food truck

New Food Truck Focuses on ‘Stuffed’ Fare

By Katie Pyzyk

A newcomer to the food truck scene promises to leave you feeling “stuffed.” Something Stuffed has rolled into Arlington and is beginning its third week on the streets.

The food truck is the brainchild of Gauri Sarin and Michelle Nguyen. Sarin studied communications and public relations at George Mason, but after graduating she got the itch to start a food business. Nguyen studied finance at Virginia Tech, and worked for a government contractor until Sarin wooed her into the catering world.

“I have always enjoyed entertaining and cooking at home,” Sarin said. “I somehow convinced her to leave her secure desk job and come on the road with me.”

The two have been catering since late last year, and just branched out into the food truck business. They consider the fare “fusion” because it specializes in a variety of stuffed food items such as empanadas, egg rolls, wraps and dumplings. The menu rotates weekly, and many of the ingredients are purchased from local farms and producers.

Despite finding new challenges with a food truck business not previously encountered while catering, both report enjoying the mobile food industry. They also say the customers have been positive so far.

“We’re starting to see some repeat customers,” said Nguyen. “We’re definitely happy to be in Arlington.”

The ladies say the local sourcing is just one of the things that sets them apart from other establishments.

“Everything we make is definitely stuffed with love,” Sarin said.

New Food Truck Rolls into Lunch Scene

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) It’s only been three days, but already the new Hot People Food truck is gathering a following. The owners are serving up modern Asian food along the Orange line corridor.

With creatively named dishes like “Bikini Beef” and “Hot Girl Salad” it’s obvious the owners like to have fun at work. They’re so confident about their food’s quality that they’re letting customers try free samples.

“No good? No charge. Guarantee!” owner Leopold Liao said.

Liao and his co-owner girlfriend Lauren Liu plan to go to college, but are working to save up money first. They’ve worked in a variety of Asian restaurants for years, and Liao says he’s interested in opening a restaurant in the area. However, he found the market to be unwelcoming at this time.

“I love to cook. I want to open a restaurant,” Liao said. “But with this economy, it’s expensive. You don’t have to pay rent on a food truck.”

The recent H-B Woodlawn graduate has lived in Arlington for about seven years. He loves the area and that’s what prompted the decision to have the food truck based in Arlington. Both Liao and Liu are from China and came to the United States to learn English. Although the dream is still to open a restaurant at some point, right now the focus is on the Hot People Food truck and catering fundraisers and events.

Hot People Food’s website is a work in progress, but does give a menu and daily locations. They’re also relying on twitter to inform followers of where they’ll be. Their first day was last Friday, and they’re spending this week in Rosslyn to get their name out.

And as far as the name? Yes, “hot” does refer to the people in Arlington.

“I thought in this downtown, everybody’s hot,” Liao said. “No matter what you do, everybody’s hot.”

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Vietnamese Food Truck Coming to Arlington

By ARLnow.com

A new food truck is planning to hit the streets of Arlington soon.

The Lemongrass truck will serve a limited Vietnamese-inspired menu that includes banh mi sandwiches, banh mi-style tacos, a salad with homemade lemongrass dressing and three varieties of bubble tea (iced coffee, Thai iced tea and green tea).

The truck’s arrival should fill the void left by last year’s launch and subsequent closure of the Rebel Heroes bahn mi sandwich truck. The Lemongrass truck’s proprietors — a husband and wife team — say the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inspired them to quit their jobs and launch a food truck.

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish,” the pair wrote on the truck’s new website. “[Those] were the words Steve Jobs chose to end his 2005 Stanford commencement speech with. And it is with those same words that inspired my husband and me to make the leap of faith and move from the world of government contracting to the food truck business.”

The truck will initially launch in Arlington, but plans to also serve the District starting in early 2012, according to Food Truck Fiesta.

Photos via Facebook and Twitter

Seoul Food Truck: Business Is Good

By ARLnow.com

It wasn’t the easiest decision for Anna and J.P. Goree — leaving their jobs at a Fairfax County Whole Foods and launching their very own food truck. But Anna, who had dabbled in the catering business while still at Whole Foods, knew it was something she wanted to do. Three weeks after their “Seoul Food” truck first started offering Korean cuisine to Arlington lunch-goers, it’s looking like a good decision.

“It’s too good to be true,” she said of the lines that formed outside the truck while it was parked in Rosslyn last week. “It’s amazing.”

The Gorees, along with their one full-time employee, were serving between 200 and 250 customers a day last week. By 1:30 p.m., most of the menu was sold out. And that was perfectly okay with Anna.

It’s a “sinful thing” to throw away perfectly good kimchi rolls, kalbi burritos and bibimbap bowls, she said. And she refuses to sell day-old food.

Anna says she’s happy to be in Arlington, serving daytime crowds in Crystal City, Courthouse, Rosslyn, Ballston and — soon — Virginia Square. Business is so good, however, that Anna says they’re already thinking about launching a second truck in D.C. next year. While admitting that “D.C. is very saturated with many food trucks,” Anna says that her Korean cuisine is unique enough, and the ingredients (many of which are purchased from Whole Foods) fresh enough, that she’s not worried about the competition.

Anna only has to look at their own truck to realize the treacherous nature of the mobile business, though. The truck used to belong to the BBQ Bandidos, whose sammys and cemitas attracted crowds in Arlington, but who decided in the end that it wasn’t worth the effort. The Bandidos, Anna said, have returned to their old gigs in the catering and music businesses.

Luckily, the Gorees have a plan to increase sales.

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Coming Soon to Arlington: Willie’s Po Boy Truck

By ARLnow.com

A new food truck is promising to bring some of the flavors of New Orleans to the streets of Arlington.

