There’s a new era in Washington, and where I live, some good news about the pandemic. Although vaccines are in short supply, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is allowing restaurants to re-open for indoor seating on Feb. 1.
Granted, it’s only 25% of capacity and places may still opt to continue with carry out and delivery until they can seat more people. Meanwhile, diners in many places have another option for food choices.
Food Trucks Provide A Pandemic Opportunity
Food carts and mobile dining trucks have been around for more than a century. Wherever people didn’t have time to dine out, an entrepreneur brought food to them.
Push-cart peddlers were ubiquitous on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, providing an extremely cheap way to get into the food business.
In 1899, the price of a license dropped from $15 to $4, and by 1904, there were nearly 6,800 in business, hawking their wares and clogging the streets and sidewalks, according to the Tenement Museum, which you should visit when it’s safe to travel to New York again.
Now, it costs $200 for a license to cook on a cart, and $75 if you’re only selling packaged food or produce, one reason why you see all the fruit and vegetable sellers around town.
In Chicago, meanwhile, food peddlers set up near L stations. No one working in the Loop or in other parts of town had to go far to find a meal: they could pick up lunch on the way to their office or factory.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and food trucks exploded in popularity. This time, they weren’t selling basics. Some were operated by chefs, who left brick and mortar operations for less overhead and fewer staff worries; others were launched by people hoping to someday have their own places.
Modern Food Trucks Take Off
In 2012, John T. Edge published The Truck Food Cookbook, which included 150 recipes from New York to Seattle, Minneapolis to Austin. Food truck competitions appeared on the Food Network.
Here in Ann Arbor, Mark Hodesh, then the owner of Downtown Home and Garden, decided to turn an empty lot into Mark’s Carts, mimicking an idea he’d seen in Portland, Oregon.
The carts became launching grounds for a series of restaurants that are still operating, including Eat, Detroit Street Filling Station (incorporating The Lunch Room), and Miss Kim.
But at the same time, food trucks fought with cities over places where they could set up. I wrote about the battles in New Orleans, where the situation has since eased but is far from ideal.
Now, however, food carts are getting new life, thanks to the pandemic. And they’re receiving a much warmer welcome.
Teaming Up To Host Trucks
Last summer, I became a customer at Cosa Sabrosa. The truck, founded in 2016, serves Mexican inspired food, from tacos to aqua fresca, with many choices of fillings.
In 2020, it took up residence at the Zal Gaz Grotto, a Masonic lodge on Ann Arbor’s west side. People could place orders, and eat their food on the grass or at colorful umbrella tables.
Now, it is operating from inside the Grotto. The Masons have given the truck a booth a few steps from their front door, and use of their commercial kitchen.
That is allowing Cosa Sabrosa to serve lunch and dinner, and provides diners a spot to come in and collect their food. On my most recent visit, customers couldn’t stay and eat, but that could be in store as restrictions are loosened.
Meanwhile, one of Ann Arbor’s cherished businesses has become the patron saint of several food trucks.
York, on Packard Road, is the latest name for what many of us grew up knowing as the Big Ten Party Store. Eventually, it was re-named Morgan and York, and now it’s just the single name.
It has a variety of beer, wine and its own food. However, it also has helped at least three other businesses come to life. Inside its lobby, you’ll find Ricewood, serving barbecued meats like beef brisket and chicken thighs, with Korean-inspired accents.
Ricewood started as a truck in 2015, featuring meats inspired by cooking techniques used on Guam, winning permission from then-Morgan and York to park out back. It subsequently set up shop inside, where in normal times, it has its own rows of seating and shares the outdoor tables along the side of the York building.
Ricewood has been featuring specials, like brisket tacos on Thursday and brisket-based burgers on the weekend. Last year, it was named Michigan’s best BBQ by Food and Wine magazine. It really is that good. I often stop by for chopped brisket and sesame cucumbers, served over rice. There is often a line to pick up food, and those specials sell out quickly.
Meanwhile, another truck has moved into York Yard, as the store calls its outdoor space. Bao Boys is offering buns stuffed with all manner of ingredients, from Korean short ribs to spam to pork belly, and even vegetarian.
Two Chefs Start An Oyster Truck
And, York is helping launch area restaurant veterans Douglas Botsford and Sean Morin, who have cooked at places all over town. Last year, they launched Juicy Oistre, a food truck specializing in oysters, that pays regular visits to York Yard.
The truck idea came to life after the pair took a 2018 birthday trip to New Orleans. They arrived at Felix’s Oyster Bar in the French Quarter as it was opening, and sat at the counter, slurping oysters and coming up with a collective dream for an oyster food truck.
“I felt like this was something people in the area were missing out on,” Doug says. Two years, and $18,000 later, they bought an ice cream truck and transformed it into a place to shuck and serve.
Juicy Oistre offers raw and grilled oysters, as well as specials like oyster pate and oyster stew. They sell as many as 1,000 oysters in a three-hour stint, and the men have plans to do much more in coming months.
Neither have quit their day jobs just yet, but both are excited to see things get rolling. “In a restaurant, you have your task, you have your thing,” says Doug. “When it comes to a food truck, you’re the restaurant.”
Adds Sean, “My energy gets more excited because I’m not feeding someone else’s idea book. I was doing this for somebody else. Now I get to do it for myself.”
By the way, things have evolved among food trucks since the days when diners stood in line. Now, many have food ordering apps, allowing you to place an order in advance. Some are even listed through delivery services.
So, if you’ve been getting food from the same handful of places during the pandemic, think about ordering from a food truck. There might be some new ones in your area, or else visit the ones you already like best. You’ll dine well and help some entrepreneurs.
What I’m Writing
Just after Christmas, there was a day when I simply ran out of ideas about what to cook. You might know the feeling: you’ve made the same things over and over again.
I decided to try to motivate myself, and write this story about it for The Takeout.
One tip: make something you’d usually buy, like cinnamon rolls (I took a class in them at King Arthur headquarters and made some for New Year’s Day breakfast).
There’s only one food reference in my latest story for the Washington Post, but I thought you might enjoy reading it anyway.
Last week, with little fanfare, Chrysler went away as a company name. After nearly 100 years, Chrysler has now been folded into Stellantis. The auto giant is collection of brands overseen by Groupe PSA of France, best known as the owner of Peugeot.
Like the Monty Python skit, Chrysler was “not dead yet” a number of times. Now, however, that fabled name and the Pentastar logo are no more.
If you were an admirer of Lee Iacocca, and smile when you hear the phrase, “fine Corinthian leather,” I hope you’ll enjoy my farewell.
Are You Baking As Much?
In the past year, I’ve eaten countless cookies, multiple loaves of banana bread and many slices of cake. Meanwhile, I’ve exchanged lots of treats with my neighbor and my nephew.
Other people got so excited that they even named their sourdough starters.
But, I recently heard from someone in the food world that the baking craze seems to be dying down. People found out that baking isn’t as simple as they thought, and they are putting away their bowls and measuring cups.
Is that true for you? Or you as enthusiastic? Have you taken a virtual class? I’d love to know.
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Stay safe, wear a mask, and see you next Sunday!