Phoebe's Mud

After Jonathan and Melissa Insley had had enough of the East Coast weather, they flew down to meet ‘liberal, unpretentious’ Austin for a change of pace with Phoebe, their King Charles Cavalier.  You guessed right, Phoebe is the namesake for Phoebe’s Mud.  She is the color of their caramel mocha latte (with homemade whip and caramel sauce on top) and we are told Phoebe is as sweet as the drink she looks like.    ‘Mud’ is in there with good reason too; it is slang for strong coffee.  Jonathan and Melissa  put it this way, “We believe in strong coffee.  Weak coffee is inexcusable.”

Whether it’s a mocha banana frap or a strawberry banana smoothie, the Insley’s can’t seem to make them fast enough.  They are in a roving tricked out 2006 Chevy truck and provide reliably strong coffee without a bitter taste and refreshing smoothies to their customers all over the city.   As part of the Phoebe’s Mud evolution, three of their drinks are named after customers: Joyce, Brock, and Gracie.  In addition to roaming to various lucky locations throughout Austin, the Mud truck is also part of the Staving Art Studios and EAT on East Ceasar Chavez.  This unique spot is a blend of food trailers, local art, film, music and other artistic endeavors.


Neither Insley were experienced in the food and beverage industry prior to Phoebe’s Mud.  In their former lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, Jonathan was an entrepreneur dabbling in multiple projects and Melissa was in the clothing industry with a European company.  When asked what they like best about their coffee truck delivery endeavor, Jonathan says, “I look forward to working.  It’s a great satisfying feeling when you know someone is relying on your coffee/smoothie to get through the day.  I’m genuinely excited to serve people and I’m always excited to go work.”  Rest assured coffee and smoothie drinkers, as a sufficient amount of quality control is being done throughout the day by the management to ensure your happiness.

Frigid Frog

Dominic Gonzales is doing his part to ‘Keep Austin Weird’ by conducting his Frozen Frog shaved ice business out of a bright green house on wheels. He’s a big fan of watermelon and pickle juice in one cone to catch the salty and sweet contrast, and for the canine clientele he recommends their one-of-a-kind doggie cones that come in chicken gravy, bacon gravy and yes even veggie gravy served in a dog bowl over ice. Dominic stands by his word that you can have as many flavors on the menu as you want for no extra charge. “We don’t put a limit on flavors. We had this one kid order every single flavor (over 80) on our menu – that one took forever to make. We also get a lot of people that just want the ice with no flavor. No one is ever dissatisfied when they get a shaved ice when it’s over 100 degrees.”

Since shaved ice is a seasonal treat, stay tuned for a large potato shaped trailer to open in the fall for some comfort soup and baked potatoes. Dominic is a supporter of the farm to restaurant lifestyle, so he will be shopping for produce and meat from local farmers he met through vendors while working at the Whole Foods Market flag ship store down town. His cones are as natural and healthy as possible, considering it’s sugar and water, by using purified filtered water and real sugar as opposed to high fructose corn syrup products.

The story behind the bright green trailer that looks like a house is that a man in south Texas bought a flatbed for his granddaughter. He was a carpenter and built a play house for her on the trailer. The trailer was sold to another man in Dallas who opened it as a shaved ice stand, and Dominic purchased it as is in Dallas and brought it to Austin for it’s final destination.

Originally from Alamosa, Colorado, Dominic has been in Austin since about 2002 when he attended the Texas Culinary Academy. Although there is no family history in the business, Dominic hopes that his 16-month old son Chayse will want to take over one day. Currently Chayse’s favorite is the Silver Fox, which is an almond and vanilla shaved ice with a little dab of cream inside.

Mama's

Mr. B was staring at his 77 model airstream that he wanted to make into a kitchen when he found himself in the trailer food business in May of 2008.  A retired veteran of close to 27 years of service in the US Army, Mr. B settled in Austin because of the liberal values and warm weather.

Contrary to popular belief ‘Mama’s’ is not named after Mr. B’s mother, although some of the recipes on the menu were learned from her expertise.   His crowd-favorite and personal preference is the Texas Cheese Steak, which is his own special creation.  “You have to change up things that the average vendor is doing.  Our motto is: we create we don’t duplicate.”  Other items on his menu include items he learned to cook from traveling and seeing how others produce things such as veggie burgers, veggie taco and a veggie dog, briskets, chicken, Texas fried rice, fried okra, French fires, gumbo and burgers.

Some words of wisdom on the trailer food lifestyle for the over 40’s group: “I’m up in that age to where you have to kind of create your own little thing because if not you’re going to be left out.  I don’t have staff, it’s just me basically.  If I make it I make it if not I don’t worry about it.”

Hero's Frozen Treats

- Location:  Longhorn Food Court - 1901 Rio Grande. St. - @Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
- Hours: Tuesday -Saturday: 11:30 AM - 7 PM
- Telephone: 512-961-3372
- Website: www.herosfrozentreats.com / Facebook: Hero's Frozen Treats / Twitter: HerosAustin
- Cuisine: Dessert - Frozen Yogurt
 
Although Dustin McMillian’s “Hero’s” shaved ice trailer is super-hero themed, the business is actually named after his Town Lake Animal Shelter adoptee, Hero.  Half Rottie, half hound, she doesn’t come to work with Dad because of the health food regulations, but Dustin serves free dog treats for his canine visitors.  With a background in online marketing, Dustin’s creativity is evident in multiple aspects of his business.  From the name of the size of the cones (small for a ‘villain’, medium for a ‘hero’, and large for a ‘super-hero’) to the quirky board outside with daily Chuck Norris factoids the Hero stand is ripe with eclectic humor that Austinites of all varieties appreciate.

