Takorea

CLOSED - 8/2010 - goodbye, Takorea.

- Cuisine: Fusion tacos

“East meets Mex”

Paul Kim was in commercial real estate finance before he put Takorea on the map.  Growing up in both Missouri and Texas and living in New York for a few years gave him a real interest in eating and cooking diverse food.  His concept blends Korean BBQ and Mexican food.  He started working on his idea just by cooking and having friends over to try his food.  Once he got his recipes solidified, his friends helped improve it. 

Paul says, “I feel like I’m doing something somewhat unique.  I want to be an ambassador of the good things of Korean food are to people that haven’t tried Korean food.”  His personal favorite is the beef taco in a cabbage wrap while the crowd favorite seems to be the hot dog with beef on top.  His customers are from all around the globe, including a Chinese Bulldog, but he had the opportunity to serve his first Korean Mexican while on the job in his first year.

Turf Grill

CLOSED - 9/2010 - goodbye, Turf Grill. 

Cuisine: fusion sandwiches - grilled, of course.

Stratton Weekley grew up in the food industry and although he diverted when he went to college and was a software engineer for 13 years, he wasn’t satisfied with his corporate life and decided to follow a more inspiring and fulfilling path.  His uncles and grandparents all had restaurants in Galveston, Houston and here in Austin that covered seafood and Italian fusion genres.  “I remember being 8 or 9 years old helping him (his uncle, Ronnie Maceo) slice corn beef and roast beef and make meatball sandwiches….that restaurant was a lot of the inspiration behind what I’m doing.  The sandwiches I have are all sandwiches he made there; I grew up eating them and couldn’t find anything that could match it,” recounts Stratton.  His family’s Turf Grill in Galveston is his current trailer’s namesake. 

While his favorite is the Muffaletta  and the crowd favorite is the Reuben, Stratton does offer delectable vegetarian options as well.  You can always substitute grilled onions and peppers and artichokes for any of the meats.  All of the Turf Grill’s produce is local; he goes to near by farms for his peppers and onions and cabbages.   

You’ll notice the 6 foot long wooden alligator sitting on one of the picnic tables outside of his trailer, which was given to him by one of his customers who is a chain saw artist.  Another customer thought it would be funny to attach some deer horns to it, and thus the Turf Grill creature was born.  Stratton said he gets emails from customers from Germany, China, Sweden and beyond where they are sending pictures of themselves with his alligator.

Trolley Cafe

CLOSED - 9/2010 - goodbye, Trolley Cafe

Cuisine: Coffee and Sandwiches

The concept of the Trolley Café began as an animal conservation project when Dustin Butler was volunteering in the Philippines for the Peace Corps.  There, he started working with locals to protect the Civet cat, a fruit-eating, tree-dwelling threatened species that is part of the mongoose family.  Fruit from the coffee plant is part of this rare wild mammal’s diet; they climb up to the top of the coffee trees and eat the sweetest fruits, leaving the beans on the jungle floor for people to harvest.  So Dustin worked with farmers in the area to develop a rare strain of coffee known as “Civet Coffee” using the beans the Civet’s leave behind.  And the money goes directly back to the conservation efforts he established with the same people he befriended while living in a tool shed in southeast Asia. 

The coffee is shipped from the Philippines through Adam Valenzuela’s shipping company in San Antonio.  Adam, a Pilipino himself, met Dustin through his shipping company and quickly realized Dustin spoke two of the native languages from his area.  The two went into business together and the Trolley café is a result of their friendship and business relationship.  Additionally, the pair have partnered with Sesa teas, which is a local company that imports Indian teas.   In addition to serving wellness teas and iced coffee, the Trolley Cafe offers breakfast, lunch and frozen deserts with an Asian flare.  From waffle stix, to grilled breakfast and lunch sandwiches, to real fruit smoothies, your taste buds are in for a real treat.

Their trolley is a nostalgic image.  It happens to be the same make, color and model as the old dillo trolleys that used to run here in Austin.  Dustin says, “We bought it out of a shopping center in Colorado.  We had it towed down and I converted it myself to a mobile kitchen, added a bunch of brewing and blending equipment… it still drives, it even has a bell on it.  In fact, people have tried to get inside and ask where we are going because they think it’s the old Dillo.”  Before setting up shop in the South Lamar / Barton Springs area of Austin, Dustin was driving the Trolley to various rodeos and events.  He anticipates utilizing the seating and rest area behind the trailer for live music, artists and other creative endeavors.