Category Archives: Food Trucks

December 23, 2013 · 12:08 pm

A New Food Truck in the New Year! Dump Pho King Truck


A great new food truck is coming to the Triangle but they need your support. The Dump Pho King Truck  will be a Raleigh based truck that specializes in authentic Asian food, with a healthy serving of humor. They have launched a kickstarter campaign to retrofit the FedEx fleet truck they purchased to start their mobile food business. Several pop-up tastings are also planned in the coming weeks to give you chance to try their culinary delights.

“Two Girls, One Truck. Our Dump Pho King journey to merge our American dreams and Asian stomachs. Here’s to celebrating our inner fat kid, giving back to the city that we love, and having a blast while doing it.” ~ Sunny & Sophia

The Food
Their specialties are Dumplings and Pho, but the main goal of Sunny and Sophia, the dreamers and chefs behind this new gourmet food truck, is to source locally, give back to our community and have a sense of humor while doing it. Check out some of the planned menu for the Dump Pho King Truck below:

Appetizers:

  • Vietnamese Carpaccio: (Bò Tái Chanh) – Moo!
  • Korean BBQ Tacos: AKA “thebomb.com”
  • Spicy Garlic Eggplant: Veggie/Vegan friendly
  • Spring Onion Pancakes: Taiwanese street food at its best.

Entrees:

  • Pork and Chive Dumplings:Traditional as heck 
  • Shiitake Mushroom and Ginger Dumplings: Veggie/Vegan Friendly
  • Vietnamese Beef Pho: Asian Windex – Cures everything.
  • Vietnamese Chicken Pho: Lighter than the beef

Drinks:

  • Passionfruit Green Tea
  • Guava Grapefruit Fizz
  • Traditional Taiwanese Milk Tea (with or without bubbles)

Pop-Up Tastings
Don’t miss your chance to sample some of their menu items at their upcoming tasting events. The first event will be at FullSteam Brewery in Durham on Saturday 12/28 at 4:30pm. See the flyer below for additional pop-up dates!

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Dump Pho King Truck
website: http://dumpphokingtruck.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DumpPhoKingTruck
twitter: @DumpPhoKngTweet
instagram: http://instagram.com/dumpphokingtruck#

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October 31, 2013 · 5:13 am

KoKyu BBQ Food Truck Needs Your Support – Help them Open a Brick & Mortar Restaurant!

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KoKyu BBQ Food Truck

The Kokyu BBQ Food Truck is one of my favorite Triangle trucks. For the past three years they have been my “go to” food truck when I visit Durham. They serve unique dishes like “Carolina Carnitas” Sliders, Pekin Duck “TaKos”,  “Unreal Buffalo Chicken” Sliders, and Philly “CheeseFakes”. The people behind Kokyu are now ready to take the next step and are working on opening a brick & mortar restaurant in downtown Durham.  They have an ongoing kickstarter fundraising campaign to help raise the seed money to do this and are so very close to reaching their goal, but they need your support!

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Korean BBQ Taco

I’ve always enjoyed KoKyu’s Korean BBQ tacos. I have many fond memories of scarfing them down between sets when my band played the “garage stage” at Motorco Music Hall where the KoKyu truck was usually set up. It was a great inexpensive way to eat something delicious and unique, which is a big deal when you are dining on a musician’s budget!

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Duck Fat Tots!

Another KoKyu favorite of mine is the duck fat tater tots! At first I was somewhat skeptical of tater tots made in duck fat but I was quickly won over after my first bite. They quickly became a staple that goes very well with a nice cold pint of beer.

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KoKyu

The good news is that KoKyu has plans to keep their food trucks running even after they open their restaurant and they have some neat plans for the restaurant as well. But time is running out and they really just need a little bump from all of us to help them make their funding goal. Their Kickstarter campaing ends in a little less than than 20 hours and they need that last little push to send them over the top! Please consider supporting their quest to open a brick and mortar restaurant and visit their crowd source funding page here and show your support!

