The Great Food Truck Race - General Discussion

[Salacious Kitty]

I love that no one has bothered to learn either of the Khana chicks' names. 😂

[HighQueenEB]

58 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I love that no one has bothered to learn either of the Khana chicks' names. 😂

Neck tattoo sidekick chick's name is Al.  I cannot, for the life of me, recall head Khana chick's name despite having binge-watched the first five episodes yesterday once I let them build up on my DVR.  

I was rooting for them until they turned ugly for no reason against their first guy and then needlessly started going after Lisa & the Crepes.  And now, since their replacement guy from The Block is joining in on their Mean Girl tactics, I'm hate-watching until they're gone.  

By the way, anyone wonder how much $$ that Pakistani coffee bar owner paid FN for the free advertising?  Or, maybe he's related to one of the show's producers...  Yes, I'm cynical like that.

[dmeets]

One thing’s for sure. Whichever truck wins, the true winner this season is the guy who Khana fired.

Edited July 11, 2023 by dmeets

[bluepiano]

17 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I love that no one has bothered to learn either of the Khana chicks' names. 😂

I just think of them as "obnoxious leader" and "flunky with hideous neck tat." 

Echoing what others have said, this season is quickly becoming unwatchable, childish mean girl antics taking the place of anything actually having to do with the real food truck business. We don't even hear any discussion about pricing anymore. It's like the producers decided that the audience doesn't care about that stuff, and just wants bad reality show drama. 

(Although we don't know what the dishes are being priced at, in one shot of the Kana truck leader you could see on the chalk board behind her that their chicken sandwich is $30. Are you kidding me? In real world, who would buy that?)

The whole season has an air of Food Network not caring about this show anymore, including cheaping out by shooting the whole thing in Los Angeles. If they're trying to kill off the show they're doing a good job. It's sad, because this could have been a good season. There are several trucks you really want to root for, and some of the food has looked the best of anything we've seen on this show.

Edited July 11, 2023 by bluepiano

[mlp]

1 hour ago, bluepiano said:

There are several trucks you really want to root for, and some of the food has looked the best of anything we've seen on this show.

Yes, exactly.  Almost all the food has looked really good unlike, for example, the mac and cheese crap last season.  Most of the contestants have been OK too.  The only other unpleasant one was on the long departed Creole truck and she wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Khana women.

Someone on Reddit said that, in Detroit, "everyone knows" that Khana "stole" their recipes from the people that helped them set up their business and promoted them as their own.  I have no idea if that's true or not but it wouldn't surprise me.

[leocadia]

On 7/10/2023 at 10:13 AM, potatoradio said:

Also, seeing commercials for both disappearing tigers and children's cancer made this a really depressing AF show. 

At least you managed to avoid the "dogs dying from being left out in the heat" commercial that completes this trifecta of sadness!  I've seen all three today and was wondering why tv wants me to cry.

On Topic:  I live near Detroit and thanks to this show, now know to stay far away from Khana!  Such ugly attitudes.

[Colorado David]

I thought the team 'Maybe Cheese Born with it' was obnoxious. MAN they have nothing on team Khana, I am so seriously disliking their attitude and the venom they spew.

[Lurk]

Did not see that coming.

[Pepper the Cat]

Hating Khana more and more. Ick

[Maya]

24 minutes ago, Lurk said:

Did not see that coming.

What happened to the coconut wireless?

[Lurk]

3 minutes ago, Maya said:

What happened to the coconut wireless?

It had a breakdown I guess. They certainly were on a roll and appeared to be getting the winner's edit. I was hoping that the Pakastani truck would be sent packing.

[LEILANI2]

Coconut Wireless doesn't work on rainy days I guess.

I will be pissed if Khana wins. 

[Gramto6]

57 minutes ago, Maya said:

What happened to the coconut wireless?

I guess that shows they can't rely on help from the coconut wireless every time.  I think they got a bit lazy/overconfident and expected a big showing from the wireless where ever they went.

Their food does look very good and of all the trucks, that is where I would go. And they are genuinely nice people. Sad to see them go.

[Mondrianyone]

I got my laugh of the night when the Khana head said something along the lines of "No more Mr. Nice Guy from here on." Uh-huh.

[Salacious Kitty]

11 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I got my laugh of the night when the Khana head said something along the lines of "No more Mr. Nice Guy from here on." Uh-huh.

LMAO. So, the way they treated Lisa was NICE?

No thanks, assholes. 

