Cuisine: Korean street food
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On the way to covering Ajumama, allow me to pose a bigger picture question: what is the point of the mobile food vendor?

At the most basic level, a mobile food vendor’s product – prepared food – is not inherently (key qualifier) different to that of a restaurant. The levels of service provided, however, are night-and-day distinct. This even extends to location, as you’ll never have to refer to Facebook or Twitter to figure out where a restaurant will be stationed at any given time. At a truck, there’s no A/C or accommodation for shelter from the elements, often no seating, no refills on drinks, no alcohol options, and you’ll likely stand to wait for the stretch between ordering and receiving your food.*

Yet stand and wait they did, during Ajumama’s debut last week, to the tune of roughly 80 people deep. Rain threatened, and finally made good as predicted, but social media drove an enviable number of paying customers to a truck that nobody had ever tried.

Clearly, despite the absence of service (and shelter!), some mobile food vendors have tremendous pull. This suggests that there are advantages inherent to the medium, and, no doubt there are. A clever young chef can get their own mobile business off of the ground for a small fraction of the cost of opening a restaurant, and the relatively low overhead can provide the leeway to be far more creative and novel in their offering. Recurring costs are also far lower, and these savings can be passed on to the consumer. When considering a strict price/quality proposition, mobile can provide the best food deals in town.

Which takes us back to those 80 hungry customers willing to spend an evening betting on a few mentions swirling around the inter-tubes about this new Korean-style street food vendor.

That’s all about the novelty, folks – I cannot emphasize this enough (especially to those looking to get in on the mobile craze). The promise of the new and the interesting has tremendous, enduring appeal that, at best, trumps all other considerations.

Or, to be bluntly personal: when I have a rare free evening to choose whatever food offering I please, providing something that is both unique and well executed is exactly what it will take to get me to forgo the many comforts of a restaurant. Full stop.

So, yeah… Korean-style street food. At Ajumama, this means several things, but first and foremost it means pajeon - a savory, thick and eggy pancake crisscrossed with strands of green onion. Four types are found on the menu, including seafood, pork, chicken, and a choose-your-own-ingredients option. We tried the chicken, and enjoyed it tremendously, though the accompanying sauce had a bit more vinegar than we’d prefer. Portions were generous, and prices ranged from $6 – $9.

We also tried the hodduk, a sweet, roughly english muffin sized hotcake filled with a gooey brown sugar, cinnamon, and nut mix. This was very easy to like, and in our explorations we’ve not found anything like it in the city. Even those with a distaste for Asian flavors will find hodduk to be unchallenging and likely downright addictive.

One of my favorite things about Ajumama is that they have daily specials, and that they actually change. On the first visit, it was kimbap – think Korean sushi roll – and on the second it was spicy squid skewers. The kimbap, served with either tuna or spam (don’t knock it, pretty good!) filling, was refreshing on an unseasonably warm spring evening, and the squid was a tasty hot sauce and hot pepper sinus clearer.

These are early days for Ajumama, so early that it’s almost unfair to review them prior to allowing for opportunity to work out the inevitable start-up kinks. But, with that said, there’s clearly so much that’s right about what they’re doing from the start, and so much promise in what they can do, that I feel compelled to answer the intro question with this:

Operations like Ajumama are the point of mobile food vending. If you’re hungry, we strongly encourage you to check them out. And, if you’re looking to start up a mobile food operation of your own, give some thought to how Ajumama have shrewdly structured just about all aspects of their business to target the advantages of the mobile food model.

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* Many of these service-related concerns are being taken on by groups trying to create what are called street food ‘pods’, the most developed of which is ‘Dinin’ Hall‘.  Dinin’ Hall is a slick operation that provides a gathering point for trucks, plenty of indoor seating, a central point of sale, and delivery of your order to your table. The participating trucks vary from day to day, so look here for the schedule.

Cuisine: Cajun

Corner of Gay and High St.
614.381.4993
Monday-Friday 11am-2pm

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?  Last year we wrote a post about Johnny Oak’s cajun BBQ truck. In it’s previous iteration, they were serving up BBQ, but have recently moved away from that after finding that downtown office workers called the fire department when they spied plumes of BBQ exhaust emanating from their on-site smoker.