About KoKyu
In the winter of 2010, KoKyu BBQ first hit the streets of the triangle in North Carolina. Packing an array of extremely fresh produce and delicate, slow-cooked meats, lines quickly formed in front of the distinctive graffiti adorned trailer.

Lines formed at a number of local food truck hotspots and KoKyu eventually landed on Rigsbee Avenue. The fans followed and KoKyu became an icon of The Triangle food scene while amassing an ongoing list of excellent reviews ranging from local bloggers to the New York Times, so KoKyu decided to stay for a while.

Look out for KoKyu Ondo in the Fall of 2013, the newest addition to the KoKyu family of trucks. Ondo will specialize in the same principles that made KoKyu BBQ a hit- extremely fresh, perfectly cooked street meals, all on a dime budget. Keep us posted if there are any locales you’d like to see us roll up to.

Website: http://www.kokyubbq.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kokyuBBQ
Twitter: @KoKyuBBQ

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June 18, 2013 · 7:45 am

Triangle Raw Foods Needs Your Support to Open a Kitchen & Cafe

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Matthew & Jane of Triangle Raw Foods

Do you like to eat healthy and enjoy the benefits of organic raw food and vegan and gluten free options. These are not always the easiest types of food to find, but we are lucky enough to have a business like Triangle Raw Foods (TRF) here in the Triangle to help meet this need. Triangle Raw Foods was started by Chef Matthew Daniels and Jane Howard Crutchfield out of a mutual love for health and good food.  They embody the raw food movement by providing organic, gluten-free, vegan raw food options to our community using as many local, organic ingredients as possible, and really value the importance of supporting our local economy.  TRF has steadily grown over the past two years from a weekly delivery service to a food truck, and they are now looking to expand and open their very own prep kitchen and café space where they can prepare and serve their raw-food, vegan, and gluten-free offerings.

The TRF food truck has been a huge part of thier growth, but they are ready to grow and take things to the next level. Their long-term goal is to be able to serve freshly prepared raw food meals in a small cafe setting. Matthew and Jane plan to host pop-up dinners and raw food prep classes in their new café, and envision TRF becoming a place for community members to swing by for a quick healthy bite or pick up food to go. Before they can do that,they will need to build and equip a commercial kitchen. TRF has set up a community fundraising campaign online with Indiegogo with the hopes of raising the necessary $25,000 needed to cover the basics of the expansion. To learn more about TRF’s vision or to contribute to their campaign, check out their video below and visit their Indiegogo fundraising site here.

The Triangle Raw Foods Kitchen & Cafe’ Project

What Your Support Will Go Towards
– Equipment: commercial dehydrators, commercial food processors, high speed blenders, refrigeration, counter tops, sinks, immersion heaters, dishwasher, etc.
-Building the space: materials, plumbing, electricity, permits, getting everything to health code.
-Other essential stuff: tables, chairs, dishes, etc

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Triangle Raw Foods Sushi Rolls ~ Image Courtesy TRF

What Supporters Get
Besides getting an awesome place to come enjoy a fresh raw food meal or raw food to go, you will be a huge part of helping to create the Triangle’s VERY FIRST all raw prep kitchen and small cafe!   Plus, there are some other great perks for being a supporter!  Mathew and Jane want you to have the opportunity to get back what you give, so they are offering discounts and other rewards to their supporters.    

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Triangle Raw Foods at the Durham Food Truck Rodeo

Every little bit helps, so please consider supporting the TRF Indiegog campaign and sharing news about Triangle Raw Foods with your friends and family. Their kitchen & cafe’ will be an amazing addition to the Triangle we can all enjoy!

Triangle Raw Foods
Website: http://trianglerawfoods.com/
Facebook: Triangle.Raw.Foodists
Support Triangle Raw Foods: Indiegogo Campaign

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May 13, 2013 · 8:44 pm

Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo Success!

