the Zubikhouse

- Location & Hours: 
  Tuesday - Friday: 8 AM - 2PM - 3447 Northland Dr.  
  Saturdays: 9 AM - 1 PM - 4th and Guadalupe @Austin Farmers Market
- Telephone: 512-751-1989
- Facebook: The ZubikHouse
- Cuisine: Texas Czech - kolaches, sandwiches, dessert

Andy Zubik and his brother Jason have been in business with the Zubikhouse in October or 2009.  With over 20 years of experience in the food industry roaming from Austin to Durango, Houston and beyond Andy came up with a mouth watering menu for his Texas Czech cuisine.  So how does he make this seemingly contradictory fusion work? “Kolaches and other traditional items that are a pretty big staple in Czech cuisine have a lot of weight to them. German/Polish/Hungarian winters are so long that they eat a lot of meat potato dishes.  But when you get to Texas and have 7 months of heat, it doesn’t translate as easily.  You have to be more creative with the heat.  For example, we do fried strawberries and chipotle pecan pie ice cream.  At some point the chef goes back to their roots –what they grew up with, what they started cooking.”

Andy is a big advocate for local business and leads by example by buying from local farms such as Full Quiver, Richardson, Fredericksburg beef, Slovacek and Kocurek.  He says, “If you want a good strong economy you have to have a strong local economy – I can do my part with my business by buying local products.  If I have my way, we will get nothing but local products and keep those dollars here and not sending them overseas or far away.”

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.

East Side King

- Location: Eastside - 1618 1/2 E 6th St - @Liberty Bar
- Hours: Everyday: 7 PM - 1:45 AM
- Telephone: 512-422-5884
- Website: www.eastsidekingaustin.com / Facebook: East Side King / Twitter: eastsidekingatx
- Cuisine: Asian Fusion

The famed East Side King trailer concept of “Good South Asian Street Food” was developed by business partners Moto and Paul and opened in December of 2009 since it seemed to be lacking in the Austin area.  They found their trailer appropriately sitting on the East side of Austin in someone’s yard via craigslist.  Hailing from a small island in the south part of Japan, Moto has been in Austin for 20 years.  The trailer’s namesake comes from Moto’s Blues and Soul band which has the same title.  Some of their best customers are bar tenders from Liberty bar and chefs from Mulberry.  The chicken karaage is a best seller and Moto’s personal favorite item on the menu

Man Bites Dog

- Location: South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery - 1311 S. 1st St - @Elizabeth 
- Hours: Sunday - Thursday: 11 AM - 9 PM
               Friday & Saturday: 11 AM - 10 PM
- Telephone: 512-445-5591
- Website: www.manbitesdog.com / Facebook: Man Bites Dog / Twitter: manbitesdogtx
- Cuisine: Hot Dogs


After receiving his MBA in May of 2009 and with 12 years of restaurant experience, Jeremiah opened the first Man Bites Dog trailer in November of 2009 and the second in March of 2010.  After having spent some time in Chicago, he decided there wasn’t anything like the dogs there back in Austin, so he put together some 40-odd variations around a hot dog theme and narrowed the menu down to 12 of his favorite combinations.  The Buffalo Hottie, which won the critics choice award for the best nontraditional hot dog in the Chronicle Restaurant Poll is a Jeremiah’s personal favorite, but the Abe Froman is his best seller. 

Originally from Bowie, Texas, Jeremiah grew up in Oklahoma.  He was brought to Austin for his 21^st bday and knew that this is where he wanted to stay.  Simply put, Jeremiah states what Austinites love about our town, “Austin has all the big city stuff in a small city environment.”  He employs artists, waiters and people seeking part time work while they pursue other endeavors.  His best suggestion for anyone wanting to get into the trailer food business? “Learn to be handy.  My first trailer on South 1^st – I thought it was a good deal but I spent a bunch of money fixing it up.  I know a lot more about trailer plumbing and electrical than I did before – it’s good to fix it yourself if on small budget.”

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.

Colibri Cuisine

- Location: Downtown - W. 6th St. & Nueces
- Hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 7:30 PM - 2:30 AM
- Telephone: 956-451-7427
- Facebook: Colibri_Cuisine
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex - done gourmet!


Being from the Rio Grande Valley, Anthony Alaniz has a heritage in providing gourmet Tex Mex.  Since he was five years old, he lived with his grandparents and remembers begging them to buy him a special food trailer just like the one that was next door to them selling snow cones and snacks. 

“Unfortunately we grew up with the males being served in the kitchen with the females cooking.  As much as I wanted to help, I couldn’t because it wasn’t part of our culture.  So the only time I could participate was with BBQ for Sunday afternoons.  Of our extended family, the males would be outside cooking and the females would be inside preparing the sides, rice, potato salad, etc.  Thats when I got to hang out with the men and they would showcase their specialty whether it was ribs or fajitas.  As I got older, as much as I liked the kitchen it wasn’t accepted - it wasn’t something to pursue as a career,” says Anthony. 

So after quitting his accounting cubicle job, Anthony decided to get his teaching certificate and taught fourth grade for five years.  That is when he had a life realization.  “I kept telling my students ‘follow your dreams, you can be whatever you want to be, stick with it’ - and I kept feeling like a hypocrite because I never pursued my dreams of owning a trailer food business.  Then, I finally made a decision to do what I always wanted to do.”  So he moved to Austin to go to culinary school at le Cordon Bleu and has been operating his trailer since October of 2009.  The first of his family to graduate from college, his grandmother and mother have both been to visit him at Colibri with proud hearts for all he has accomplished.

