(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

Open for business. (Syd Kearney photos / Chronicle)

Downtown just got a little sweeter.

Popular food truck Porch Swing Desserts has opened a store in the tunnel at 801 Louisiana St. It’s tucked in an out-the-way corner between Pennzoil Plaza and Two Shell Center, in a space formerly occupied by a Treebeards satellite. (The Cajun cafeteria moved to bigger digs in Pennzoil Plaza in January.)

On opening day, May 16, the bakery was offering monkey bread muffins, its signature petite lemon meringue and strawberry pies, an assortment of cookies and Katz coffee.

I scored a banana pudding with caramelized bananas for breakfast. What a delicious way to start the day.

Porch Swing Desserts: 801 Louisaina St., 713-429–1338. Open 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Get a look at the big board.

http://blog.chron.com/29-95/2013/05/now-open-porch-swing-desserts-sans-wheels/

Three brothers, Dan, Jim and Jack, have launched a Kickstarter to raise$30,000 that will fund a food truck that will serve dishes based on 2013′s favorite fad diet: Paleo eating. The truck, named Caveman Chow will serve dishes such as pancakes and bacon-wrapped meatloaf that follow the Paleo philosophy of a meat and vegetable based diet that skips grains, sugars and dairy. Cause cavemen didn’t have, like, wheat and cows and stuff. In a blog post, Dan explains how switching from a regular diet to Paleo helped him lose 30 pounds and increased his energy levels.

Watch the video below to meet the three partners and get a sense of their plans for the future. They still need to raise $29,000 before the end of the month to reach their goal.

http://houston.eater.com/archives/2013/05/13/help-back-paleo-food-truck-caveman-chow.php

Photo via @TacoNuts on Twitter

The last time I visited with chef L.J. Wiley was in March. That’s when the prodigal chef was busy hosting a pop-up dinner called “Yelapagain” with his former employees and colleagues from Yelapa, the modern Mexican restaurant Wiley helmed to critical acclaim before departing for New York City in 2011.

But Wiley hadn’t returned to Houston to only serve pop-up dinners, nor to resurrect Yelapa — which closed in October 2011, not long after Wiley left.

He’d come back to Houston to sling tacos. From a truck.

But as many mobile food unit operators will tell you, finding the perfect truck — one that runs, one that’s reliable, one that has enough room, maybe even one that has its medallions already and can go straight into service — is half the battle.

“I turned down a truck a few days ago,” Wiley told me as he served up dishes at the Yelapagain dinner that night at Kitchen Incubator. The dinner’s purpose was dual-pronged: to let Houston know that Wiley was back and to test out some of the tacos he was considering for his truck’s menu.

Wiley’s cooking on board Taco Nuts is a streamlined version of the food he made at Yelapa.

“There will be a main menu of tacos flanked by other dishes,” Wiley explained. And while he still wasn’t sure what those other dishes would be back in March, he’s got it all sorted out now.

WIley’s truck, Taco Nuts, hit the streets last week for the first time – full menu and all.

After taking a few of Pi Pizza Truck’s shifts for practice, Taco Nuts was at Grand Prize Bar every night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. starting last Thursday. As promised, the menu offers several tacos, but Wiley couldn’t stop there.

The truck is the first I’ve seen to offer either chips and salsa or chips and queso (although they’re not complimentary, as they’d be at a restaurant). And Taco Nuts also offers burritos and “nachos chilaquiles” like Los Huevos del Ranchero, which sees tortilla chips topped with braised brisket, red salsa, ranch-style beans, green chile queso, cilantro, ghost pepper aioli and a poached egg.

As with the burritos portion of the menu, Wiley is offering four different takes on the classic food truck dish. One contains tomatillo-braised chicken with roasted corn, crema and a mango-habanero salsa, while another is fully vegetarian. But vegetarian here doesn’t mean boring: the roasted tomatoes and avocado taco also contains Fritos and a spicy lime aioli.

In one way, the food that Wiley is serving at Taco Nuts is an extension of the complex, layered, occasionally over-the-top food he made at Yelapa — food that may have been critically acclaimed but was also divisive in the context of a broader audience.

In another, more important way, the food at Taco Nuts is a new chapter entirely. Wiley has learned from the time spent at the modern Mexican restaurant and has streamlined the dishes, fine-tuned his ingredients and ensured along the way that Taco Nuts can offer what Yelapa didn’t: food that wows any audience.

Follow Taco Nuts on Twitter to find out where Wiley will be parking this week.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2013/05/taco_nuts_lj_wileys_new_taco_t.php

Stop chasing food trucks all over town and head to the 2013 Food Truck Fest Houston on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at Stereo Live from 1pm to 5pm.

For one day only, many amazing food trucks from around Houston, Texas and parts unknown will gather at Stereo Live, offering delicious flavors and tastes, accompanied by live music and drinks. Come by and support your local, independent favorites.

