Yesterday's Artcycle was very laid back --no crowds, no long lines, no headaches -- so we had plenty of time to do one of my favorite things: chat it up with our fellow food truckers! No one else can truly understand the long hours and tough work that goes into running a mobile eatery, so the camaraderie is wonderful.Right next to us at the event were Vince of Vesuvio, who gave me the lowdown on their savory (and labor-intensive) arancini (i.e., rice balls). Knowing how much work goes into those molten cheese-filled nuggets makes me appreciate them even more! Also nearby were the always friendly YL and Chrissy of Kabob N Roll, serving up their fresh hummus and other Mediterranean yummies.
Other fun-to-yak-with-folks included Gabe of The Flying Pig with his foodie crew, Sumant of India Jones truck, Leena with the Dosa Truck and Alex of the Dim Sum truck. I also ran into Josh of the Greasy Wiener, a new truck that deep fries their dogs (they have a great snap to them... and we love anything fried)! Gigi and Ryan of Buttermilk couldn't bring their truck out, but they came by anyway to get some grub and visit. Expect a co-event with both of us in early April!
Later in the evening we headed south and chatted it up with the congenial Chris of the Slice Truck. He's a great guy and makes one saucy thin crust! We also met the crew of The Patty Wagon. We love meeting other business owners who care about how food is raised. Matt and Jeff source the beef for their mini burgers from Idaho where the cattle graze on grass -- you can taste it!
Our hero of the day, however, was Max with the Tasty Meat truck (see the picture link to their robot event above). I didn't listen to my pop's advice about getting new batteries (all this truck maintenance stuff adds up!), and our truck wouldn't start during staging. Max was there in a second with some jumper cables, figuring out how to jump-start our dual-battery diesel. You're my hero, Max (and thanks for the extra forks)!








