According to Yum Yum Food Truck’s Facebook page, the City of Fort Worth has shuttered the downtown food trucks until after the Super Bowl.

 

So much for the Super Bowl being a great thing for businesses. I suppose that needs to be amended to include “unless it doesn’t fall in line with approved PR goals.” The city’s made downtown a “clean zone” during the Super Bowl run-up, prohibiting temporary signage and vending (among other things), citing some suspect “safety” concerns and trying to promote “good order and aesthetic quality.” Oddly enough, other cities don’t equate gourmet food trucks with a lack of “good order and aesthetic quality.” After all, if lots of people gathering at a food truck is a “safety” and “aesthetic quality” concern, one could take that to its logical-but-ridiculous conclusion and say that restaurants will also cause the same problems and should be temporarily shut down as well. Read the rest <here>

One of the world's most famous hymns to commerce, New York's thousands of street food vendors - and the fare they sell - reflect its eclectic ethnic mix. But as we find out, life on the streets can be harsh, belying the city's rich and glamorous image.

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The Ip brothers of PanDa Fresh Bakery have partnered with Lully's Sandwich Bar from Victoria, BC. They sell Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches. We're talking about some seriously stacked meat!

Now that's one huge sammy!

Find them online: lullyssandwichbar.com ..

Reviews Online : foodology.ca there is always room

After seeing New York Street Food's iPhone app last year, I decided that I would make my very own app for Vancouver's food cart scene. I got on the phone told people the exciting news. "But you don't know C+" and "I didn't realize that you are fluent in AppDev" were common responses. AppDev...uh, what? Anyway, Those haters weren't going to take my dream away that easily. Determined and excited, I opened a new window in Chrome, typed 'how to make an iphone app' into Google and got down to business. Buoyed by a false sense of coding prowess (possibly brought on by a half-assed attempt at making my own level in Little Big Planet while killing time at Best Buy), I signed on at Apple as an 'iOS Developer' and started reading. 15 minutes later, I realized that I indeed DO NOT know 'App Dev'. Luckily for myself and the rest of the city, Tatlow Park Software had a similar idea and the coding skills to execute it flawlessly. A couple of weeks ago we got a peek at some screen shots of the new app catering to Vancouver street food lovers. Toby at Tatlow was kind enough to hook me up with the beta version shortly after. Now that it's officially released I can can honestly say that the retail version delivers...big time! In my experience, far too many apps are loaded with speed crippling eye-candy and useless bling. Tatlow takes a 'less is more' approach that I found non-distracting and to the point. The interface is simple, two buttons on the bottom switch between 'map' and 'list' mode. Green pins indicate which vendors are currently open while the red ones show who's closed. You can get directions to the food cart of your choice based on your location via GPS, IP or entered manually. List mode displays vendors and one's distance to them, favourites and star ratings. It's great to see a local entrepreneur being the first to bring a street food app to Vancouver. With at least 15 new food carts coming to our streets this year, this will be the 'go to' resource for munchie's on the road. Hoping to see an Android version sometime soon! Get the app <here> Find them online: streetfoodapp.com ..

City council unanimously voted today in favour of Vancouver's street food expansion. 15 new vendors will grace our streets this spring. Unlike last year's lottery system, this year's winners will be chosen by a 'foodie' panel combined with Vancouver Costal Health guidelines. Although reactions to this decision are mixed, it's much too early to say whether this will be an improvement over last year's lottery system. This year's additions mark the start of a proposed increase to 60 food cart vendors over the next 4 years. However this pans out, more street options can only be a good thing. For more coverage: The Province Globe and Mail Georgia Straight Vancouver Courier

On Friday afternoon, dozens of hungry office workers at 55th Street and Flatiron Parkway took a break from their computers and phone calls, and strolled outside to the parking lot. Their mid-day destination: a rumbling pink truck in which Rayme Rossello was cooking up tacos, gorditas and Mexican hot chocolate. "It's like something you would get from a restaurant," said Alison Dillman, a Lyons resident who works in one of the nearby office buildings and stopped for lunch. Dillman is a regular at the Comida food truck, which Rossello spent $100,000 to convert out of a DHL delivery van. Rossello is among a growing number of chefs turning to upscale mobile food vending, which is a growing national trend. But in the city of Boulder, selling food from a vehicle is illegal. For now, the handful of food trucks that have sprung up around the city in recent months are allowed to sell their food as "caterers" on private property. However,  the city is looking to become more inviting to such vendors. Boulder officials are crafting a plan to allow food trucks to sell their goods in a variety of public and private places. "Boulder is known as a restaurant and entertainment district, and we really want to try and support that and make it easier for people to do business," said Molly Winter, director of Boulder's Downtown and University Hill Management Division. Winter said Boulder is behind the ball when it comes to encouraging food trucks. Places like Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., she said, are popular destinations for followers of gourmet food trucks. "It is a national trend," she said. "It's a great thing, particularly for areas where residents don't have food options nearby." Winter is now drafting changes to the city code that would allow food trucks to operate legally, although the details of exactly where they'll be allowed isn't yet known. Winter said she's working to address concerns among some brick-and-mortar restaurants about keeping trucks separated from their customer base. But Winter said she's confident the city will reach a "win-win" ordinance, which is scheduled to have public input during meetings with the Boulder Planning Board in March and with the City Council in May. "We don't have everything worked out yet, but we're close," she said. Read the rest <here>

