Food Truck

Peanut Butter and Jelly Food Truck Coming to DC

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo courtesy of PBJTruck

From an email:

Reminisce back to your childhood with the opportunity to experience D.C.’s first peanut butter and jelly food truck. Jason Martin and Joey Belcher ( Rock and Roll Hotel, Sticky Rice, Dangerously Delicious,1905, and Chupacabra) will be launching Peanut Butter Jelly Time.

Bring back the days of play with a menu featuring Mom’s classic PB&J sandwich, signature PB&J’s, and the option to make it your own with a large variety of assorted nut butters, jellies, and add-ons (we mean bacon!).

Every sandwich comes with a choice of chips or apples and milk carton served in the requisite lunch-time brown paper bag, complete with a “pick me up” note from Mom (Mom not included).

The PBJ Truck will be launching soon and you can find them on twitter @PBJTruckDC.

Free Greek Frozen Yogurt from The Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Truck

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

The truck will be cruising around DC from April 16th though May 11th handing out FREE scoops of Ben & Jerry’s brand new Greek Frozen Yogurt. Fans can request a stop by following us on Twitter and tweeting a desired location for the truck to stop.

Released in February, Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt is still regarded as an indulgent dessert and also reaps the benefits of containing real Greek yogurt. The four new flavors are available pints as well as in mini-cups (select flavors) at retailers nationwide. In addition, the 300 Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops across the country also feature the line. The four flavors are:

Strawberry Shortcake: Strawberry Greek Frozen Yogurt with Shortbread Pieces
Raspberry Fudge Chunk: Raspberry Greek Frozen Yogurt with Fudge Chunks
Banana Peanut Butter: Banana Greek Frozen Yogurt with Peanut Butter Swirls
Blueberry Vanilla Graham: Blueberry & Vanilla Greek Frozen Yogurt with Graham Cracker Swirls

Food Truck Thursday Kicks off Thurs. April 26th in Mt. Pleasant

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong

From their Facebook page:

Thursday, April 26, 2012
5:30pm until 8:30pm
Lamont Park (Lamont and Mt. Pleasant St, NW)

Join your Mount Pleasant neighbors for an evening of food and fun! Porc, Fojol, Pleasant Pops and DC Empanadas will be in Mount Pleasant for our first ever Food Truck Thursday. Help make it a success for the neighborhood and the food trucks so that we can make this a regular event.

There has also been talk of having board game night out in the Park to make it a fun evening, and get to know some of your neighbors!

Come for some food and outdoor fun, stay in the neighborhood and have a drink with some friends at some of the neighborhood establishments afterwards.

Crepe Amour Closing in Georgetown Looking for New Location, Launching Food Truck in April

By Prince Of Petworth


3291 M Street, NW

From the Georgetown BID:

“ Crepe Amour is saying goodbye to its current 15 year Georgetown location (3291 M Street) on Saturday, March 31. While scouting for new locations in Georgetown, Crepe Amour will be moving to the Vienna/Tysons Corner area and is excited to launch their highly anticipated food truck & cart concept – Crepe Love – in April 2012.”

Chick-Fil-A Food Truck Coming to DC

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by flickr user Adam Kuban

NBC Washington shares the news that will make Chick-Fil-A fans deliriously happy:

“That’s right, the Chick-Fil-A food truck will be on the streets beginning April 9, dispensing the chain’s famous chicken sandwiches and waffle fries to all within walking (or running) distance.”

Craft Beer + Food Truck Festival at Kastles Stadium/SW Waterfront

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

This could be cool:

WHAT: LivingSocial is hosting its First Craft Beer & Food Truck Fest. This event will bring together 25+ craft breweries along with 10 of DC’s best food trucks. The event will feature local musical groups and artists for a weekend of celebration that is unique to Washington, DC. Interactive art installations, musical entertainment and fun activities throughout the day will transform this event into a beer festival with a day-time party vibe.

Customers will have their ID checked and be given a bracelet, as well as a sampling glass, which will give them access to the event and tastings from each of the breweries. Food trucks will be selling their delectables to customers throughout the duration of the event. The festival will feature various stage and dance areas, communal “Oktoberfest-style” tables and benches, access to bleachers, VIP tents, boardwalks along the water, as well as free walking space where the food/drink vendors will be set up.

WHERE: Kastles Stadium/SW Waterfront
800 Water Street Southwest

WHEN: Saturday, April 21 & Sunday, April 22
12 pm – 5 pm

PRICE:
· $35/person
· $70/person after March 24th

BREWERIES:

Great Lakes
Jack’s Cider
Redstone
Evolution
DC Brau
Weyerbacher
Ommegang
Saranac
Sam Adam
New Belgium
Sierra Nevada
Dogfish Head
Magic Hat
Harpoon
Palm
Flying Dog
Leinenkugel/Blue Moon
Pilsner Urquell/Peroni
Woodchuck
Yeungling
Crown Imports (Negra Modelo, Modelo Especial)
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Port City
Lagunitas

FOOD TRUCKS:
Lobster Truck DC
DC Empanadas
DC Slices
Takorean
Curbside Cupcakes
Rolls on Rolls
Cajunators
Hula Girl
Basil Thyme
Rolling Ficelle

Beer tastings are unlimited and they say US Royalty will be performing.

PoP-Ed: Food Truck Regulations by Kristi Whitfield of Curbside Cupcakes

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: If you have a PoP-Ed you’d like published, send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail with a quick note about the topic you’d like to write about.

Mayor Gray: No Time for Delays. Send New Food Truck Regs to City Council!

