They came by bicycle, they came by foot. Some drove cars, some rolled in on skateboards. A few thousand hungry people, all totaled, arrived at a parking lot outside a vacant restaurant in Redondo Beach last weekend where a small posse of large trucks had circled their wagons and opened their doors.
The circus hadn’t come to town, but something far better, as far as empty-bellied local culinary adventurers were concerned: a carnival of food trucks had set up shop in King Harbor. Their names were as colorful as their food was varied. The Shrimp Pimp, India Jones, Barbie Q, No Reservations and Kabob N’ Roll were among the dozen or so trucks that came to town over the first two days of the Food Truck Fest and FUNdraiser.
“When we come to town, it’s an event,” said Y.L. Khalil, the proprietor of Kabob N’ Roll.
“It’s bigger than a circus,” said Sumant Pardal, the chef of India Jones. “We are a rolling big top.”
The food truck fest, which will take place again this weekend and on weekends in late March and early April, was the brainchild of former Hermosa Councilman (and current Barbie Q food truck operator) John Bowler and Shade Hotel owner Mike Zislis. The Harbor Drive site, which most recently was Valencia restaurant, is the future home of a Shade Hotel. Construction begins in May; Zislis and Bowler decided to make use of the vacant site to create a buzz in the harbor and generate some funds for the Redondo Union High School Associated Student Body.
The first weekend of the fest was an unqualified success.
“It was a beautiful day, just mesmerizing,” said Pardal. “We come to this parking lot together with love and appreciation for everyone here….A big friend here is the Barbie Q truck, Mr. Bowler.”
“If I am the brains of the operation, we are in deep shit,” Bowler said.
The fest is the latest progression in the fast-growing phenomenon throughout the Los Angeles area that is the food truck craze. It began in 2009 with the Kogi Truck, which combined Korean BBQ with Mexican cuisine and roved around LA announcing its location via Twitter, attracting 36,000 followers and becoming what Newsweek described as “America’s first viral eatery.”
Food trucks have since taken off. Sheldon Katz, the co-owner of the No Reservations truck, said that 14 months ago the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association consisted of about 10 trucks. Currently, Katz said, there are about 140 food trucks and pending applications for 35 more.
Social media has been an essential part this growing popularity.
“Social media really is our vehicle,” said Katz. “Not only does it make it possible to let people know where we are, but who we are, and who we are with.”
The latest development is an increasing trend for the trucks to do cooperative events, such as the Redondo fest and various monthly gatherings. They recently created a First Friday event in Westchester, for example, that began by attracting 1,200 people in December, grew to 2,200 in January, and last month served more than 4,000 diners, according to Katz.
“The secret of our business model is we are community based,” said Katz, who noted the trucks also frequently work with charities. “We work as a community.”
Several trucks come from the South Bay. The Grilled Cheese truck, operated by Manhattan Beach native Dave Danhi, is one of the most popular food trucks in the L.A. area. The truck, which will be in Redondo in one of the fest’s upcoming weekends, boasts 31,000 Twitter followers and 21,000 Facebook friends.
Danhi, a chef who has worked in the high-end food industry for more than 20 years, had the idea when he walked out of the Grilled Cheese Invitational a couple years ago and saw a health food truck. He’d traveled in Asia and loved the vibrant street food culture that is a part of everyday life there. Grilled cheese sandwiches – made with various cheeses to add a culinary twist to an old classic – seemed like a no-brainer.
“Everyone in this country was brought up with some kind of grilled cheese in their life,” Danhi said. “I’ve talked to a lot of grilled cheese fanatics…I’m really glad to offer something that brings back good memories of childhood food and feeds their adult palate.”
Another grilled cheese truck – The Grilled Cheese Patrol – is also run by local residents Dave Kerin and Greg McEwan but thus far isn’t scheduled at the Food Truck Fest.
The Shrimp Pimp is run by Neil Macleod, a former New York City restaurateur who moved to Manhattan Beach 13 years ago and had been looking for a way back into the food industry. His shrimp po’ boys and fish and chips have become a hot food truck commodity.
