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On Wheels
Partners Paul Davis and Steve Renzi are working on launching Kung Fu Hoagies, a sandwich and noodle bowl cart, by March of next year. Davis, a Pittsburgh-native kung fu practitioner who's cooked locally at Monk's and Whole Foods, says the martial art was a partial inspiration for the business, which will offer an almost entirely vegan menu — proposed dishes include a traditional banh mi; an orange barbecue seitan sandwich; coconut lemongrass seitan over rice noodles; and sesame peanut chicken seitan. They're still nailing down a specific location for their cart but plan on vending in both West Philly and South Philly. Peep them on Facebook and Twitter.
Two weeks back we told you all about Rival Bros, the nascent roastery/coffee truck operation from Jonathan Adams (Pub & Kitchen, The Diving Horse) and Damien Pileggi (La Colombe). The duo quietly debuted their branded java whip in LOVE Park yesterday morning. From here on out, they'll serve from this spot Monday to Friday from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Check out their full menu after the jump (click to enlarge).
Photo: Jason Varney
Last Sunday, budding food truck impresario Matthew "Feldie" Feldman rolled out Lucky Old Souls Burger Truck, the mobile brand ambassador of his forthcoming jazz den (17th and McKean), at the Switched-On Garden event. Now he's flipping burgers at LOVE Park Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 to 3, and Meal Ticket has the menu.
“The beef is from grass-fed cows raised in Lancaster County, and almost everything is locally sourced,” says Feldman, who’s also crafting his own ketchup, bacon (from Country Time pork bellies), mayo and two flavored mayos (bacon and garlic) for the truck. Fries are hand-cut, sliced tomato only available in season. To drink, think Bassetts ice cream milkshakes and malts, plus fun made-to-order sodas sweetened with syrups from Brooklyn's P&H Soda Co. — "Really cool flavors, too, like sarsaparilla, hibiscus and lovage." Full rundown after the jump (click to enlarge). On the weekends, looks for the LOS Burger Truck at arts-focused events; keep your eyes peeled to their Twitter for details.
Photo: A.D. Amorosi
Some of us caught a glimpse/bite of Strada Pasta at the recent Chinatown Night Market, where Andrew Gerson dispensed butter squash/gorgonzola lasagna and homemade bolognese. So where's the mobile pasta operator right now? Gerson, whose mission is to "showcase Philly's bounty of local ingredients through gourmet fresh pasta delicacies,” is in the process of purchasing a truck and hopes to be haunting LOVE Park soon. In the meantime, the 29-year-old chef, a kitchen vet of White Dog and Cuba who recently returned from studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, is staying busy with a few projects, including setting up a communal food-truck commissary, establishing "alternative eating spots" (taking vacant lots and renting/borrowing them for pop-up events) and creating a general food truck association. For now, we can only pine after the tagliatelle and gnocchi Gerson will be rolling out, but follow Strada on Twitter for updates.
Photo: twitter.com/stradapasta
Matthew "Feldie" Feldman has spent so much time indoors while readying his Lucky Old Souls jazz venue/restaurant at 17th and McKean — nailing nails, booking bands — that he had to get out of the house. So almost two months ago, he announced he'd be opening a Lucky Old Souls Burger Truck, serving a menu of Lancaster County grass-fed beef burgers and housemade veggie patties, hand-cut fries, thick milkshakes, home-crafted bacon and housemade ketchup, mustard and mayo. That he would top it all off with the sweet and sour sounds of jazz music coming from his truck created brand awareness for Feldman's due-by-winter club.
Jonathan Adams, chef/partner at Pub & Kitchen (1946 Lombard St.) and The Diving Horse (2109 Dune Drive, Avalon, N.J.), has teamed up with his longtime buddy, La Colombe vet Damien Pileggi, to roll out Rival Bros., a small-batch roastery that will vend proprietary blends and internationally sourced single-varietal coffees via both a web hub and a soon-to-launch coffee truck.
Yes, that Fluid (613 S. Fourth St.) — tonight's Hispanic Heritage Month-themed Tropicalismo, the monthly party that runs from from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. (RSVP link), will have a dope food tie-in. South Philly/Italian Market types might already know Primas Tacos (above), the truck that slangs right outside Prima Pizza Taqueria Mexicana (1104 S. Ninth St.) most late nights. They'll be posted up outside Fluid while visiting acts Quantic and Pernett join resident DJ Juanderful (aka Village Whiskey barkeep Juan Bustamante) in spinning all things Colombiano. But this South American influence will spread to the eats outside, too — Bustamante has prepared a bunch of traditional Colombian arepas (his own family recipe) that will also be available at at the Primas window. The truck will be in full swing for the duration of Tropicalismo.
Northeast Philly native Charlie Sokowski and his partner, street food vet Terence Jones, launched their food truck Chewy's in West Philly just last week. Operating between 34th and 35th on Market, Chewy's specializes in sandwiches, burgers, salads and hand-cut fries, but maintains a loose mission statement to allow for regular changes. Sokowski, a construction pro who met Jones, a former lunch cart operator, while doing work up around 40th Street, has a couple years of Restaurant School training under his belt. Their current menu features eats like eggy breakfast sandwiches; an "Apples to Apples" BLT, with Granny Smiths and cider mayo; kimchi- and pico de gallo-topped burgers; and amazing-sounding tater tots tossed with buffalo sauce, Whiz, bacon crumbles and ranch dressing.
Chewy's serves from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday and will be appear at this Thursday's Food Trust Night Market in Chinatown. Follow them on Twitter: @chewysphilly
Brahim Ighladen's Marrakesh Express (4407 Chestnut St.), which opened in the fall of 2009 and unexpectedly closed in May of this year, is back, and this time the chef is taking the "Express" part quite literally — in about two weeks, Ighladen will roll out a food truck at 40th and Locust, situated right next to the mobile Pure Fare we've been telling you about. The base menu will feature pita sandwiches — falafel, marinated vegetables, lamb (above), chicken, baked fish — and the Casablancan will also offer street-food-friendly versions of his well-liked traditional dishes, like couscous and tagines. The plan is for Marrakesh Express to operate Monday through Saturday, with Sundays left open for special events.
Two weeks back we told you about about Pure Fare's plans to launch a food truck in West Philly. Co-owner Kunal Sehgal checks in with this rendering of the four-wheeled healthy-food-dispensing beast, plus news that he's targeting next week for a launch at 40th and Locust. Keep you posted.
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