Food trucks are not as we remember them in their early days of delivering factory employees tasteless coffee and sandwiches wrapped in plastic. Nowadays, these mobile cafes provide a diverse range of menu items, including gourmet burgers, gluten-free and vegan sandwiches, fresh seafood, and, of course, desserts. And they're becoming increasingly popular.
According to Brett Lindenberg, who founded the Food Truck Empire, a website devoted to the food truck sector, the demand for food trucks skyrocketed following the recession, when people let go from corporate positions and decided to start their own ventures. These mobile eateries are less expensive than traditional restaurants. According to The Daily Meal, a service that studies eating trends, these are the United States’ top 3 most trendy food trucks.
According to Brett Lindenberg, who founded the Food Truck Empire, a website devoted to the food truck sector, the demand for food trucks skyrocketed following the recession, when people let go from corporate positions and decided to start their own ventures. These mobile eateries are less expensive than traditional restaurants. According to The Daily Meal, a service that studies eating trends, these are the United States’ top 3 most trendy food trucks.
Ms. Cheezious in Miami
It's difficult to deny that grilled cheese is the most beloved comfort food. This is also the belief behind Ms. Cheezious, a Miami-based food truck business. Back in 2010 Fatima and Brian Mullins, together with their friend M. Christian Dickens, started to plan how to turn their extensive restaurant experience and cuisine expertise into a business. Growing up on Long Island, New York, Brian learned to cook from his grandmother and mother and made a career of assisting in creating over 30 restaurants across the world.
Christian had a legendary career in the restaurant business as well, having launched nearly three dozen Planet Hollywood locations. The partnership debuted their first Ms. Cheezious food truck in Miami in December 2010, offering a fresh new take on the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Among the menu items, you can find the BBQ pulled pork melt (strong cheddar cheese on toast with pulled pork), and the grilled blue and bacon ( with creamy blue cheese).
Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles
Founder of the Los Angeles-based food truck firm Roy Choi, is regarded as the "godfather" of the food truck movement. Choi graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has working experience at luxurious restaurants such as Le Bernardin in New York City. He was born in Seoul, Korea, but grew up in Los Angeles. In 2008, he opened his first food truck in Los Angeles, serving Kogi kimchi quesadillas and fiery pork tacos, blending Korean and Mexican cuisines.
He already has 4 Kogi BBQ trucks driving around Los Angeles, as well as several restaurants, some of them being the Alibi Lounge, the Hawaiian-themed A-Frame, and Chengo, which serves Asian style rice bowls with gochujang-lacquered pork or marinated grilled chicken, with pickled radishes, fried egg, greens, red chillies and toasted sesame, among other ingredients.
The Cow and Curd in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is famous for its cheese steaks, but due to The Cow and the Curd food trucks, locals have developed a taste for fried cheese curds, a Midwest classic. Robert Mitchell, the company's founder, had been a teacher for 16 years when he decided he needed a change. He recognized he enjoyed the food business after a friend asked him to help out at his concession stand. However, he needed a distinctive concept to set up his own food truck.
Cheese curds were recommended by his wife, who was raised in the Midwest. Curds are essentially the freshest form of cheese. Curds and whey are the two components (in liquid form) of cheddar cheese before it is made into wheels. The curds can be consumed raw or fried, battered, and served with a dipping sauce. Mitchell began his business with his first truck back in January 2013, and in 2014, he put a second truck to sell his product to local restaurants.