The Great Food Truck Race - General Discussion

[Skyfall]

3 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

The way this season has been with the stupid non-food-related challenges I’m surprised Tyler didn’t throw the money bag into the ocean and tell the two teams whoever swims fastest and grabs the money wins.

At least it’ll be a true race then!

[Skyfall]

59 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I know this was in jest but didn't one season do something kind of along those lines, where whoever finished selling out of whatever food first and made it to the end location first got the money?

Yup when Pho beat the smug waffle boys

[TeenMom69]

Well this finale was a true disappointment. I have vacationed in Key West many times and was so looking forward to the scenery.  I can't believe both trucks sold both days right off Duvall Street. There is such a high concentration of really great restaurants in that area. Restaurants that are reasonably priced considering they come with chairs, tables, atmosphere, entertainment and restrooms. I really don't undertand going to Duvall as a tourist and standing on the street eating a $20 sandwich. I wouldn't do it.

That said, they missed some really great locations. At the other end of Duvall at the Southernmost Point photo buoy people stay lined up for a block for their turn. It's right by the entrance to Ft. Zach Taylor State Park, a popular place to go for picnics. Another place is Smathers Beach, the long narrow beach that goes along the edge of the island from the airport on the east around the south end. Where the highway curves and becomes residential neighborhood is a public beach park where all the locals go. Sandy beaches are not part of the Key West coastline so Smathers is pretty much it outside the state park and private resorts. I have been at these locations unprepared wishing there food more readily available. 

And not one single shot of a Key West chicken?

[BigBingerBro]

When the Brunch Babe's mother appeared, I thought for sure they were the winners.  I really do think they evolved the most, but Nola did know how to hustle, so I'm not really surprised they won.   I was over the sob story element.  The main guy kept saying they had "nothing to go back to" if they didn't win.  Well, they may not have had their own restaurant anymore, but there is nothing stopping them from working as a chef in other restaurant, or getting some other job.  The idea that you have nothing if you're not doing your dream job really irks me.

[meowmommy]

23 hours ago, Hellga said:

There were four challenges this episode, and one of them was actually about cooking.  Yeah.  

If pretentiously snooty Top Chef can whittle down its final four with a freaking biathlon (TC Texas), then I guess mere mortal FN yuk-yuk competition shows should not be blamed for coming up with challenges that aren't exactly food-related.

I just wonder why these folks go through all this for a one in nine chance at a little under $17K.  I don't know how long it takes to record the series in real time, but presumably the competitors had jobs they had to either use their vacation time from or take unpaid leaves.  It would have been nice for FN to throw in the actual food truck used to win the competition, but of course FN is and always will be cheap as hell.

[Hellga]

I think in the earlier seasons they did give them the truck and also the cash... I remember being surprised when it became just the cash.

[Yeah No]

Well, this was my first season watching this, and probably my last.  It was completely underwhelming in just about every way, and it doesn't help to read here that the show used to be better and even give the winners a truck.  I was rooting for Brunch Babes and to be honest I thought their food in the lobster challenge was a little more creative.  NOLA just slathered a basic steamed lobster tail in their usual sauce.  I too thought they lost based on the body language in the talking heads, but whatever.  FN thought it was better to get rid of "Food Network Star" but keep this?  Yikes.

The only good thing to come from this is that it made me remember that I have been to Key West.  Or at least my 92 year old Dad reminded me that we drove there when I was 11, about a zillion years ago.

[meowmommy]

9 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

The only good thing to come from this is that it made me remember that I have been to Key West. 

Yeah, it had the same effect on me.  I was in the Air Force, there on a temporary duty, right around the time of the Mariel boatlift in 1980.  Loved seeing the shots of the beautiful water, reminded me of my one and only attempt at snorkeling.  

13 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

it doesn't help to read here that the show used to be better

IIRC, in some earlier seasons, they also spent time talking about the business side of running a food truck, which was really interesting.  Not so much any more.  Now it's all fake pop-up challenges that skew the totals and throw off the outcome.