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Food Trucks on Fayetteville Street

In case you missed it, this past Sunday downtown Raleigh was the host of a huge food truck rodeo – the biggest ever in Raleigh with over 40 food trucks in attendance. Trucks were set up along Fayetteville Street starting just south of the Capital Building. The inaugural event ran from noon to 5pm on Sunday, but if you missed it don’t worry, similar food truck events will be held on June 9th, August 11th, and October 13th. Visit DowntownRaleighFoodTruckRodeo.com for updates about future events.

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Barone – New Meatball Food Truck

Raleigh has checkered past with food trucks. While the food truck rules in the City of Oaks are not quite as lenient as in Durham, contrary to popular belief foods trucks are allowed in Raleigh. This was just the first time so many of them were all together at one time here in Raleigh. All in all I think the event organizers did a good job with this first event. There were over 40 trucks spanning a wide range of cuisine including meatball sandwiches, pizza, Korean bbq, and dumplings. Several of the local fan favorites were on hand like Klausie’s Pizza, Chirba Chirba, and American Meltdown. There were also a few new trucks I’ve never seen before from neighboring Greensboro like Urban Street Grill, and Great Escape.

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Seating Area

Everyone I talked to was appreciative of the seating areas provided so people had a place to sit and eat instead of being forced to stand and balance their plates. Of course there were some complaints about the usual long lines and wait times for some of the more popular trucks, but I have been to enough of these events to know it comes with the territory. Some say you should have more trucks, but honestly that just draws even more people and the popular trucks will always have a big fan base waiting in line. In general a good rule of thumb is to come early and come with a game plan so you don’t waste time looking for trucks you want to try.

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Local Beer – Aviator Brewing out of Fuquay Varina

Another great aspect of the rodeo was that it featured some of our great local breweries too. Three local breweries, Aviator Brewing, Carolina Brewing Company, and the City of Oaks newest addition Raleigh Brewing Company, were all on hand selling their brew. All three did a great job of ensuring they had enough beer and kept the line of thirsty rodeo fans moving.

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Sweet Stacey Cakes – Cupcake Food Truck aka “Smiles”

Several of my favorite trucks were at the rodeo and I made a point of hitting them first before the long lines started forming. I got a smoked turkey sandwich from Sympathy for the Deli and followed it up with a “Thin Mint” cupcake from Sweet Stacey Cakes. I never miss a chance to get food from these trucks when I see them and they never disappoint. Both really hit the spot on Sunday! Another favorite of mine is the Parlour Ice Cream truck. Their salted caramel ice cream is heavenly!

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Food Truck Fans

Looking back on Sunday’s event I think this first large scale rodeo in Raleigh will go down as a big success for the city and serve as an example of the growing demand for such events in Raleigh. Hopefully city leaders will continue to recognize the positive role food trucks play in the evolving downtown scene and will create an environment that encourages more of these events in the future. For information about future food truck rodeos in Raleigh check out DowntownRaleighFoodTruckRodeo.com or follow them on facebook.

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April 25, 2013 · 12:03 pm

2nd Annual Brewgaloo Local Beer Fest Saturday April 27th in Raleigh

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Shop Local Raleigh  presents their second annual Brewgaloo local beer festival on Saturday April 27th (3-9pm) in downtown Raleigh’s City Plaza. Brewgaloo 2013 will feature 25 craft breweries from North Carolina including several favorites from right here in the Triangle.  There will also be 14 local food trucks on hand to feed the hungry crowd and live music  provided on two stage from 8 different local bands.

General admission is free and includes a pint glass (special unbreakable acrylic souvenir glasses will be available while supplies last). Beer is sold by the pint or by the taste. 1 token= 1 pint; 1 token= a taster card with 5 samples available.

This event supports Shop Local Raleigh and its mission to sustain programs that strengthen our local businesses.

Event Details
Brewgaloo 2013 Saturday, April 27-  rain or shine
Raleigh City Plaza (Map)
3:00 – 9:00PM

Website: http://www.shoplocalraleigh.org/brewgaloo/
Twitter: @Brewgaloo
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Brewgaloo

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