http://nashvilleguru.com/10278/franklin-eat-the-street-food-truck-festival

Some of Nashville’s food trucks.
(James Yates).

Gone are the days of relying on social media and individual Web sites to find your favorite food truck. In conjunction with its inaugural Nashville Street Food Month in May, the Nashville Food Truck Association is launching a mobile app that lists the schedule for food truck locations in the greater Nashville area, according to the association.

“Food trucks are alive and well in Nashville,” B.J. Lofback, association president, said in a release. “Our street food culture is growing, and we’re seeing it become an integral part of the Nashville food scene.”

Using the app (search for NFTA), diners can locate trucks by name and view various food truck locations at current and upcoming locations of the more than 30 food trucks in the association. Look for food trucks at “Food Truck Fiesta” at the kickoff of Musicians’ Corner in Centennial Park on May 4, and “Eat the Street” in downtown Franklin on May 10, among other upcoming events.

Every truck will offer a one-time $1 discount on a purchase of $10 or more to all customers who download the app and mention it at time of purchase, according to the release.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/05/hungry-for-a-food-truck-look-to-your.html

Crepe A Diem is a new food truck in Nashville. / Submitted by Crepe A Diem

Nashville is spoiled with a wide variety of food trucks — so much so that one crepe maker is moving to Music City just to start her own food truck business.

Brittney Blackshear started Crepe A Diem as a catering company in Savannah, Ga., two years ago. She carried her batter, griddle and local ingredients to festivals, parties and more, but always dreamed of serving them from a truck.

“Crepe is a French street food, so I always pictured it should be served casually on the street for anybody,” said 26-year-old Blackshear.

She and others fought to have mobile eateries allowed in Savannah, but the ordinances didn’t allow it.

“There wasn’t a lot of support from other people,” Blackshear said. “I wasn’t ready to take (on the city) on my own.”

To pursue her dream and grow her business, she chose to start anew closer to her family and in a food truck-welcoming city.

“Nashville itself is a very fast-growing city in many industries,” she said. “I’m excited to get started.”

Crepe A Diem offers dessert crepes made with a simple, sweet batter and savory crepes made with buckwheat batter (or galette).

“My thing is, if I start with a good-tasting batter to begin with, and use fresh, good quality ingredients, I really don’t have to do much to it,” Blackshear said.

She plans to use local ingredients for seasonal specialties as well as the staple menu.

For savory, that menu includes a crepe with ham, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, honey Dijon and arugula; another with ham, Swiss cheese and a sunny side up egg, and more. Regular sweet crepes include lemon and sugar, Nutella and banana, and baked apple with salted caramel and vanilla bean whipped cream.

“The French are very simple and traditional,” Blackshear said, “and I’m trying to respect that and keep the menu simple and traditional.”

Blackshear is a former graphic design student who discovered crepes while studying abroad in France. She played with crepe-making on her own, then studied it under French chef and owner of Savannah’s Papillote, Herve Didailler.

“I learned so much from him about cooking and vending a successful business,” she said. “He would stand over my shoulder and correct me on any little drip coming off the crepes.”

Crepe-making is not only a delicious task — it’s a showy one.

“I take the rake so (the batter) goes from a puddle in the middle to spread out like a pancake,” she said. “At the festivals, I’d have people just standing around to watch me make it.”

While she has learned the art of crepe-making, she is still learning to establish her business in both the food truck world and Nashville.

“I’ve probably called over 100 people over the city,” she said. “People have been so nice and helpful. … I’m excited to jump into it.”

Blackshear plans to have the truck up and running May 1. Crepe A Diem will also be at Mayor’s Field Day May 4 at LP Field.

“It’s a dream come true. I’m so excited about bringing good food and giving it out to all these people.”

Find more details on the truck’s Facebook page and on its Twitter account @crepeadiem.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130425/LIFE02/304250134/New-food-truck-Crepe-Diem-hit-streets-Nashville

It won’t be too long until the outdoor sheds at the Nashville Farmers’ Market will be back to peak levels, teeming with purveyors offering bushels of fresh vegetables for your shopping pleasure. But until that time, they want to take best advantage of the open space that will become Market Central after the weather turns.

Since the mission of the NFM is to bring great food to the people of Nashville, they have decided to throw a little Food Truck Frenzy this Saturday, Jan. 12, starting at 10 a.m. and continuing through lunch. B.J. Lofback of Riffs Fine Street Food is the ringleader of this merry band of mobile kitchens, and he has invited some of the best of the best to feed the masses. Here are the trucks confirmed so far, with others to be possibly added later:

Riffs Fine Street Food
Grilled Cheeserie
Hoss’ Loaded Burgers
Jonbalaya
Wrapper’s Delight
Delta Bound
Dixie Belle’s Cupcakes

That lineup looks like a little bit of something for everyone, and it’s always fun to see what specials these trucks come up with when they know that they are in friendly competition with others parked around the same lot. If weather permits, they’ll set out set extra tables under the shed, but there will definitely be space at tables inside the Market House for those who don’t like to balance their food while standing up to eat.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/bites/archives/2013/01/11/food-trucks-to-roll-into-nashville-farmers-market-tomorrow

We cannot contain our excitement!