By Kristi Whitfield
Co-Owner, Curbside Cupcakes

Curbside Cupcakes is Washington DC’s first mobile cupcake truck. When my husband and I maxed out our credit cards and refinanced our house to open Curbside Cupcakes in 2009, there were only a few food trucks serving the District. Since then our numbers have grown substantially because consumers appreciate and support the influx of new and innovative dining options that many food trucks offer. In light of our popular and growing industry of small business owner/operators, Mayor Vincent Gray has proposed new vending regulations that, while not perfect, are a major upgrade from what’s on the books now. If special interest groups succeed in pressuring the Mayor to send these regulations “back to the drawing board”, then fellow “truckers” like Curbside Cupcakes are in danger of not only losing our businesses but our houses and every nickel and dime we scraped together to make our dreams a reality. And all this over what? Competition. Our detractors say that food trucks are “stealing away” customers from storefronts. This attitude reflects a shocking sense of entitlement. Businesses don’t own customers. Businesses earn customers.

In 2010 the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) collected over 2,500 comments on a previous version of proposed regulations. Food truck opponents were more honest then about their concerns, which boiled down to not wanting to compete with food trucks; given the expenses that storefronts incur for brick and mortar shops they figure why should they have to compete with “outsiders” for customers. This position turned out to be very unpopular, so this time around opponents of the legislation say they have “concerns” about crowded sidewalks, limited parking and increased trash.

In our battle for survival, the food trucks are the little guy. Many food truck owners would have liked to start as storefronts, but most of us don’t have the personal or corporate wealth that would allow us access to hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in restaurant real estate. Lack of wealth should not limit my husband and me from spreading Cupcake Bliss to all areas of the District.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Floridano Food Truck Opening Brick and Mortar Spot in former Brown’s Caribbean Bakery at 3301 Georgia Ave, NW

By Prince Of Petworth


Floridano Food Truck at 3301 Georgia Ave, NW

Washington Post shares the good news:

…Boillon has his reasons for signing a 10-year lease for the former Brown’s Caribbean Bakery at 3301 Georgia Ave. NW, and they start in the kitchen. The space is crammed with all manner of tantalizing equipment: pizza ovens, rotating decks ovens, industrial dough mixers, dough sheeters, dough shapers, a walk-in and much more.

He’s envisioning small plates, long braises, gourmet pizzas, Jamaican patties and other dishes.

The chef has plenty of work to do before he opens (he hopes) in mid-May.

Awesome. We’ll def. revisit as they get closer to opening. Great news for Georgia Ave!

We first learned about El Floridano food truck back in April 2010.

Ed. Note: I believe Brown’s Caribbean Bakery opened a new location further north on Georgia Ave maybe in the 5000 block but I’ll grab a photo next time I pass it.

DC Food Trucks Association Says “Sales Tax Act Jeopardizes Food Trucks”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From a DC Food Trucks Association press release:

Under current regulations, a proposal for mobile vendors to collect sales tax opens the door for double taxing food trucks and could even make individual employees responsible for the business’s taxes.

“If the Sales Tax Act passed today it would create a scenario on par with requiring each server in a restaurant to collect and submit sales tax for the entire business,” said Che Ruddell-Tabisola, Executive Director of the Washington, DC Food Trucks Association.

“The Sales Tax Act shines a spotlight on how badly we need Mayor Vincent Gray’s proposed new food truck regulations, which update decades-old vending rules and make it possible for food trucks to collect sales tax,” Ruddell-Tabisola said.

Under current food truck regulations, a vending license holder, typically the owner, must be present on the truck for it to operate. For the food truck to operate without the owner, he or she must obtain additional vending licenses for employees. As a result, a single food truck has multiple licenses holders, each of which pays fees as if it were the business owner.

The Sales Tax Act would make each license holder responsible for the business’ sales tax and could possibly require each employee to pay the business’ full amount of tax collected, resulting in a food truck paying double, triple or even more the amount of tax actually collected and threatening the ability of the food truck to remain in business. Moreover, it would unfairly subject individual employees to personal liability for the business’s tax obligations.

Mayor Gray’s proposed new food truck rules would update regulations to require just one vending license per food truck and make it possible for food trucks to collect tax as intended by the Sales Tax Act.

“We don’t believe the Sales Tax Act’s intent is to threaten the viability of food trucks, but obviously it cannot be passed with the current food truck regulations still in place,” Ruddell-Tabisola said. “It only makes sense for the tax act to be adopted in tandem with passage of the Mayor’s proposed new food truck rules.

“The Sales Tax Act is a step in having food trucks treated like real businesses,” Ruddell-Tabisola added. “Our members welcome the recognition that we are real businesses and look forward to serving as a means to provide additional revenue to the District. It’s what we’ve always said – food trucks are good for the District.”

Stella*s PopKern Gourmet Popcorn Food Truck Launches

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo via Facebook

Dessert Thursday continues. From a press release:

Just in time for food truck season, Stella*s PopKern is launching their first gourmet popcorn truck. Offering a mix of modern nostalgia, this fun, delicious and affordable snack is sure to evoke fond memories for the city-dwellers of DC and tourists alike.

Stella*s is the brainchild of Kristina Kern, who grew up cherishing popcorn nights with her mother. Kern continues this tradition with her own daughter, Stella, who is the truck’s namesake. After a successful career in high-end catering, Kern needed a lifestyle change. She quickly realized she could not stray from her passion for good, quality food products produced with the savvy consumer in mind. While classic flavors like cheddar and caramel corn will be available, Kern’s focus is on interesting ingredients that will create a more “gourmet” popcorn experience. Flavors like Tuscan Herb-Infused Olive Oil with Rosemary Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate Drizzle with Sea Salt are sure to become favorites of even the most discerning foodie.

Stella*s will be on the streets of DC Monday through Friday from 11:30am until 4:00pm and will tweet their location throughout the day. Late-night and private event visits are available. To find Stella*s location, follow the truck on Twitter, @stellaspopkern.

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