Having closed his North Campus restaurant, Johnny is now focusing on mobile food completely, and the revamped menu found on his new trailer (in the same downtown location) is closer in content to the old restaurant menu.

Johnny is deliberately trying to keep his prices down, and as a result his sandwiches are one of the best lunch deals around. We heartily recommend the creole shrimp po boy, and were particularly impressed with the plump, tasty and well cooked shrimp.  Not too surprising for a place that has the crustacean featured in its name, but we can think of a few seafood-themed restaurants that should be begging him for his supplier’s contact info. The photo below, sadly, is not a great picture and it’s not the whole sandwich either – this thing was huge (as in, probably 14″ long), and all of $5.50.

There are also sides available if you have room for them. Of the two we tried (beans and greens) we preferred the greens which featured a generous amount of bacon.

If you’re in a hurry you can call or text in your order. But don’t forget to leave a tip – as of our last visit, the cooks were working for gratuity alone.

Also, keep an eye out around town – Johnny is prepping a full-on Cajun assault with the impending debut of a fleet of 4 trucks.

Per Zoot
@perzoottruck
614.506.8849
Specialty – Italian sandwiches

Before opening Per Zoot, owner Matt Swint worked at Rotolo’s Pizzeria but his passion for Italian food extends back to a childhood spent in an Italian neighborhood in the East side of Cleveland.

Matt’s been working on the Per Zoot concept for sometime – originally he was planning to open a truck serving Italian flatbreads called piadinas, but after Piada opened he went back to the drawing board looking for another idea he could put his own mark on. After finding a recipe for tigelles, another style of Italian bread, the concept was set.

A tigelle is a round bread disc similar in size to an English muffin with a crisp exterior and soft inside. Matt described it as a cross between an English muffin and a biscuit… which, after trying it, isn’t a bad description overall. Historically tigelles have also been known as ‘crescentines’ and tigelle refers to the press used to cook the bread. They are most commonly associated with Modena.

In addition to the sandwiches listed on the menu (above), the special was a prosciutto (a very traditional filling), mozzarella and arugula tigelle. The sandwich was served with a side of nicely dressed and properly cooked green beans.

We also tried Per Zoot’s signature sandwich – Arista (Italian pork loin) with roasted onions served on a tigelle. This sandwich was accompanied by some lightly dressed arugula. We enjoyed the sandwich but thought the pork could have benefited from a touch more salt. The photo below gives you a better idea of the tigelle bread.

Possibly our favorite sandwich was the polpette sandwich di casa, a meatball sandwich with red sauce and mozzarella on soft house made focaccia. The meatballs were juicy and flavorful and falling apart. There was just enough sauce for flavor, but not enough to make the sandwich overly soggy, and a generous amount of cheese.

The menu will be changing with different specials and seasonal ingredients. Matt said that he will be adding salads to the menu and when the weather gets cold again he’ll be serving soup too.  A sandwich and a drink was $7, and chips are also available.

Per Zoot will be at different locations for lunch next week, follow them on twitter for updates. Their home base will be outside Robbie’s Hobbies in Clintonville (just North of Henderson on High Street).

Food truck season has well and truly kicked off in Columbus, with new truck openings picking up pace and lots of food truck events scheduled. Street Thyme, Sweet Carrot and Per Zoot have already debuted recently, and we’re expecting a few more trucks to open yet in April (including Blu Olive, Soph’s gastrogi and Ajumama)

We will do our best to keep you updated of food truck news and events during the season via the website and on twitter and facebook. Feel free to add other food truck events in the comments. You can also check our twitter list for individual trucks updates.

Monthly/Weekly Events:

Food truck and cart hop. Parsons Ave, last Sunday of the month from 12pm-6pm is the Food Truck and Cart Hop located at the Southwest Corner of Parsons and Gates in Merion Village.

Mobile Monday’s at the St James Tavern (weekly schedule) Usually 6.30pm onwards. A different truck to try each week and $1 beer specials at the St. James. April line up.

Food Truck Friday Night at the Hudson St Market 6-10pm (starting April 13th)

Dinin’ Hall opens April 30th. Food truck pod in Franklinton offering lunch daily.

