The Great Food Truck Race - General Discussion

[Whimsy]

10 minutes ago, xaxat said:

The other teams offered their competition creations to the judge and the public. Lumpia didn't. They created one plate for the judge and it was not on the menu for anyone else. The chef admitted that the food cost of their dish wouldn't work at scale. 

Oh, that.  Yeah.  I did find that weird and thought it should be against the rules.  I've never seen another truck do that. 

[mlp]

Quote

that was pretty shady of Lumpia to serve an item not on their menu to win a challenge. 

I didn't think it was shady at all.  In fact, I thought it was smart.  The challenge was to make a dish the guest judge would like best.  Nothing was said about serving it to the public.  Tyler would have called them out if they had broken a rule.

I was happy to see the Magical crew and their silly costumes leave and I hope the grammar-challenged Louisiana women go next.  The Big Stuff guys seem to be good cooks but I don't particularly like any of them.  The lumpia truck is doing great, they're pleasant and I hope they win.

[spiderpig]

I'm liking this season much better than the previous few, if for no other reason than that the locations are so picturesque.  Inlaws are from New England, so I have many fond associations.  Portsmouth is charming.

Don't really have a favorite truck team, so I'll just enjoy the scenery.

[LittleIggy]

I knew the judges would be school kids even before they showed the tasting venue was in a school. Why couldn’t each kid have a vote? Is the production crew too lazy to count 70 votes?

[kirklandia]

On 11/28/2019 at 5:34 PM, xaxat said:

The sales totals were pretty impressive when you consider that Wolfeboro only has about six thousand people.

The first time I watched this show it was because they filmed an episode in Lubec Maine, and I had recently visited friends who live there.  (Lubec only has 1359 people.)  

I would have assumed people would show up for the chance to be on TV.  According to my friends, the locals didn't really care.

[LittleIggy]

I still think the prices are ridiculous. Twenty dollars for finger food served in a cardboard container and eaten out in the freezing cold?

[mlp]

Quote

I still think the prices are ridiculous. Twenty dollars for finger food served in a cardboard container and eaten out in the freezing cold?

I agree but then I think people are paying more for the experience of participating in a TV show than for the food.  OTOH Maybe food truck prices tend to be high for some reason.  There are only two or three in my area but they do charge more than I would have to pay at many places where I could sit down indoors and get table service.

[spiderpig]

8 minutes ago, mlp said:

I agree but then I think people are paying more for the experience of participating in a TV show than for the food.  OTOH Maybe food truck prices tend to be high for some reason.  There are only two or three in my area but they do charge more than I would have to pay at many places where I could sit down indoors and get table service.

I always wonder about this.  $20???  Unless you are serving uni with cavier, how can you justify $20 from a truck?

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, mlp said:

I agree but then I think people are paying more for the experience of participating in a TV show than for the food.  OTOH Maybe food truck prices tend to be high for some reason.  There are only two or three in my area but they do charge more than I would have to pay at many places where I could sit down indoors and get table service.

I noticed this too.  This past summer I went to a food truck event in my area and found the food mediocre at best and way overpriced.  Never again.  For those prices we could have been served much better food seated in a comfortable room.  I find the prices very hard to justify after all I've learned over the years about the cost of running a food business.  I can't see how running a food truck could be that expensive compared to running a full restaurant.

[Yeah No]

On 12/5/2019 at 7:23 AM, Ellee said:

Not watching as close as I usually do.  Amazing that with the weather as it is that so many come out to buy food from them.

I know, especially in sleepy New England!  I'm almost sure they had to resort to social media to get people to come out.  Food trucks aren't the norm in New England, especially in the winter.  No one, not even die-hard New Englanders would just happen to be hanging out in the street in that weather and line up for a food truck.  For the most part the street scenes have confirmed this.  Then suddenly out of nowhere a line of people appears in the snow?  It's just not like that in these parts, LOL.  It HAD to be advertised in advance, that's all I can think.

[chessiegal]

The season they came to Annapolis there was plenty of local media advertising they were coming.

