#19

- Location: East Side Drive In - 1001 E. 6th St. - @San Marcos
- Hours: Tuesday & Wednesday 8 AM - 2 PM
              Thursday - Saturday: 7 PM - 3 AM
              Sunday: 11 AM -2PM
- Telephone: 512-799-6764
- Website: www.number19bus.com /  Facebook: #19
- Cuisine: Sandwiches - of the cheesesteak sort

From working in an engineering firm to owning a hair salon to managing a deli, Tim Lasater has a background as colorful as it is diverse.  It was when he was touring in Philly with his band Pop Unknown that he had the realization no one was doing a good cheesesteak in Austin.  Tim tells the story: “I had some business partners that were opening a beer and burger joint on the Eastside and the lease fell through.  While we were looking for another brick and mortar I found the bus on craigslist, but the investors were not interested.  I was talking with my old bass player and he said he would find the money.  He called me the next morning and said he found the money so I drove down to Dripping Springs and got the bus.  Driving the bus, I thought I had lost my mind.  We forgot to measure the height and I didn’t know if it would even fit under a bridge.”


The bus was originally built as a tour bus for the Cheshire Inn, a hotel in Saint Louis in 1975.  It’s the only factory made double decker bus in the US.  And as far as the name, Tim wanted something simple that everyone could remember.  He remembered the Clash’s song about a bus route that was number nineteen.  The history behind that was that in the UK, the 19 was a double decker bus route that would take people home from live music venues and bars.  So with his background in music and new found double decker trailer food business that serves lunch and latenight, the #19 was a natural fit.


For his best-selling cheesesteaks, Tim uses rolls and meat from Philadelphia, but he twists it up with some mushrooms and cheese.  And his brother Ryan, who is also a musician works the bus too. Tim says of Ryan, “He’s an assistant manager.  That’s what I tell him anyways, it makes him get up a little earlier in the morning.”  And on why he picked Austin as the spot for the #19: “After traveling Europe with the band and working in Yellowstone and Jackson hole, I met a lot of people and went to a lot of cool cities – but I love the laid back atmosphere and vibe in Austin.  You don’t have to dress up to go to the great spots.  Its got the best of all the worlds of music, rivers, people, put together –not too small and not too big.”

The Local Yolk

- Location: East Side Drive In - 1001 E. 6th St. - @San Marcos
- Hours: Tuesday & Wednesday 8 AM - 2 PM
             Thursday - Saturday: 7 PM - 3 AM
             Sunday: 11 AM -2PM
- Telephone: 512-745-9110
- Website: www.thelocalyolkaustin.com /  Facebook: The Local Yolk
- Cuisine: Sandwiches - all feature egg!


Having catered, bar tended and waited tables; the trailer food business came naturally to Shelly Speer.  Her menu concept is centered entirely on the incredible edible egg.  “I just really love to make egg sandwiches… It is fun to see how many different ones that I can come up with.”  Her personal favorite is the tuna melt that comes with a fried egg on top.  The Florence is a crowd favorite.  It’s an Italian grilled sandwich with pesto, tomato, mozzarella and a fried egg.  She also has deviled eggs which you can buy one at a time or by the dozen that she anticipates engaging fun flavors to change things up and is currently using a curry.  

Shelly doesn’t have her own chickens yet, so she buys her eggs from Farm to Table.  All of her sandwiches come with Kettle chips and a pickle.  She developed her French toast dessert snack when she accidentally received a cinnamon swirl loaf instead of her normal sandwich bread.   “…so I made French toast and we passed it out for free for people to try and people loved it.  I just cut it up in squares with a toothpick and drizzle it in syrup over it.  It’s good for latenight or brunch.”

Counter Culture

- Location: UT Campus area -120 E. North Loop- @Avenue F
- Hours: Wednesday - Saturday: 12 - 8 PM
                Sunday: 12 - 6 PM
- Telephone: 512-897-2602
- Website: www.countercultureaustin.com / Facebook: Counter Culture / Twitter: CCVegan
- Cuisine: Vegan & Raw foods


Sue Davis traded one art form for another when she moved from a black and white fine art printer in the photography world to a chef in vegan restaurants.  She has been a vegetarian since the early 90’s and has been eating a vegan diet since 2002.  Originally from Massachusetts, she moved to San Francisco in the late 80s, to Austin in 95, and spent some time in LA before returning to Austin to develop her vegan trailer food business.

Sue opened Counter Culture in July of 2009 with a small basic menu that includes mainly sandwiches, salads, raw food and desserts.  The Philly Seitan is probably her best seller and it’s not hard to see why since she makes the seitan herself without the help of preservatives.  You won’t find any tofu on Sue’s menu, she feels like it’s everywhere and is used as a substitute for meat too often.  Rather, she makes everything from scratch.  Since she doesn’t over advertise about her vegan menu, it’s one of her favorite things to serve an unknowing citizen and have them be pleasantly surprised.