[mlp]

I wasn't surprised that The Bald Guy was on the bottom of that particular challenge but I hated to see them go.  I liked all of them and was hoping they'd win.  Now I'm going to root for the Puerto Ricans.  I like them too.  I'm going to be really disappointed if Khana makes it to the finale or, worse yet, wins.  Hopefully, working with just two people next week will be their downfall.

[seacliffsal]

I wondered if the show told the competitors that they couldn't use social media to get customers.  The Bald Guy struggled last week as well, and Khana did not have their Pakistani customers this week (but that may be because they didn't park in front of the coffee shop).  I like the 'nice' teams and am sad to see them eliminated while Khana is still there.  However, I also think the challenge (vegan winner of season 15 judging a plant based challenge) was geared towards Easy Vegan.  

[Maverick]

 "Take a family classic and make it vegan!"  Seriously?  "I know you're going to think I picked them because they're a vegan truck and because I'm from Cuba."  Well, since one truck only does vegan and the other does Caribbean cuisine that you said reminds you of home, yes that's exactly what I'm going to think.   This takes the cake for skewed judging.

 The main Khana truck lady is just smug as shit   No More Mr Nice Guy?  These people have been nice to anyone, including their own team members, since minute one.  Another gem from them:   "I think the vegans had a nefarious plan to pair us with Bald Guy because they're low key"   Like, really witch?  They picked who they wanted to work with.   There are only four teams so the last two were together by default.   But it was all a plot.  A plot I tell you!  They're all out to get Khana because they're so fucking awesome. It pretty obvious they spin these scenarios in their mind so they can justify their nasty behavior they clearly revel in.  Have people been dogging them on social media or is it all "Don't listen to the haters!"   "They're just jealous"  "The editors hate you!" 

 I agree social media must have been off limits for this week and it just wasn't mentioned.  They might not have gotten the super long lines with the rain, but Bald Guy would have had a better showing than that if they din't have to rely solely on yanking people off the street. 

[Starry-Eyed]

2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I wondered if the show told the competitors that they couldn't use social media to get customers.  The Bald Guy struggled last week as well, and Khana did not have their Pakistani customers this week (but that may be because they didn't park in front of the coffee shop).

Agreed. I suspected that last week with Da Bald Guy's sharp drop-off and the complete lack of any mentions of the coconut wireless.

To be fair, I've always thought the social media was a little unfair... but then again, it is a crucial food truck skill. Maybe teams should be given "fresh" socials at the beginning of the competition and specific rules they all have to follow to even the playing field but allow teams to use that skill set?

I know Bald Guy was the lowest performer, but I was still a little confused over the elimination. Easy Vegan wins the first challenge (both parts) and EV and Pura Cepa are paired, so are Khana and BG. They are supposed to be splitting sale totals evenly. Then, Bald Guy wins the second taste challenge and Pura Cepa wins the second sales challenge. So shouldn't the Bald Guy's total been equal to Khana PLUS their challenge bonus? Or did I miss something? 

[Salacious Kitty]

Looking at Da Bald Guy's insta, it seems that they weren't permitted to use social media some weeks. They didn't specify when, but thanked the coconut wireless for coming out strong when they were "allowed" to use it. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Salacious Kitty
Autofill strikes again!

[jcbrown]

This was the first week I noticed that all of Pura Cepa's uniforms are too tight.

I don't remember ever seeing all the teams so upset and Tyler toasting after a team got sent home. And the editors really hate Khana (as do I), what with that edit of everyone being sad and then the psycho leader in a talking head practically cackling about not being nice anymore. Bitch, please.

[Salacious Kitty]

13 hours ago, jcbrown said:

This was the first week I noticed that all of Pura Cepa's uniforms are too tight.

I don't remember ever seeing all the teams so upset and Tyler toasting after a team got sent home. And the editors really hate Khana (as do I), what with that edit of everyone being sad and then the psycho leader in a talking head practically cackling about not being nice anymore. Bitch, please.

I also looked at Khana's insta. She was threatening to delete and block people. Claims that she's the victim of a bad edit. 

Cry me a river, bitch. You gave them plenty of footage. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[meep.meep]

I couldn't figure out the money either.  Too bad it wasn't Khana going.

Rooting for the Easy Vegans.  If you can't sell vegan food in LA, you're doing something wrong.

[tinkerbell]

20 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Rooting for the Easy Vegans.  If you can't sell vegan food in LA, you're doing something wrong.

Plus, they seem like genuinely nice people.