[akr]

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I know, especially in sleepy New England!  I'm almost sure they had to resort to social media to get people to come out.  Food trucks aren't the norm in New England, especially in the winter.  No one, not even die-hard New Englanders would just happen to be hanging out in the street in that weather and line up for a food truck.  For the most part the street scenes have confirmed this.  Then suddenly out of nowhere a line of people appears in the snow?  It's just not like that in these parts, LOL.  It HAD to be advertised in advance, that's all I can think.

I might have when I lived in a small-ish town on VT - although I'd have been averse to being on TV, I got very tired of the food options, so the Creole & Lumpia trucks, in particular, would have been very appealing. The local restaurants were pretty good, but variety you didn't have to drive to Boston for would have been nice!  Even the $20 lobster mac would have appealed (as a one-off). The Minnesota women seemed to be serving stuff I could already have gotten there, so why bother even if it's pretty good; & whoever served apple fritters wouldn't have tempted me either, because there's already both Dunkin Donuts & local bakeries, so again, no shortage of that sort of food/no unsatisfied yearning for it.

Edited December 7, 2019 by akr
typos/auto-correct

[Brookside]

Sorry, but I'm not eating something (lumpia) that sounds like a medical condition.

Nor am I buying food from mouth breathers wearing home-made croched pot holders on their heads.

No idea who the guest judge is, but what the hell was that stupid camouflage jacket with a passport pocket over his breast?

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, Brookside said:

Sorry, but I'm not eating something (lumpia) that sounds like a medical condition.

I'm with you.  If it were named "spring roll" or something cheery and inviting, I'd probably enjoy it..  But not something that sounds like surgical waste from a biopsy.

Nor am I buying food from mouth breathers wearing home-made croched pot holders on their heads.

With you again.  Those guys looked like they worked at food establishments where TV shows would go undercover to film staff blowing their noses and scratching their butts around the products they served.

[Sew Sumi]

3 hours ago, Brookside said:

Sorry, but I'm not eating something (lumpia) that sounds like a medical condition.

Nor am I buying food from mouth breathers wearing home-made croched pot holders on their heads.

No idea who the guest judge is, but what the hell was that stupid camouflage jacket with a passport pocket over his breast?

Lumpia are delicious. Find yourself a Filipina grandma to make you some.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Brookside said:

Sorry, but I'm not eating something (lumpia) that sounds like a medical condition.

The name is unfortunate enough but no one knows what it means except for a relatively small number of people that frequent Filipino neighborhoods.  It's really just another version of a spring roll or egg roll.

7 hours ago, Brookside said:

Nor am I buying food from mouth breathers wearing home-made croched pot holders on their heads.

Whatever they were wearing looked ridiculous but they themselves didn't seem like mouth breathers to me.  And I'm usually pretty hard on mouth breathers.  I thought the truck that went home were more like mouth breathers, lol.

[Brookside]

"They've been waiting in line for an hour to thirty minutes."  Where do they find these people?

Edited December 12, 2019 by Brookside

[Sew Sumi]

I thought I heard that wrong. Sorry to find out I heard it the same way. 

Glad the Creole girls are gone. They irrationally bugged me. The Stuffed guys just bug, period. Being irrationally bugged is far worse. 😁

[meep.meep]

The Stuffed guys do bug.

I had a LOL moment when after the assignment to do the figgy puddings was made, the guy from the lumpia truck had a TH where he earnestly said:  Maybe we can put it in a lumpia!

[Lukeysboat]

I swear one of the customers at the ski lodge commented on how tender the beef was in the Creole Queens’ food. Someone please tell me if I’m wrong. I’m begging you. Because if I remember correctly, Tyler gave them ground beef and that’s what they put in their dish. Hamburger ... ah, so tender. 

I didn’t think that big pot they kept stirring looked very interesting. 

Lastly, I thought I heard Lia lady say her food was unctuous. Unctuous? Barf!

Edited December 13, 2019 by Lukeysboat
Spelling counts!

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, Lukeysboat said:

I swear one of the customers at the ski lodge commented on how tender the beef was in the Creole Queens’ food. Someone please tell me if I’m wrong. I’m begging you. Because if I remember correctly, Tyler gave them ground beef and that’s what they put in their dish. Hamburger ... ah, so tender. 

I didn’t think that big pot they kept stirring looked very interesting. 

Ground beef gumbo sounded gross to me.

