Dec 3, 2012

Kim Rivers

Food Truck Race rolling into Xenia

Downtown Xenia just might resemble the set of a competition on Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race this Saturday.

Five mobile food vendors, including Dayton-based Fressa Truck , will sell hot grub and drinks from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. during downtown Xenia’s 2012 Hometown Christmas.

Festivities also include a visit from Santa, carriage rides and music.

A dinning area – Santa’s Bistro – will be set up inside of the recently refurbished Toward Independence, Inc. at 87 E. Main Street, Mary Crockett , Xenia’s community and downtown coordinator, told the Dayton Daily News.

The following food trucks, most based in Columbus, plan to participate:

The Paddy Wagon – “culinary justice” one at a time with their Angus brisket on a hoagie and tortilla wraps.

Street Thyme – gourmet burgers and premium toppings.

Dayton’s Fressa Truck – “modern comfort food with a twist.”

The Mobile Cupcakery “the absolute best cupcakes anywhere everywhere!”

Pedal to the Metal EXspresso – “a mobile coffee house catering service.”

Visit www.xenianow.org or contact volunteer Chair of this year’s Hometown Christmas, Tim Sontag, at shop@xeniashoe.com, or call the Xenia Development Department at (937) 372-6389 for more information.

Admit It When You Don’t Know About Something

Through pure necessity food truck owners wear a lot of hats. The problem is that many of these mobile food vendors are afraid to utter things like: “I don’t know,” “Would you help me?” or “I’m not sure I get it.”

Failing to admit when you make a mistake or lack knowledge makes you less effective as a small business owner. When you pretend to know everything about the mobile food industry and the topics related to it, you miss opportunities to learn. And if you try to hide your ignorance or your errors, you can lose your employees or even your customers trust. They know when you don’t know something or make an error. Fess up when you’re in one of those situations. Acknowledge your own limitations so others can do the same. And when you need it, ask for help and be open to learning.

Best food trucks in America 2012

Once the purview of immigrant cooks, food trucks are now often art-designed and run by culinary school grads, celebrity chefs, and even aspiring stars with no culinary cred. Their quirky names pun on sexual innuendo, they serve food (often fusion) to go, they’ve lowered the financial bar for becoming a restaurateur, and have helped make the everyman and woman, critics. A year ago, editorial pushback on the trend indicated a peak. Instead, it increased twofold over the past two years in cities like St. Louis and Boston, while on tested asphalt in Los Angeles and New York, its presence strengthened; Restaurant Reporter approximated that there were more than 6,000 food trucks in Los Angeles County alone as of 2011. No, food trucks are here to stay, many serving terrific grub — enough to merit determining America’s best.

How does the popularity of food trucks break down by the numbers? According to Smart Money, trucks accounted for 37 percent of the $1.4 billion in street vending revenue nationwide last year — a 15 percent increase over the past five years. That revenue uptick was not without obstacle; the same report noted that according to the Food and Drug Administration, more than 2,000 different state and local agencies in America are responsible for inspecting food trucks.

There’s quite a bit that trucks have to overcome. New Orleans, for example, requires mobile food vendors to change locations after 45 minutes in one spot. Among other restrictions, Chicago’s food trucks have had to fight to cook onboard, Washington, D.C.’s are technically supposed to vacate once their line of clients clears, LA’s have to park within 200 feet of a bathroom where workers can wash hands, New York’s got booted from Midtown, and in cities like Atlanta and Austin, where trucks have largely been relegated to group parks, even those sometimes face shutdown.

Other obstacles are brick-and-mortar establishments, who claim trucks feed on their customers. You’d think they could coexist, but let’s offer three points:

• Competition breeds better restaurants. Worried about competition? Don’t lower prices. Create better food and service. You have a roof, a walk-in, and a staff. Shouldn’t you be able to do this?
• Make customers feel more valued or that they’re getting more value.
• Having walls doesn’t entitle you to business.

And hey, trucks pull their weight. As Gourmet noted, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, taco trucks sprang up in NOLA “providing sustenance for New Orleanians who were too busy rebuilding their businesses, homes, and lives to cook, and for the influx of Mexican immigrants who came to fill the huge need for construction labor.” And in New York City, the food truck association sent an armada of them to donate food in different parts of blacked-out Manhattan and the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy. And their popularity is only going to continue to grow as they mainstream with shows like Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race and food truck events at festivals in South Beach and New York City crowning event winners.