[Hellga]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

IIRC, in some earlier seasons, they also spent time talking about the business side of running a food truck, which was really interesting.  Not so much any more.  Now it's all fake pop-up challenges that skew the totals and throw off the outcome.

Yes, there were challenges specifically designed to teach participants about a particular aspect of running a food truck, and the rest were about cooking... and participants were all serious about being in the food truck business vs. in later seasons some were obviously in it for their five minutes of TV fame (like the nasty kid from last or second to last season).  

[Yeah No]

22 minutes ago, Hellga said:

Yes, there were challenges specifically designed to teach participants about a particular aspect of running a food truck, and the rest were about cooking... and participants were all serious about being in the food truck business vs. in later seasons some were obviously in it for their five minutes of TV fame (like the nasty kid from last or second to last season).  

I didn't get the impression that most of these teams actually ran food trucks in real life.  It seems like at least some of them got the team together especially to go on the show.  NOLA worked together running restaurants and wanted to open a new one, not a food truck.  And what did the Brunch Babes do before this?  If they ran a food truck somehow I missed hearing about it.  If many of them are not really in the food truck business it would help to explain why the show has taken the emphasis off of actually running a food truck and stopped giving the winning team a food truck.

[Sew Sumi]

36 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I didn't get the impression that most of these teams actually ran food trucks in real life.  It seems like at least some of them got the team together especially to go on the show.  NOLA worked together running restaurants and wanted to open a new one, not a food truck.  And what did the Brunch Babes do before this?  If they ran a food truck somehow I missed hearing about it.  If many of them are not really in the food truck business it would help to explain why the show has taken the emphasis off of actually running a food truck and stopped giving the winning team a food truck.

The OP was talking about early seasons of the show, not recent ones. None of the competitors in recent seasons has run a food truck, except the Waffle Love team. They were a well-oiled machine. 

As for NOLA vs BBs, the former had professional chefs, the latter were home cooks. There have been many contestants who have come from the restaurant world; the home cooks usually haven't lasted as long as BBs did.

[bluepiano]

Disappointed that NOLA won, though it totally expected. I believe it was preordained from the beginning.

I never forgave them for the "Brunch Barbies" insult, or for lying and saying they were serving frozen or prepackaged food. And though I don't think it was brought up, in this last episode they actually  used "Brunch Babes" in the name of one of their dishes. I spotted it on their menu board,  I don't know if it was another jab, or a way to try to steal their business, but in any case it was really inappropriate.

I can't remember any team in this show's history that was so rude and disrespectful to their competitors. I know that it's just one dumb TV show that's not going to change the history of the world, but I hate to see such behavior rewarded. 

[suebee12]

3 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

, in this last episode they actually  used "Brunch Babes" in the name of one of their dishes.

Actually they said nice things about the Brunch Babes team. They decided to make an omelette so they could open early with a brunch item and named it for the BB team. As far as being rude, I thought several teams(including the BBs) were not very nice during the race. Everyone seemed to like each other and got along fine in the final episode.

[bluepiano]

4 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

Actually they said nice things about the Brunch Babes team. 

They said nice things after they won, which is expected and everyone does that. But I thought throughout the season they had more of a "win at any cost" attitude than any of the other trucks. 

[suebee12]

2 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

They said nice things after they won

No, actually they said them when they were developing the omelette during the show. They said since the BB's had such good food, they would name their omelette for them...nothing derogatory  at all. I'm not defending either team since they both did things that were not very "nice" but it was a competition and this has happened all through the years.

[spiderpig]

This was once one of my favorite shows when it was fun, adventurous and informative.

Now for broken record time.

Every single FN show has gone way downhill since the simultaneous departures of Kermit, Medusa and Brooke.  For all the reasons stated above by others, this has become a snooze fest.  I used to love the cross-country destinations where they would, say, set up shop in Albuquerque and find out at the end of the show their next location was Wichita.  It piqued my interest, not to mention the fact that the trucks themselves were in play.

Maybe with next week's return of Worst Cooks we'll be nostalgic for the current Truck Race mess.