[Leilani]

The Stuffed guy sounds just like Tyler, every week when I'm half watching the show and hear his voice I think it's Tyler cooking. Anyone else?

[Brookside]

I can believe they've never been to a "skis resort", but not that Queen Creole have never used ground beef.

[Brookside]

1 hour ago, Leilani said:

The Stuffed guy sounds just like Tyler, every week when I'm half watching the show and hear his voice I think it's Tyler cooking. Anyone else?

I hear it too.  And the Lumpia guy has the worst case of male vocal fry ever.

[LittleIggy]

Why didn’t the Creole Queens pick seafood? Guess they thought (like me) they would get cuts of meat instead of hamburger!

[YupItsMe]

5 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Ground beef gumbo sounded gross to me.

I’m from Louisiana and, believe me, it is not a thing! There were so many good dishes they could have made with the ground beef, but they really should have chosen the seafood. Seafood would have been the first choice for most La. chefs. 

[Chyromaniac]

In the words of MST3K’s Tom Servo, “go to hell, citizens and officials of Rutland, Vermont!”

[LittleIggy]

For once I would like to see some average Joe or Jane look at the prices and say “you must be kidding!”

[spiderpig]

On 12/8/2019 at 3:39 PM, Yeah No said:

The name is unfortunate enough but no one knows what it means except for a relatively small number of people that frequent Filipino neighborhoods.  It's really just another version of a spring roll or egg roll.

Yeah, I live in a burb where Filipino food is available all over the place.  But I simply don't want to put anything into my mouth that is called "lumpia".  It would be like going to a sandwich shack where their special was "barf".

[spiderpig]

Well, gang - at least we can admire the gorgeous scenery.  If I earned my living like Stephen King and never had to leave my mansion for six months of the year, I'd love to live in New England.

Unfortunately, my year in NE happened to occur in one of the worst winters in history.  They had to suspend mail delivery.  My father-in-law died and his funeral procession was led by a snowplow.  (We knew he would have found that hilarious.)

The snowtubing was fun and reminded me of being a kid in the Dark Ages when we went scooting down hills on saucer sleds.  I couldn't believe the wimps who didn't want to participate.  My great-aunt did belly-slams with us when she was in her 70s.

I guess I'm in it for the non-Lumpia guys for the win.

[spiderpig]

Because I'm feeling talkative...the same thing with monkfish.

I love monkeys and I love seafood.  But the combination is so offputting.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Because I'm feeling talkative...the same thing with monkfish.

I love monkeys and I love seafood.  But the combination is so offputting.

I read once that the fish got its name from the fact that monks used to favor it and always asked for it, probably because they were the first to figure out how close it tasted to lobster.  So I when I hear the name I always picture a fish wearing a monk's robe, LOL.  Hopefully now you'll do the same and save yourself from the offputting monkey image.

[Yeah No]

16 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Well, gang - at least we can admire the gorgeous scenery.  If I earned my living like Stephen King and never had to leave my mansion for six months of the year, I'd love to live in New England.

Unfortunately, my year in NE happened to occur in one of the worst winters in history.  They had to suspend mail delivery.  My father-in-law died and his funeral procession was led by a snowplow.  (We knew he would have found that hilarious.)

The scenery is more beautiful when you can sit in the comfort of your warm home and watch it from your couch.  When you're out there battling it, it's not so "pretty" anymore, LOL.  From the amount of precipitation we have gotten in my area of New England so far this Fall, I'm worried we're going to be snowed in most of the winter - Not looking forward to another winter like that.  A few years ago we had a disastrous winter with constant snow and no melting so there was ice-damming on roofs and my own home and thousands of others had water damage as a result.  I'm still getting over it!  So to those people who wish they could live in a climate like this, think again!  It's really not worth the trade off, IMHO.

[meowmommy]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

From the amount of precipitation we have gotten in my area of New England so far this Fall, I'm worried we're going to be snowed in most of the winter - Not looking forward to another winter like that.

I moved 2000 miles to get away from that shit.  My back is completely shot, half from years of lifting and pulling 300 pound patients as a nurse, and the other half from shoveling 22 inches of snow every other day every winter.  Snow is really pretty if you don't have to shovel it, drive in it, or heat your house due to it.

