The Truth, the Whole Truth and nothing but the Truth about the Miami Food Trucks in 2012:
- That whole CheeseMe Mobile debacle was just that, a giant mess. Read about it.
- SoBe 2012′s Trucks on the Beach was really a site/sight to behold. It was great to finally see the Trucks in South Beach and on the sand for that matter. Too bad 2013′s incarnation of the event, Trucks on Midtown’s Tracks is in Midtown.
No thanks, I’ll wait for 2nd Saturdays at Wynwood. Who am I kidding, of course I’m going to that event.
- I wished the C&S Brisket Bus from Orlando would have moved down here permanently but it didn’t happen.
- I wished the Korean BBQ Taco Box from Orlando would have moved down here permanently and it happened!
- Pay attention to the events as not all are created equal. If you like a Food Truck Event you attended find out who is responsible for it. Some folks actually put effort into getting the right mix of food for the event. What I’m saying is there are shitty events out there so beware. The Events I’m involved with (they can be found under the “Upcoming Food Trucks Event” widget on the side of my page) are of course very good
- The Comidas Sobre Ruedas en Miami Reality Show never happened.
- You can always check out the Food Truck’s Health Inspections. You might be surprised at what you find: Licensing Portal. Don’t be afraid to take a peak in the window and through the back door to see just how clean they really are.
- Some Great New Trucks joined the South Florida Food Truck Scene: AZ Canteen (temporarily at least), Best French Fries, Cheeseburger Baby, Food Junkies, HipPOPs Handcrafted Gelato Bars (Winner of Top Turkey Dessert), JOJI Yogurt, Killer Pasta, Marlie’s Delights, Mushaboom and Pescados Unidos. Who as crazy as it sounds really care about the quality of what they’re selling.
- A bunch of Food Trucks closed their doors: Street Food Graveyard.
- 2 Trucks closed their mobile units and made the leap into Brick & Mortar: Latin House Burger & Taco Bar (formerly Latin House Grill) and Rock That Burger (formerly the Yellow Submarine). Both happen to be in Kendall a few miles from each other.
- 2 more Trucks will be making the leap in 2013: B.C. Cafe (B.C. Tacos) in Davie and Jefe’s Original Soul Shack (Jefe’s Original Fish Taco & Burgers) in North Miami. These guys will not shut down their trucks though.
- gastroPod‘s Chef Jeremiah is now heading up the Broken Shaker Kitchen at the Freehand. The gPod is also still making its rounds.
- The Hot Dog Fest was a blast.
- For the love of God, either open a restaurant or stop talking about it. I’ve been reading online for 3 years now how Latin Burger & Taco is going brick & mortar. Guess what I think?…..Hmmmm….It’s never happening. If it was gonna happen, it would’ve already.
- Mobile Culinary Kitchen is featured in a LeBron James commercial.
- Purple People Eatery won both Best Breakfast & Top Turkey Challenges
- Shaved Ice Trucks are not “Gourmet” Food Trucks, stop perpetrating. Yes they attend events (even some that I curate) but there’s no art in creating colored sugar water. Sorry dudes.
- Burger King Food Truck….Why?
And Lastly….
- I’ve been approached to write a tell all Book about all the behind the scenes shenanigans I’ve witnessed in the last 3 years in the South Florida Food Truck industry and trust me, there’s been plenty. While Johnny made a valid attempt at shining some light on his post entitled “Food Truck Piracy“, the truth is it’s filled with inaccuracies a plenty. At just a glance I can tell that some if not most of that info came from Cucina Al Mare (who ironically enough is out of business). They are what is called a “Fountain of Misinformation”.
Did You Know….
- Back in 2010 all the Food Trucks with the largest Social Media followings met in Private to create a “Tier” system where they would control which trucks would attend which events. They wanted all “The Best” events aka moneymakers for themselves. Don’t believe me? Ask Steve Simon of Food Truck Invasion if it’s true. He was the main person they were pressuring. Me? I ignored them. But the List (which I still have), who attended, who refused and what was said would be a great story for a book, wouldn’t it?