I don’t understand how people don’t treasure food the way I do.  I am always tempted to include “food” in my list of hobbies, but I’m not sure if that is a sure-fire way to lose friends, just like my mom always told me never to publicly proclaim “I hate country music” in Nashville.  However, today I’m taking a stand and declaring myself a foodie! And on that note, Nashville hosted a wonderful gastronomic event this weekend that I took advantage of: The Nashville Street Food Awards.

Hosted at Centennial Park, this food truck competition brought 23 Nashville food trucks to the Vandy area from 11-6 p.m. on Saturday, September 1st.  I had never seen a collection that size of food-bearing trucks before, hence my calling it a motorcade.  We headed over to Centennial around 2:30, and it was packed, lines snaking far behind each food truck, despite the constant drizzle of rain.  A few Vandy favorites were in attendance, including The Grilled Cheeserie and Hit or Miss, an ice cream food truck that gave out free ice cream cones on campus on Thursday, thanks to CityVU.  There were all types of culinary delights from snow cones and juices to Korean BBQ and homestyle cooking.  I chose to partake in a little bit of Cajun cuisine at Jonbalaya, and it was well worth my $8.00.  Food trucks are pricey, but I also feel more cultured and hipster when I eat at them.  Props, food truck marketers.

Some proceeds from the event went to the Second Harvest Food Bank,a Nashville non-profit that I support completely, so that was fabulous.  The competition atmosphere added a fun twist to the afternoon, with chefs running entries to the judging table for various food categories every 10ish minutes, when they were not busy filling orders for the plethora of hungry Nashvillians. Here are the results from the day’s showdown! Among the taste tasters was the mayor, Karl Dean, and various other random people of whom we were quite jealous.

The afternoon provided lots of rewarding people watching, because it felt as if all of Nashville was present.  Dogs, children, and foodies were abounding.  Live music was a nice touch too, as Musician’s Corner, a weekly free music event, kicked off its summer program during the food awards. Having days like Saturday is one of the huge reasons I love living at a school smack dab in the middle of Nashville.

http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/insidedores/2012/09/food-truck-motorcade/img_1823/

Think of it as a golden ticket, Willy Wonka-style. But in this case, it’s a biscuit.

As the latest food truck called Biscuit Love prepares to hit the streets of Nashville next month, chef/owners Sarah and Karl Worley are hiding “golden biscuits” around town and posting clues to the scavenger hunt on the truck’s twitter feed. The winner who finds the “golden biscuit,” which is actually a paper ticket, can cash in the prize for free biscuits from the truck for a year. The fourth and final challenge begins today with clues @BiscuitLuvTruck.

The Biscuit Love Truck will serve its scratch biscuits to the public for the first time on April 6 at the Meat ‘n 3 event at the Nashville Farmers Market. Menu items will include an East Nasty biscuit with buttermilk fried chicken, Kenny’s Farmhouse cheddar and sausage gravy, as well as The Gertie with caramelized banana jam, house-made peanut butter with pretzel crunch and Olive & Sinclair chocolate gravy, among other options.

The couple worked in local and sustainable food while living in Durham, N.C. They attended culinary school in Denver, and then landed in Nashville to be near family.

Initially, Sarah Worley said the couple leaned toward a hot chicken truck, but had trouble making the bird accessible to people who aren’t into spicy cuisine.

“Karl makes great biscuits, and we kept going back to the biscuits,” she said. “Then we were able to do a little play on the hot chicken.”

The Biscuit Love’s hot chicken homage is called The Princess, and it stacks hot chicken, honey, house-made pickles and mustard.

To learn more, visit biscuitlovetruck.com.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120317/LIFE02/120317007/Final-challenge-begins-Biscuit-Love-food-truck-scavenger-hunt-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

photo courtesy of Eric England

What a difference five years can make. Does anyone remember back in the day — if we can dub November 2006 “The Day” — when I proposed the audacious culinary experiment of a pizza truck? Modeled on the ice cream man, my pizza truck would drive around town at meal times and hawk slices out of a mobile kitchen. I was sure it would be a hit. But a mean-spirited blogger said it never would work and implied that I was an idiot.

Not to be too thin-skinned, but … how do you like me now, blogger?

It turns out that food trucks do work, especially when they bring great food to convenient locations.

Needless to say, when I recently encountered a convoy of food trucks serving everything from kimchi slaw to fried cornbread at Elmington Park, the feeling of vindication that washed over me was as sweet as the Thai iced tea being served at the green-and-orange Deg Thai food truck.