I wonder about the budget, and how the teams get all the ingredients they need. In past seasons there were challenges based solely on money, and teams were able to make sub-par food and sell at inflated prices. I'm really glad that has changed.

[bluepiano]

On 7/17/2023 at 12:16 PM, mlp said:

I wasn't surprised that The Bald Guy was on the bottom of that particular challenge but I hated to see them go.  I liked all of them and was hoping they'd win.  Now I'm going to root for the Puerto Ricans.  I like them too.  I'm going to be really disappointed if Khana makes it to the finale or, worse yet, wins.  Hopefully, working with just two people next week will be their downfall.

Bald Guy seemed like such a heavy favorite that it was almost a tip-off they wouldn't win, as there needs to be some surprise twist. But I did think they'd at least make it to the finale.

I would expect Khana in the finale, because every reality show needs a villain, and the producers seem to think people watch for the drama.

There was a season in which one truck was all miliary wives, and they used social media every week to connect with veteran's groups in whatever city they were in. I don't recall that they were ever banned from doing that, even though it gave them a big advantage.

[Salacious Kitty]

1 minute ago, bluepiano said:

Bald Guy seemed like such a heavy favorite that it was almost a tip-off they wouldn't win, as there needs to be some surprise twist. But I did think they'd at least make it to the finale.

I would expect Khana in the finale, because every reality show needs a villain, and the producers seem to think people watch for the drama.

There was a season in which one truck was all miliary wives, and they used social media every week to connect with veteran's groups in whatever city they were in. I don't recall that they were ever banned from doing that, even though it gave them a big advantage.

Da Bald Guy confirmed that they weren't allowed to use social media all the time. It's obvious that they were hobbled by their inability to use it for the last two legs. 

[Ellee]

13 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Da Bald Guy confirmed that they weren't allowed to use social media all the time. It's obvious that they were hobbled by their inability to use it for the last two legs. 

Interesting but a team was able to fire a guy and add a new member to their team from another team in the race.  
 

In Da Bald Guy’s case, social media is and has been a part of the race.  

[Lurk]

At some point, you'd think that even coconut wireless or parking in front of an ethnic coffee shop that matches your menu would run its course out. I would imagine that folks would get tired of dropping such big $$ on the same food even if it was their culture. What do the customers have to gain from helping some strangers win a competition? That's also a good reason why they shouldn't stay in one city the entire competition. Fresh folks with fresh money.

I might go one time for the novelty of it. I just don't think it would be something I'd want to be "obligated" to do week after week.

 

[edited for redundancy]

Edited July 22, 2023 by Lurk

[seacliffsal]

40 minutes ago, Lurk said:

At some point, you'd think that even coconut wireless or parking in front of an ethnic coffee shop that matches your menu would run its course out. I would imagine that folks would get tired of dropping such big $$ on the same food even if it was their culture. What do the customers have to gain from helping some strangers win a competition? That's also a good reason why they shouldn't stay in one city the entire competition. Fresh folks with fresh money.

I might go one time for the novelty of it. I just don't think it would be something I'd want to be "obligated" to do week after week.

 

[edited for redundancy]

Not only that but sometimes people actually have to, you know, work.  Or have other obligations...

[Pattycake2]

It’s been bugging me, but I finally figured it out.  Khana Al looks just like a roblox.

[MartyQui]

Wow, watching d”pura cepa (SP?) being hugged by Easy Vegan while Khana stood awkwardly off to the side was telling…guess it’s not just us that doesn’t like them.

[Juneau Gal]

2 hours ago, MartyQui said:

Wow, watching d”pura cepa (SP?) being hugged by Easy Vegan while Khana stood awkwardly off to the side was telling…guess it’s not just us that doesn’t like them.

Yep. I wanna see the receipts because I am not believing Khana came in first. Or maybe I just don’t want to believe that I gotta watch another week of hideous neck tat and whiny bitch. 

[Salacious Kitty]

I'm so afraid that Khana's gonna,win. I don't think they'll let vegan trucks win two years in a row. I hope I'm wrong.

[HighQueenEB]

20 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I'm so afraid that Khana's gonna,win. I don't think they'll let vegan trucks win two years in a row. I hope I'm wrong.

Using that same logic, you'd think the show wouldn't let the most obnoxious/disliked team by the last 3 episodes win two years in a row either...

Easy Vegan are at least nice, which is a sharp contrast to Senoreatas and Khana.

