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The Mobile Monday Series at St. James Tavern

8 Feb

A Mobile Food experiment has been conducted at the St. James Tavern since early January. The premise: pair a $1 Mystery Beer Can special with a different Mobile Food vendor each week to break up the MEH of Monday and offer a respite from downtown rush hour gridlock. These events serve as an introduction to St. James Tavern for some (voted best bar in Columbus by Columbus Underground). It also provides a business opportunity and a new circle of customers for food trucks that have difficulty serving our CBD (Central Business District) due to arcane city of Columbus codes and zoning laws. The series began with Pitabilities and was followed by Tatoheads, Late Night Slice, Freedom A La Cart and then an encore performance of Pitabilities.

Times are generally 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm or 7 pm to 10 pm. Saint James and the mobile vendors are still looking for the sweet spot for serving times that maximizes the number of people served and still allows the truck to break even or make a small profit for the night. If you live in Italian Village or want to grow mobile food in the lean times of winter, come out for a Mobile Monday to grow food choices for the core of the city.

Here is the line up for the rest of February.
February 13th – Tatoheads (see what Daniel has up his sleeve for potatoey goodness)

February 20th – Red Hot Food Truck (a trailer, this is their debut appearance for Mobile Monday).

February 27th – Kolache Republic (serving INSIDE the SJT).

For more details and updates – check out the St. James Tavern Facebook page and follow Food Fort Columbus on Twitter – @FoodFortCMH.

Ray Ray’s Hog Pit Takes a Swing at Wings

7 Feb IMG_0259

The subtitle of this post may be mythbusters. This writer has heard two mobile myths perpetuated of late: Mobile food is a fad and food trucks can’t make a living year round. Enter Ray Ray’s.

Jaime (Ray Ray) Anderson continues to prove that a good product, a little business sense and a lot of hard work, a person can make a good living from a mobile food truck or trailer. Ray Ray’s has served BBQ from the same location for over two years. Ray Ray’s stays open through the winter, serving 52 weeks each year. Jaime takes opportunities to try out new menu items such as smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well a grass fed beef special on Sunday’s. For Superbowl Sunday, he decided to serve wings and the results were……take a look for yourself. When I visited, the line was fifty people deep and still growing.

If you grill it, BBQ it or cook it right, they will come. You might have to wait for the next superbowl for wings….but maybe not, seems like it would be a good item for fall tailgating.

What Does The Green Tag Mean?

22 Jan

(Note: – We stole this from our Taco Trucks Columbus site. This applies to all mobile food vendors) There are several still out there serving food in the freeze of winter – so go out and give them some business.

Food carts, trucks and trailers are inspected by the Columbus Board of Health. Each vendor should display a green Columbus Health Department Color Coded Inspection Sign with the date of the last inspection. Inspections occur at least once per year, just like any restaurant or food supplier. Mobile food owners must have a peddlers license as well.

Health Department Tested, Hungry Woolf Approved

Health Department Tested, Hungry Woolf Approved

A yellow health department tag means the truck has been warned about a health code issue and is on probation while they implement recommended changes – so menu items may be limited. A red sticker indicates a major health code violation and the business is closed.

That being said, mobile food vendors can get a bad rap. Hot dog carts and hamburger stands fought these same stereotypes in the 20th century as they evolved into American icons. How many restaurant kitchens have you seen? This writer has seen some very scary kitchens behind closed doors. Mobile vendors are serving out of open kitchens – customers can see every step in the preparation process for start to serving time. If you are wary of a mobile food – ask us for a suggested truck and meal – I doubt you will be disappointed. Watch how the food is prepared. If something gives you the creeps, cut your losses and move on to the next truck. The owner of the mobile eatery is often the one cooking your food. He or she depends on repeat business to stay in business and cleanliness is the key to happy customers and health inspectors. The inspectors make regular spot checks on all mobile vendors just as they do for restaurants, grocery stores, fair food stands and elsewhere. So the answer is: street eats are as clean as any other food you eat and in this case – at least you can see it before you eat it. We think that is a very good thing.

Mobile Food Cooking Class(es) at Hills Market: A Trio of Trucks

10 Jan

The Hills Market has been a great supporter of Mobile Food in Columbus. Last year, they hosted a very well attended Mobile Foodie Fair. This year, they are starting out strong by offering not one, but two mobile food cooking classes. This serves two purposes. It breaks up the “meh” of winter with a new twist on cooking in the kitchen. The second purpose is to promote trucks in the off-season when they could use some (good not freezing) exposure and maybe a bit of catering revenue. Cure your curiousity about Mobile Cuisine and come to the Hills Market to meet, greet and eat with the guys behind the truck window or cart. Please sign up soon to help keep mobile food going in the wintertime.

