Food Truck

The lunch-hour rush is under way at the convoy of food trucks that line Spruce Street near the University of Pennsylvania campus. From inside the cramped Chez Yasmine, Jihed Chehimi is serving gourmet street fare from around the globe - heaping salmon sandwiches sprinkled with caviar, homemade couscous, and cups of Indian red lentil soup - all with a side of conversation that occasionally turns to the science of AIDS. For more than two decades, the Ph.D. in viral immunology was an HIV/AIDS researcher, first at Penn and then at the labs of the Wistar Institute, where the senior scientist explored innate and adaptive immunity.

Go ask Rob Mitchell what a cheese curd is. A few years ago, he himself didn't know. Now they're his life. Like many schoolteachers, Mitchell, of Philadelphia, had a summer job to keep cash flowing. He runs a mobile food concession feeding the masses at soccer and lacrosse games, rock concerts, carnivals, and strawberry festivals in five states. Much like urban food-truck ooperators, festival vendors need something to set them apart. Mitchell, 40, raised this issue with his wife, Laura Windham, a psychologist.

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of April 16, 2013: Craig LaBan: Saturday night I was drafted by my daughter to be pizza chef for her birthday sleepover party. So, a field trip to South Philly (Faragalli's for dough, Claudio's and Di Bruno's for cheese, pesto, and meats) then I FIRED UP THE BIG GREEN EGG! Yeah, I'm a little enthusiastic. Here's my fave, an admittedly free-form round topped with prosciutto, mozz, and some organic tomato puree that went from tart and bright (when raw)

It's the "trucker's" moment in Philadelphia's food world now - especially when it comes to lunch. That's when some of the area's most exciting new food options are making the scene, rolling in on four wheels with a griddle full of creativity and an entrepreneurial dream. Channeling a Shane Victorino craving for Super Spam musubi? Check. Tiny Poi Dog at Temple University is your new Hawaiian snack shrine. In need of stunningly rich peanut butter ice cream sandwiched between double chocolate chip cookies?

This is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of May 8, 2013: Craig LaBan: Welcome to the Food Truck edition of our chat! I have two of my favorite food truck owners cohosting: Kiki Aranita from Poi Dog Philly, a Temple-based cart serving Hawaiian snack foods, and Alan Krawitz of Say Cheese Philadelphia, one of the "pioneers" of this generation of food trucks, whose Drexel-based truck specializes in variations on grilled cheese and...

A new kind of food truck is making its rounds in Camden. The Fresh Mobile Market, a community garden on wheels, made its first stop Wednesday at Mickle Tower, an affordable-housing high-rise for senior citizens near the waterfront. The refrigerated trailer, operated by the Camden City Garden Club, carries fresh seasonal produce and will drive to scheduled locations during the next year, including churches and community centers. Many residents in high-rise public housing don't have ready access to fruits and vegetables, said Mayor Dana L. Redd.

What's to eat? The genesis of all good things at the tiny, eye-poppingly bright yellow-and-red truck is a big, fat, juicy Angus burger for five or six bucks, depending how you build it. Wait: Five minutes. The Drexel Dragons are on summer break. Why we love it: Incredible burger taste without the trendy-burger-joint lines or skyscraper-high prices of Center City. Try this: One of the best bacon cheeseburgers ever. Or go for a daily special such as The Fresko, a "romantically seasoned" burger with marjoram, oregano, parsley, mint, minced garlic, cracked pepper and Mediterranean Sea salt, plus roasted peppers, arugula, goat cheese, tzatziki, balsamic reduction and Lord only knows what else.

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online blog: C.L.: We did a mega-blow-out package in last Thursday's food section on the burgeoning new food truck scene in this town ( http://www.philly.com/foodtrucks ) - cooking serious food on four wheels from LOVE Park to Drexel and Temple. So I invited the cooks and entrepreneurs behind three of the best trucks I came across to discuss the phenomenon. "The grandpa" of the movement - 29-year-old Tom McCusker of Honest Tom's; the wood-fired, dough-tossing crew from Pitruco Pizza, Nathan Winkler-Rhoades, Jonah Fliegelman, and Eric Hilkowitz; and the duo behind the relatively new Yumtown truck on 13th Street on Temple's campus, Lanie Belmont and Andrew Tantisunthorn.

The Mini Trini Menu: Hearty, spicy and sweet Trinidadian fare. Find it: LOVE Park, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Mondays and Thursdays. Look for: A bright, red-with-black-stripe Trinidadian flag on wheels. How new: About a month and a week. Web: www.theminitrini.com . Twitter: @ theminitrini . The old-fashioned way: 610-348-5401. Order: The double, two rounds of split-pea dough (way better than it sounds)

A rainy, windy forecast is a day to sleep in for many food truck owners. But the weather didn't deter Jonah Fliegelman, Nathan Winkler-Rhoades, and Eric Hilkowitz, the owners of Pitruco, a two-month-old, Ferrari-red pizza truck, from serving lunch recently at 33d and Arch Streets, one of their regular spots. (Eric gets there at 8:30 a.m. to snag the space.) Jonah called out to a customer, "Would you like an umbrella? We have some you can borrow. " He turned back to manning the truck's centerpiece, a wood-fired oven where pizzas puff up to golden goodness.