Organizations like The Street Vendor Project have expanded from New York City to Philadelphia and Los Angeles, establishing a somewhat incomplete hierarchy with awards like the Vendy’s. But surprisingly, nobody’s established a concrete ranking with much foundation. There have been best lists, of course, roundups highlighting a handful of trucks in individual cities, and a few scattered nationally. These are good places to begin. They feature innovative cuisines and showmanship of some special trucks. But they don’t tell the whole story, often include street carts, aren’t that geographically diverse, and for the most part, don’t indicate much in the way of methodology.

So who should be counted among America’s best food trucks?

To come up with a comprehensive pool of candidates we canvassed more than 30 cities, seeking out some 300 street vendors. To those we added staff favorites, and any trucks not already included that have been singled out for praise by organizations, and national and local publications, both in print and online.

First, a few notes. This is a list of food trucks. Only trucks were considered. If it was a trailer, or a cart, if it needed something to pull, drag, push, or carry it, if it wasn’t on at least four wheels and didn’t have the ability to move on its own power from parking ticket to parking spot, it was omitted. Sorry, Pizza Moto. That means you, Grillwalker types. Apologies, Portland’s street food scene. You may serve great street food. You probably even deserve a list. But you’re not food trucks.

Also, this is a list of food trucks. While a few dessert trucks ranked, they were the exceptions. If you just make cupcakes or serve coffee, you’re not a food truck — you’re a cupcake truck, or a coffee truck. That doesn’t mean you’re bad people. Nobody disputes the challenges of creating innovative desserts for mobile distribution, but with rare exception it didn’t seem fair to include trucks serving shaved ice, slushies, and ice cream with those doing full savory menus. You’re beloved during summer, but for these purposes? Discounted. The same went, mostly, for an integral component of the business model: social media. Not engaged with Twitter, or at least Facebook? Gonzo.

These factors eliminated quite a few contenders. Even so, it left at least a good 270 food trucks for consideration. These were judged on four criteria: popularity, critical review, social score, and originality.

We consulted popular review sites and tallied reviews and critical appraisal. We analyzed trucks’ number of followers and in cases where there wasn’t a Twitter presence, considered visibility on Facebook. For originality, we examined menu innovation, concept, concept relative to inception (to wit, Asian tacos have become about as original as truffle oil fries, or a beet and goat cheese salad), and how that all might play into geography.

What did we discover? The best of the best. How did they rank? You’ll have to peruse the list, or watch the slideshow for specifics, but it’s interesting to note that Kogi’s birthplace of Los Angeles lead all cities with 18 trucks. San Francisco, New York, and D.C. were runners-up with 13, 11, and eight respectively. Asian fusion, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, and lobster, were predictable leaders, but there are some impressive chef-y menus, too.

From sexy babes serving gooey cheese-covered medium-rare burgers amongst palm trees and silicone to faux-mustachioed and turbaned Fojol brothers from mythical lands serving butter chicken to those walking the corridors of power, here’s the definitive list of the 101 Best Food Trucks in America for 2012, any of which we’d be thrilled to wait in line at for a meal worthy of eating standing up.