Modesto, CA Forget what you've seen on the Food Network. In Modesto, we don't have hipster taco trucks that tweet out where they'll be and when. We don't have trucks serving sushi, gyros, Korean barbecue and gourmet waffles. No, the food truck craze spreading across the country hasn't hit us — yet. What we do have is old-fashioned taco trucks that dish up — uh — tacos. Not Taco Bell tacos. We're talking small corn tortillas, about the size of your hand, stuffed with asada (beef), pollo (chicken), carnitas (shredded pork) and — for the adventurous — lengua (tongue) and cabeza (head). They come with simple toppings: a sprinkle of diced onions, a pile of cilantro, a slice of lemon. And, oh, how we love them. "We here in the valley enjoy the authentic Mexican flavors," said Nonie Fiskum, a Modesto caterer who frequents taco trucks with her husband, Wyatt, about twice a month. To see just how passionate — and loyal — people are about taco trucks, The Bee recently asked readers about their favorites. We received more than 100responses. Many people "voted" more than once, making the results impossible to tally. But one thing was clear: People are attached to their taco trucks. The attraction? Some say it's tradition. "They've just kind of always been here," said Elven Mitchell of Modesto, a nursing student at Modesto Junior College. Mitchell favors the carne asada burrito at Los Portallios, one of a cluster of taco trucks on Eighth Street in downtown Modesto. "It's cheap, it's filling and it tastes sooo good," he said. Part of the appeal, perhaps especially in this economy, is the price. Tacos sell for $1, sometimes 50 cents depending on the meat and if the truck is in an area with a lot of competition. Burritos run about $3. Massive shrimp cocktails, sometimes with a slice or two of avocado, will set you back $6. "You can't beat the price," said Todd Lewis, 25, of Modesto. He's loyal to El Primo No. 2, a taco truck parked outside a bar on Yosemite Avenue in Empire. "You can't get much for $1 these days except for nasty junk like fast food," he said. "This is better than a Double Whopper." What makes a good taco truck? According to Chad Hawkins, 35, of Empire, it's all about the sauce. He likes his with a kick, but not too spicy. Read the rest <here>

Miami’s the kind of city that heat’s up as the sun goes down, and Fat Man’s BBQ is there to fill the bellies of those roaming the streets in the wee hours. Known for a tangy, spiced BBQ sauce, Fat Man’s BBQ is sure to hit the spot late at night!

Check out vendr.tv to watch the complete series or to make a donation.

Of all the cart’s we’ve covered on VendrTV, we’ve never made our way to a sushi cart. Until now… Sushi A-Go-Go is a fully functional sushi kitchen, tucked tightly (like sushi) into a mobile trailer. Parked in Central Austin, this trailer serves delicious, fresh sushi to locals, and is a destination for those further away. And while they have all the traditional rolls you might think of, they’re also got some crazy Maki rolls – like they’re “Texan Roll” which boasts steak as well as tempura shrimp, candied jalapenos, and mayo! Yum!

Check them out online at sushi-a-go-go-austin.com Check out vendr.tv to watch the complete series or to make a donation.

While we were shooting in NOLA we got a call about a food cart in the state’s capitol, Baton Rogue, that serves alligator po-boys. Naturally we had to take a trip out to investigate. What we happened upon was Moochie’s Mobile Munchies, a late night LSU hotspot serving gluttonous burgers, brisket chili smothered fries, and their signature po-boy complete with not just an alligator sausage, but piled high will pulled pork. These things were massive. So massive, that a competition was called for. Check out the episode to see who won!

Learn more about Moochies online at http://facebook.com/moochies Check out vendr.tv to watch the complete series or to make a donation.