All Star Trailer Chefs + Trailer Food Traveling

I'm off to Taos, Crested Butte, Florida and Yellowstone over the next several weeks and I'm on the lookout for some of our country's best food trucks for my next cookbook.  I have had a few recommendations, but please tweet at me if you have some you think I should try @trailerfood.  While I'm en route, I wanted to leave a few links up highlighting some of the Austin trailer food all star chefs in previous articles:

• Bryce Gilmore.  My first TFD blog post was about Odd Duck Farm to Trailer in ATX 4/13/2010 - since then, chef Bryce Gilmore has opened his brick and mortar restaurant Barley Swine, and been honored as one of Food & Wine's best new chefs of 2011.  Here is a recipe for his grilled carrot salad with brown butter vinaigrette.

• Aaron Franklin.  Here is a 5 minute trailer (short film) my team created after the first annual Gypsy Picnic featuring none other than Franklin BBQ (2010).  With press from Bon Appetit, New York Times, Texas Monthly, the Austin Chronicle, and more they are the BBQ darling of North America.  

• Paul Qui.  Best known nationally for recently winning Top Chef, his trailer concept East Side King is recognized locally as one of the best food trailers in town.  Winner of the 2011 Gypsy Picnic fan favorite, and taking down awards in the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll as well as the Austin Food Blogger Alliance favorites, Austin loves them some Paul.  Here is their recipe for the Thai Chicken Karaage, which is also featured in the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Austin Edition. 

North Austin welcomes the NATY

North Austin has previously not been a part of the traditionally South and East Austin food trailer parks.  But as of this Saturday, the NATY (North Austin Trailer Yard) changes all of that.

The NATY Grand Opening Party
Saturday May 12th: 1p-9p
1012 W.  Anderson Ln. (78757)

The NATY offers diverse foods in a trailer park setting.  You can try a little of everything and check out the full story on Culture Map:

• Snarky’s Moo Bawk Oink: Sandwiches on baguettes or pitas 
• Genuine Joe's: Coffee/smoothies 
• Big Fat Greek Gyros: Greek cuisine
• The Dog Pound: Hot dogs and snow cones 
• Michi Ramen: Japanese noodles 

BikeCaffe Austin

Conveniently located in downtown Austin at 816 Congress Avenue, the BikeCaffe is a beautifully crafted bike trailer that serves responsibly roasted coffees and teas.  "We love that coffee is a luxury item that most people can afford.  We love helping people enjoy that part of the day," says owner Jerry Strickland as he's telling me about their beans and leaves.  "Our roaster goes to el Salvador and has a relationship with growers and communities," he continues.  BikeCaffe is savvy about real world complications that their partnering communities endure on a daily basis.  "That cup of coffee has an impact on the part of the world where it came from; it's easy to not think about that.  Being involved in fair trade coffee, we need to make sure what we are doing is benefitting the community."  That's why Jerry and wife Lara are putting together a bike donation program to help the farmers who are carrying the beans long distances.

The bike itself was made in Boulder, Colorado and the name is a nod to their Italian heritage.  They have a full commercial espresso machine built in Italy and they use an old Italian method for pulling the espresso that is likened to a Guinness pour.  Having been to Italy, the couple loves the culture and history there and the coffee they say, is one of the best parts. Local pastries from Quacks bakery gives vegans and non-vegans alike yummy breakfast snack options to accompany their latte.  My personal favorite was the honey vanilla chai.  BikeCaffe Austin is open Monday-Friday from 7:30a-1p on the corner of 9th and Congress.  Jerry reminds you, "Coffee is a great common denominator."  So grab a friend and stop by for an al fresco cup of feel-good joe and tell them Trailer Food Diaries sent ya!

Biscuits & Groovy

51st & Duval
7 days a week 9a-2p  *open at 8:30a on Sat & Sun
www.iwantbiscuits.com

Biscuits and Groovy opened on September 1, 2010 with an all vegan but notably comforting menu based on biscuits.  The current menu has choices for carnivores and vegans alike, but almost everything 'meat' can be converted to a vegan option.  

The names of each menu item offer a nod to owner Jon Lach's love for music.  Winging through more than 1,000 biscuit dishes each Saturday, the Gloria Gaynor is his best-seller.  It contains three homemade biscuits, split open and steaming, topped with your choice of gravy, three scrambled eggs, two cheeses, bacon, sausage, jalapeños and chives.  It's absolutely worth the $9, and although I should have split mine with a friend I was able to eat the whole thing.  If you're looking for something a little lighter on the pocket book, the Bee Gee is only $1 and is your basic real good biscuit with butter and jam of the day.

Other fun names on Jon's menu have included (or will be soon): Johnny Hash, Philly Nelson, Melton John, Tina Turnip, Fleetwood Mac & Cheese, Barry Hamilow, Pig Floyd.  There is a mixed tape swap available when you order as well: bring a mixed tape CD, they give you someone else's and the cycle continues.

Jon uses local farms (Richardson) and breweries (Independent) to develop his biscuit concepts.  While I was there, Jon even taught me a trick on how to make vegan buttermilk, which is the secret to making his biscuits so wonderful.    

What it's like: Working on a Food Truck

Top Chef Tom C stopped by!

George Clinton loved our grits!

Awesome culinary students and Chef Mike Erickson!