Food truck vendor offerings include the gourmet fixings of Bernie’s Burger Bus; the sumptuous American comfort food of Fraîche Mobile Kitchen; the truffles and custom chocolates of Chocolat d’Arte; the Korean-Mexican barbecue of Chi’Lantro BBQ; the Texas-made franks of Good Dog Hot Dogs; the Korean-influences cheesesteaks and hot dogs of Koagie Hots; the Thai-Mexican fusion of Pho-Jita Fusion; the gourmet sushi-inspired experience of Muiishi Makirritos; the surf, turf and vegetarian pita pocket options of Pocket To Me; the classic grilled cheese sandwiches of The Golden Grill;  authentic tacos and Mexican food at Tila’s Taco Truck; and the gourmet waffle and waffle-related treated of The Waffle Bus.

Tickets start at $20, though you can get discounted $10 tickets if you buy at least four. Or for a limited time, you can get two-for-one for $20 from LivingSocial.

VIP tickets include access to VIP-Only covered seating patio, unlimited soda and water, two drink tickets, VIP-only restrooms, and VIP-only bars. Tickets normally sell for $48, but you can get those VIP passes for $26 for a limited time from Groupon.

The 2013 Food Truck Fest Houston will be held rain or shine. Food purchases are additional. Children 12 and younger are free.

2013 Food Truck Fest Houston

Date and Time: Saturday, May 18, 2013; 1pm to 5pm (starts at noon for VIP ticket holders)

Address: Stereo Live, 6400 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77057

Admission: Tickets are $20 per person; $10  per person if you’re buying at least four; and $48 for VIP admission; for a limited time you can get full VIP admission for just $26 via Groupon and two tickets for $20 from LivingSocial.

http://365thingsinhouston.com/2013/04/24/houston-food-truck-fest-2013/

Fraîche Mobile Kitchen is a combined effort of two professional chefs. Owner and professional pastry chef Kristen Schafbuch and Chef Balmore Gomez (whose background includes specializing in curing meats, making sausages, rubs and sauces).

http://houstonfoodtruckfest.com/food-trucks/fraiche-mobile-kitchen/

Chef Rishi Singh created a foie gras-topped flat bread at Boheme. Photo: Spike Johnson, Freelance / Houston Chronicle

It never ceases to amaze what comes out of the mobile kitchen parked behind Boheme.

In his makeshift kitchen, chef Rishi Singh produces some of the city’s most interesting – and tastiest – pizzas.

The Montrose wine bar offers nearly two dozen imaginative lavash-style pizzas. Singh is a master of fusion. He frequently subs concoctions, such as Korean-inspired barbecue sauce or a nutty Middle Eastern-style pepper spread, for tomato sauce.

His latest pizza is all about indulgence. The flatbread is topped with tomato sauced, foie gras, arugula, Mongolian onions, rosemary, mozzarella and honey. The pizza will set you back $33. (We said it was all about indulgence.)

Rishi Singh, Executive Chef of Boheme’s kitchen, a food truck that sits at the entrance of the bar, on Monday, April 1st, 2013 in Houston, Texas. Photo: Spike Johnson, Freelance / Houston Chronicle

If that’s a little rich for your blood, may we suggest the Dutchie ($16), with its sciracha-spiked tomato sauce, pancetta and fresh basil or the Tart Goat & Greens ($16), a garlicky pizza with goat cheese, cranberry, roasted tomato and arugula.

(Boheme: 307 Fairview, 713-529-1099. Opens at 4 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 3 p.m. Fridays and noon Saturdays-Sundays. Happy hour: all day Sundays-Mondays and 4-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays)

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants/article/Top-this-foie-gras-pizza-at-Boheme-4423907.php#photo-4449615

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt
Kimchi ramen with katsu chicken at Miso Yummy.

While half the city was gorging themselves on ramen at Goro & Gun this weekend, I lucked upon a less crowded spot to slurp noodles: the front patio of Inversion Coffee House, where brand-new food truck Miso Yummy was parked only a few feet away. (Full disclosure: I ended up eating ramen at Goro & Gun later that night, too.)

The new food truck is capitalizing on more than just the ramen craze that’s hit Houston like a tsunami (still too soon?): It’s also the third place in a week where I’ve eaten a dish based around Cheetos. To be fair, the first spot – Poppa Burger – has been serving its signature Bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Topped with Stadium Cheese for a few years now. But between the Cheeto-christened macaroni and cheese I had at Hollister Grill and the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto-filled Seoul Hot roll at Miso Yummy this weekend, I’m calling it a trend.

Seoul disappointing.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t that taken with the Seoul Hot roll. It was all talk and no game, and I’m glad to have split it between two other people. I didn’t need more than two bites to realize that the gimmicky ingredients — including an unnecessary flood of jalapeño-flecked queso across the top of the two rolls — were just that. I’m told that Crave Sushi in Midtown has long offered a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto roll of its own — which its fans claim is actually very good — but now I’m less eager to try it than ever.

On the bright side, the kimchi ramen was delicious. Splitting that between three people was a mistake. Although the soup was certainly large enough to go around, we all fought over its various components: dark green sheaths of spinach, a perfectly poached egg, a thicket of curly, chewy noodles and katsu (Japanese breaded-and-fried) chicken. I was surprised by how well chunks of fried chicken worked in the broth, its breading soaking up the spicy-sour flavor of kimchi and adding an extra dimension to the chicken underneath.