[Colorado David]

booooooooo Khana. i'm sure the food tastes good, but the sucky attitude just so puts me off. 

[cameron]

9 hours ago, Juneau Gal said:

Yep. I wanna see the receipts because I am not believing Khana came in first. Or maybe I just don’t want to believe that I gotta watch another week of hideous neck tat and whiny bitch. 

Noticed that Tyler didn't even announce how much Easy Vegan food receipts total, especially with that extra $600. that they won in the challenges.  Also from that overhead shot of the street, there were only the three food trucks parked there for the supposedly the largest LA food truck event that night.  A lot of producer driven drama.  Sorry Food Network you can do better than this.

[Madding crowd]

This has become challenge after challenge rather than just letting the teams create their own menus and sell. All of the challenge items seem to be a huge pile of something fried, topped with a bunch of stuff and soaked in sauce. They all look messy to eat and not appealing on TV. I can’t stand the main Khana girl and I’m a vegetarian so rooting for Vegan truck . Even some of their dishes looks like a huge pile of mush to me. 

[GiandujaPie]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:47 AM, Lurk said:

At some point, you'd think that even coconut wireless or parking in front of an ethnic coffee shop that matches your menu would run its course out. I would imagine that folks would get tired of dropping such big $$ on the same food even if it was their culture. What do the customers have to gain from helping some strangers win a competition? That's also a good reason why they shouldn't stay in one city the entire competition. Fresh folks with fresh money.

I might go one time for the novelty of it. I just don't think it would be something I'd want to be "obligated" to do week after week.

 

[edited for redundancy]

This is the argument for having the trucks actually have to move from city to city. They shouldn't be allowed to just park in front of the same place every challenge or every chance they get to pick their own place. I get that in real life that is usually how it happens and food truck owners make deals with other businesses to park, but if we wanted to see real life challenges, we wouldn't have these taste and artificial selling challenges where they get to pad their ledgers. If Khana is allowed to leverage their connection with the Pakistani coffee shop, why wasn't Da Bald Guy allowed to leverage their social media presence and "coconut wireless"? Isn' t that the advantage of being a "pro" in that they have those professional connections? If they have to keep it in California, just have them move around the whole state. It's such a big state with so many different places to go. I'm tired of seeing the same old places. 

I hope producers not wanting to have a vegan food truck win 2 years in a row isn't going to prevent Easy Vegan from winning. They consistently have really delicious sounding food, much better than Senoreatas ever did. Senoreatas always seemed like they just subbed out meat for plant based meat substitutes, which is ok, but Easy Vegan seems to come up with truly innovative dishes that doesn't rely on something being "meat-like". Although I do have to say their fried mushroom sandwich looked and sounded so yummy, like a vegan version of a fried chicken sandwich. I wanted to try that so badly!

[Pattycake2]

I think there has been too much producer manipulation this season.  When and who wins the tasting challenges are probably set up to even out or promote one team over another.  The whole adding another team member from an eliminated team?  Khana didn’t come up with that idea themselves.  It was a setup.

[Salacious Kitty]

Doing the math, EasyVegan would have been eliminated without the $600 in bonus money. Khana made ~$3500, and coming in last Dpura Cepa made ~$3000. So, subtract that $600,and Easy Vegan goes. Tyler conveniently didn't give their total, so it's unknown if they needed the entire $600, or a portion thereof, to survive another day. 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Salacious Kitty

[Colorado David]

8 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

. If Khana is allowed to leverage their connection with the Pakistani coffee shop, why wasn't Da Bald Guy allowed to leverage their social media presence and "coconut wireless"? Isn' t that the advantage of being a "pro" in that they have those professional connections? If they have to keep it in California, just have them move around the whole state. It's such a big state with so many different places to go. I'm tired of seeing the same old places. 

 

I would like a rule that you can't park in the same place more than once (no planting). Finding a spot is part of the challenge, esp like in Cali where i'm sure parking can be a total nightmare.

AND I miss seeing them have to shop for their stuff - I know that isn't interesting for everybody, but I like the franticness (sp?) of it esp when they don't have a ton of funds to spend. And discussing price points, TF used to coach them on that. NOT so this season that I have seen.

I also want more curve-ball ingredient challenges (you HAVE to include this ingredient in one or more of your dishes.)  Seems like anymore it's just make what you are good at and see where it all falls. YAWN.

I would like to see the easy vegans make a cookbook, some of their stuff (that maitaki mushroom burger) looks amazing.