101 Best Food Trucks in America 2012

#101 Ebbett’s Good to Go (San Francisco)
#100 Happy Grillmore (Seattle)
#99 Pot Kettle Blac (Charleston, S.C.)
#98 The Slide Ride (Chicago)
#97 Tokyo Crêpes (Charleston, S.C.)
#96 Seoul Taco (St. Louis)
#95 Bloomy’s Roast Beef (Twin Cities)
#94 Cucina Zapata (Philadelphia)
#93 Hello My Name is BB (Charleston, S.C.)
#92 Vellee Deli (Twin Cities)
#91 Momogoose (Boston)
#90 Sushi Fix (Twin Cities)
#89 Empanada Intifada (New Orleans)
#88 Seoul Sausage (Los Angeles)
#87 Iyanzé aka “The African Truck” (Chicago)
#86 Foodie Call (New Orleans)
#85 The People’s Pig (Portland, Ore.)
#84 Curbside Cravings (Los Angeles)
#83 Cha Cha Chow (St. Louis)
#82 Tacos El Asadero (Seattle)
#81 El Norteño (San Francisco)
#80 CapMac (Washington, D.C.)
#79 Tasty Kabob (Washington, D.C.)
#78 South Philly Experience (Los Angeles)
#77 Solber Pupusas (New York City)
#76 Liba Falafel Truck (San Francsico)
#75 Souvlaki GR (New York City)
#74 Ms. Cheezious Fresh Made Grilled Cheese (Miami)
#73 Streetza (Milwaukee, Wis.)
#72 The Peached Tortilla (Austin)
#71 Rancho Bravo Tacos (Seattle)
#70 Basic Kneads Pizza (Denver)
#69 Marination Mobile (Seattle)
#68 The Eatsie Boys (Houston)
#67 Scratch Truck (Indianapolis)
#66 Diggity Donuts/Little Blue Brunch Truc (Charleston, S.C.)
#65 Rib Whip (San Francisco)
#64 KoJa Kitchen (San Francisco)
#63 Riffs Fine Street Food (Nashville, Tenn.)
#62 Kung Fu Tacos (San Francisco)
#61 The Southern Mac Cheese Truck (Chicago)
#60 Lucky Old Souls (Philadelphia)
#59 The Big Cheese (Washington, D.C.)
#58 Oh My Gogi! BBQ (Houston)
#57 Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs (Denver)
#56 JapaCurry (San Francisco)
#55 Taim Mobile (New York City)
#54 The Mighty Cone (Austin)
#53 DC Slice (Washington, D.C.)
#52 5411 Empanadas (Chicago)
#51 Jefe’s Original Fish Taco Burgers (Miami)
#50 Dim Ssäm à gogo by Sakaya Kitche (Miami)
#49 Pepe Food Truck (Washington, D.C.)
#48 Cêpes Bonaparte (Los Angeles)
#47 The Grilled Cheeserie (Nashville, Tenn.)
#46 El Camión (Seattle)
#45 Fivetenburger (Oakland, Calif.)
#44 Vizzi Truck (Los Angeles)
#43 Komodo Truck (Los Angeles)
#42 Nom Nom Truck (Los Angeles)
#41 Luke’s Lobster (New York City)
#40 Señor Sisig (San Francisco)
#39 Clover Food Truck (Boston)
#38 Food Shark (Marfa, Texas)
#37 Country Boys/Martinez Taco (New York City)
#36 Fry Smith (Los Angeles)
#35 Coreanos (Austin)
#34 Staff Meal (Boston)
#33 Lobsta Truck (Los Angeles)
#32 Smack Shack (Minneapolis)
#31 Guerrilla Street Food (St. Louis)

Click here to see the rest of the 101 best food trucks in America

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Del Mar could face lawsuit for halting food truck expansion

DEL MAR — City Council adopted an urgency ordinance at the Nov. 19 meeting that places a temporary moratorium on issuing business licenses to food trucks, a move that could potentially end the Wednesday night gatherings and result in a lawsuit, the event organizer said.

“If a moratorium is going to be put on the food trucks in terms of issuing new business licenses, we see that as a ban to food trucks, which goes directly against state code, and we’ll immediately take legal action,” said Christian Murcia, who in addition to starting the event owns two of the six trucks that currently hold business licenses to operate in Del Mar.

He said attorneys for the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association were made aware of the council decision the following day “and they will be contacting the city.”

“If this ordinance is passed I can probably see that the food truck gathering may not continue through the wintertime,” Murcia added.

Right after the Wednesday night gatherings began Oct. 10 in the Seagrove parking lot at 1601 Coast Blvd., city staff received emails and phone calls asking about the legality of the event and raising concerns about everything from competition with existing restaurants to impacts on public safety.

As a result, at the Oct. 22 meeting, council members directed the city attorney to develop an urgency ordinance.

In the interim, staff asked restaurant operators in the city for “any quantifiable information on business trends that have been noticed in their restaurants since the … food truck event began.” Four responded.

The general manager of Jake’s, which is across the street from the parking lot, noted a 15 percent decline in business since the food trucks arrived.

Tom Ranglas from Poseidon, also across the street from the event, said it was hard to determine the effects during the winter months but he expected a decline in the summer at the restaurant and snack bar.

Daniel Schreiber from Del Mar Rendezvous also said it was difficult right now to determine any loss in sales.

Dan Sbicca, owner of the eponymous restaurant, didn’t cite sales numbers but said he, like his colleagues, didn’t support the event.

City Attorney Leslie Devaney said state law precludes cities from banning the trucks because they may add competition to brick-and-mortar establishments.

Council members at the November meeting said they adopted the 45-day maximum moratorium to give staff more time to study the public safety issues such as restroom availability, parking, lighting, noise, odors, trash and pedestrian safety.

