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Training wheels
The next phase of the food truck revolution: restaurants (and menus) that are here to stay By Brock Radke | Photography Christopher Smith
Something crazy happened in Las Vegas in the spring of 2010 — something organic, hopeful and real amid rising unemployment and foreclosure rates and an all-around dismal business environment. A wave of friendly, casual, neighborhood eateries started opening up all across our city. Somehow, as the Strip struggled and fine to mid-level dining destinations considered closing, a group of entrepreneurs — seemingly out of nowhere — stepped up, took risks and sparked something. Gourmet sliders. Korean tacos. An entire menu of spicy stuff based on New Mexico Hatch chiles. Their food was fun, cheap and sometimes completely new. Their approach
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was fresh. Unlike the rest of the aggressively competitive restaurant biz, these operators frequently worked together and produced their own community events to spotlight their businesses. They moved fast, they used the Internet to spread their delicious gospel instead of paying for advertising, and they found success. The crucial part of this movement was that it was completely local. It had nothing to do with the Strip, and therefore was a breakthrough for the community’s food culture. It was another inch to be marked in the continuing Las Vegas grow-up. And it was served on wheels. In other cities, the concept of mobile eats is either deeply ingrained (see the New York
City hot dog cart) or a fashionable extension of a diverse dining fellowship (see hip food trucks in L.A., Austin and Portland). In Vegas, the food truck scene might be more meaningful because of the times, and because it defies that old stigma that we lack culture and community. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find it’s really just an innovative branch growing from the food and bev-
Companion | March 2012
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