A new kind of food truck is making its rounds in Camden. The Fresh Mobile Market, a community garden on wheels, made its first stop Wednesday at Mickle Tower, an affordable-housing high-rise for senior citizens near the waterfront. The refrigerated trailer, operated by the Camden City Garden Club, carries fresh seasonal produce and will drive to scheduled locations during the next year, including churches and community centers. Many residents in high-rise public housing don't have ready access to fruits and vegetables, said Mayor Dana L. Redd.

This is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of May 8, 2013: Craig LaBan: Welcome to the Food Truck edition of our chat! I have two of my favorite food truck owners cohosting: Kiki Aranita from Poi Dog Philly, a Temple-based cart serving Hawaiian snack foods, and Alan Krawitz of Say Cheese Philadelphia, one of the "pioneers" of this generation of food trucks, whose Drexel-based truck specializes in variations on grilled cheese and...

It's the "trucker's" moment in Philadelphia's food world now - especially when it comes to lunch. That's when some of the area's most exciting new food options are making the scene, rolling in on four wheels with a griddle full of creativity and an entrepreneurial dream. Channeling a Shane Victorino craving for Super Spam musubi? Check. Tiny Poi Dog at Temple University is your new Hawaiian snack shrine. In need of stunningly rich peanut butter ice cream sandwiched between double chocolate chip cookies?

The lunch-hour rush is under way at the convoy of food trucks that line Spruce Street near the University of Pennsylvania campus. From inside the cramped Chez Yasmine, Jihed Chehimi is serving gourmet street fare from around the globe - heaping salmon sandwiches sprinkled with caviar, homemade couscous, and cups of Indian red lentil soup - all with a side of conversation that occasionally turns to the science of AIDS. For more than two decades, the Ph.D. in viral immunology was an HIV/AIDS researcher, first at Penn and then at the labs of the Wistar Institute, where the senior scientist explored innate and adaptive immunity.

What is it? Philly's first Hawaiian-themed food truck, operated by island expat Kiki Aranita and her partner, Chris Vacca. The duo took the lessons they learned while slinging hash at Foo Truck and added a Pacific twist, plating delicacies hard to find outside the 50th state. Aloha, lunch crowd: The food cart, named after a now-extinct breed of dog native to Hawaii, debuted early last month, setting up an exclusive residency at 13th and Montgomery, smack dab in the heart of Temple's campus.

A trio of food trucks will be pulling up to the Camden waterfront every Friday at lunch beginning May 10 and continuing throughout the summer. Organized by the Cooper's Ferry Partnership waterfront development corporation, "Food Truck Friday," as it's being called, is drawing interest from a variety of gourmet trucks around the region, including the three that will start next week: deli-on-wheels Reuben on Rye, Cupcakes 2 GoGo, and Lil' Trent's Treats...

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of April 30, 2013: Craig LaBan: With the spring weather blooming, it's my cue to lighten up with salads like this one from Zea Mays Kitchen truck, which focuses on creative uses for Native American ingredients. It didn't make into our food-truck story, so I'm glad to give it a shout-out. In big restaurant news from the Insider , some exciting new projects coming to the burbs have been announced: Josh Lawler of the Farm and Fisherman is the latest big Philly name to head to South Jersey, with plans to take over Andreotti's Viennese Café on Route 70 in Cherry Hill with a larger and more casual F & F Tavern and Market, targeted for the fall.

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of April 16, 2013: Craig LaBan: Saturday night I was drafted by my daughter to be pizza chef for her birthday sleepover party. So, a field trip to South Philly (Faragalli's for dough, Claudio's and Di Bruno's for cheese, pesto, and meats) then I FIRED UP THE BIG GREEN EGG! Yeah, I'm a little enthusiastic. Here's my fave, an admittedly free-form round topped with prosciutto, mozz, and some organic tomato puree that went from tart and bright (when raw)

SEXY GREEN TRUCK What is it? Before it was "Sexy," it was just Selim and Emina Zeka's Green Truck. But soon after they parked it on Montgomery Avenue near 13th in 2009 and began serving seductive pitas, paninis, sandwiches and salads stuffed with lip-smacking local veggies and love-me-tender meats, Temple students dubbed it the Sexy Green Truck. Passionate pita: Hug me! I'm a Hummus! (with cucumber, mozzarella and vinaigrette). Pucker-up panini: Fresh spinach, garlic, mushrooms, mozzarella.

What is it? A "mobile farmer's market" that whips up hearty sandwiches, soups and salads made with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Fare that's more healthy and tasty than you might expect from two guys in a truck. What to eat: Owners Kris Pepper and Eliot Coven are still plating their winter menu, which features the flavorful grilled squash sandwich (squash, ham, mixed greens, goat cheese and homemade herb mustard on multigrain bread) and rib-sticking soups, such as chipotle black bean chili and organic potato and leek.