I never saw a food truck when I lived in New England, but maybe I just didn't live in the right place.  And I sure as hell wouldn't have stood outside in a line, in the cold, to stand outside eating food that's getting cold as soon as it's served.

I guess I was a little surprised that the Creole ladies made their vegetarian rice with water.  I make rice for my vegetarian daughter all the time and I cook it in vegetable stock.  But then, I guess they didn't get to pick their groceries that day.

And just no on screaming at potential customers being a draw.  Free samples, maybe.  But not screaming.

[Yeah No]

4 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I never saw a food truck when I lived in New England, but maybe I just didn't live in the right place.  And I sure as hell wouldn't have stood outside in a line, in the cold, to stand outside eating food that's getting cold as soon as it's served.

I don't think New England is the "right place" for food trucks in general.  The hype about really good food served from food trucks assumes a certain concentration of trendy hipsters that will run them and support them.  Aside for perhaps some areas of Boston, I can't think of too many places that fit that bill.  I don't know if Boston has any food truck scene, but in my area the few food trucks we have are only in the biggest cities and all are abysmally bad and horribly over priced.  I really kind of doubt that most of the places they've visited in this season so far have too many food trucks and those that do are probably pretty mediocre.

[Fukui San]

Boston has a good supply of food trucks. Mostly in use in the warmer months, of course. I think Portland, ME has a fair number. Providence. I can't speak to NH, VT, CT, or Western MA. I kind of think those places may not have the population density to make those worthwhile.

In Boston we've had Food Truck festivals with ridiculous waits which weren't even televised as an excuse. I like that they're there and they offer some good food options. I've had mostly positive experiences with them in general.

While Boston's food truck scene is pretty well developed, we're minuscule compared to what I saw in Portland, OR. They had roughly 3X the number of food trucks per capita than Boston.

[Yeah No]

50 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Boston has a good supply of food trucks. Mostly in use in the warmer months, of course. I think Portland, ME has a fair number. Providence. I can't speak to NH, VT, CT, or Western MA. I kind of think those places may not have the population density to make those worthwhile.

i spent several days in Portland this summer and did not see one food truck.  I wonder where they were "hiding"!  Considering all the great restaurants I went to while I was there, I didn't miss anything!  Culinary meccas probably attract better food trucks.  I know that a lot of areas in New England don't have the population density nor are they known as culinary hot spots.  Boston is a hot spot for everything trendy while a lot of New England is just, well, not....

Edited December 16, 2019 by Yeah No

[Pallida]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

i spent several days in Portland this summer and did not see one food truck.  I wonder where they were "hiding"!  Considering all the great restaurants I went to while I was there, I didn't miss anything!  Culinary meccas probably attract better food trucks.  I know that a lot of areas in New England don't have the population density nor are they known as culinary hot spots.  Boston is a hot spot for everything trendy while a lot of New England is just, well, not....

https://www.travelportland.com/culture/food-cart-pods/

I think Portland, OR makes it harder for food trucks to be out and about on public streets, so the pods make life easier.

[spiderpig]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I read once that the fish got its name from the fact that monks used to favor it and always asked for it, probably because they were the first to figure out how close it tasted to lobster.  So I when I hear the name I always picture a fish wearing a monk's robe, LOL.  Hopefully now you'll do the same and save yourself from the offputting monkey image.

Thank you so much for the input.  I like monks too.  Are you in an area where you can get Monks' Bread (baked at the Abbey of the Genessee)?  I will be sure to order monkfish the next time I see it on the menu and create a mental picture of a retreat in upstate New York with fish in robes and cowls.

[spiderpig]

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I don't think New England is the "right place" for food trucks in general.  The hype about really good food served from food trucks assumes a certain concentration of trendy hipsters that will run them and support them.  Aside for perhaps some areas of Boston, I can't think of too many places that fit that bill.  I don't know if Boston has any food truck scene, but in my area the few food trucks we have are only in the biggest cities and all are abysmally bad and horribly over priced.  I really kind of doubt that most of the places they've visited in this season so far have too many food trucks and those that do are probably pretty mediocre.

Cousins Maine Lobster had a Napa Valley truck and we really enjoyed them.  (They'd throw in a complimentary beer with our order.)  Gone now.  But I guess when you're in a food mecca like SF you are used to falling over great sit-down restaurants wherever you go at the same price or less.