The frozen zombie is a crowd pleaser with shaved ice as fine as snow on top of a frozen yogurt.  You can select flavors for both.  The best selling shaved ice is the Tiger’s Blood, which is a combination of berries and coconut.  When you walk up to place your order, you can hear a mix of indy rock and Dustin’s current favorites playing off of Pandora: Bowling for Soup, Japan Joy, Against Me, What Made Milwaukee Famous, and of course the Foo Fighters ‘Hero’ is on a constant loop.

Dustin got his start in the trailer food business after being laid off from different websites he was working on, which was common given the current economy.  He was surfing on craigslist when he stumbled across a trailer park that wanted trailers, so he explored the idea.  After becoming excited about trailers in general both as a consumer in Austin and as a business opportunity, he decided to embark on a unique trailer version of frozen yogurt.  Dustin says, “I love being my own boss and having my own trailer.  I really like customer service – I like interacting on a daily basis with customers and representing my brand as I want it to be represented.” 

Gourdough's

Gourghdough's owners and real estate company partners Ryan Palmer and Paula Samford got their first taste of the food industry when they opened their donut trailer for business during the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October of 2009.  So how did the two stumble into the trailer food industry? In Ryan's words, "It was kind of by luck.  We would have long weekends where we'd be working and show property all day without eating - we'd be starving.  (Paula's) mom and grandmom used to make her doughnuts that were simple with cinnamon and sugar.  We would make those as an indulgent thing at the house.  We started making them for friends and they started suggesting different ideas and before we knew it we had a notebook full of ideas."  Although Paula grew up in Wimberley where her mother Brenda owned the Burger Barn for 10 years, Brenda and her mother are from el Campo.

With over 20 delectable over sized options to choose from out of the '78 Sovereign Airstream 30 foot trailer, it's as hard to finish one as it is to pick one out.  Porky's is Ryan's favorite.  It has whipped cream cheese (not sweet) injected with jalapeno jelly and is topped with grilled Canadian bacon.  He also suggests the Funky Monkey, which he was inspired by New Orleans, where he had lived for five years.  The Funky Monkey is based on the bananas foster concept but on a doughnut: cream cheese icing, grilled bananas with brown sugar.  The Flying Pig is their best seller.  It's the one with bacon and maple syrup icing.

And in case you didn't catch the play on words, "Gourdoughs" is meant to signify 'gourment dough' while also using the Spanish word 'gordo' which means fat.  Fat you will get if you make this a regular stop, but don't let the calories scare you; the calories in Gourdough's donuts is reduced by half when eaten with a friend.

Magic Madgies

CLOSED - 7/2010 - goodbye, Magic Madgie's

- Cuisine: German & BBQ

Culinary team Madgie Hollingsworth, Art Blondin and David Schulman got into the Austin Trailer Food business in the Spring of 2010 after many years in the service industry.  As the manager and voice of Magic Madgie's, David got his first job as a cook's helper in the 60's and like a lot of people, waited tables, tended bar, worked in kitchens and did catering.  His most recent food industry endeavors includes operating a hamburger stand called '3 Frogs Cafe' at State Park Beach on the Big Island in Hawaii. But the food industry isn't the only place David keeps busy; he is also a practicing attorney and a recovering musician.  Primarily he was a singer/bassist, but he also played guitar and almost all the brass.  In fact, it was at a musicians party here in Austin where David met his business partner and partner in life Madgie over ten years ago.  Was it his salmon marinated in jalapeno jelly that won her over?

Magic Madgie's Red Hot is serving up German and BBQ sandwiches, as well as hot dogs, frito pies and other specialty items.  David's favorite is the Schnitselwich, which is a thin chicken cutlet served on pumpernickel bread with homemade sauerkraut, german style mustard and carmelized onions.  All of their sauerkraut, potato salad, and red cabbage is homemade right on the trailer.

The team from Magic Madgie's has some pertinent advice for other trailer food vendors out there:  "When you figure out how to do all three:  good cooking, general business practice, and inexpensive food, you've got it figured out.  The food business is not for the weak at heart."

FN Goode Burgers

Open since July 2009, business partners Ricardo Gutierrez and Aaron Blair have a combined 25 years experience in the food industry.  Before they knew each other each had dropped out of college independently to pursue culinary school at Texas Culinary Academy here in Austin.  The two had been working together for five years or so over at Cafe Josie here in Austin before starting their own business.  While Aaron is the chef and Ricardo manages the business, they both like working with the customers to get feedback and making sure everyone is having a goode time. 

 With a pub grub concept of 50s diner meets punk rock, FN Goode burgers has all the items you would expect on a diner menu but a little edgier.  They grind their own beef and form their burgers.  A local baker does their buns.  And with a name like FN Goode, their burgers have to stand up to some pretty high standards.  Ricardo's personal favorite is the bacon cheeseburger, while Aaron goes for the meatloaf sandwich.  Their best seller is hands down the quarter pound cheeseburger with fries - everyone loves a FN goode burger.

 

From Social Distortion and the Ramones to Frank Sinatra and from restaurant industry professionals to sorority gatherings, the music being played is as eclectic as the crowd who enjoys the cuisine.  The biggest celebrity to visit thus far was General Ricardo Sanchez, who led the US army when Sadam Hussein was captured.  General Sanchez is from South Texas and married one of Ricardo's Dad's high school class mates.  He and his wife came in and saluted the cheeseburgers.