I Love My Trucks.

Yes, the heart shaped time of year is upon us, and while everyone scrambled to make special plans to showcase their love to their special someone, we realized how just much we loved our own Truck- and other local Food Trucks. While we never thought of our Orange Truck as a “pioneer,” all of the new rolling businesses coming to town are in fact changing the Food map of San Diego. And more are coming. The following SD Truck List is sequential, from when (approximately) each opened up. I’m hoping you visit all of our local Trucks to help support the movement. And get some good food.

The Holy Rollers:

Food Junkies. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Brett Doogan, the head Food Junkie, has been in the catering business for years, working for high end catering companies as well as using his flamed, meticulously polished Truck to feed film and television crews. Their “Street Food” menu includes a range of California “Soul Food,” including their BBQ Brisket in a Biscuit, a veggie Triple Cheese Samich, TJ Dogs, and the ever popular Tater Tots.

Joes on the Nose. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Yes, we had to list our Truck. The Orange Organic Coffee Mobile first rolled out in San Diego in May, 2007, and has been waking everyone up ever since. While not officially a “Food Truck,” this Drink Truck can be found at area farmers’ markets on the weekend, teaming up with other Food Trucks for lunch service during the week, and is available for catering. Viva La Naranja!

Sweet Treats Truck. Website. Twitter. Facebook. How can you not dig a company owned by Saints? Literally. Chris & Jennifer Saint got their first hot rod Ice Cream Truck out in 2008, but now have three different Trucks, including their recently launched Dessert Truck, which offers a variety of freshly baked Sweet Treats out of a pretty pimped out ride. Chris was at the forefront of the current Truck trend ensuring that the “look” of his Trucks matched the mood and quality.

Tabe BBQ. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Tabe BBQ was early to arrive on the SD Truck scene, bringing Asian Fusion cuisine to the streets. Their menu includes a range of spiced chicken/pork/beef/fish tacos, burritos, and bowls, as well as their popular Tabe fries. They carry a pretty groovy canned drink selection, too.

MIHO Gastrotruck. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Kevin Ho & Juan Miron came up with “Farm to Street” cuisine and launched their Gastrotruck in 2010. Word spread quickly, and their fresh cuisine (and fan base) took off- with good reason. Their menu includes locally sourced ingredients and changes weekly. The Truck recently had a little “makeover,” adding even more style to their already groovy looking ride.

Chop Sooey. Website. Twitter. Facebook. While it was pretty exciting to hear about the first Truck from one of San Diego’s favorite chefs, Deborah Scott, it was even more exciting to grab a bite of her food without having to make a reservation. As popular as their “El Pignini” is, their chilaquiles & carnitas tacos are pretty great. Chef Deborah’s second Truck, “Patty Melt” is coming soon. Thanks to the Cohn Restaurant Group for helping San Diego embrace the passion of the Food Truck movement.

KalbiQ. Website. Twitter. Facebook. KalbiQ, a Korean BBQ Truck arrived in San Diego, spending much of their time around UTC and UCSD (amongst other spots).  Their menu includes tacos, burritos, and bowls (fusion BBQ truck staples), including pork, short rib, & chicken options.

Devilicious Website. Twitter. Facebook. Our Truck was parked at the same festival in San Elijo Hills on the Devilicious Truck’s opening day. Immediately they were a hit, as people lined up to chow down (telling us how great their Lobster grilled cheese tasted, gobbling up their meal without ever offering us even one bite) . While some companies open quietly, Devilicious jumped right in it- and are continuing to rock it wherever they go. A great menu filled with good eats AND personality, they’re gaining fans all over town.

Corner Cupcakes. Website. Twitter. Facebook. The two corners of Corner Cupcakes quit their corporate jobs to spread the Cupcake Love around San Diego. Since they’re doing this on four wheels, we’re even more of a fan. Offering “personalized” cupcakes (letting customers choose the types of cake AND frosting, with different flavors each week), makes for an (almost) endless choice of cupcake flavors. Big customer favorites are the Red Velvet Cupcake, Salted Caramel Frosting- but the Horchata Cupcake (w/ Cinnamon Frosting) is my fave- though the Pink Champagne w/ Strawberry Frosting is pretty amazing, too.

Flippin’ Pizza. Website. Twitter. Facebook. A NYC Style Pizza Truck, owned by the owners of a number of North County Pizza Places (with the same name). A great looking Truck, they’ve come onto the scene and can be found slinging slices all over San Diego.  I just hope they don’t take the NY thing too far, and pray they’re not yankee fans.

Rolling Out Soon: More Food Trucks are a-coming. Yes, I’ve said this before- and I’ll probably say it again. There are a few other Trucks that are coming, though it’s premature to mention them. Here are a  few teasers of some Trucks rolling into San Diego soon (if you haven’t already heard):

Patty Melt. Chef Deborah Scott’s newest Truck. I’ve seen the graphics, it’s going to be great. And melty.

Green Truck. Launching in March, a San Diego of  this Los Angeles based biodiesel powered Food Truck is already looking for spots to set up. We look forward to welcoming more “green” centered Trucks to San Diego- including this one.

India On Wheels. San Diego’s second Indian Food Truck (the first one has moved into a permanent brick and mortar location, sans wheels) has announced their launch via Facebook. We look forward to finding out more- and eating some vindaloo deliciousness.

Please understand that customers come to a Food Truck for a very different experience than a sit down restaurant- even more so since I don’t know of any Food Trucks in the country with a liquor license. Restaurant owners, Trucks are not here to take away any of your business- the Food Truck experience uses disposable utensils, a mobile kitchen, and no seats (curb seating optional). I encourage you to come and meet the owners of the local Trucks. We’re all making food (and drinks) together.

If you could pick anywhere in San Diego for one of these Trucks to park, where would it be?