They also said they would like to develop regulations for all outdoor mobile vending services, including those that sell clothing or offer games for birthday parties, because it is a growing business trend nationwide.

Murcia said after reading the staff report, the focus seemed to be more about unfair competition to local restaurants, but he doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t feel we’re in local competition,” he said. “It’s a completely different demographic that we’re appealing to. The trucks that are there aren’t making money anyway.”

Although six trucks are licensed to operate, not all have shown up other than for the first event. Murcia said he tried to attract new truck owners but they are hesitant to spend money on a business license that will expire at the end of December.

He also noted that because the licenses expire in about five weeks, with the 45-day moratorium no trucks will be authorized to do business after Jan. 1.

“I don’t think we’ll get a good idea of what the food truck gathering will be like,” he said.

Murcia also submitted to the city a report from the Institute for Justice that outlined seven myths about food trucks, which included a finding that they actually help rather than hurt local businesses.

Murcia also said many of the public safety issues raised are already covered by city laws.

Councilman Terry Sinnott disagreed. “(This) is so new to the community that our existing ordinances … may not apply,” he said.

The city is also considering an impact fee to cover expenses such as trash pickup and public restroom use for truck patrons.

The only person other than Murcia to address council was Councilman-elect Al Corti.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea in Del Mar,” he said. “It also schlocks up the beach.” He said the city should take the time now to examine the impacts before the business grows.

“You may find out in the summer there’s 20 trucks down there,” he said.

Murcia said he didn’t expect to be there in the summer months. “We were specifically approached to extract money for the parking lot owners during the offseason,” he said.

The moratorium could be extended for up to one year but Devaney said she didn’t recommend doing that.

“I would really encourage us not to overregulate,” Sinnott said. “We can’t address competition. That’s not our role.” He added the city is responsible for ensuring the trucks are operating safely.

Councilman Mark Filanc said trash and restroom use are probably the two major issues.

Opinion: Food truck fad should be allowed to drive into El Segundo

El Segundo needs to seize its chance on Tuesday to become one of the last South Bay cities to finally embrace the region’s growing fascination with food trucks, or run the risk of a nasty lawsuit.

The El Segundo City Council is poised to consider whether to rescind an onerous ordinance that places a strict 10-minute limit on mobile kitchens parked on city streets. The rule has been around since 1967, but amounts to an outright ban because it doesn’t give vendors enough time to set up, cook and serve customers.

The restrictive regulation has created a food fight of sorts between El Segundo and the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association, which has tried to help cities across the region update codes so that food trucks can park and do business within a reasonable amount of time.

In most cases, these aren’t your father’s route trucks — known more commonly as “roach coaches.” These trendy eateries on wheels usually serve menus of gourmet meals such as pork belly rolls, short rib tacos, chicken and waffles and other tasty goodies-on-the-go.

El Segundo was named one of the region’s most business-friendly cities in 2006 by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The City Council needs to maintain that reputation by dumping an outdated law that prevents small business owners from thriving while keeping its residents from getting hip to a

new food fad.

– Opinion staff

Jacksonville discusses food truck rules (updated with City Council session)

slideshow

JACKSONVILLE — Food trucks won’t be setting up all over town any time soon.

In its first public discussion of whether or how to allow mobile food vendors to operate within the city limits, the Jacksonville City Council leaned toward only doing so for special events.

Food trucks are booming in larger cities such as Atlanta, and local vendors have been inquiring about how to set up shop in Jacksonville. But city officials have been uncertain how to handle the requests — which building inspector Mark Williams said last week, “come in spurts — we may have three this week and then we may have none for a long time.” Since he took over as building inspector in 2007, he estimates he’s had at least 20 requests to operate within the city.

One such request came from Hillyer Stevenson, who is interested in setting up to serve hot chocolate and other goodies at the city’s Christmas Parade. She told the council Monday night that she only operates at special events such as last month’s Oxfordfest.

Stevenson said she would steer clear of the brick-and-mortar businesses on the square.

“That’s just me though; everybody’s not going to be like that,” she said.

Tyler Marbut of Cecil’s told the council members that on a daily basis, “it’s already slim pickins in Jacksonville” for the number of restaurants lining Alabama 21. But if limited to certain instances, he saw no problem with allowing trucks. “For special events,” he said, “I’d like to get in on that.”

