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Food Truck vs Roach Coach…Are they the same?!
Ok, let’s put an end to the age old debate! The answer is NO! They are the same as much as Pizza Hut and Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix are the same. Yes, they both sell pizza but the difference is huge.
“Roach Coach” is the nickname given to the trucks that stopped at construction sites and areas with laborers and little to no food service nearby. This working class of people had short lunch breaks and needed a close by cafeteria with cheap, quick and hot meals to eat while walking back to work. Lunch trucks would drive from site to site stopping for 15-30 minutes to serve quickly and keep moving. Vending machine style pre-packaged foods were the name of the game and with refrigeration in it’s infancy when these trucks first hit the road, they gained a reputation for having food not kept at safe temps. (Thank goodness for advances in technology…these trucks are much safer these days!)
Gourmet Food Trucks are full mobile kitchens with Chefs preparing made to order, high quality and fresh food in a portable form. Chefs are able to use their passion to create amazing restaurant quality food at Events and Festivals, Private Parties and anywhere else a caterer would be needed. Take Robert Coleman, owner of Circle R Farm Food Truck, for example. His career as one of the leading Food and Beverage Directors in the country as well as his time spent as chef at the highly rated restaurant he owned in Copper Creek, Colorado kept him busy and retirement left him bored. He built a state of the art kitchen in a trailer and uses the same recipes he used at his $100 a plate restaurant. His chef background means the kitchen is spotless and the frequent visits from the Maricopa County Health Services inspectors have never been a problem. With his training and attention to detail, his mobile kitchen on wheels is probably cleaner than most fast food restaurants. (Read Chef Robert’s full story here.)
So, while they might be cousins, Roach Coaches (aka lunch trucks) and what we refer to as Food Trucks are not the same. They each serve a different type of food, have different daily routines and serve different needs in the community. Wondering how to tell which is which? Just look at the menu! Is it fresh food cooked to order? When in doubt, peak in the window!
Do you know what the Food Truck Industry has been missing?!
We do…a great way to find them and get to know them!
Food Trucks have created a stage for chefs as well as those without formal training but a passion for cooking. A Food Truck offers more creative freedom than working for a restaurant provides and allows many with this passion to feed people amazing food and share their talent. The only problem is how hidden they become while working their magic inside the truck. It’s time for that to change. It’s time for the window to be opened. You have no idea what you are missing!
Our vision for Food Truck Threads is big…it is a portal into the world of street food and crazy food truck antics, a place to get food truck clothing and merchandise, a place to get to know the Street Chefs and a way to find Food Trucks at events.
It is time for the Food Truck industry and all the amazing passionate people who make it up to become visible. To our fellow Food Truck fanatics, you have only seen the tip of the iceberg of this industry and you don’t even know it. Welcome to the Food Truck world! Let’s have a delicious adventure. 🙂 Don’t forget to share your pictures and adventures with us on social media!
Now head over to either Meet the Trucks or Find the Trucks at Events and get your adventure started!
Happy Eating!
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