This week I decided to give the recipes a rest and touch on a trend you undoubtably have seen take shape on the Boston landscape. The Gourmet food truck. If you have walked or driven through the boston seaport at lunch time in the last year or so, you may have noticed the food truck offerings have grown exponentially with every warm day. Bostonians have been flocking to the gourmet food truck scene over the past few years, and it seems every spring there are plenty of new additions to the offerings.
Food trucks were once viewed as "roach coaches" or "canteen trucks", but within the last 5 years or so, many talented chefs have brought their kitchens to the street, catering to the on-the go- city crowd with creative and culturally diverse selections. These new aged food trucks are equipped with great equipment, much like you would find in some of Boston's best restaurants. The new version of food truck have been described by Jonathan Gold of Smithsonian Magazine as "the new incubators of culinary innovation".
For some proprietors, it is a way to start small, and grow to a multi truck operation, and then to a brick and mortar location, much like Cambridge's Bon Me, or Allston's Roxy's Grilled Cheese. Other times it's a way for a restaurant owner to extend their brand by going mobile. Either way, the city's food truck fans are appreciative.
On many occasions, you can find multiple options in one spot, where food truck owners will team up to create a bigger draw. This allows diners to choose from a myriad of offerings from burgers, greek cuisine, asian, vegan, and even ancient egyptian street food. It seems the Boston food truck scene is so diverse, no one is left out, and with the use of modern day social media such as twitter, and smart phone apps such as Boston Street Food, it's never a challenge to find what you are looking for or to see who is currently in your area.
My favorite thing about the lunch from a food truck is the price. You would be hard pressed to find a truck that was viewed as expensive, and coupled with speedy service, its hard to be disappointed. Who doesn't like quick, cheap and tasty? I think the food truck movement is summed up quite nicely in the following quote, witch just happens to be from one of my culinary heroes, Anthony Bourdain.
"Why should you be excited about food trucks? Because they allow creative chefs without a lot of money, to start creating and selling their stuff. Introducing themselves to the world without having to gather up a million dollars or incredulous partners. They are affordable and democratic. They are faster, better and infinitly preferable to fast food like the king, the clown, and the colonel."- Anthony Bourdain from CNN's "Parts Unknown"
So next time you are scurrying to your next meeting downtown and think you don't have time for lunch, think again. Try out one of Boston's food truck offerings and embrace the new movement of the city's dining scene.
- Matt