Willie’s Po Boy truck expects to make its Arlington debut on Monday. Its Twitter and Facebook pages are up and running, while its web site is still a work in progress. The truck’s menu will include:

  • Oyster Po Boy — $9
  • Shrimp Po Boy — $8
  • Roast Beef Po Boy — $8
  • Pulled Pork Po Boy — $7
  • Chips, Soda and Water — $1
  • Bread Pudding — $3

Photos courtesy Willie’s Po Boy

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New Korean Food Truck to Hit the Streets Monday

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is about to get a brand new food truck.

On Monday, the new “Seoul Food” truck will have a “soft opening” at an undisclosed location in Arlington. The truck will serve “Korean fusion” food, including Korean-style maki rolls (vegetarian maki, caramelized kimchi maki, spicy tuna maki) and bibimbap bowls, according to its Twitter page.

The ingredients used to make the dishes include “local beef from grass-fed cows, organic tofu, all-natural chicken and ingredients from local farms,” according to the truck’s Facebook page.

On Wednesday, the truck will begin using Twitter to announce its daily locations. The truck will operate exclusively in Arlington at first, but the owners plan to start serving D.C. as soon as they obtain the appropriate licenses.

Hat tip to Snack Decision

Lobster Truck Makes Arlington Debut

By ARLnow.com

The Red Hook Lobster truck made its public Northern Virginia debut in Ballston today.

Camped out near the corner of N. Stuart Street and Fairfax Drive, the truck served lobster rolls, shrimp rolls, Whoopie pies, Maine Root sodas and other New England-inspired fare to Ballston lunchgoers.

The truck is the second operated by Red Hook. The first lobster truck has been attracting crowds in the District since last summer.

On Twitter, Red Hook announced plans to eventually serve Courthouse, Rosslyn and Crystal City.

New Cupcake Truck Launches Today

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has a new mobile baked goods vendor.

The “Sweet Fleet” truck is making its public debut today in Ballston, Rosslyn, Courthouse and Shirlington. The truck features cupcakes, cookies and other treats baked by Jason Reaves, a pastry chef and an upcoming competitor on TV’s Food Network Challenge.

Prices range from $3.00 to $3.50 for individual cupcakes and $2.00 for cookies. The truck will serve “all of Arlington,” managers say. You can follow its location on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo via Facebook

Sauca Restaurant Opens on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Its neighbors include a Goodwill store, two check cashing businesses and a service station. Two recent occupants of its building were shuttered and still hold sizable tax debts to Arlington County. Yet Sauca restaurant opened last night at 4707 Columbia Pike with a distinct sense of optimism.

“The history of this place has not been good,” admitted owner Farhad Assari, a former international investment banker who left a lucrative gig in Dubai to move closer to his family and pursue his culinary dreams. Like many other food entrepreneurs these days, Assari started small — launching several food trucks that served hearty world cuisine — before trying to translate his street success into a four-walls-and-a-roof restaurant.

Despite the building’s ignominious past and off-the-beaten-path location near Four Mile Run, Assari said he couldn’t imagine opening the restaurant anywhere else.

“This is exactly what I wanted, it’s as if they planned it for me,” he said. “I love it… I think we’re going to get people from all over.”

To achieve his vision for the restaurant, Assari has had to put in time and money — lots of it. The building could charitably be called a dump before Sauca moved in. Now it’s freshly painted, restored, landscaped and furnished. The interior looks like a traditional diner, but with a pool table, public internet terminals, eclectic decorations and a few flat screen TVs showing international soccer matches. Outside, under the funky curved roof, is a surprisingly lush patio with wrought iron furniture, Tiki torches and, eventually, a V-shaped lounge area and outdoor bar.

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Food Truck Company to Open Restaurant on the Pike

By ARLnow.com

First District Taco added a brick-and-mortar location on Lee Highway to supplement its popular food cart. Now Sauca is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Columbia Pike to supplement its four food trucks.

The restaurant will be located at 4707 Columbia Pike, formerly the home of Bob & Edith’s Diner II and a Roy Rogers. Workers are busy prepping the building for a possible late May/early summer opening.

Yesterday we reported that two of Sauca’s District-based food trucks were for sale in the building’s parking lot. Last night, owner Farhad Assari confirmed that the trucks were being sold so he could focus on the new restaurant.

I am opening a SAUCA restaurant at 4707 Columbia Pike. It will be opened by the end of May. The Meathead and LGM trucks, while wonderful, were taking my eye off the SAUCA ball, so I decided to sell the trucks and focus on SAUCA.

Today he added a few more details on Facebook.

The location… will service our SAUCAMOBILES as well as offer a quick serve dining space and patio for you to enjoy SAUCA’s global [fare]… We are very excited about this new journey and thank you for taking the ride with us.

Where Food Trucks Go to Die

By ARLnow.com

It appears that two District-based food trucks are dying an inglorious death in a Columbia Pike parking lot.

The trucks — Meathead Mobile Eatery and La Gloria Mexicana — were spotted cooling their heels last night in the parking lot of the former Bob & Edith’s Diner II location at 4707 Columbia Pike. Once free to roam the streets of D.C. and serve meals to hungry office workers, now they sit food-less on the Pike with “for sale by owner” signs in the window.

The trucks were both said to be a part of the Sauca food truck empire. Meathead Mobile served a menu of four meat-centric sandwiches. La Gloria Mexicana served quesadillas and other portable Mexican cuisine. The Twitter accounts of both trucks say they’re on “spring break.”

A third, unmarked truck sat in the rear of the parking lot — its potential for branded mobile food service thus far unfulfilled.

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