Yes, there is that broad an array of mobile cuisine in Nashville, which now boasts more than 30 styles of meals on wheels, from meat-and-three to barbecue, Thai to tacos. (Even my pizza dream came true with the 2010 debut of Pizza Buds.)

photo courtesy of Eric England

With mobile vendors jockeying for space in the culinary landscape, brick-and-mortar restaurateurs, food truck operators and city officials took up complex issues of parking, competition and traffic last year. After a series of deferrals by Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission, still no one knows what the future holds in terms of food truck regulation.

But when it comes to bringing diners and mobile vendors together, the future could look a lot like the recent weekends at Elmington Park, when a dozen food trucks took turns showcasing their modern mobile wares in the driveway of the historic West End Middle School. Event planner Holley Seals is the brain behind Wanderland Urban Food Park, which staged, promoted and organized permits for the so-called Fab Feb Food Fest. Based on the success of February’s pilot program, Seals is extending Fab Feb into March. Beyond that, she envisions future food truck assemblies in other parks around the city.

“As many events as she can put together, we’ll be there,” Jonbalaya Catering owner Jon Heidelberg says, emphatically praising Seals’ efforts to promote his upstart industry.

At Elmington, Wanderland’s formula is five trucks each weekend day, with a reef of picnic tables and trashcans on the rolling lawn. Rain or shine, a variable assortment of trucks parked in the wide driveway between West End Avenue and the grassy battlefield where the Society for Creative Anachronism fights to the death for medieval hegemony on Sundays.

Weather plays a predictably significant role in a food truck gathering, but when the sun was shining, Fab Feb Food Fest had the convivial air of a picnic, with families arriving on foot from surrounding neighborhoods, dining al fresco and playing Frisbee after a meal.

Some patrons were content mingling interminably in the queue at the Grilled Cheeserie truck, until the popular purveyor of molten cheese sandwiches and tomato soup — a perennial favorite at food truck rallies — tweeted that it had run out of bread and was closing early.

Wait times at other vehicles were less intimidating, so we landed at a picnic table and I set out like a mother bird, foraging from truck to truck to satisfy a family that simultaneously craved Cajun food and cobbler.

From Jonbalaya, I collected pulled chicken on corn tortillas with sriracha and wasabi aioli, a pair of pork sliders and Heidelberg’s signature jambalaya made with mild andouille sausage.

Memo to food truck fans: Do not attempt to use Jonbalaya’s so-called Un-daiquiri to cool the burn of Twisted Chicken from The Hot Spot truck. The refreshing non-alcoholic fruit drink is powerless against the fire of the fiendish bird, whose dry rub is so tongue-searing that ultimately we started to slur our words.

To put out Hot Spot’s hot chicken flames, you’re going to need something more soothing, possibly a poultice. We tried to quell the pain with spoonfuls of velvety chicken-and-dumplings and mac-and-cheese from the Southern roster at Just Like “Nannie” Fixed It. When those didn’t work, we applied Kent Nannie’s Ooey Gooey Butter Cake and cold cobbler directly to the tongue.

(Seriously, the Hot Spot’s signature poultry is just too damn spicy to enjoy in an improvised dining situation where you don’t have access to a tub of yogurt or a gallon of milk, or, at the extreme, a can of Solarcaine. That said, we’d like to revisit Twisted Chicken, with its magnificent sandy-sizzled spice-encrusted skin again some day soon, when we’ve got ready access to running water and all our emergency phone numbers close at hand.)

On a particularly dreary weekend during Fab Feb Food Fest, we drove to Elmington Park and picked up an excellent lunch of soup and sandwiches from Blackbird Heritage, which bases its limited menu on the seasonal harvest and humanely raised lamb and pork from Blackbird Heritage Farm in College Grove, Tenn. On our visit, chef Elyssa Young was on board the pale blue truck, building sandwiches of lamb sausage with cucumber sauce and Italian sausage with Kenny’s Farmhouse cheddar, caramelized onions and apple Dijon. Her soup of sweet potato, spinach and sausage was the perfect antidote to winter weather.

Meanwhile, a merry band of warriors in medieval regalia brought an air of pre-Renaissance festivity when they arrived at the Deg Thai truck. Speaking in the garbled, marble-mouthed accent of a Monty Python character, one knight ordered from the roster of red curry, fried rice, spring rolls and beef salad. Then he turned to his companions and asked with great ceremony, “Shall we take our bounty to Valhalla, as offering to Odin?” When the warriors concurred, their leader turned to the truck window and temporarily ditched the accent. “We’ll take it to go,” he said.

You just can’t get that kind of cross-cultural, inter-century give-and-take at a Chili’s.

So, take that, mean old blogger from 2006 who thought I was an idiot for proposing a pizza truck. With dozens of food trucks staking their claim in an increasingly sophisticated culinary market, who’s the idiot now, huh?

Then again, if I were so smart, I guess I’d have started up a food truck myself.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/mobile-vendors-experiment-with-weekend-culinary-convoys-at-elmington-park/Content?oid=2789654