Williams presented the council members with a draft ordinance — a starting point, he said — for them to begin their discussion that would establish a permit for mobile food trucks to conduct business in Jacksonville. But at its work session Monday, the council charged Williams and a yet-to-be named committee of business owners and other interested parties with drafting a new form of the ordinance that would allow mobile food vendors to set up in the city during special events only.

Food trucks have in recent years become popular with customers and with foodie entrepreneurs attracted to the idea of being able to prepare and sell food with lower overhead cost and without being tied to a specific location. That way, they can follow customers to wherever they happen to be hungry.

Many rely on social media to let their fans know where to find their favored fare. The trend has spawned Food Network show The Great Food Truck Race; in its latest season, aspiring entrepreneurs competed in such Southern cities as Fayetteville, Ark., and Nashville to win prize money and their own food truck.

As the food truck invasion has hit Alabama, some local governments have looked to regulate the vehicles. Birmingham officials have been working on such an ordinance for months.

Historically, said Williams, Jacksonville has operated with the understanding that there were no regulations governing food trucks and thus no procedure for authorizing them.

But recently, he said, it was brought to the city’s attention that the code does govern food carts, whose definition includes the mobile food trucks.

State law governs the health and safety requirements for food trucks and requires approval from the County Health Department for their operation.

Greg Stay of Smoke-N-Hot BBQ said his truck is welcomed in most cities locally, but aside from one church event, has not been able to operate in Jacksonville.

“Oxford has opened up their arms to us,” he said. He frequently operates in the parking lots of the city’s retail establishments such as Best Buy. “They call us and ask us to come to try to bring local businesses customers,” he said. The relationships are mutually beneficial, he said, often bringing new customers to each.

In a mobile business such as his, Stay has to keep track of sales tax in each municipality, charging each day based on where he parks. He estimates that with his truck stops and catering, Smoke-N-Hot BBQ generates between $1,500 and $2,100 in sales tax each month.

College towns like Jacksonville throughout the state have taken different approaches to regulating the mobile kitchens. In Auburn and Montevallo, the cities haven’t had enough trucks to really bother with ordinances, officials say.

According to Forrest Cotton, director of planning for the city of Auburn, the city typically sees two or three food trucks operating in the city outside of Auburn University. The bulk of the trucks are regulated by the university. Officials at JSU confirmed Thursday that the university does not allow food trucks to operate on campus due to its contract with Sodexo, its food services provider.

Cotton said the food trucks that do operate in the city typically set up on property where owners have given them permission.

The city requires they have a business license to operate within the city limits and ensure they pay proper taxes, but, he said, “until folks start to complain or until we start seeing more than a few, I’m not inclined to regulate them.”

Troy takes a firmer stance on regulating the businesses. According to Diane Leveque, revenue officer for the city of Troy, food trucks must be approved by the City Council. In order to secure such approval, vendors must show written permission from the property owner where they intend to park, which must be located in a business district. If a truck wants to move to another location, she said, the vendor must go before the council with written permission from the new property owner to secure approval. The truck must also secure a business license from the city.

Food trucks are popping up at events across the region. The city of Smyrna, Ga., has gained a reputation for its Food Truck Tuesdays, a popular event that showcases one of the city’s biggest parks.

“Food Truck Tuesdays has attracted a lot of attention for the city of Smyrna regionally, which we like,” said Jennifer Bennett, community relations director for city. “It has generated a tremendous amount of community pride, too.”

With live music, room for children to play and a variety of food truck fare, the event appeals to a cross-section of the community, added Smyrna City Councilwoman Teri Anulewicz.

Bennett said the trendy food trucks have offered an opportunity for residents and those in surrounding communities to create their own jobs in a tough economy. “I see it as very American,” she said. “It helps us enjoy our community through food in a new and fun way.”

Star Staff Writer Paige Rentz: 256-235-3564. On Twitter @PRentz_Star.

Weekend Food Truck Roundup Nov 16 – 18, 2012

In our quest to keep our readers up to date with the latest stories relating to the food truck industry has compiled a list of the stories that hit the wire this weekend from Washington DC, Portland, Miami, West Hartford, Sunrise and Albuquerque.

November 16

Food Trucks Propose Buying Parking Permits to Avoid Racking Up Tickets WASHINGTON DC - Public comments on the District’s proposed food truck regulations were due Tuesday, and among the ideas submitted by the food truck lobby is one that would allow mobile food vendors to buy parking permits that would free them from the burden of having to constantly feed the meter.