Recession drives U.S. restaurateurs, diners to trucks

Reuters ^ | 090609 | Laura Isensee

[Artemis Webb]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Every Thursday night, Lonnie Bishop and Lisa Case have a dinner date. For $5 each, the couple dines on fancy hot dogs served from a food truck parked outside their favorite wine shop in Los Angeles.

The fire engine-red truck labeled "Let's be Frank" is part of a growing fleet of mobile food vendors that serve tasty and inventive fare, often organic.

The trend has drawn entrepreneurs looking for opportunities in the recession and diners seeking cheap eats.

The new vehicles raise the bar from the traditional "taco trucks" that sell mainly Mexican fare at construction sites and in neighborhoods in U.S. cities with big Latino populations.

Their menus are wildly different, attracting adventurous foodies with unusual items: tacos filled with Korean-style barbecued meat, vegan burgers, sushi, cupcakes, and architecturally inspired ice cream sandwiches.

"I've eaten all over the world in three-star restaurants. I enjoy this as much as I enjoy anything and I save a lot of money," said Bishop, 46, holding a bun-wrapped sausage made from family-farmed pork and topped with pickles.

[Artemis Webb]

[domenad]

ROACH COACH! COMIN ATCHA!

[Artemis Webb]

I live in a city of just over 150,000 people. One thing I wish we had here is this type of food offerings.

[JRandomFreeper]

Have knives, will travel. For a fee, I will be happy to cook interesting food for you. I'll be doing tapas in Las Vegas New Mexico next week.

/johnny

[SIDENET]

The new vehicles raise the bar from the traditional "taco trucks" that sell mainly Mexican fare at construction sites and in neighborhoods in U.S. cities with big Latino populations.

Just for the record, taco trucks usually have awesome food.

[vikzilla]

just a little Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, and Guy Fiery influence. I love it.Bourdain has the best job ever.

[CTOCS]

Okay.

I’ve got $20K. You got $20K???

Let’s do it...

[PapaBear3625]

When I was working in Philly, I would generally get lunch from one of the street carts. They get the same inspections from the health inspectors that the restaurants get, and are probably cleaner since they don’t have a big budget for bribes.

[Frantzie]

“Korean-style barbecued meat” aka local cats.

This looks a bit like LA portrayed in the movie Blade Runner.

[GoRepGo]

The new vehicles raise the bar from the traditional "taco trucks" that sell mainly Mexican fare at construction sites and in neighborhoods in U.S. cities with big Latino populations. Just for the record, taco trucks usually have awesome food.

But the overall lack of adequate hygeine makes you wonder if you might also walk away with a case of Hep C

[Artemis Webb]

Bourdain and Fiery are awesome.

Zimmern I’ll take a pass on though. I’m not into seeing somebody eat for the sake of a gross out.

[Clemenza]

The Egyptians and Turks in my area have Doner Kebab trucks that provide a filling meal at $3-$4. I don’t trust the ones run by the Banglasdeshis in Manhattan, however. Rat meat doesn’t look too appetizing.

[Fido969]

dines on fancy hot dogs served from a food truck parked outside their favorite wine shop in Los Angeles.

That how I used to live when I was an alcoholic.

Gosh, I was born too early. Now it's chic.

[Artemis Webb]

Very doubtful I can make that trip. My regrets.

But no FReeper discount? :)

[Drew68]

The new vehicles raise the bar from the traditional "taco trucks" that sell mainly Mexican fare at construction sites and in neighborhoods in U.S. cities with big Latino populations.

We have a couple Mexican-operated "taco trucks" (well, "roach coaches") that make the rounds here on Naval Air Station North Island. Best damn carnitas burritos I've ever had! I just don't know how they make them so tasty! There's a driver in the front and a cook in the back working a grill and a deep fryer. I wonder how profitable these things are?

And, no, I've never gotten so much as an upset stomach from eating the food.

[DieHard the Hunter]

There’s nothing nicer than a Beef or Lamb Doner Kebab in a pita roll from a Turkish shop. The US$4 price tag is about right — they run about NZ$7 here, which is roughly equivalent.

You can eat Kababs all day and not put on an ounce of weight. They’re probably my favorite fast food.

When Curtis Sliwa visited Auckland I introduced him to the local Kebabs, as we consider them to be genuine New Zealand tucker, due to ANZAC / Gallipoli experience that we share with the Turks.

Anyrate, he decided that he liked them, and found a Kebab shop that was local to his hotel and open all hours. As often as not, that’s what he ate morning, noon and nite.

[SIDENET]

But the overall lack of adequate hygeine makes you wonder if you might also walk away with a case of Hep C

I've always had good luck with them. The ones I've seen are usually squeaky clean inside. I like to search out little "mom and pop" Mexican restaurants in the barrio, too. They're usually so clean that you could practically eat off the floor. I've never had food poisoning from either a taco truck or a mom and pop Mexican restaurant.