With any craze, there comes a point when you need to stop and ask yourself, Why am I doing this again? For example, everyone in America standing in line in the hot, hot sun or the freezing cold for a measly cupcake should be asking themselves, Is this really worth 45 minutes of my life? Meanwhile, I am asking myself what is so great, really, about food trucks?
I love the idea of food trucks. I walk up to a line of trucks and feel downright giddy. I’m a kid in a candy shop with all these promising choices. I have but one thought and it is,
But obviously I can’t. So after careful deliberation I pick a truck and get in line. But as I’m waiting, euphoria wears off and reality sets in. I start to realize, Hmm, standing outside a running truck inhaling exhaust fumes for ten minutes has really curbed my appetite and has in fact made me quite nauseous.
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And then I look at the prices and think, Why does this cost ten dollars again? There’s no shelter from the elements, no place to sit and eat, no ambience, no service, and often no utensils or napkins. There is literally just the food. So without all that overhead to incorporate into the price, why is my lunch still so expensive? I thought the trade-off of eating out of the back of a truck would be that it cost…like…a dollar.
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Then I eat my food and am almost always disappointed. In hindsight I realize, Well of course this is never as good as it sounds. Because it was made in a truck.
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Why would I expect otherwise? Why would food taste better just for having been made in a truck? I think for me, this misconception comes from the fact that each truck has its own specialty. There is the pho truck, the BBQ truck, the dumpling truck, the seafood truck, the pizza truck, etc. So if this is the one thing they do, they must do it well! If only that were so. Sometimes, serving a limited menu means that you can buy food in bulk, make it all in advance, and scoop it out of crock pot A, B, or C as customers order. So while a cilantro lime fish taco always sounds good on paper, a dollop of defrosted baby shrimp bought in a ten-pound bag from Costco and cooked hours prior is never the fresh and tasty treat I had in mind. And yet I keep coming back, still deluded into thinking that this ten-dollar grilled cheese is going to transcend the possibilities of bread and cheese because it has a whole truck devoted to it, and that means something, dammit.
Is Everyone an Idiot but Me? 
You are so funny. This essay made a light bulb go off over my head. “Hey. Wait a second! She’s right! Why am I paying $12 for a sandwich being sold out of a dirty camper?” It is absolutely the diesel fumes that are causing us to think food trucks are a great idea.
Haha it must be!
I am also a food truck stalker as you are! Here were I work in NYC the avenue has a bunch – cupcakes, mac & cheese, tacos, thai, halal, you name it!
Think I’ll head out to the burrito truck now! We’re such suckers aren’t we?
Pretty much!
I am also a food truck stalker as you are! Here were I work in NYC the avenue has a bunch – cupcakes, mac & cheese, tacos, thai, halal, you name it!
Think I’ll head out to the burrito truck now! We’re such suckers aren’t we?
Not much opportunity for food truck food here, though I agree it sounds awesome. Till ya think about it. After the Dude picks his nose -or any other orifice- where does he wash his hands?
Trust me, when you get to be my age, you won’t trust anyone’s cooking.
I’m hoping they have custom sinks in the truck to wash their hands?”
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I’ve wondered about this when I was in food lines. At least the portions were a nice size (LOL!, as though more of poor is better!) So, to be fair, what’s the perspective on the wait for speciality coffees in foreign named sizes? Isn’t that equally absurd? Or the price of a bottle of water (at least you get that pretty fast).
Nice blog 🙂
Two good points, there is a ridiculous mark up on both those things! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Well, I gotta say, that I have a friend who makes THE best chicken wings in the entire WORLD (I’m seriously NOT kidding), and right now he ASPIRES to selling them from a truck. He slow cooks them at home and delivers them to your door (or an agreed-upon place to meet). He’s looking forward to getting his first truck, and these are something that really do taste fresh even after cooking and freezing them! (I know this from experience, and believe me, I’m picky about what food I eat.)
You should check out his website: https://thunderbirdwings.com/
If he ever gets a Food truck, he will change your mind about them. 🙂
I will keep an eye out for a thunderbird wing truck coming soon I hope!
Way back before there was such a thing as a “food truck”, and when I still ate meat, every once in a while I just had to have a great big ole’ chili dog from a food stand on the streets of DC. If you’re going to eat something from a truck, eat crap. What I really don’t get is people buying salads and healthy crap off a truck. Really? Of course, people that eat healthy get on my nerves in general…
Haha good point. Usually when I buy take out it feels like a splurge so I want it to taste good haha and not be something I could make myself
I totally agree. Personally, I enjoy eating while sitting at a table without worrying about dropping my food down my shirt and onto the street below. I never really thought about the exhaust fume aspect until now, thanks for that. Nice post, I enjoyed it.
Haha also a good point- even at a table I look down to find remnants of my lunch all over my lap so it’d be even worse standing. I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading and commenting!
I’ve never bought food from a food truck. Hell, I don’t even know where I could do that around here.
I’m so leery of eating anything out of a truck so I commend you for doing it!
http://www.foodtrucklaws.com/laws.html here’s a link for the laws regarding food trucks and their safety. I just wanted you to know so you can be sure that the food you’re eating is safe!
Haha thank you!
Food truck food is better because yuppie culture has decided that it is! And what yuppie culture says, goes!
Haha pretty much
More like hipster culture! Especially here in NYC!
I absolutely despise “food fads”, I sense the new one cresting the horizon is anything sriracha.
Didn’t they have to shut down their factory? How will the world keep turning!?
I heard something about a massive recall from a chef friend of mine but didn’t follow-up. I don’t know if it was Huy Fong ( the one with the green top and rooster) or what.
Well apparently they were getting complaints cause the new factory was really bothering the locals with the smell and irritating fumes from pepper grinding. Causing the health dept to get involved, in which they put a hold on the shipments by about a month for some sort of tests, idk. But that was back in Dec and all estimates were that if there ended up being a shortage, it would be over by mid January or so. And yes it was Huy Fong (rooster sauce), we should be good though.
What a relief haha
Hah! I also love food trucks and while some of them aren’t spectacular, we do have a few REALLY good ones 🙂
I think I’ve had bad luck picking them because I tend to go for the shorter lines and that should be a sign haha
And I thought I was the only one that thought food trucks were awesome! And then I started to think like you about the cost. When I started thinking logically about it, I quickly ran to the tailpipe of the food truck and killed those smart brain cells. Thank goodness or I would never have forked over (wortkess food pun intended) for the five dollar chili fries.
I can’t wait to tell you about how my kids like to wait in a 30 minute line for donuts at Voodoo Donuts in Portland. At least the people watching was fun for me.
Haha I like the pun I wish I had thought of it! People watching those lines is good; I prefer people shaming where I look at them like they are idiots for waiting in line
I have minimal food truck experience – a by-product of the rural areas I find myself living in – but I have the same reaction when I go. Mediocre food in a styrofoam bowl eaten with a cheap plastic fork. I think they are just yet another hipster food trend that will die out.
The only one that impressed me was the Thai truck outside Denali national park. Good food, fair prices. In a place of $28 entrees, a decent $10 meal was a lifesaver.
That definitely sounds like a bargain if your only other options were $28! Geez!