Arts & Life
The Yeti
Rejoice,
culinary enthusiasts, for the food truck phenomenon has made it to Tallahassee. Over the last decade, food trucks have gained an incredible amount of popularity by providing gourmet fast food without the inconvenience of long waits or having to fuss with real silverware. Beginning with the standard ice cream truck and working their way up to preparing full course meals, food trucks have found a way to put food in our stomachs and smiles on our faces. Students may have noticed some of these trucks popping up in places on or near FSU’s campus, but the real treat is the weekly congregation, known simply as Food Truck Thursday. The destination is the Food Truck Hub, located at 330 West Tharpe Street, where from 6-10 pm, hungry patrons can treat their taste buds to an assortment of food truck cuisine every Thursday. Certain trucks participate in the event each week, including Street Chefs, MoBi, and Lucy and Leo’s. Other trucks rotate in and out of the event on a weekly basis, always offering something different to choose from. Street Chefs, one of the trucks that helps organize this weekly event, is a truck that specializes in serving comfort food with a culinary twist. One of their specialties is titled, “Not Your Mama’s Grilled Cheese.” This take on the classic grilled cheese sandwich includes four different types of cheeses. Another crowd favorite is their super-sized cinnamon roll wrapped in bacon. It’s this type of food innovation that makes food trucks so popular. Located next to Street Chefs is the MoBi truck, a mobile bistro. Not limiting themselves to a particular culinary style, they serve everything from barbecue pork mac n’ cheese tacos to fried plantains. Other regulars at Food Truck Thursday include the Filipino eatery, Lasang Pinoy, Big Easy Snowballs, and Fired Up Pizza, which features its own wood-burning oven inside the truck. You can also catch Julio’s Food on the Move and the Lucy
and Leo’s cupcake camper. The Vietnamese food from one of the rotating trucks, Banh Mi Palace, is particularly good. For seven dollars, customers are given a healthy portion of chicken, potatoes, and rice. Banh Mi Palace prides itself on serving authentic Vietnamese food and is a welcomed break from the dining hall experience. The truck is run by a husband and wife team, eager to talk about their food. “We are on rotation, but we like serving at Food Truck Thursday because it has a different feel,” said Julie Nguyen. She went on to say that the rally has more of a family atmosphere than other stops they make, like Hop Yard on St. Michael’s Street, and Status Liquor on Tennessee Street. Inside their food truck lies a full kitchen, laid out and organized to make efficient use of the tight space. Like most food truck owners, Banh Mi Palace purchased their truck off of the perennial find-anything website, Craigslist. For inquiring minds or potential entrepreneurs, a quick search revealed many trucks available to purchase near the Tallahassee area. Food Truck Thursday is an event that brings members of the Tallahassee community together. Families, young professionals, and students can all be found amongst the crowd sampling the different cuisines. Attendees bring chairs and blankets to sit and enjoy their food together while listening to live music. Like the food trucks, the bands rotate each week. In a poll of food truck patrons, Lasang Pinoy and Street Chefs were the favorite for dinner entrees. Lucy and Leo’s was another crowd favorite, due to their delicious cupcakes. For Tallahassee residents, Food Truck Thursday isn’t the only place to get these goodies in town. Many of the trucks can be found at the All Saints Hop Yard on Fridays, at Status Liquors on Tuesdays, and even on the Florida State University campus. It certainly looks like Tallahassee is becoming a new hot spot for the food truck fad, so keep an eye out, and grab some grub.
FOOD TRUCK THURSDAYS Molly Taylor and Blaise Denton, Contributing Writers
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