Drew Lazor of the Philadelphia City Paper filed the following report about the sudden increase in cupcake trucks there.
“Last summer, Kate Carrara debuted her Buttercream cupcake truck and was instantly embraced by sweet-teeth citywide. One year passes, and suddenly there are two brand-new four-wheeled cupcake-slangin’ operations hitting Philly. What is the logical next step here? Will each truck roll out tank-caliber fortifications and invest in armaments on some Twisted Metal-type stuff (artistic rendering above)? Will the streets run red-velvet with senselessly spilled cream cheese frosting? Will someone develop a projectile IED slathered in chocolate ganache? WHO SHALL PREVAIL?!”
Kathy Gold owns a cooking school in Haddonfield, NJ (outside of Philly) and teaches a popular class for home cooks on preparing street foods. The recipes she uses are classics or interpretations of foods eaten on her travels that she remembers fondly.
The following pho recipe is based on a family recipe that was given to Kathy by her friend, Hien Ngo, a former Miss Vietnam. Hien and her younger brother came here in one of the first waves of immigration from Vietnam, and Kathy worked with her at the Bistro Francais in Washington, DC. [Phila Enquirer]
We’ve heard about a couple of recent developments that should liven up the street food scene in Philly.
First up, four food trucks recently received makeovers from ArtWorks!, an after-school arts program for Philadelphia youth run by the Mural Arts Program. A fifth mural is in progress. The trucks now sport brightly colored vinyl wrappings to help distinguish them from the brick and mortar cityscape.
“The trucks sort of blended into the background because they have been there so long,” said project coordinator Sherman Fleming. She added that the designs draw attention to the history of food trucks and raise awareness about their businesses. The program also encourages students to think about how art can be used as a tool for entrepreneurs and independent business owners, Squires said.
Each truck’s art is unique to the stories of its owners. Rami’s features a Lebanese flag. Tom McClusker, who owns a food truck on Drexel University’s campus, incorporated his interest in Day of the Dead, telling Shira to “go wild,” said Squires. “Trucks themselves are a good metaphor to celebrate immigration since they literally move around the city,” Walinsky wrote in an e-mail. The design process involved collaboration between the artist, students and food truck owners.
Owners so far are pleased with the results. McClusker noted that customers are more likely to stay and chat, and has noticed an uptick in business, said Fleming. Soo Le, owner of Koja, said customers have described the result as “beautiful,” “colorful” and “amazing.” “They like it,” Dakko agreed. He said customers stop by to ask about the designs and compliment them. [The Daily Pennsylvanian]
Sugar Philly Truck
Next up, a new dessert truck called Sugar Philly Truck (SPT for short) is set to open on Monday (Jan 25th) around 36th and Walnut Streets that will sell gourmet desserts to students at affordable prices. SPT will frequent every major university in Philadelphia, including Drexel, Penn, Temple, and USP, and their home base will be on 38th Street, between Walnut and Locust Streets, according to the owners.
SPT is the creation of Drexel ’08 grad, John Suh and University of Pennsylvania ’03 grad, Franklin Shen, who plan to rely heavily on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as their Web site, sugarphillytruck.com, to let people know where they’re going to be at any given time. (Wonder where they got that idea?)
The truck itself is a converted mobile post office that was formerly stationed in front of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Suh said that the SPT creators bought it this year, fitted it with a kitchen, and redesigned the exterior.
Sugar Philly Truck’s menu includes chocolate bread pudding with an Earl Grey tea crème anglaise, peanut panna cotta accompanied by a concord grape sauce and dusted with chocolate crumbs and toasted peanuts, as well as many other deserts. [The Triangle]
Takoyaki
Last up is what we at NYSF would call Honorary Street Food. Opening the week of Feb 1st is Maru Global a quick-serve restaurant that’s the first place in Philly to focus on takoyaki, the puffy, fried crepe balls that are traditional Japanese street food. It’s usually studded with octopus, but Tokyo-born chef Ryo Igarashi and his wife, Nicole, are offering multiple varieties, including Philly cheesesteak, pizza, spicy shrimp, barbecue, and sweet-and-sour miso. The original, based on scallion and red ginger, can be made to order with shrimp, chicken, sirloin, or octopus. They’re sold six for $3.25.
Maru Global is at 255 S. 10th St. (267-273-0567) and should not be confused with Maru, a Japanese/Korean restaurant that opened last month at 206 Market St. in Old City. Maru means “round” or “perfect” in Japanese. [Philly.com]
Looking for something other than cheesesteaks in Philly? We recently told you about some good Chinese food trucks there. Since I’m heading out of town for a few days, I thought this would be a good time to tell you about some other options, first for breakfast, then for lunch.
For breakfast, La Dominique Crepes (pictured above) at 33rd and Market has a killer breakfast entrée of a crepe stuffed with sausage that can compete with any hash-slinging L.A. truck.
Mickey D’s Grill, also at 33rd and Market, has some of the best Philadelphia can offer for breakfast. Instead of regular toast, you’ll get two slices of pound cake, browned up just right. Throw in an egg and broccoli rabe mixture with provolone and spices and you’re good to go.
For lunch, if you want falafel, Christo’s falafel at 20th and Market is one of the best. Greek Gus has a way with a falafel, but he tends to run out early.
Then there’s Ton Ton, owned by Keiko Naka. Her tiny vending cart is decorated with Hello Kitty, and she serves up excellent foods such as curried rice omelet and fried chicken. The prices are reasonable and the food is exceptional. She is also located at Market and 33rd Street.
For Caribbean and soul food, Denises Soul Food at 3rd and Market makes a macaroni and cheese that is fantastic. You should also try their famous peach cobbler. Denises Soul Food is located in a pink truck, so it’s not hard to find.
There are many other good choices available, but this is a nice start if you want some good and interesting street food in Philly for breakfast and lunch.
There are a bunch of food trucks in Philadelphia around Penn that serve Chinese food. The best advice for selecting which one to try, , as dispensed by Philly Bites: “As a general rule, go for the food truck with the longest line.”
As for the trucks he favors, they are Yue Kee and King’s Wok. At Yue Kee, he especially likes the Crispy Spare Rib Tips, which were sweet, spicy and crispy. He also hears good things about the scallion chicken. At King’s Wok, he suggests ordering in Chinese and even tells you how to order Hot Spicy Bean Curd in Chinese so it’s actually spicy (Mao Pao Tofu). He also loves the vegetable/chicken/beef/shrimp chow fun. [Philly Bites]
King's Wok
NE corner of 33rd and Spruce Streets
M-Sa 11:30am-7pm
