New York Street Food

Panache Mobile (credit: Globe & Mail)

With the growing popularity of food trucks, a few hotels are now opening their own gourmet, high-end food trucks on the premises.  This gives guests another outlet for good, quick food without leaving the hotel property.

From Global Traveler:

Last year, The Setai Hotel in Miami opened Beach Kiosk, featuring gourmet hot dogs and burgers from the hotel’s Michelin-starred executive chef, David Werly. In May, The SLS Hotel South Beach will open a stationary food truck by celebrity chef José Andrés near the hotel pool.

The Auberge Saint-Antoine in Québec City found success in its first food truck, Panache Mobile, and will open a second in June, serving fresh ingredients from the hotel garden. Panache Mobile offers high-end items with a twist, including lobster hotdogs and other local and seasonal favorites. During the summer months, The Ritz-Carlton Washington D.C. will open a pop-up barbecue restaurant by celebrity chef Eric Ripert.

According to a survey by the National Restaurant Association, 59 percent of diners said they would visit a food truck operated by their favorite restaurant.  Food trucks appeal to leisure travelers looking for value and business travelers looking for a quick, high-end bite.

Yes, even if we have to go to an alleyway to find it.

Truck Stop SF (credit: New York Street Food)

We’ve often relied on Burger Beast for info on the latest and greatest burger-related food trucks in Miami and South Florida.  They clued us in on the Grill Master Cafe, Mamita Linda and Ms. Cheezious, among others.

So it was natural when Coolhaus expanded to Miami, they would hook up with Burger Beast, a local legend.  Coolhaus and BB teamed up to create a new ice cream sandwich that best represented the Burger Beast aesthetic.

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Everyone knows kids love ice cream trucks, but the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami recently had a visit from the Whistle Stop Food Truck Rodeo.  This gave kids a chance to sample delicious food from 10 different food trucks, and enjoy some vintage trains at the same time.

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It looks like the First Friday of every month will be a good time to enjoy some great street food in Miami and Los Angeles.

Street Food Fridays will give South Florida a taste of the growing food truck scene the first Friday of the month.  The 1st Street Food Friday on Jan 7th will feature @SakayaKitchen @LaCamaronera @LatinBurger @LatinHouseGrill @TheRollingStove @SweetnessBakes @GastropodMiami, plus some special surprises.

It will be held from 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM at N.E. 14th Street (between North Bay Shore Drive and Herald Plaza) in Downtown Miami. Free parking will be available at the Miami Herald lots, one of the sponsors of the event.  Check out their Facebook page here and follow them on Twitter here.

The Grilled Cheese Truck parked at The Brig, October 2009 (Photo by Joits via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

In L.A., food trucks will be rolling back into Venice for First Fridays, thanks to the production company Bigfoot Entertainment, who are offering the vendors a place to park.

The global production company with headquarters in Venice has come up with a space for the food trucks, who were deemed unwelcome by local business owners and the organizers of the popular First Fridays community event on Abbot Kinney.

By making their parking lot available to food trucks, Bigfoot is bridging the tense gap between the AKMA and the food trucks’ organizing force, the SoCal Mobile Food Vendors’ Association. The business is located off Electric Avenue, which “is bordered on one side by residences, but [SoCalMFVA's Matthew] Geller said that his group is working with Bigfoot to make sure the event is as unobtrusive as possible,” reports Venice Patch. [LAist]

As recently mentioned in EaterMiami, the Food Service Management class at Johnson & Wales University will be preparing and serving tacos on Jefe’s Original Fish Tacos and Burgers truck tomorrow (26th) on their North Miami campus.

If that sounds like an easy “A”, consider the small working space in the truck and the menu – which includes the following:

“The Fin” – a crispy battered fish taco with pickled red cabbage, jalepenos, queso fresco and a roasted tomatillo crema;

“The Piggy” – shredded pork stacked with mama jamma corn, guacamole and a jicama, red onion slaw; and

“La Falda” steak taco, an Ahi Tuna taco, a chicken taco salad, and fresh guacamole.

If you’re thinking of stopping by, don’t.  The event is only for faculty and invited guests – but if it’s a success, there’s  no experience like actual street food experience to teach students to think on their feet!