In addition to her background with photography and culinary art, Sue is a vinyl record collector and former DJ.  She has singer/songwriter-style acoustic music at her trailer during Sunday brunches.  Sue rationalizes, “A brunch tab can get pretty high if you order mimosas, but here it’s different.  Every Sunday I do a different themed brunch from Southern home cooking to breakfast burritos, and you can bring whatever you want to drink.”

Max Parfait

- Location & Hours: 
  Roving - follow on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for newsletter to learn varying times and locations.
  Saturdays: 9 AM - 1 PM - 4th and Guadalupe @Austin Farmers Market
  Sundays: 11 AM - 3 PM - 414 Waller St - @HOPE Farmers Market
- Telephone: 512-522-6514
- Website: www.maxparfait.com / Facebook: Max Parfait / Twitter: maxparfait
- Cuisine: Texas Burgers & Belgian Fries


Zarghun and Edeaicsa (Eddy) Dean opened Max Parfait on July 4, 2010 after a ten year run starting and selling Tribeza magazine.  It might surprise you to find out that Zarghun passed up a career in law to pursue a trailer food business but he seems destined to be successful at whatever he puts his heart into.  Regarding the leap into the food industry, he explains, “Food has been the center of my family as long as I can remember.  I’m originally from Afghanistan, I was 8 when we moved here.  A lot of Afghan families would have a weekly get together and bring food and prepare something.  My mom was the stand out cook in that community – she did a phenomenal job of cooking for us – the burger she made was one of them.  So once I met my wife and we got married, she is from Veracruz, Mexico and she is a phenomenal cook when it comes to Mexican food.  She and my mom really bonded over the cooking and passage of information took place as a result of that.”




Their menu is limited to a few items that they do really well with the burger being Zarghun’s favorite and their best seller.  In his words, “We used a recipe my mom developed and passed on to my wife – my wife tinkered with it and she makes home made buns.  It’s a stand out burger; we season it a bit so it’s different from other burgers you’re going to eat in Austin, Texas.  We wood fire it so it adds another dimension.” 

The couple wasn’t crazy about offering a veggie burger, so Eddy came up with a recipe for a portabella sandwich for any vegetarians who might come by and it has been surprisingly popular with even their meat eating customers.  Their Belgian fries are right up there with the burger in terms of crow favorites.  I asked Zarghun to explain what makes it ‘Belgian’ and he said, “It is the process of cooking them.  They are cooked twice – at a lower temperature first, and then the fries have to rest and sweat a little.  Then you cook them a second time at a higher temperature.  This gives them a crispy outside and a mushy inside like baked potatoes.  We go a step further by using organic potatoes and we fry them in olive oil.”


As far as their name ‘Max Parfait’, it was inspired by an old duke Ellington song that was a tribute to his drummer Max Roach.  When Zarghun heard the song and album he thought about a fictional character called Max Parfait and the trailer was born.

Flip Happy Crepes

- Location: Southside - 400 Josephine St -@Barton Springs Rd. 
- Hours: Wednesday & Thursday: 10 AM – 2:30 PM

               Friday: 10 AM - 2:30 PM / 6 PM - 9 PM

               Saturday: 9 AM - 3 PM

               Sunday: 10 AM  - 2 PM
- Telephone: 512-552-9034
- Website: www.fliphappycrepes.com / Facebook: Flip Happy Crepes / Twitter: fliphappycrepes

- Cuisine: Sweet & Savory Crepes

Nessa Higgins and Andrea Dayboykin were good friends with children in the same elementary school obsessing about vintage trailers before they developed the Flip Happy Crepes concept.  Nessa grew up in the Caribbean and moved to Austin in the 09’s by way of the Midwest and New Orleans.  Andrea also spent some time living in New Orleans but originally comes from Houston.  She met her husband Patrick Gannon in New York and when he took her to his homeland of Ireland, she fell in love with him and the crepes she tried there.  Since no one was doing crepes out of an Airstream in Austin in 2006, the dynamic duo decided to put their plan into action and manifest their food trailer business crepe-style. 
 
Andrea would say the food is what she likes best about their business while Nessa would say the people.  Nessa shares, “I like the production of it, I like it that we just mad something out of nothing.  Our concept is gourmet street food. We are not your average hot dog or burger.  It’s about quality ingredients that are affordable and served in a casual setting. We put a lot of time and care into our food.”

Both ladies had exposure to the food industry although neither worked directly within.  Nessa’s grandfather owned several bars and grills while she was growing up and Andrea’s husband Patrick has been a chef for over 20 years.  He is the brains and creativity behind the Flip Happy menu development.  While Nessa favors the fried egg and ham with gruyere and mornay sauce and Andrea prefers the spinach feta with garlic aioli, their fan favorite is the Cuban and pork crepes, which happened to beat Bobby Flay in a Food Network Throw Down.  Another crowd pleaser is the chicken and mushrooms.