8 food trucks to discover in D.M.
The food trucks are coming! The food trucks are coming!
Yes, it's true, the Des Moines City Council recently approved a six-month pilot program allowing food trucks to set up around Pappajohn Sculpture Park, the Iowa Events Center, the East Village and the Court Avenue district.
Now, the only question is which food truck to try first? Don't worry, food truck fiends, Juice has you covered. Here are the details on a handful of trucks that plan to hit the streets this summer. (Answers culled from conversations with truck owners.)
Powered by Fries
How long in operation: We've done five events.
Cuisine: Belgian fries, the best in the entire world! (Twice-fried goodness.)
Signature dish: Golden Sticks of Happiness, which are our crispy outside/fluffy inside Belgian fries topped with Korean BBQ, homemade kimchi, cilantro, orange sauce, pepper cream, shredded cheese and green onion. Holy crap, it's good.
Where can we find you? We're at Firetrucker Brewery in Ankeny every Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we plan to be somewhere in the zones downtown (check out our Facebook for daily locations). Sundays, we're at Confluence Brewery.
Why a truck? We have a restaurant, too. We also operate Proof. In general, though, trucks allow for a lot more experimentation. Plus, we can't run our restaurant on veggie oil like we do our truck.
Website: Poweredbyfries.com.
The Spot
How long in operation: We're in our third year.
Cuisine: Fresh, made-to-order sandwiches. We always offer chicken, pork, beef and vegetarian options.
Signature dish: Royal Bird, which is made with a sage-rubbed chicken breast, crispy prosciutto, fresh-grated Parmesan cheese, red onion, tomato, butter crunch lettuce and red wine vinegar mayo.
Where can we find you? We have the same schedule every week: Tuesdays at Confluence, Wednesdays at The Regency West (Starting May 6), Fridays at 12th and Walnut St., and Saturdays at Confluence.
Why a truck? For the flexibility of the business model. Also, it doesn't have the barrier to entry that a restaurant does.
Website: Wheresthespotdsm.com.
Street Eats DSM
How long in operation: I've been in operation a month.
Cuisine: Stuffed "sammiches" featuring hand-cut fries.
Signature dish: The Welcome to Iowa sammich with roasted pork, ham, bacon, Italian sausage, fries and BBQ sauce. We'll also have a vegetarian sammich with pulled jackfruit
Where can we find you? We'll launch the truck from 4:30-9 p.m. Friday at Confluence. We'll also be at Winterset bike nights every third Saturday until September.
Why a truck? Unlike some, I worked toward a food truck and away from a restaurant. I've been in the restaurant/bar/service industry for 28 years and done everything from busboy to bartend to cook. I've made a lot of bosses a lot of money. This truck is my opportunity to work for myself, support my family and use the skills I've learned over almost three decades to further myself creatively. I'm most comfortable in kitchens. Now I have one, on wheels, and my talents can travel with me.
Website: Facebook.com/streeteatsdsm.
The Outside Scoop
How long in operation: Five years at our brick-and-mortar store in Indianola and three years in the truck.
Cuisine: Small-batch, from-scratch ice cream.
Signature dish: Dark chocolate raspberry ice cream.
Where can we find you? We're kicking off the downtown pilot program April 17, and starting park and scoop locations and neighborhood routes in Norwalk, Carlisle and Ankeny by May 1.
Why a truck? I started with a mobile kiosk in Indianola five years back to keep start up and overhead costs low. I moved into a brick-and-mortar a couple summers later and invested in the truck after that to offer our product at special events and probe the Des Moines metro to determine if a few storefront shops might be viable.
Website: Facebook.com/pages/The-Outside-Scoop.
Let's Toast
How long in operation: We've been an event management company based in Ames since 2012. We've been developing our food cart concept since the company started.
Cuisine: It's a take on Spanish tapas.
Signature dish: The dish closest to my (co-owner Dwight Lykins) heart is the Gravlax, which is cured salmon, cream cheese and fresh cucumber on sourdough. Gravlax is an ancient Nordic way of curing salmon. I went to school in Vancouver, British Columbia, and had the opportunity to work with some of the best salmon in the world.
Where can we find you? We'll be at Firetrucker Brewery from noon-9 p.m. Saturdays starting at the end of May. We plan to be in downtown Des Moines soon after!
Why a truck? I was an apprentice on a food truck while I was going to school. I liked the pace of service, being outside and constantly serving at new locations. The experience really shaped the way I cook. We spent two years designing and restoring a 1985 concessions trailer and, after a lot of work, we're ready to get you toasted.
Website: Facebook.com/LetsToastTheGourmetToastBar.
Parlo Pizza
How long in operation: Since April 2013
Cuisine: Authentic Neapolitan pizzas using family-heirloom recipes prepared in our mobile wood oven.
Signature dish: Time after time our customers return for our wonderfully simple Pizza Margherita.
Where can we find you?Confluence Brewery every Thursday, the Beaverdale Farmers Market Tuesdays beginning in June and a ton more places. Check our Twitter and Facebook for locations.
Why a truck? My wife and I lived in Italy back in the '80s and we still have relatives in Calabria. We brought back a knowledge of flavors and techniques, and developed the idea for Parlo Pizza from those experiences. At the time, nobody in town was making Neapolitan pizzas, so we wanted our own wood oven at home. We couldn't decide where to put it — backyard, side yard, patio — so we put it on a small trailer. One thing led to another and now we're having a wonderful time serving a truly blissful slice of Old Word cuisine to our friends and customers.
Website: Facebook.com/ParloPizza
Karam's Grill
How long in operation: Seven years.
Cuisine: Mediterranean.
Signature dish: Lamb gyro and chicken shawarma.
Where can we find you? Often located at 1306 University Ave.
Why a truck? I didn't have enough money for a restaurant and the food truck allows me to spend more time with my family.
Website: Karamsgrill.com.
Ferinheit Wood Oven Pizza
How long in operation: We had our soft opening last Saturday and Sunday.
Cuisine: Wood oven pizza.
Signature dish: Our taco pizza. We have another specialty called Sweet Lou, which combines Italian meats, boiled eggs and sweet peppers.
Where can we find you? We'll be at Pal Joey's Tuesdays, Outskirtz on Orilla Wednesdays and 515 Brewery on Thursdays. We'll also be at Indianola bike nights, Winterset bike nights and some local wineries in Warren County (Two Saints, Summerset, & La Vida Loca) on rotating Sundays.
Why a truck? It's more fun to be outside and mobile.
Website: Ferinheit.com
See the trucks in action
In addition to the locales listed above, many of these trucks will appear at the Iowa Beverage Food Truck Throwdown, 4-10 pm May 30 at the Des Moines Social Club, 900 Mulberry St. Entrance is free.