Food Truck

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat: Craig LaBan: First, a big congrats goes out to all the local chefs and restaurateurs who were nominated as national semifinalists for James Beard Foundation Awards: Vernick Food and Drink (best new restaurant); Marc Vetri (outstanding chef); Vetri (oustanding service); Fountain Restaurant (outstanding service); Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. (outstanding bar program); Andre Chin and Amanda Eap, Artisan Boulanger Patissier (outstanding pastry chef)

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat: Craig LaBan: First, a big congrats goes out to all the local chefs and restaurateurs who were nominated as national semifinalists for James Beard Foundation Awards: Vernick Food and Drink (best new restaurant); Marc Vetri (outstanding chef); Vetri (oustanding service); Fountain Restaurant (outstanding service); Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. (outstanding bar program); Andre Chin and Amanda Eap, Artisan Boulanger Patissier (outstanding pastry chef)

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.

What is it? Homestyle comfort food, served up by charismatic chef Verna Swerdlow: "We make stuff we have hankerings for, nothing too over the top. " Expect sandwiches, mac n' cheese and other classics straight from mom's kitchen. What to eat: Verna's menu rotates seasonally, and this winter's top dishes are the tender and juicy flank steak sandwich with chipotle mayo, and the pulled-pork grilled cheese. Come summer, the truck will switch to jambalaya and banh mi - the Vietnamese equivalent of hoagies, yo. Not a carnivore?

Jaeden Lieberher is a South Philly kid at heart, but lately, he's gone Hollywood. He has a starring role in a Super Bowl ad, playing a kid who uses a Hyundai Santa Fe to recruit a team to beat the neighborhood bullies at football. "It was a really fun commercial to film," Jaeden, 10, said from his home in Los Angeles, where he moved two years ago, after his father began operating a food truck there. In the spot, a bully pushes Jaeden off the football field and tells him to come back when he has a team.

What is it?: This imaginative food truck offers up unique dishes comprising fresh produce, meats, and cheeses from sustainable Philadelphia area farms. On the menu are soups, salads and sandwiches for $4 - $8, and desserts for less than $5. Menu: Being more of a grilled cheese and french fries person, I have to be convinced, cajoled, sometimes even tricked into sampling more healthy fare than is typically found on the kids menu at a local diner. But as soon as I rolled up on Yumtown I was sold.

ATLANTIC CITY - Atlantic City's poorest residents had next to nothing going into the storm, and they came out of it with even less. In the shadow of multibillion-dollar casinos that now boast of having come through Hurricane Sandy just fine, many of the seaside gambling resort's least fortunate endure hardship with quiet resignation - even gratitude for the help they're getting. Some lost heat, hot water, and electricity for days or weeks. They lost many of their meager possessions, their food, and most of their clothes.

AH, THE CORNUCOPIA: symbol of food abundance. A "horn of plenty" overflowing with food. And all of it 100 percent vegan. Wait, how can that be? Where's the deprivation, the scarcity, the righteous self-denial? Who came up with such a crazy symbol? It's actually logical, of course, because the cornucopia is a "harvest" icon, which means plant produce - and nowadays plant foods are being shared in more abundant variety and diversity than ever, if you know where to look. After I covered Bethlehem's VegFest, I reaped a bumper crop of comments pointing out veggie celebrations, although smaller-scale, much closer to home.

What to eat: In a city long underserved by Thai cuisine, Robert Zapata has taken the food truck world by storm with a Thai and Mexican lunch fusion. There may not be a more original dish in Philadelphia than Cucina Zapata's Cap'n Crunch-crusted tilapia burrito. If you aren't a fan of the flaky white fish for its texture, the Cap'n makes it crunch with an unmistakable childhood flavor before it is piled with avocado, a mild pico de gallo and a tangy peanut sauce. Insane value: Two juicy Thai short rib tacos ($6)