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Food Trucks

Fat Louie’s Food Truck Profile

Jul 31st, 2012
by David Ort.
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The side of the Fat Louie's trailer that parks in the Rona parking lot near St. Clair and Keele.

In rural Texas and further south into Mexico it’s common for BBQ pit bosses to sell their food from stands at the sides of highways three levels down from the Interstate. In Toronto where even downtown parking lots are out-of-bounds for food trucks, operators need to be more creative.  I’m surprised that more haven’t followed the lead set by Fat Louie’s BBQ and set up in big box store parking lots that are free from this ban because they’re not licensed to charge hourly or daily parking fees.

To find Fat Louie’s trailer, look in the northeast corner of the Rona parking lot at 110 West Toronto St. (near St. Clair and Keele) or follow the delicious aroma of the hardwood smoke that the on-board Backwoods-clone smoker belches out.

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Hogtown Smoke – Food Truck Profile

Jul 10th, 2012
by David Ort.
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The suits line up for the Hogtown Smoke food truck at the Royal Bank Plaza across from Union Station.

The suits line up for the Hogtown Smoke food truck at the Royal Bank Plaza across from Union Station.

Update: As of August 17 it’s been several weeks since the Hogtown Smoke truck was seen at a public event. They announced last weekend on Twitter that they’d be missing Steam Whistle’s Craft Beer Festival due to problems with their truck.

Every sort of business in New York City, from tourist-attracting towers to neighbourhood dog groomers carry Gotham in their name so we really shouldn’t be surprised that within the past year a pub, brewery, and now the Hogtown Smoke food truck have opened and borrowed Toronto’s nickname. (more…)

El Gastronomo Vagabundo – Food Truck Profile

May 31st, 2012
by David Ort.
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The side design on the El Gastronomo Vagabundo food truck.

Ontario’s first food truck, nearly two years ago, was El Gastronomo Vagabundo. No surprise, though, that the food truck whose chef appeared in his gotchies for a recent spread in the Grid goes by El Gastro for short. That attitude Adam obviously gets that a food truck meal should be a three-minute Ramones song, not a symphony by Bach.

Last night they hosted a party to celebrate (and view) their appearance on Food Network’s Eat St.

I know Adam and Tamara (El Gastro’s operations manager) personally, I spent a day working on their truck and wrote an article for Spotlight Toronto about it. This is a profile (not a review) but take that into account when you read the sections that shade towards opinion. (more…)

Buster’s Sea Cove – Food Truck Profile

May 18th, 2012
by David Ort.
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The new Buster's Sea Cove truck has an all-seafood menu.

Some trucks around Southern Ontario, like El Gastro, often feature a fish option but Buster’s Sea Cove is the first with an all-seafood menu. That’s an obvious and appropriate distinction for a truck owned and operated by the same people who run the Buster’s Sea Cove booth at St. Lawrence Market. (more…)

Toasted Tangerine – Food Truck Profile

Mar 14th, 2012
by David Ort.
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The Toasted Tangerine food truck serves a menu of sandwiches and classic rock.

Update: According to this note, that was posted on their website on August 11, 2012 Toasted Tangerine is no longer in business.

The first in a series of Toronto food truck profiles on Food With Legs is the Toasted Tangerine truck.

  • Toasted Tangerine
  • Hometown: Mississauga
  • The Toasted Ravioli from the Toasted Tangerine Truck.

    The Toasted Ravioli from the Toasted Tangerine Truck.

    Most-Talked About, Signature Dish: Toasted ravioli ($7) that are crispy on the outside with a cheesy filling.

  • The Toasted Tangerine truck has found a winner in my books here by combining smoked salmon and bacon.

    The Toasted Tangerine truck has found a winner in my books here by combining smoked salmon and bacon.

    Try If You Get the Chance: The Smoked Salmon BLT ($9) combines two of my favourite salty, smoky meats with both smoked salmon and bacon. Also the 5-grain rye bun at least makes it feel healthy.

  • Lunch Location: Recently they’ve been visiting Toronto on Wednesdays at lunch and parking in the lot on the southwest corner of Queen and Jarvis.
  • Time to Place Order: No lineup on a recent visit.
  • Time to Get Food After Placing Order: 5 minutes (I enjoyed this fast service on a recent visit but be warned that the wait can be longer.)
  • Established: November 2011
  • The Added Touches: The owners of the Toasted Tangerine truck, Adrian and Alyssa Tangerine are such hardcore devotees of classic rock that they chose one of Led Zeppelin’s best as their married name. True to this form, theirs is the only truck I know of that has built-in speakers to provide classic rock entertainment for customers while they wait. Also to their credit the Toasted Tangerine truck supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and promotes that fact with a big JDRF sign.
  • Web site:thetoastedtangerine.com and the curbside menu.
  • Social Media:@ToastedTangerin on Twitter and their Facebook page

To see the methodology and description of each of these categories as well as all of my Toronto food trucks profiles visit the Food With Legs food trucks page.