In fact, my only complaint — and this is a minor quibble — is that the soup wasn’t really ramen. It was more like kimchi jjigae, a spicy Korean stew, with ramen noodles and a few other accouterments tossed in. That said, I don’t care too much what Miso Yummy wants to call it as long as the truck keeps serving it. I’m a sucker for both sundubu jjigae and kimchi jjigae. All the better if it involves chewy noodles and a poached egg.

 Not being a ramen purist helped my enjoyment of the soup, too. I don’t know that Houston is a city capable of being purist-minded about anything. This is the place where Cajun food is co-opted and adapted by Vietnamese, Japanese by Chinese, Mex by Tex. Hoping for something pure and unmuddied from the Bayou City is akin to hoping that Texans will one day pronounce words like Refugio and Brazos correctly.

I’ve seen a lot of ramen ideologues disappointed in the first few days of Goro & Gun’s service – most of them on Yelp. Self-described “ramen enthusiasts” are having a field daytelling the rest of the Internet how inauthentic Goro & Gun’s tonkotsu ramen is, challenging that “Maruchan packet ramen is better” and advising the days-old restaurant to “[c]lose down, hire new (Japanese chefs) and start over.”

All I can say is that those same people probably ought to steer clear of Miso Yummy as well, for fear of sullying their pure-minded ramen experiences with some hybrid mutt soup. Which leaves more for me.

http://www.mobilefoodnews.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

HOUSTON, TX – They say you can serve just about anything in a food truck. The more exotic, the better. And for the guys running Houston’s Miso Yummy, the sushi rolls roll with the times.

“This one has shrimp tempura, Cheetos and imitation crab,” says owner Andy Do while making one of their special rolls.

But not just anybody can put Cheetos on a sushi roll and push ‘em out the window as fast as these guys do. It takes a special kind of experience.

Chew on This: Andy Do owned his own restaurant for six years, but that was before the economy ‘rolled’ into the tank back in 2009.

“The business kept going down, kept going down,’ Do explains, ‘so I eventually just tried to sell the business, make as much as I could before I had to foreclose the storefront.”

The truck is his way of getting back in the game, along with partner Seoul Trinh.

“This is kind of new for me,’ Do says, ‘so we’re just trying to get our feet wet right now.”

Experimenting with flavors and doing what they love most.

“We just play with it and you know it went well and taste pretty good so we put it on the menu.”

On the menu, and on the road to their economic recovery one roll, we mean, one mile at a time.

Read more: http://newsfixnow.com/2013/03/08/menu-fit-for-the-hip-food-truck-scene/#ixzz2Mziq6jU1
Read more at http://newsfixnow.com/2013/03/08/menu-fit-for-the-hip-food-truck-scene/#cWrUrdTPeuOu7weX.99

http://newsfixnow.com/2013/03/08/menu-fit-for-the-hip-food-truck-scene/

One of the participants this March
Credits: courtesy of Debra Ford

The Haute Wheels food truck festival is back for its third year. It will be held earlier, and hopefully in a more temperate fashion this time, the weekend of March 23-24. It has generated big crowds in each of the last couple of years. Now in its third year, it should be running much more smoothly, and the long lines of the inaugural event a distant memory.

Haute Wheels will be held at the HCC Southwest West Loop Campus, 5601 West Loop South – which is south of the Southwest Freeway – on Saturday, March 23, from noon to 5PM, and Sunday, March 24, from noon to 5PM. There will be bands, and arts and crafts vendors, and a beer and wine garden.

There are expected to be thirty-five food trucks, more than in the previous years. These trucks currently include: Angie’s Cake, Bare Bowls Kitchen, Bernie’s Burger Bus, Big Daddy Z’s, Chi’lantro BBQ, Chocolate d’Arte, Coney Cruiser, Coreanos, Custom Confections, Firehouse Tacos, Fraiche, Frosted Betty, Fork in the Road,Fusion Taco, Golden Grill, Good Dog,Happy Endings, H-town StrEATS, It’s a Wrap, Katfish Kitchen, Kona Ice, Kurbside Eatz, Ladybird, L’Es-Car-Go, The Lunch Bag, MMM Cupcakes, Monster PBJ, NOLA’S Creole2Geaux, Oh My Gogi, Phamily Bites, Pi Pizza Pocket to Me,, Porch Swing Desserts, St. John’s Fire, Snow Angels, Snowdog Ice Cream, StickIt Food Truck, Soul Cat Cuisine, The Waffle Bus, and ZeaPod Cakery.

The beer and wine garden is sponsored by H-E-B, and will have wines and beers from the following producers and brands: Alaskan Brewing Co., Alexander Valley Vineyards, Blue Moon, Fetzer Vineyards, Freixenet, Karbach Brewing Company Leinenkugel’s, Real Ale Brewing Company and Saint Arnold.

Tickets are $16 for adults. This includes $5 worth of drink tickets, and $1 of ticket price is earmarked as a donation to the HCC Foundation. Children 12 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hautewheelshouston.com. To note, there is a $1.87 fee per ticket when purchased on-line.

http://www.examiner.com/article/food-truck-fest-returns-march-23-24