Reservations required by January 15th. Call 614.846.3220

Hills Market, Tuesday January 17th.
Cooking Class: A Trio of Trucks | 6:30 p.m. | $25

The Hills Market kitchen will feature the talent behind three of our city’s best mobile food vendors: Hot Pita, Pitabilities and Kolache Republic.

Participants will start out in the kitchen for a one-hour demonstration class. Afterwards, Hills will serve a three course meal (complete with beer pairings from the folks at Elevator Brewing Company) in the Wine Department. The class is $25 per person and includes food and beer pairings.

Menu
• A Trio of Hummus: Hot Pita’s Truffle, Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus
• Pitabilities presents a Buffalo Chicken Pita featuring their signature bèlla sauce
(perfect for Super Bowl entertaining!)
• Kolache Republic Kolaches with fillings to include nuts, cheese and fruit.


(Photo bu Mike Beaumont)

Cooking Class: Angie Theado of The Coop |February 28th | 6:30 p.m. | $35

Angie Theado of The Coop Food Truck presents three favorites from the Clintonville-based truck. Participants will start out in the kitchen for a one-hour demo. Afterwards, a three course meal (complete with wine pairings) in the Wine Department. The class is $45 and includes food and wine pairings.

Menu:

• Duck Livers paired with a Winter Salad
• Seared Duck Breast with Shiitakes, Baby Bok Choy, Udon Noodles and Fried Duck Egg with a Mushroom Broth
• Ginger-Poached Pear with a Lemongrass-Orange Duck Egg Zabaglione with Caramelised Duck Skin.

Hot Pita: Mediterranean Street Food

12 Nov

Hot Pita (CLOSED)
614.315.8585
Hot Pita is out of the truck and into stores – selling their hummus at select specialty markets.
Twitter: @HotPita
Facebook: Hot Pita! Mediterranean Street Food

Hot Pita and the main guys behind the wheel: Adi and David are attacking the streets of Columbus armed with an arsenal of pita powered flavors. They have a pledge of freshness and vow never to serve from a freezer. The menu includes hummus, Tabbouleh , shawarmas (beef and chicken), falafel as well as lentil soup and daily specials. The service is friendly and upbeat. Their food continues to get rave reviews.

Hot Pita is one of the most mobile food trucks. It can be expected to hit two to three spots most days, check out Twitter or the new Hungerly app to find how close Hot Pita is to you. They also plan to keep cooking through the winter while many others are calling it a season, so show your support on the cold days so they can keep up the heat for 2012.

The Coop

9 Sep

The Coop
2701 Indianola
(Corner of Cliffside and Indianola, just north of Hudson)
Clintonville
614.581.9353
Tues-Fri Noon-8
Sat: 9-6 (Brunch all day)
The Coop Website

The Coop opened up on September 8th with no fanfare and a light rainstorm. The first day went well. The chef in the coop worked at Alana’s for over two years. The menu is still being developed and the regular hours and days of operation are being figured out. There will be Facebook and Twitter addresses for the Coop sometime soon.

The initial scout of this truck was done by our friend Dave from Weber Cam who said……

Sorry I didn’t get all the details, but the wing I just stole before dinner was sublime. I can’t tell if fried or roasted, not greasy, the meat was very, very nice. Not hot, just the sauce over it was a typical vinegary hot sauce, and a sprinkle of blue cheese and some really, really good coleslaw on the side.

All packaging biodegradable (this part I find fascinating, it’s very cool, polylactide I believe).

CMH Gourmand was on the scene within the hour. The Coop is a former Cinnamon Roll fair cart that has been repurposed as something better. The Coop also has a fair share of chicken wire added to the frame for barnyard aesthetics. The food is not far from the farm at this trailer either. The eggs and poultry come from North Market Poultry and Game. Other North Market vendors are sourced as well. The cheese is supplied by Meadowmade. The chef and her assistant shop for produce at area Farmers Markets on Mondays and Tuesdays. And for a touch of environmentally friendly vending – the carry out containers, forks and such are Earthaware – as biodegradable as there is. Other vendors sourced for Coop Meals are: Thunderkiss Coffee, Auddino’s Bakery and Shagbark Seed & Mill Company.

Two menu’s are shown below. The chicken and eggs sampled were prepared perfectly. We will see what develops with The Coop and will update this post as new information comes in.

Rolley – Pulley’s: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

6 Sep

Rolley-Pulley’s
Cuisine: Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches
Location: variable
Current “main” location: Downtown, corner of Town and Wall Street
(Monday to Friday Lunch time)
614.570.2003

Rolly-Pulley’s popped onto the Food Cart scene in early August. The fare is simple – three styles of BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. There my be some changes or additions to the menu over time. The cart is also booked for all Ohio State home games this year and will be parked at the Harrison House apartments. We sampled the Squeeler Pulley at the Food Cart and Truck Fest 2011. This sandwich included pulled pork, with cole slaw and hot pepper flake sauce.