[Mondrianyone]

1 hour ago, Colorado David said:

AND I miss seeing them have to shop for their stuff

I do, too. Plus, the amount of money won per challenge has become totally meaningless if we don't see how they spend it and how it advantages them or disadvantages them with each shopping trip.

I'm thinking this show is in the process of jumping the shark, if it hasn't already.

[Salacious Kitty]

12 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I do, too. Plus, the amount of money won per challenge has become totally meaningless if we don't see how they spend it and how it advantages them or disadvantages them with each shopping trip.

I'm thinking this show is in the process of jumping the shark, if it hasn't already.

Based on what we saw in Week One with the wing truck, it appears that they count food cost against them. I remember the wing truck mentioning how expensive the chicken was, strongly suggesting that it could come back to bite them (it did). 

[Lurk]

14 hours ago, cameron said:

Noticed that Tyler didn't even announce how much Easy Vegan food receipts total, especially with that extra $600. that they won in the challenges.  Also from that overhead shot of the street, there were only the three food trucks parked there for the supposedly the largest LA food truck event that night.  A lot of producer driven drama.  Sorry Food Network you can do better than this.

Just how much was that taste challenge worth that Khana won? You know there are producer shenanigans so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they didn't throw that one to Khana so they would be 1st place over Easy Vegan.

I'm a carnivore, but there have been a lot of the Easy Vegan dishes that looked more appealing to me than the other trucks. That second day challenge this week I would have picked Easy Vegan because the other 2 trucks' dishes were a goopy, saucy, mess of too many things piled in a paper tray.

[Salacious Kitty]

All the challenges were $200 each. Easy Vegan won 3/4. 

[Mondrianyone]

15 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Based on what we saw in Week One with the wing truck, it appears that they count food cost against them. I remember the wing truck mentioning how expensive the chicken was, strongly suggesting that it could come back to bite them (it did). 

Something that was mentioned in Week One and then never again doesn't seem to be a crucial part of how the show works anymore, which is too bad, since costs are a huge factor in real-world food-truckery.

I'll stick this season out, but I doubt I'll be back if there is a next one.

[Maverick]

 Costs (and shopping) were part of the first challenge.  The wing truck specifically was shown commenting on the cost and low availability of chicken.    Those elements may still be present and they're just not showing it or they may have been eliminated.   If it's still net cost, the vegan truck has an advantage by not having to buy any meat or meat substitutes, which can be pricey too. 

[MartyQui]

8 hours ago, Maverick said:

If it's still net cost, the vegan truck has an advantage by not having to buy any meat or meat substitutes, which can be pricey too. 

I don’t know…cashew cheese is pretty expensive.

[seacliffsal]

The 'fun' of this show just isn't here.  Producers' favoritism seems to be the determining factor for a lot of the challenges.  Especially as to who gets to use their inate 'advantages.'  Who gets to use social media versus who gets to consistently park in front of a coffee shop that represents their food options.  Whose mess of a dish wins the flavor challenge over another mess of a dish (some of these dishes just look like the teams piled everything they had in their truck) of a recipe they already had.  Where is the 'use this ingredient in a new dish' which has the opportunity to challenge all (or most) of them.

[bluepiano]

On 7/23/2023 at 9:04 PM, Juneau Gal said:

Yep. I wanna see the receipts because I am not believing Khana came in first. Or maybe I just don’t want to believe that I gotta watch another week of hideous neck tat and whiny bitch. 

Khana coming in first was a shocker. Nothing we were shown would've led to that conclusion. God knows why, but Khana is clearly a producer favorite. I think the producers didn't want them eliminated in a week where their truck was short-staffed.

 

On 7/24/2023 at 6:52 AM, Madding crowd said:

All of the challenge items seem to be a huge pile of something fried, topped with a bunch of stuff and soaked in sauce. They all look messy to eat and not appealing on TV.

Most dishes this season look nothing like food you would get at an actual food truck, which generally has to be easy to carry, and something you could eat standing up. That's why taco trucks are so popular. Finger food with no utensils required. When I order from a food truck, the last thing I want is something gloppy with sauce that would get on my hands and drip on my clothes. 

Since the entire season has taken place in LA, they shouldn't let Khana keep parking at the same coffee shop. Everything about Khana screams "cheat." They should've never been allowed to fire one of their team and then replace him. 

Worst season ever. Since there's no shopping or strategic pricing involved, most episodes are the contestants getting in the face of people and pleading with them to eat their food. Which in the real food truck world never happens.