Surf and Trucks Tuesdays at The Hills Market (starting May 1st)

Columbus Food Adventures taco truck tours. Every Sunday 4pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

Here are some other dates for your calendars:

OHS 35th Annual Spring Arts Festival will be held April 15, 2012, 12pm-4pm at Olentangy High School –
Lewis Center, Ohio 43035. Food carts/trucks include, Batch, Mojo TaGo, Pitabilities, Short North Bagel, Street Thyme, The Cheesy Truck, and Yellow Boy’s Polish Boy’s.

Earth Day Celebration (Columbus Commons) April 21st 11am-10pm

Columbus Underground Meet up at Dinin’ Hall featuring Pitabilities, Street Thyme and Ajumama. May 5th 5.30-8.30pm

Spring Flea, the annual open-air benefit for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, is
Sunday May 6, 2012 in the Short North at 1024 N. High St. (at E. 2nd
Ave.). Vendors include: Jeni’s (all proceeds from scoops will go the
Foodbank) & Freedom A La Cart (incredible Latin-leaning street food).

Columbus Arts Festival June 1st-3rd

Food truck round up at Park Street Festival June 9th Noon-8pm

Columbus Commons Food Truck Festival July 13th

Columbus Food Truck and Cart Festival at Ohio Village August 25th and 26th 

Street Thyme
Gourmet Burgers
614.586.3113
Website
Facebook
Twitter @street_thyme

There’s a new burger mobile on the streets of Columbus – Street Thyme. This one’s been in the works for a while and we’re pleased to see that they’re finally open. Street Thyme sells double burgers with premium toppings. Their signature burgers are specially (and coarsely) ground by Carfagna’s Market. The burgers all have Columbus themed names like the 270 triple or the High Street Herbivore. Daily specials will also be available.

I tried the Cbus Sweet Heat with roasted Jalapeno and bell peppers, carmelized onion, pepperjack and sriracha honey aioli. A tasty burger and not as spicy as I expected. The patties are thin and I would ask for mine underdone next time. I found mine a little too salty, but it was their first day so I’ll give them the benfit of the doubt. For the sake of research I also ordered some of the tater tots and a milk shake. I like that the tater tots used BBQ spice rather than sauce as they stayed nice and crispy.

You can add house cured pork belly to any burger to make it Ohio style. But don’t worry vegetarians there is a house made veggie burger made with chick peas and lentils. Also house made are the sweet pickles that come with the burger, the BBQ sauce and aioli. The signature thyme aioli is made with confit garlic and fresh thyme and had a nice garlicky tang. The buns are made by Klosterman’s in Cincinnati (who also supply Graffiti burger). They are more robust than super market buns and are fairly sweet. I like that they were toasted on the grill.

Street Thyme also offers milkshakes and will be rotating seasonal flavors. I tried – and enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb which was sweet and creamy and fairly light in texture. The other flavor today was banana Butterfinger.

The truck is owned a run by Josh Chapman and Steve Zepettela who have worked together at several local restaurants. Steven is a sous chef at Elevator Brewing. Today they were joined by another friend and a former co-worker who’s a CIA graduate. All three worked at The Fish Market which is where they met.

Street Thyme don’t have any set locations yet but they will be at Franklin Imaging (500 Shrock Road) tomorrow lunchtime and they also have a calendar on their website.

Spring has sprung. While this is normally the beginning of the Mobile Food season, our mild to non-existent winter meant the season never ended for some strong-willed wheeled chefs. A project to battles the meh’ of winter and add some fun on Monday’s was Mobile Monday at the St. James. Each week features a different mobile food vendor and a $1 per can mystery beer special. The series survived the winter and will continue through the spring. Each Monday from 6:30 to 9:30 you can expect a food truck or cart parked by the St. James Tavern to serve supper for your enjoyment.

The line up for the next three weeks is:

March 26th
Kolache Republic

April 2nd
Late Night Slice

April 9th
Short North Bagel Deli

Trucks and carts expected in April and beyond include: Per Zoot, Ajumama, Burrito Bus and more.

St. James continues to serve as a mobile hub with regular appearances by Tatoheads on the weekends and the return of Yellow Boy Polish Boys slated soon as well.

St. James Tavern
1057 N 4th Street
Italian Village