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

The OP was talking about early seasons of the show, not recent ones. None of the competitors in recent seasons has run a food truck, except the Waffle Love team. They were a well-oiled machine. 

Yep, I knew that they were talking about earlier seasons.  And I was just commenting that I realized on my own that most of them this season didn't ever run a food truck (since this was the only season I've watched).  Which IMO is disappointing.  What's the point of a food truck competition if they're not really food truck operators?  I thought the point of this show was to showcase real food trucks.  It takes something away from it to realize that they're not really food truck people.  Once again, another "reality show" gimmick.

5 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Now for broken record time.

Every single FN show has gone way downhill since the simultaneous departures of Kermit, Medusa and Brooke.  For all the reasons stated above by others, this has become a snooze fest.  I used to love the cross-country destinations where they would, say, set up shop in Albuquerque and find out at the end of the show their next location was Wichita.  It piqued my interest, not to mention the fact that the trucks themselves were in play.

Well, I'm with you on being a broken record, and I think you are absolutely right about that.  Oh for the days of Kermit, Medusa and Brooke!  Whoever is running the network now is really making a mess of it.  And to think we used to complain about it back then!

5 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Maybe with next week's return of Worst Cooks we'll be nostalgic for the current Truck Race mess.

Sadly, you're probably right about this too.

8 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I never forgave them for the "Brunch Barbies" insult, or for lying and saying they were serving frozen or prepackaged food.

Yep, me too.

[Rachel RSL]

I'm glad NOLA won over the Brunch Babes, mainly because it sounds like they will actually use the money for a food truck or at least something in the restaurant industry.  (Also, the thin guy who never smiled cracked me up.  He was always so deadpan.)  The Brunch Babes (who I liked just fine) were just in it to win the money and then go back to their lives.  I mean, one of them is pregnant so she obviously won't be food trucking her way around the U.S. any time soon.  Not that there's anything wrong with someone signing up just to win the money but, like others have said, I really miss the days when the teams were already existing food trucks.  It just seems, to me anyway, people were more invested in the competition because it was their livelihood, not because it was something they felt like doing just for shits & giggles for a few weeks.  Also, if the Brunch Babes had won because they knew how to blow a conch better, I would have been pissed.

I know the show has obviously changed things for the sake of easier production but I really miss the days when everything wasn't spoon-fed to the teams.  I know a lot of people are bored by the shopping trips but I really enjoyed how teams would often have to hunt for specialized food stores to find the unique ingredients they needed or when they would swing deals with restaurants.  Now they just send them all to the same Costco (or whatever).

And the challenges are ridiculous.  Not just the fact that most of them have nothing to do with food but the amount of money given away is just way too much.  Winning the challenge should give the teams a little bonus or possibly an advantage but it shouldn't decide who wins the entire show.

[Whimsy]

22 hours ago, xaxat said:

I was too. I wish Tyler would have given us sales totals. 

My suspicious mind thinks that was intentional as the BB's actually sold more and won but the producers wanted NOLA to win. 

18 hours ago, TeenMom69 said:

Well this finale was a true disappointment. I have vacationed in Key West many times and was so looking forward to the scenery.  I can't believe both trucks sold both days right off Duvall Street. There is such a high concentration of really great restaurants in that area. Restaurants that are reasonably priced considering they come with chairs, tables, atmosphere, entertainment and restrooms. I really don't undertand going to Duvall as a tourist and standing on the street eating a $20 sandwich. I wouldn't do it.

That said, they missed some really great locations. At the other end of Duvall at the Southernmost Point photo buoy people stay lined up for a block for their turn. It's right by the entrance to Ft. Zach Taylor State Park, a popular place to go for picnics. Another place is Smathers Beach, the long narrow beach that goes along the edge of the island from the airport on the east around the south end. Where the highway curves and becomes residential neighborhood is a public beach park where all the locals go. Sandy beaches are not part of the Key West coastline so Smathers is pretty much it outside the state park and private resorts. I have been at these locations unprepared wishing there food more readily available. 

And not one single shot of a Key West chicken?