Spinelli’s Deli Mobile Sammies

29 Aug

Spinelli’s Deli Mobile Sammies
Location: Variable
Website
Twitter

Spinelli’s Deli has been a standby for Victorian Village residents since 2002 offering bagels and a wide variety of hot and cold, breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches. A downtown location was opened in early 2011. The downtown location may have been a bit ahead of the times so the Spinelli’s team decided to close the location in August 2011. Out of the ashes of the brick and mortar location a food cart was born. Using a rental cart from the ECDI Food Fort program, Spinelli’s Mobile Sammies hit the the pavement for various events. Spinelli’s is still tweaking the menu and other aspects of the cart. Currently Brezel Pretzels are part of the menu which we applaud for the flavor as well as pairing with a local purveyor. We will update this post as the menu and locations develop.

RT’s Grill

28 Jul

RT’s Grill
Cuisine: Breakfast, Lunch Dinner and Late Night(?)
Clintonville / No Man’s Land between Clintonville and Worthington (depends whom you ask)
Across from Pig Iron BBQ – 5295 N. High St
(Closed)

RT’s Grill started serving food at soccer and baseball games. The R & T are Rob and Tina. They were having lunch at Pig Iron one day, saw the empty lot across the street then decided to try out the location. R & T opened at their present spot the third week of July. Business is slow but steady. Rob and Tina assisted by their friend Mike, plan to give late night a try this weekend from 7 pm to 1 or 2 am.

The menu lists breakfast and lunch basics. We defer to Breakfast with Nick for the morning fare review. Lunch includes hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and such as well as a daily special. The specials vary but include chicken and noodles, meatloaf and other home cooked dinner favorites.

The bologna sandwich was sampled on the recon visit. It was thickly sliced and grilled. Serving options included cheese, tomato, onion and pickles.

Earth’s Crust

11 Jul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

food carts columbus

 

 

 

 

Pizza & Baked goods.
Facebook
Twitter
Phone: 614 440 9885
Check Facebook and Twitter for updates on location

Street Eats has been following Earth’s Crust and Michelle Page for a long time, so long in fact that this post is a joint production by Vivsmack, CMH Gourmand & Hungrywoolf.

street food , food carts columbus

Street eating is all too often synonymous with hot dogs, gyros, and other meaty morsels. But not in Columbus. Joining the ranks of Rad Dog, Lucky Ladle and other mobile vegan & vegetarian friendly carts, Dreddie Page (a.k.a. Michelle), who is based out of the Clintonville Community Market, has been offering health conscious pizza and baked treats using local, organic, fresh ingredients. Using whole wheat berries (germ included!) and spelt, Michelle mills her own flour to ensure that the menu is minimally processed with the freshest possible flavor and the highest nutritional value. Her grains come from the Amish farms. She does not use white refined flour or refined sugars. She does use natural ingredients with a dash or dollop of love depending on the item. When Vivshmack visited there were three pizza options: caramelized onions and apples with Daiya cheddar, cheese, and pepperoni. She chose two slices (the Daiya option and the pepperoni) for $5 and was really impressed with the light and nutty crust. Yesterday Michelle was offering a choice of two 8 inch pizzas: Ohio cheese pizza with locally made sauce and 3 cheese blend and a tasty homemade broccoli pesto pizza with fresh mozzarella and tomato. Vegan cheese is also available.

whole grain pizza cart

The Earth’s Crust cart hops around town offering up delicious sandwiches, signature pizzas and a selection of baked goods. The menu changes daily and seasonally. Sandwiches are made with whole wheat, vegan, sliced bread from Stan Evans Bakery, a little known bake shop located in Grandview. Vivian sampled the Tomato NOTzarella sandwich served warm straight from the cart’s built in griddle.

Michelle is available for catering orders and has a fantastic selection of pies, rolls, scones and cookies. Check out a menu here. Rumor has it that Earth’s Crust pizza are much loved by Clintonville families and super popular with neighborhood kiddies so call ahead if you have any special requests or are placing a large order.

Michelle Page is a budding mobile food mogul. You may see her Krazy Monkey truck resting in the parking lot of Global Village Coffee Shop and Gallery lot in Clintonvile this summer in between work to get it ready for the road. In the meantime, she operates a space inside selling her juices and baked goods. If there is an outdoor event with food carts you can expect the Earth’s Crust cart or the Krazy Monkey truck will be there.

Want more of her story? Check out Michelle’s Earth’s Crust blog

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