FEATURE
Gorilla Cheese’s El Jefe
AwesTRUCK 2012: “And the Award Goes To...” By Wales Wong My chat with Adrian Niman led me to Suresh Doss, the organizer of the much talked about and well-received Food Truck Eats events. A food writer for nine years and the man behind the popular blog, Spotlight Toronto, he has been leading food truck rallies in Toronto for the past three years. After attending a food truck rally in Miami, he saw the potential for Toronto to have the same events but on privately owned locations. Niman, founder of The Food Dudes and a recent food truck owner, says one of the biggest challenges is the restriction on setting up shop in certain public areas. By collaborating with managements that own venues such as the Distillery District and the Evergreen Brick Works, Doss found a way to bring street food to this city. Many restaurants still see them as competition, but it’s been evident that food truck rallies bring in the big crowds, which in effect, bring more customers to the area. These are also the same customers who return and grab food at the permanent eateries. While talks are still in progress to get Toronto’s city councillors on board with opening more locations to food trucks, the cities of Hamilton and St. Catharines have had more success in the past year with reducing the distance allowed between the trucks and food establishments. On September 9, 2012, AwesTRUCK 2012 made its mark at the Evergreen Brick Works’ Holcim Gallery. Making use of out of this unique outdoor private space, seven food trucks from Toronto, Caledonia, Hamilton, Mississauga, and St. Catharines came together to celebrate the first awards ceremony to recognize the work of mobile food vendors. They were joined by other pop-up food vendors, drink sponsors, and surprise food trucks, such as Gourmet Gringos. There was a range of delectable grub from Gorilla Cheese’s El Jefe (an oh-so-melty grilled cheese sandwich made up of swiss cheese, mozzarella, shredded pork, ham, and pickles) to Blue Donkey’s Fried Calamari Pita (a scrumptious pita containing fried calamari, Greek salad and the pièce de résistance - french fries). El Gastronomo Vagabundo served up some winning tacos with their Tempura Cod Taco, made with the freshest ingredients, such as smoked pineapple, habanero hot sauce and toasted coconut sour cream. Rome N’ Chariot’s Veal Slider was the perfect size to enjoy with its breaded veal and Romano cheese. Taking home the award for Best New Truck, Dobro Jesti’s schnitzel was crunchy and pleasing to the eye. Of course, no meal is complete without dessert, but I admittedly tried Cupcake Diner’s sweet bestseller, Caramel Apple Pie Cupcake, before doing the rounds with the savoury dinner dishes.
The public got a chance to vote on the AwesTRUCK 2012 website for The People’s Choice Award. The winners of six categories were determined by the following panel of judges—Alison Fryer, manager of The Cookbook Store; Matthew Blackett, publisher of Spacing magazine; and Amy Rosen, food and travel writer. The People’s Choice Award was awarded to the truck who received the most public votes. Fidel Gastro was the only eatery to receive an award at this year’s AwesTRUCK. They only recently launched their first food truck back in August. Clearly this is an indicator that the city needs to start opening its arms to mobile eateries so that we can make our mark in the food truck scene. While it’s taking some time for the local food trucks in Toronto to literally find a place in the city compared to trucks in the U.S. cities that have more accessibility to heavily frequented spots, the popular demand for such gourmet food on wheels cannot be ignored anymore. Doss has been busy, continuing to find more unique spaces and constantly devising creative events for the next food truck rally. It looks like with the success of these foodie get-togethers, Torontonians have spoken and the city needs to start listening.
Winners of the AwesTRUCK 2012 Awards People’s Choice – Gorilla Cheese Best New Truck – Dobro Jesti Road Warrior – El Gastronomo (winner) Best Menu Item – El Gastronomo (winner, Fish Tacos) Best Concept – El Gastronomo (winner) Best Pop-Up – Fidel Gastro (winner) Best Graphics – Blue Donkey (winner)
For more information: www.foodtruckeats.ca www.foodtruckeats.ca/awestruck2012 www.ontariofoodtrucks.com www.spotlighttoronto.com www.bluedonkeysteatery.com www.cupcakediner.ca www.dobrojesti.ca www.elgastro.com www.fidelgastro.ca www.gorillacheese.com www.gourmetgringos.com www.romenchariot.ca FREE FALLING | ISSUE 8 | VEUX | 47