Same.  I really wanted to see more Key West scenery.  Love those chickens lol.  

11 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

The OP was talking about early seasons of the show, not recent ones. None of the competitors in recent seasons has run a food truck, except the Waffle Love team. They were a well-oiled machine. 

As for NOLA vs BBs, the former had professional chefs, the latter were home cooks. There have been many contestants who have come from the restaurant world; the home cooks usually haven't lasted as long as BBs did.

In earlier seasons it seemed like all of the teams either were already food truck owners or wanted to be.  I remember seeing food trucks from some past contestants and getting all excited and even bought something from a couple.  Not exactly sure when it changed, but it's a disappointment.  

[bluepiano]

1 hour ago, Rachel RSL said:

Winning the challenge should give the teams a little bonus or possibly an advantage but it shouldn't decide who wins the entire show. 

Agree. Sales should be the only determining factor. Having three challenges in the finale was ridiculous. 

[GeorgiaRai]

Ugh.  I forgot to watch the finale, and now I won't even bother.  The NOLA chef was my least favorite of the contestants, and I was hoping someone else - anyone else! - would win.  

Besides being a chef, he seems pretty good at marketing/promotion, as well. 

Since the season's premiere, Johnson has continued building the NOLA Creations brand and product line.   Johnson launched a NOLA Creations seasoning line and is preparing for the release of a cookbook.   The "NOLA Creations" cookbook is available for shipping in late-August. The cookbook is $24.99 plus shipping costs. Pre-orders for the cookbook and orders for the seasonings may be made at nola-creations.com.  A second cookbook is in development.

www.shreveporttimes.com

[CoolMom]

On 7/28/2019 at 11:28 PM, LittleIggy said:

No freakin’ way would I pay $20 for a hamburger! A hamburger with no fries at that! No $10 beignets either. BTW, does anyone know what an order of beignets cost at the Mecca of beignets, the Cafe du Monde? I haven’t been there in ages.

I think beignets from Cafe du Monde are about $5 for 3 of 4 that are much larger than NOLA Creations were selling.  As soon as I heard them say $10 an order I thought they were crazy.

I do think the prices on food trucks as a whole are inflated, we went to a "rally" at a couple of months ago, the truck I choose was chicken tenders and frozen fries.  The tenders were some of I've ever eaten but were $14 for 3 tenders and frozen fries.

I was trying to find an answer to the question as to whether Darrell Johnson was really affected by Katrina, it hits close to home for me,  the idea someone would question them  is kind of off-putting .  I am trying not to take it personal because I know it's not.  🙂  I cannot find anything to confirm but one of the episodes showed a restaurant that certainly looked like it was post Katrina.  Anyway, his latest gig seems to have been at a Mellow Mushroom in Macon, GA where he lives because his mom moved there after Katrina.  My guess is he went to Shreveport thinking he'd go home when NOLA dried out then rebuild but followed mom instead. Rebuilding took AGES many people didn't return; the scars on the city are still there if you were familiar with it before Katrina you notice.

They did state that they had "nothing to go home to" but I don't think they meant due to Katrina.  I think it was in reference to the fact that all three of them quit their jobs to be on the show.

[Brookside]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 1:09 PM, bluepiano said:

I also didn't like the main NOLA guy calling them "Brunch Barbies." Very derogatory. No need to get into personal insults. 

Calling themselves "Brunch Babes" already offends me, so "Brunch Barbies" isn't any worse.

[Brookside]

NOLA guy sitting in the middle (and many others on cooking shows)  - it's vinaigrette , not vinegarette.

"We have worked so hard to not make that prize money."  Congratulations ladies, you succeeded. 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Brookside

[SevenCostanza]

On 7/29/2019 at 7:57 PM, Hellga said:

I think in the earlier seasons they did give them the truck and also the cash... I remember being surprised when it became just the cash.

Yes I remember in the first couple of the seasons they got to keep the truck too.  I haven't watched in awhile so I was very surprised they only got the money this time around. 

