Invasion of the Food Trailers

[Austin]

I don't know whether it's just an Austin phenomena or it's nationwide but I have noticed there are more and more food trailers opening for business here. Sure New York has had their food carts for years but it's almost ridiculous the amount of trailers opening for business. You can get anything from tofu to cupcakes. Steak sandwiches to vegetarian stirfry. Pizza to greek food, etc.

What about your side of the world?

 

[RF1963]

Well in Auckland there is the venerable White Lady. The White Lady is a fast food burger caravan/bus on wheels, which is towed into place by tractor every evening. It serves freshly made kiwi-style burgers – both Classic & Gourmet. The White Lady has operated since the late 1940s in downtown Auckland. I believe they have had a turnover in stock since 1940!

 

[okey]

we just get a mobile van that arrives at work selling pies and heart attack stuff and lots of energy cans. I call it the "yuck truck" ...but i do purchase occasionally.

 

[Crixus]

I don't know whether it's just an Austin phenomena or it's nationwide but I have noticed there are more and more food trailers opening for business here.

Economically, it makes sense. The lower barriers to entry allow entrepreneurs in the game without having to rely on the current bank stinginess. Your milder winters and somewhat "affluent" population makes Austin seem like an ideal location to give it a shot.

 

[wolffie]

I've been reading a lot about food trailers gaining popularity. A lot of it is the fact that a young chef can start a "restaurant" with very little money down. It also seems that the food trailers are the latest hip thing to try. Some of the new gourmet food trailers sound amazing, I just wish I could find if anything like this exists around Boston.

 

[global_dev]

I just had a memphis style dry rubbed bbq brisket sandwich from a bbq truck just outside of Georgetown in Roslyn... pretty decent and they served the mexican coca-cola in a glass bottle to boot!

 

[media]

Well in Auckland there is the venerable White Lady. The White Lady is a fast food burger caravan/bus on wheels, which is towed into place by tractor every evening. It serves freshly made kiwi-style burgers – both Classic & Gourmet.

What do you kiwis do differently with a burger? Just curious!


On another note. The kogi truck in Los Angeles is AMAZING. It's korean bbq tacos and burritos. They mix so well together. I'm going back in january and am hunting that damn thing down on the streets.

 

[stobes21]

There was a story recently in the local paper about how the trend has recently hit here and the local governments are having trouble figuring out how to license and encourage these businesses without upsetting the established brick and mortar restaurants. I haven't really seen them myself though.

 

[Austin]

Economically, it makes sense. The lower barriers to entry allow entrepreneurs in the game without having to rely on the current bank stinginess. Your milder winters and somewhat "affluent" population makes Austin seem like an ideal location to give it a shot.

Agreed. I remember back in my drinking days after the clubs closed, stopping at greasy Taco trailers for breakfast. Now they have gone upscale.

 

[instpasr]

In my neck of the woods where we need any kind of business to flourish our city leaders have seen fit to run the one person that tried this out of town. This young lady had a hot dog cart that served the downtown business / courthouse lunch crowds rumor had it that the proper "gratuities" were not paid to the proper people so they hassled the heck out of her. She moved her business and the tax revenue it generated to the next city over and last I heard is doing well.

 

[RayH]

They've been featured on FoodNetwork a few time. Diners, Drive-in and Dives have featured some of the ones in Austin and a couple of other places. Anthony Bourdain ate off of one in Oakland. Haven't seen any interesting ones here in Phoenix. Just Ralph's and Sheena. Burritos for both were ok. Won't really eat anything else off of one.

 

[_JP_]

I expect that will see more mobile food vendors around the country in the near future. There have been some TV shows featuring them and I'm sure that they have interested some entrepreneurial spirits. Mobile food vendors are picking up locally here.

 

[letterk]

Can't say I've seen any around here, but that's probably because our uptight master planned communities won't allow them.

 

[pyrrhusmj]

I don't know whether it's just an Austin phenomena or it's nationwide but I have noticed there are more and more food trailers opening for business here. Sure New York has had their food carts for years but it's almost ridiculous the amount of trailers opening for business. You can get anything from tofu to cupcakes. Steak sandwiches to vegetarian stirfry. Pizza to greek food, etc.

What about your side of the world?

I was driving near Zilker Park last friday on the way through town and noticed a ton of food trucks. Up here we have a few non-taco trucks, but not many.


Michael

 

[pyrrhusmj]

They've been featured on FoodNetwork a few time. Diners, Drive-in and Dives have featured some of the ones in Austin and a couple of other places. Anthony Bourdain ate off of one in Oakland. Haven't seen any interesting ones here in Phoenix. Just Ralph's and Sheena. Burritos for both were ok. Won't really eat anything else off of one.

They just had the Great Food Truck Challenge not too long ago. My wife and I stopped at one out of San Francisco (Spencer on the Go) that was near the MOMA in Ft. Worth. We were wondering what a french food truck was doing there with cameras all around. It was Fantastic. They did fairly well in the race.


Michael

 

[DFrancis]

Out here all we have is hotdog carts and the occasional chip wagon.

 

[furious1]

Los Angeles is the epicenter of this trend. It started with hipsters "discovering" that some of the city's best tacos came from trucks in areas just becoming gentrified--Echo Park, Highland Park, Angelino Heights. Then an entrepreneur started the Kogi truck, and now we have every kind you could imagine--from tacos to cupcakes. I was at LACMA last week and trucks lined Wilshire Blvd. for several blocks.

The trucks are so popular that traditional restaurants have protested. Last year the city tried to enact a law that prevented food trucks from parking in one location for more than an hour. This became wrapped up in the city's cultural and ethnic politics and was quickly struck down. My favorite image from the battle:

 

[Sam]

I just had a memphis style dry rubbed bbq brisket sandwich from a bbq truck just outside of Georgetown in Roslyn... pretty decent and they served the mexican coca-cola in a glass bottle to boot!

wish i could find that in memphis in a food trailer

 

[Austin]

One thing I have noticed in Austin is that fewer new restaurants are opening and more food trailers are parking. It's a shame. I enjoy exploring new restaurants with dates. I don't like sitting at a picnic table with a new date.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Los Angeles is the epicenter of this trend. It started with hipsters "discovering" that some of the city's best tacos came from trucks in areas just becoming gentrified--Echo Park, Highland Park, Angelino Heights. Then an entrepreneur started the Kogi truck, and now we have every kind you could imagine--from tacos to cupcakes. I was at LACMA last week and trucks lined Wilshire Blvd. for several blocks.

The trucks are so popular that traditional restaurants have protested. Last year the city tried to enact a law that prevented food trucks from parking in one location for more than an hour. This became wrapped up in the city's cultural and ethnic politics and was quickly struck down. My favorite image from the battle:

Pretty much ditto for San Francisco - the hottest trucks will tweet their location every day, and people will line up around the corner for lunch.