When I worked in downtown SF you couldn't walk 50 feet without passing a food establishment.  No need for trucks.  Even Taco Bell tried it and was handing out free food at 9pm.

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, Pallida said:

https://www.travelportland.com/culture/food-cart-pods/

I think Portland, OR makes it harder for food trucks to be out and about on public streets, so the pods make life easier.

Portland, OR and Portland ME - I was talking about Portland, ME.  I love Portland, OR but haven't been there in close to 20 years!   Here's a list of food trucks there - actually they sound good - much better than the crap in my area!  We're supposed to go back to Portland, ME next summer so I'll have to check them out and bring a huge bankroll to finance it, LOL.  It does look like they cover a wide area, though.  Perhaps I'll have to follow them on social media to find out where they park.

Best Portland, ME Food Trucks

[spiderpig]

26 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Portland, OR and Portland ME - I was talking about Portland, ME.  I love Portland, OR but haven't been there in close to 20 years!   Here's a list of food trucks there - actually they sound good - much better than the crap in my area!  We're supposed to go back to Portland, ME next summer so I'll have to check them out and bring a huge bankroll to finance it, LOL.  It does look like they cover a wide area, though.  Perhaps I'll have to follow them on social media to find out where they park.

Best Portland, ME Food Trucks

OK, you made me laugh.  When I was working ticket counter at Boston Logan I got a call from Portland ME asking if we had any French speakers.  One of their passengers had been booked to Portland ME instead of Portland OR.  I tried to help out with my high school French.

These things happen.  When I was working in Oakland CA we had a visitor who thought he was going to Auckland NZl  **** happens.

[Yeah No]

On 12/14/2019 at 11:27 PM, spiderpig said:

Yeah, I live in a burb where Filipino food is available all over the place.  But I simply don't want to put anything into my mouth that is called "lumpia".  It would be like going to a sandwich shack where their special was "barf".

Mr. Yeah No just said they might as well have named the truck "Lia's Lipoma".....I died!!!!  🤣🤣🤣

[dubbel zout]

We're getting off-topic, folks; let's stick to what happens in the episodes, please. Thanks!

[biakbiak]

14 hours ago, spiderpig said:

When I worked in downtown SF you couldn't walk 50 feet without passing a food establishment.  No need for trucks.

Food trucks are hugely popular in SF. From food pods to Off the Grids moving daily markets to random ones throughout the city.

I haven’t really enjoyed this special season. I don’t know if I am just sick of the gimmicks and lack of concentrating on the food or if I am just bored with the entire concept. I wish they would do another season where they are actual food truck operators again but I doubt that will ever happen.

edited because I meant season not episode.

Edited December 16, 2019 by biakbiak

[LexieLily]

The Creole Queen's menu-board sign had two errors, both on figgy pudding day. Whoever wrote the sign forgot the letter 'o' in Gumbo, and they said they were selling a Holiday Desert. For that, they deserved to be eliminated. 

[MerBearHou]

Portland OR had a terrific food truck scene and a big food truck park that is so cool.  At least that was the case when I visited 3 years ago!  

Even though I’ve never had a lumpia, I’d love to try one and I really like that trio.  Big Stuff doesn’t bug me so if they win, I won’t cringe.  Wasn’t a big fan of the Creole Queens and their menu would never be what I seek out.

Have loved the scenery this season but wow, SO COLD.  New England is a fave of mine so the locales have been such a bonus to see.

Edited December 18, 2019 by MerBearHou

[spiderpig]

5 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Have loved the scenery this season but wow, SO COLD.  New England is a fave of mine so the locales have been such a bonus to see.

Yeah - all their customers seemed to be wearing knit beanies.  I recall from my days back east that you lost 10 percent of your body heat through your head.

[chessiegal]

19 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Yeah - all their customers seemed to be wearing knit beanies. 

Shoot, I live in Maryland just south of Annapolis and I've been wearing knit caps for over a month when I go out.

[spiderpig]

56 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Shoot, I live in Maryland just south of Annapolis and I've been wearing knit caps for over a month when I go out.

Can we start a thread for fabulous knit beanies?  I wear them in the house all the time.