“For years, I couldn’t find the right fit, the right concept, and then I saw the food trucks out there and I knew I had to get on board,” he said. “I just love it. We’ve got a great concept and it’s just growing at a steady pace.”
The Ragin’ Cajun, a South Bay institution that recently closed down shop in Hermosa and will soon open in El Segundo, joined the food truck craze last August when owner Stephen Domingue auditioned for the Food Network show “The Great Food Truck Race.” He fibbed to the producers at the audition – he didn’t have a food truck at the time – and put one together in a few weeks after he won a spot on the show.
His truck has been a raging success, said Domingue, who will bring his mobile eatery to Redondo this weekend.
“You know, to be honest with you, when I got on that TV show it changed my whole life,” Domingue said. “We got good gourmet, home-cooked Cajun food, and I’m telling you they are flocking to my truck.”
Domingue said he’s thrilled to have a local event for any of his restaurant’s customer’s who may be missing his Cajun food.
“I’ve got a lot of customers that are addicted to my food, and I can’t wait to see my customers – spread the word I’ll be out there this weekend,” he said.
Another key to the success of the trucks is just that – they are indeed gourmet trucks, rather than the so-called “roach coaches” that food trucks were formerly known as in the U.S. Many of the operators come from high-end restaurant backgrounds. Pardal has been in the food industry for 33 years and founded the East India Grill restaurants; Danhi formerly worked as executive chef at Georgia in Hollywood and the Water Grill in L.A.; and No Reservations chef Anthony Reyder is what Katz describes as a “food savant” who dreams of sauces in his sleep.
Katz said the lower overhead of a truck allows the chef to offer what would be $50 entrees in a restaurant for $8. “This allows me to take my craft where I am needed,” Reyder said.
Khalil agreed “What we save in overhead, we put on the plate, he said.
Danhi said it’s satisfying to be out of the “fishbowl” of a bricks-and-mortar kitchen and instead aboard a truck, where he can see his customers enjoy his food.
“Their eyes light up when they rip it open like they are looking for a golden ticket,” he said. “It’s great.”
Of course, the trucks themselves are expensive to outfit – most are well over $100,000 – and operators incur other costs, such as obtaining business licenses in every city they operate. Some cities have legal limitations that make it impossible to operate – Hermosa, for example, won’t allow a truck to stay in a public area longer than 15 minutes. But overall, the trucks are feeding a growing market.
“It’s definitely a departure from brick and mortar,” Macleod said. “You try to find a good place to park, like outside a bar that doesn’t serve food, and people come out, woof down some food, and go back in to drink some more, so it works for everyone.”
Macleod said the social aspect of the trucks, particularly at truck fests, is also part of the popularity.
“You know, standing in line, everybody can be a foodie. It’s kind of a Yelp generation thing. And you are almost guaranteed not to have a bad experience, because you can experiment with different combinations, just play around with it, and talk to people online. It’s kind of a social thing and it becomes a gathering place.”
On Sunday night, local residents Stephanie Trammer and Michael Muller came down to the food truck fest to celebrate Valentine’s Day. They drank champagne beforehand, shared some Barbie Q and India Jones fare together, and had an appointment for massages afterwards.
“It’s an adventure,” said Trammer, who works in the food catering business. “It’s fun. You can have things that are interesting and different, and it’s not like when you are inside – you can eat it here, or in your car, or take it home.”
Muller, a Skechers executive, summed up the attraction of the food truck fest in two words.
“The randomness,” he said.
Hours are 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. the weekends of Feb. 19 and 20, March 19 and 20, and April 2 and 3. Trucks featured include Barbie’s Q, Rosa’s Bella Cocina, The Ragin’ Cajun, Cool Haus Ice Cream, No Reservations Catering, Kabob N’ Roll, Tasty Meat, India Jones, Fishlips, Shrimp Pimp, Bera’s Custom Cheese Steaks, Babie’s Bad Ass Burgers, and the Hungry Nomad. ER
