There’s no question the food truck movement has gained significant momentum within the past year in most major cities across the country. What has yet to be determined, however, is whether or not the cities they inhabit, will allow them to stay.
Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York have come to represent the country’s major contributors to the mobile restaurant phenomenon. And yet, each states’ legislature behind such food service remain as unique as the town itself. LA and Portland for instance, while met with varied controversy over parking limitations, have free range to sell mobile food as they so choose.
In stark contrast, Chicago,known for their culinary scene, still faces nearly impossible hurdles regarding mobile food. The city of Chicago has been plagued with an antiquated law which forbids mobile trucks to “cook” onsite. Rather, the food must be prepared prior to bringing it on the truck, essentially making it impossible for any aspiring chefs to create anything inspiring at all. The mundane hotdog or pretzel stand, then, remains the only street food allowed under the current law. Scott Waguespack, a Chicago City Council Alderman, is currently working towards drafting a proposal to gain admittance to participate in the street food movement . ”We are working on a very large plan for Chicago that will create jobs and business opportunities.” And with Chicago’s impressive presence in the restaurant scene, one would expect that they would eventually be allowed to expand into the mobile food world as so many other large cities have already done.
Seattle and New York have become so inundated with mobile food vendors and with the ever-expanding popularity from patrons to seek out such curbside culinary delights, the City has started setting aside vacant parking lots for which the trucks are allowed to post-up. This way, food trucks can still adhere to the city’s parking restrictions and interested patrons can track down their specific location, typically via Facebook, to create a win-win situation.
Much of the success behind the mobile food movement can be attributed to the high quality chefs who have pioneered it. Take Kogi Chef, Roy Choi. Famous for his Korean/Mexican hybrid-style cuisine, Choi grossed just over 2 million within his first year of conception and was just recently named Food & Wine Magazine’s Best new chef of 2010. In addition, many notable brick and mortor restaurants have taken to the streets and added a mobile version of their already famous cuisine. Sam’s Chowder House of Half Moon Bay, California now delivers it’s award winning seafood all around the Bay Area. Boucherie, of New Orleans, Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in Miami, and even Daniel Boulud of NBC’s New York Restaurant has added a mobile version to draw in business.
And while Chef Roy Choi might not represent the success all mobile chef’s will experience, one factor remains true; with the authentic, high-quality ingredients many of the mobile chef’s are utilizing to set themselves apart, patrons are definitely taking note.
no comments