by SDFT | Feb 13, 2013 | Truck Interviews
Operacaffe Mobile opened in the summer of 2011 and is run by Kika Penn, who took some time to answer questions for sdfoodtrucks.com.
Why did you open a food truck? We wanted to bring fresh Tuscan cuisine to the streets of SD.
What did you do before you had the food truck? I worked at the Operacaffe restaurant in the Gaslamp that opened about 4 years ago and was also nominated this year as “BEST Authentic Italian restaurant in San Diego 2013”.
How would you describe your food? Authentic Italian experience, light yet fulfilling.
What makes your truck great/unique? We have dishes that you can only get in Florence, Italy like wild boar, pork shank out coccoli or ravioli fritti.
What’s the best part about running this business and what is your biggest challenge? The best part would be sharing our wonderful food with wonderful people the biggest challenge is probably getting the word out.
How do you come up with menu items? We try to please everyone’s taste and we cater from vegetarians and meat lovers.
What would you say is your most popular item? I would say it’s the Braised Pork Shank.
What is the best thing you’ve EVER eaten had from a food truck? Which truck was it and where? Most food trucks have an item that I Absolutely LOVE; some I haven’t tried yet.
Thank you to Operacaffe Mobile for taking the time to do this interview. Operacaffe Mobile can be found on Twitter at @operacaffemobil or Facebook or their website.
Pictured food: Ravioli Fritti stuffed with poblano pepper and ricotta cheese and Opera sandwich
by SDFT | Jan 28, 2013 | Truck Interviews
Not So Fast! Food Truck opened in late July 2012. Owners and chefs Bob Montgomery and June Sinclair took some time to answer questions for sdfoodtrucks.com.
How would you describe your food?
Local, Sustainable, Paleo. Healthy fast food on the go! We try to incorporate seasonal produce as well as our own personal tastes into each menu item. Meats and vegetables are a staple.
What is “Paleo”?
The Paleo & Primal lifestyle isn’t just about what you can’t eat, but more about what you can. Local, sustainable and pasture raised meats, seasonal organic vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy oils. The diet allows us to eat delicious, nutrient packed food that our bodies have evolved to eat over thousands and thousands of years. Agriculture was just introduced 10,000 years ago, our bodies have not learned to digest grains, legumes and processed foods yet.
What makes your truck/food great/unique?
We source all of our meats from local farms and we know what they eat, what kind of land they’re raised on, and who the farmers are that tend to them every day. Unlike other trucks or restaurants, we make every single thing on our truck from scratch without the use of Gluten, Soy, Conventional Dairy, Legumes, or Preservatives.
Hey, what do you have against legumes?
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by SDFT | Sep 27, 2012 | Truck Interviews
Swieners has served delicious, Swiss-style sausage treats to hungry San Diegans since 2010. Swieners Owner Amanda Caniglia was kind enough to answer some questions for SDFT in this interview exclusive!
What’s your name and when did Swieners open for business?
I’m the co-cheese Amanda Caniglia, and my husband, Nicolas Caniglia, the big cheese, of course. I grew up in the Bay Area and came to San Diego to attend college at UCSD. Nico, un “mezzo mezzo” (half Italian and half French Swiss) was born in Switzerland and spent several years in sales up at the Matterhorn before venturing to the states. We met here in San Diego, dated two weeks, and got married. You could say we have good instincts. When we came up with Swieners we just knew it was going to be a hit. We got our first big break at Balboa Park’s December Nights in 2010, which happens to be the largest event of the year. For our first event we though let’s go for it! … that sink or swim mentality. And well, here we are today, almost two years later, with two tents and plans for massive expansion in the works.
What is a Swiener and how did you come up with the idea?
For the first five years of our marriage, Nico would go on and on about how we needed to bring Swiss style hot dogs to the US. We agreed it was a fun concept but there was something missing to give it that truly unique culinary experience. Nico then introduced me to Raclette. He had lived and worked up at the Matterhorn in Zermatt, where traditionally, people enjoy the cheese over potatoes or dried meats. I suggested we put the cheese in the baguette with the sausage. Nico thought I was nuts. It only took my cousin and other friends giving the same advice for him to listen. (Ladies, sound familiar?) Since then, I have let him believe it was his idea. Kidding aside, it was a fun “experiment” that led to the birth of the Swiener. We are now patenting the process as well as trademarking our name and logo.
READ MORE>>> (more…)
by SDFT | Jun 11, 2012 | Truck Interviews
Therapie is a mobile boutique offering “Style on the Go” for women of all ages. Cute dresses, stylish tops and bottoms, adorable bags, sparkly jewelry and more fill this fab, rehabbed 27-foot RV. Good luck getting out of there without making a purchase or developing a serious crush on a certain bauble or piece of must-have clothing! Therapie’s owner, Kelly Carney, was kind enough to take some time from her busy schedule to speak with us in this exclusive interview with SDFT.
SDFT: In our brief chat, you mentioned that you were in retail for 23 years. Did you own your own boutique prior to investing in your mobile venture?
KC: Yes, I worked in, owned, and operated several small businesses in San Diego. I also worked for Nordstrom for 15 years where I honed my customer service skills and my eye for style and fit.
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by SDFT | May 31, 2012 | Truck Interviews
*Note: The T1O truck is now closed.*
T1O, which opened in November of 2011, is currently the only Thai food truck in San Diego. Dishes like spicy grilled beef salad, tom yum goong, drunken noodles, short pork ribs, pad Thai, Pad See Ew, and panang, pumpkin, and eggplant green curries grace their SPICY menu. They were kind enough to answer some questions for SDFT in this interview exclusive!
Drunken Noodles
What did you do before you had the food truck? Tell us a little about yourself.
This is a family-run business. The family has so much talent–some have worked in Thai restaurants that the family has owned over the years, and others bring experience from the business world while others have a great creative spirit that knows no limits.
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