|
|
|
On Wheels
The Latin Farmer, the gourmet Puerto Rican food truck we introduced you to in June, makes its debut
tonight at The Food Trust's Night Market in Mount Airy, and owner Wilfredo Manzano has shared some details about what he’s preparing for the crowd. The health-conscious, nothing-over-$5 menu is rolling out with items like choripan, a cubano-like sandwich fixed with chorizo, homemade mustard and banana ketchup; veggie and skirt collard wraps stuffed with mofongo and chimichurri; plantain chips with avocado hummus on the side; and mojitos. With rum? "We don’t want to be shut down before we’re open," Manzano tells Meal Ticket. His virgin mojitos will have hints of cucumber, which sounds like a nice refresher for a summer night.
Next week, The Latin Farmer will setup alongside fellow food truckers in LOVE Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday, and you can expect to see even more additions to the menu. Teasers include steak/chicken/veggie patacons and yucca fries with homemade tomato aioli.
"Honest" Tom McCusker, whose tortilla-wrapped mobile exploits we've followed quite closely here at Meal Ticket, says he's aiming for mid to late August for for the official opening of Honest Tom's Taco Shop, a permanent operation (261 S. 44th St.) on the same West Philly strip as Local 44 and Tampopo. "We'll start out doing just nights to keep the truck moving," says McCusker. "Once it gets a little bit colder, we'll shut the truck down and try breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the truck coming back in the spring."
In addition to his signature tacos, McCusker will be rolling up burritos and hopefully serving tamales out of the new takeout-only space, too. The building has a 600-square-foot second floor that McCusker plans on eventually taking over to accommodate eaters who BYO from Local 44's impending bottle shop. By next spring, McCusker hopes, he'll have enough juice to renovate the Honest Tom's truck to create enough room for it to offer burritos in addition to tacos.
Screw your stupid Ford Mustang — the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, is, without question, America's vehicle. That's why I, a red-blooded tubesteak fanatic with more than 27 years of hot dog-eating experience on my CV, nearly convulsed with exultation when I was offered a chance to put my whole body inside the most iconic wiener in this great country's history. (This idiot has sullied the name. FOR SHAME.)
On Monday we shared the bummer news that Far From Home Café food truck would be leaving Philly for a new opportunity. Then, they planned on breaking down shop this Thursday, July 21, but due to excessive heat expectations, Larry Comroe says today will be the truck's final hurrah at LOVE Park. They'll have plenty of empanadas for a revisit of their recent Empanada-Palooza, and if you say the phrase "Thank you for the love Philly" when ordering, you'll get a drink for 25 cents.
"Food trucks are fun, but they're brutal," says link lord Dan Semko, who's told Meal Ticket today he's ending the year-plus run of his Renaissance Sausage truck. The last day for the mobile sandwich op will be Sunday, July 31 at the Headhouse Farmers Market (Second and Lombard), but don't fear, Renaissance men and women; Semko is still selling his links at local markets and will be doubling up wholesale efforts in the coming months. "The business is still going, and in a positive direction."
Renaissance's wheels are for sale, by the by. Inquire at renaissancesausage@gmail.com and stay tuned to Meal Ticket for upcoming details about Semko's top-secret future plans.
Back in May we had a bit on South Philly Tap Room chef Scott Schroeder's plans to launch a hot dog cart, appropriately named Scott Dogs. Though the debut of the operation has been pushed back a couple times, this is a sure thing: Head to Old City's Silicon Gallery (139 N. Third St.) between 1 and 6 p.m. this Saturday — National Hot Dog Day, not coincidentally — where Schroeder will be doling out his made-from-scratch wieners. On display at Silicon will be a collection of local hot dog enthusiast/illustrator/blogger Hawk Krall's hot dog prints, which you've seen hanging up at the new Hot Diggity! and in numerous publications. (Krall will be rocking a little hot dog giveaway of his own this Wednesday.)
You can get your Scott Dog for free if you bring a donation for Cradles to Crayons, an org that provides essentials to low-income children in the region (here's CtC's list of acceptable donations); if you show up without a donation, you can still purchase a hot dog, but just come with a donation! To sweeten the dealage, Silicon owner Rick De Coyte is knocking 10 percent of all sales between this Saturday and July 31; if he collects 20 or more pounds of donations for Cradles to Crayons, he'll extend that discount through August.
Larry Comroe and Wade Smith's Far From Home Cafe, the food truck they founded in the Caribbean and launched in Philly in February, is entering its final week of business. Though Comroe can't elaborate very much, he says he and his partner have been offered both a book deal and a food truck-centric "consulting opportunity" that will involve them moving across the country. "Part is going to be a book about food trucks, from A to Z," says Comroe, who expresses his gratitude for Far From Home's positive reception here. "And then maybe a little travel and take that on the road." They're looking to sell both the Far From Home name/business and truck itself. We look forward to hearing more about their next project; in the meantime, know that the truck will be in its usual LOVE Park spot today through this Thursday, July 21. Comroe promises the empanadas will be well-stocked.
The eight finalists for Philadelphia's first-ever Vendy Awards, which we told you about in May, have just been anounced. Hit the jump to see which of your local faves will be competing for the street-food crown on July 9.
There have also been a few additions to the judges' panel since the last time we talked about it: In addition to 10 Arts' Jennifer Carroll, Philly Weekly's Brian McManus, Zahav's Michael Solomonov and yours truly, Midtown Lunch Philly's Jamie Shanker, Lindsay Lidge (wife of the Phillies' Brad Lidge) and hizzoner Mayor Michael Nutter will be ranking grub at the Piazza at Schmidts. Hope to see you there!
The Latin Farmer, operated by Wilfredo Manzano, will introduce "a healthier and more wonderful way of eating authentic Puerto Rican dishes" by early August. Manzano, who grew up in Puerto Rico, is working hand-in-hand with organizations like The Food Trust and Greensgrow Farms to bring a fresh, seasonal lunch menu to different Philly neighborhoods. While the food is still being perfected, Manzano mentions that he'll offer both vegetarian and meat dishes; he'll travel back to his homeland this July to work on recipes for the concept. He says one of The Latin Farmer's biggest goals is to inspire Philly's Latino communities to explore a healthier and sustainable way of cooking.
While the operation won't be ready until August, look for the truck to make a few pop-up appearances in July. 'It's just a matter of polishing up the truck and rolling out soon," he says. In the meantime, follow The Latin Farmer on Twitter and stay tuned to Meal Ticket for updates.
The Food Trust is taking its popular Night Market series to Northwest Philly for its next installment, scheduled for Thursday, August 4. It'll happen in Mt. Airy, on Germantown Avenue between Sedgwick Street and and Mt. Airy Avenue. No solid details on which restaurants, food trucks, entertainers and so forth will be in attendance, but keep an eye on nightmarketphilly.org for more.
If you've never attended a Night Market, check out Meal Ticket's recaps of the first two events, in South Philly and West Philly.
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