 During Austin's annual music/film/interactive festival known as South by Southwest (or "SXSW" as the locals call it), I linked up with Eric Silverstein of the Peached Tortilla to find out just how hard the food truck entrepreneurs are working.  For four days, I woke up at 4am to work twelve hour shifts serving breakfast aboard the NBC Today Show Food Trucks that were set up outside of the Convention Center (which is the hub of SXSW).

NBC hired Eric to wrap and execute a few trucks from the Snappy Snacks fleet to activate giving away almost 10,000 meals.  My role as team leader involved loading and preparing the truck for service, driving the truck to the worksite, managing the team of culinary students who were working and serving in the truck, driving the truck back and cleaning it to be ready for the night shift.

On the menu board, we had six options which the Today Show team developed to be split into two trucks. Both trucks were open for a breakfast and a late night shift.  On my truck, we served Today Tots (tater tots topped with peach BBQ sauce and cheese sauce), Fresh Fruit cups (topped with toasted coconut and a warm muffin), and Papaquiles which were a recipe won by Austinites Julie Munroe and Ryan Schierling.  The papaquiles were the best-sellers: a hash brown and egg taco topped with a swizzle of sour cream and red and green onions for a tasty and colorful garnish.  The second truck sold Breakfast Bombs (an egg and cheese biscuit sandwich with bacon jam), French Toast Sticks (with blueberry puree and powdered sugar), and Cheese Grits, which were approved by George Clinton of Funkadelic who stopped by the truck for an interview.

Some quick stats on the meals served:

• 9775 meals served (including when it was raining)
• 2528 biscuits 
• 45 lbs of bacon jam  
• 1275 slices of jalapeños

Although I know what kind of work ethic it takes to run these food trucks, it was much harder to do than to write about.  For every hour of being open, I'd hazard to guess there are at least 2 hours of work behind the scenes in prep, cleaning, and planning.  One word of advice I can offer: if you're thinking about opening a food truck, work on one first.  The real world experience will at least help you determine whether this line of work is for you or not.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate with such great students, a cool food truck entrepreneur, and of course the NBC Today Show during SXSW 2012 to deepen my understanding of the food truck world.

Winners from the home chef challenge

Eric Silverstein + Tiff

This Saturday, 3/24/12: Meet the Cookbook CONTRIBUTORS

This Saturday, Whole Foods Market is having a fun and FREE event giving a nod to street food.  I will be at the Gateway location, alongside a handful of the vendors who contributed recipes in the Austin edition of the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook Series.  Come join us for free samples, shopping, and time together.




Saturday, March 24th
11a-5p

Whole Foods Gateway
9607 Research Blvd. (ATX)

That’s Amore  11am                                                                                      

Bona fide home-cooked Italian food with attitude

The Flying Carpet   12p                                                                              

Underground soul food with regards to animal welfare and a Moroccan flair

Kebabilicious  1pm                                                                                          

Delicious European-Turkish fare from scratch

Bufalo Bob’s Chalupa Wagon  2pm                                                            

Healthy Mexican street food using local products and a creative twist

The Peached Tortilla 3pm                                                                           

Southern/Asian influenced gourmet street food

Cazamance  4pm                                                                                           

Savory African-inspired food with a side of community and Austin vibe

SXSW: Food Trucks in Austin

Welcome to Austin SXSW-ers!
Check back frequently for updates to this post with SXSW food truck info
Austin isn't just the live music capitol of the world, it's the trailer food capitol of the world too.  Our food truck scene has much to offer by way of creative gourmet cuisine and rich histories that speak of the American Dream.  There are several pods of food trailers spread throughout the city, and several of them have moved temporarily for SXSW entertaining.  The closest naturally forming pods from the Convention Center are going to be on East 6th, just a pedi-cab ride away:

Look for the mustard-colored TFD shirt-wearing pedi-cabs to get you to any of the trailers...
Specifically, they are featuring rides to:
Way South Philly on E6th and Waller
Lucky J's Chicken and Waffles on E6 and Waller
That's Amore on E Riverside
Boss Hog's Kitchen on W5th
The Peached Tortilla - roaming
Yume Burger - roaming

I will be posted at the NBC Today Show Food Truck for the morning shifts on 4th and Trinity starting 3/10-3/13 8a-noon giving away free trailer food! 

Helpful articles: 

• CultureMap article on trailers you won't want to miss during SXSW.  I compiled it based on a recent poll from the Austin Food Blogger Alliance - you might find our city guide helpful this time of year too. 
• Here is a comprehensive post on East Austin Trailer Food, but there are several other pods you won't want to miss if you have time to do a trailer food tour.

Take home a Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Austin Edition as a souvenir, written by yours truly, a 4th generation Austinite who co-founded the Gypsy Picnic trailer food festival.  You can pick up a copy locally at Book People, Whole Foods, Book Woman, all of the Torchy's Tacos locations and several other spots around town.  You can even snag one at the airport on your way out of town.  This edition is full to the brim with eccentric recipes and interesting stories about the trailer food vendors.


Keep up on twitter: 

• Food Trailers Austin is providing a live twitter feed for the #SXSWtrailer Food Trailer Roundup
• A few of us in the trailer food community are using #SXSWtrailer on twitter - follow me at @trailerfood and watch the #updates.  
• Also keep your eyes on @foodtrailersATX (Tony Yamanaka), & @austinfoodcarts (Mike Krell) for trailer food activity.

Trailer Location Updates 
(Please email me if you'd like me to post info - tiffany@trailerfooddiaries.com)

• Colibri Cuisine (@colibricuisine) is open daily 11a-3a at their location on w 6th and Nueces until the 18th of this month