[ALRay]

Why did Nola lose everything from Katrina? What about insurance. They kept on an on about N.O.  only to find at end they were not going back to NO but Atlanta?

 Be creative to solve the problem with parking location.

Also these challenges have got to change. 

My idea..... Challenges must be dish created using local favorite and straight up blind judged by local chef. Winner will receive first pick in parking location which show has already secured . Each team will select location in turn according to finish in challenge.

Trams would be told the next city and reserved parking locations at same time to allow researching which spot they would prefer. This way they will be competing for location also. No money for winning challenges. Sales alone determine how well each team place.

[biakbiak]

10 hours ago, ALRay said:

Why did Nola lose everything from Katrina? What about insurance. They kept on an on about N.O.  only to find at end they were not going back to NO but Atlanta?

Many small businesses and home owners lost everything in Katrina and had to relocate and have never gone back for a gazillion reasons from having the wrong kind of insurance, not enough insurance, not having the city recover for so long small restaurants literally couldn’t reopen even with insurance money because their profit margin are so slim etc and they couldn’t reopen in time to start making money or there weren’t the customers etc. there story is one of a ton of similar ones. I believe there are several articles out there that go to the specifics of theirs.

Edited August 13, 2019 by biakbiak

[Pallida]

New Orleans lost almost half its population following Katrina and still isn’t back up to pre-Katrina levels. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Some of the other contestants, and winners on the show have a specific cuisine, and are from a particular area, but don't live there any longer.    The Hawaiian food truck that won actually was in Southern California, and had a booming business.   

So the NOLA truck can have that cuisine, and do very well in other cities.    I was rooting for them, and I really liked their food.  

Edited August 18, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[biakbiak]

Holiday themed season filmed last year in February/March in New England (lots of snow) premieres Nov. 27th.

[SevenCostanza]

1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Holiday themed season filmed last year in February/March in New England (lots of snow) premieres Nov. 27th.

Thank you! I'll mark my calander.

[GaT]

Not sorry to see Slapshot go, I didn't like them. The superhero truck can go next, I'm rooting for the lumpia truck, mmmmm lumpias.

[cameron]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

Not sorry to see Slapshot go, I didn't like them. The superhero truck can go next, I'm rooting for the lumpia truck, mmmmm lumpias.

Not surprised by the Snapshot elimination.  They were definitely not ready for the food truck experience.

[SevenCostanza]

11 hours ago, GaT said:

Not sorry to see Slapshot go, I didn't like them. The superhero truck can go next, I'm rooting for the lumpia truck, mmmmm lumpias.

Those lumpias looked delicious, I'd love to try some. 

When I saw the Slapshot team put the turkey to the side then close early  I knew they were going to go.  

Edited November 28, 2019 by SevenCostanza

[mlp]

Overall, I enjoyed the first episode.  The village where they filmed was lovely.  I liked the Slapshot gals but it was pretty obvious that they were in over their heads so I wasn't at all surprised to see them go.  The Magical whatevers may be good cooks but they look ridiculous.  So far, the Lumpia truck looks like the best bet.  

[xaxat]

I know it's part of their shtick, but I didn't like it when the hero truck called the Filipino team their enemy. In addition,

Usually the show does a fairly good job of gathering teams with similar skill levels, but Slapshot was really in over their head.

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

[Maya]

Cooking in temperatures that are so cold you can see your breath looked very unpleasant. Their fingers would be numb. 

Not sure why the teams didn’t work on a system for taking orders as soon as they found out they were going to be on the show!

[Stardancer Supreme]

I didn't even know that a Holiday version of TGFTR was on until I turned on Food Network on the hotel tv! Let me fire up my app on my phone...

[Skyfall]

Spoiler recap from page 1 which isn't much as spoilers were hard to find.

Magical only had one social media post at the time which led me to believe they were gone first but obviously there were five trucks so now I think they're gone next. What was confirmed was LL at least made final 3.

That said this summer was a blast not knowing who had made the finale and got sent home when so the fact I only found minimal spoilers back then makes me happy.