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.

Pick Up Stixx

- Location & Hours: 
  SoFi Food Court - 2202 South 1st St. - @Live Oak 
      >Monday - Thursday: 11 AM - 8 PM
      >Friday & Saturday: 11 AM – 6:30 PM
  Downtown - E. 7th St. & Trinity
      >Friday & Saturday: 9 PM - 3 AM
- Telephone: 512-234-2103
- Website: www.pickupstixx.biz / Facebook: Pick up Stixx / Twitter: pick_up_stixx
- Cuisine: Fusion Kabobs

Don’t be scared of Cowden Ward’s big sideburns and crazy eyes, he’s really a nice, cultured cook with 20 years of experience in the food industry.  Originally from Dallas and raised on Lake Buchanan, Cowden has spent time working outside of Texas in Arizona and Europe.  Having been in Austin on and off for 20 years, he finally sunk some roots, mobile though they might be, with his Pick up Sticks trailer.  Keeping his cool in the mass chaos of a busy run, Cowden likes to have the music blaring in his trailer.  He has everything from Tibetan Monk chants to Salsa to Metal to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Cowboy Junkies, Beethoven and Mozart, and his favorite – Junior Brown. 

In Cowden’s words, he loves this business: “I can do whatever I want.  I can play with food.  I’ve been known to run specials in restaurants and do well – so I can offer something different than what everyone else is doing (other than tacos and burgers).  There are so many other starches to play with! I’m going to try and run 20 different sauces – Mexican, Mediteranean, something weird like jalapeno tomato mint, or saffron pickle relish.  I’m trying to work with a local grower that is consistent with local produce and meats – that is where I can offer my special at market price and keep it real.”  And why does he do it? “To see that smile – to see people enjoy life a little more.  It’s a challenge to make someone smile through your food.”

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.

Chi'lantro

- Location: Roving - follow website and twitter to learn location
- Hours: Everyday - hours vary according to location
- Website: www.chilantrobbq.com / Facebook: Chilantro BBQ / Twitter: chilantrobbq
- Cuisine: fusion tacos

From bus boy to working at fast food Chinese restaurants to starting his own business at age 21, Jae Kim has always been involved in the food industry.  His family ran a food business when we has young in Korea.  “I remember growing up in the back of the kitchen,” Jae says.  His aunt and other relatives also owned restaurants and they were able to give him a lot of good advice, knowing the ups and downs of the business.

Born in Korea, raised in Orange County, California, his coffee shop “the Foothill Café” is where he found is true passion for the service and food industry.  The concept for Jae’s Korean/Mexican fusion food trailer came from his background with a large population of Koreans and Hispanics.  “I grew up with burritos and Korean food,” he says, “and the reason I wanted to do it in Austin is because Austin is culturally diverse; Austin welcomes the trailer scene and they want to try something new – this is the best location I can think of in Texas that would welcome this idea – so I put the ingredients together and did research; experimented with friends and family – and opened a truck.”

Jae’s beef dishes are sweet and smoky, while his pork dishes are spicy.  He finds that different locations have different preferences on fair and sells a good amount of tofu and vegetarian dishes as well.  You can get any of these in  taco, burger or burrito form.  Jae’s personal favorite is either beef or pork tacos.

Jae’s advice for other vendors starting out is first to have patience, and second to have determination.  “I made nine dollars my first day, four dollars my second.  So patience is the number one key… Sometimes it gets tough; you have to be really determined to serve the customers regardless of the weather and the situation…  It doesn’t matter if we have one customer, we are still going to go out there and serve; we keep our promise with our customers.”

The Mighty Cone

- Location: SoCo Trailer Eateries - 1603 South Congress Av. - @Monroe
- Hours: Tuesday - Thursday: 11 AM - 9PM 
              Friday & Saturday: 11 AM - 11 PM  
              Sunday: 11 AM - 9 PM
- Telephone: 512-383-9609
- Website: www.mightycone.com / Facebook: The Mighty Cone / Twitter: The Mighty Cone
- Cuisine: Upscale trailer food - sliders and fried (cone-shaped) items

Jeff Blank owned Hudsons on the Bend for over 25 years here in Austin before making a debut in the street food scene. Having mad success at the Austin City Limits Music Festival for 8 consecutive years with the 'Mighty Cone', he thought he would do a trailer to see how it was accepted. And accepted it was. People like the Hudsons' quality with the low price. In fact, they have reported seeing people in Hudsons' on a Friday night and then at the Mighty Cone on a Saturday lunch (in the same dress). We don't blame her - some folks just can't stay away from a Hudsons' prepped meal.

Jeff's favorite part about the business? "We have Low Brow Fun with a High Brow Attitude". The chicken and avocado cone is his personal favorite and a best-seller. But what exactly is a Mighty Cone? This street food concept was developed for festival goers to have a tasty yet inexpensive food option. Jeff teamed up with Executive Chef Robert Rhoades to create a unique batter for the chicken, which they wrapped in a tortilla and dropped into a paper drink cone. While they have a variety of toppings, the original Hot 'n' Crunchy Chicken Cone comes with a mango-jalapeno slaw and ancho sauce. How could you refuse the fusion of southern fried goodness, mexican flare, and ease on the pocket book for a hefty meal you can walk around with?