Courtesy Vinson Photography
Food trucks aren’t exactly a new phenomenon. Hungry office workers and big-city tourists have been grabbing hot dogs, burgers and shish-kebabs from them for years. What’s new is their herding instinct. Mobile kitchens are now banding together in locations across the country for instant, easy-to-plan dine-arounds.
With 21 trucks, Missoula, Mont., has this food option down to a science. Its traveling restaurants sell myriad victuals.
The Kind Swine, owned by a chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Las Vegas, specializes in all things porcine — Kansas City barbecue-style ribs, pulled pork and brisket — accompanied by Missoula-made craft beer. El Cazador, a Missoula dining institution for 15 years, operates the Taco Truck, which serves south-of-the-border favorites like fish tacos.
Clove Cart Pizza Peddlers makes Italian pies from scratch in a clove-shaped oven and can cater an event with a selection of unusual pizzas, like sausage and date with fresh mozzarella.
But the piece de resistance is Coneboy, a truck that loads up at Missoula’s Big Dipper ice cream company. It usually has a dozen homemade flavors, such as KettleHouse Brewing Co.’s Scotch Ale, a beer crafted nearby, and honey lavender. Big Dipper will customize a flavor for a themed meeting.
The kitschy trucks can rendezvous with groups several ways: at an off-site venue such as the Missoula Art Museum, at hotels, or at Caras Park on the Clark Fork River.
The park can handle gatherings of up to 3,000; its massive tented pavilion has drop-down sides and heaters for cooler weather. The park can be booked for a private event, or a group can attend Downtown ToNight on Thursday evenings, June through August, where the trucks congregate to feed crowds that groove to live music under the wide Montana sky.
“Because it’s surrounded by nature, Missoula has a fantastic energy,” said Tia Troy, public relations and communications manager for the Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission. “The Clark Fork River runs directly through downtown, so while they eat, attendees can watch fishermen casting for supper and kayakers at play on the rapids. Five local breweries are downtown, all within walking distance, so people can have a beer and listen to music.”
800-526-3465
www.destinationmissoula.org
In August, United Pentecostal Church International held its 2013 North American Youth Congress in Louisville, Ky. One evening, 2,000 of its 18,000 attendees dined at 13 food trucks during an after-hours event under downtown’s Second Street Bridge.
“The event organizers set up a jazz lounge with a band,” said Leah Stewart, president of the Louisville Food Truck Association. “Our trucks provided the food, and the kids had a great time.”
A former pastry chef and wedding cake designer, Stewart drives the Dessert Truck. Patrons clamor for her Chocolate Times Four cupcakes and Turtle Sticks, fat pretzels dipped in caramel and rolled in chocolate and pecans.
Her fellow vendors hawk Korean barbecue, eclectic diner food, Tex-Mex goodies, upscale dogs and burgers, grilled sandwiches and down-home barbecue.
“With food trucks, you can get a selection of gourmet food without having to dress up,” said Stewart. “Anywhere you can fit a truck in, we can go.”
Planners can book the food trucks by filling out an online e-request at the association’s website.
800-626-5646
www.gotolouisville.com
www.louisvillefoodtruckassociation.com