[Yeah No]

I actually enjoyed this first episode more than anything from last season.  I live in New England and sometimes forget how quaint and beautiful it looks, especially in Winter.  Seeing it on TV helps to remind me of that.  At first I thought the Slapshot truck had an advantage because they were from a cold climate but too bad they weren't up to facing the competition.

[BigBingerBro]

I couldn't figure out if the opening scene on the icy slope with the blizzard was in fact real snow or if there was a snow machine somewhere nearby.  If it was real snow, they really lucked out as it was quite picture perfect.  The first day of selling out of the trucks was obviously on a different day as it was suddenly sunny and you could see that the snow was melting.

I wouldn't have been able to handle prepping and cooking in those trucks.  Are they not heated?

It was nice to see lines of people ready to buy.  The beach season seemed to have zero customers week after week.  

I knew from the start that the Cajun and Filipino trucks would have done the best.  People want food they can't normally get or don't want to prepare themselves.  

[Yeah No]

53 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

I couldn't figure out if the opening scene on the icy slope with the blizzard was in fact real snow or if there was a snow machine somewhere nearby.  If it was real snow, they really lucked out as it was quite picture perfect.  The first day of selling out of the trucks was obviously on a different day as it was suddenly sunny and you could see that the snow was melting.

Oh, trust me, that was real snow.  What did I say about New England?  It's so quaint and beautiful especially in Winter that it's hard to believe it's real.

[mlp]

7 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I wouldn't have been able to handle prepping and cooking in those trucks.  Are they not heated?

I'm guessing the only heat is from the cooking surfaces.  I really don't know but I noticed that I could see their breath in some scenes where someone was talking inside their truck.  I imagine most food trucks are not made for cold weather.

[Sew Sumi]

They did promise breakdowns of all kinds, so I imagine they will be both truck and mental.

[xaxat]

8 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I wouldn't have been able to handle prepping and cooking in those trucks.  Are they not heated?

I occasionally watch the live twitch feed of Grubtrucker, a food truck based in Moscow Idaho. Their truck is not heated and it can get really cold there.

[Ellee]

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 like the people too.

[lh25]

2 hours ago, Ellee said:

Amazing that with the weather as it is that so many come out to buy food from them.

I agree.  And I can see the food getting cold really fast outside in that weather.

[xaxat]

They are clearly the team to beat, but that was pretty shady of Lumpia to serve an item not on their menu to win a challenge. I was hoping they would get called out on that.

[Whimsy]

On 11/30/2019 at 12:52 AM, Yeah No said:

I actually enjoyed this first episode more than anything from last season.  I live in New England and sometimes forget how quaint and beautiful it looks, especially in Winter.  Seeing it on TV helps to remind me of that.  At first I thought the Slapshot truck had an advantage because they were from a cold climate but too bad they weren't up to facing the competition.

I have lived in NE for over 20 years now, so it was nice to see it on TV.  We have spent a lot of time in NH and my husband kept pointing things out when the did panoramic shots and reminded me of when we visited places- like the time we had to go to the Wolfeboro emergency room.  Fun times lol.  

I'm originally from Minnesota, so I was a little disappointed they went first.  But, they made a tragic mistake of not selling any turkey that first day. 

Other than seeing NH, I am not enjoying this as much as usual because it's not really fun seeing people shivering on my screen.  I do like that it seems like there's more actual chefs in the group though.

I really, really do not like Magical Mystery Heros.  First, I think their "costumes" are ridiculous.  They also have the least amount of culinary knowledge.  I liked them for a millisecond when the teams were introduced because I thought their truck name was a play on the Beatle's Magical Mystery Tour, but I don't think that was the intention.  So, I'm not too sad to see them go. 

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

They are clearly the team to beat, but that was pretty shady of Lumpia to serve an item not on their menu to win a challenge. I was hoping they would get called out on that.

I didn't think that was shady.  Didn't a couple teams make stuff not originally on their menu?  I thought that was a creative solution. 

[xaxat]

9 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I didn't think that was shady.  Didn't a couple teams make stuff not originally on their menu?  I thought that was a creative solution.

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.