Two for the Road’s cool retro blue-checkered truck serves up tasty “Mobile American Comfort Food” like kicked-up corn dogs, New England Lobster Rolls, Miami Mojito Chicken Sandwiches, and Seattle Salmon Burgers. The owners were kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about why they opened a truck and their food philosophies exclusively for SDFT!
1. What are your names?
Lisa Orchow, Roberto Luciani and Austin Booker
2. When did you open for business as a San Diego food truck?
We opened in March of this 2011.
3. What did you do before you had the food truck? What’s your background?
I was in the travel industry and Roberto was an executive chef in Las Vegas. Austin is our son who just graduated high school and is working with us everyday.
4. Why did you start a food truck?
CONTINUED…..
We wanted to work for ourselves. We liked the flexibility of a food truck. We can move the truck wherever we want to and have the chance to mix it up with all different types of events. It is long hours but you still have the final say when you want to work and when you take off. Roberto’s background in food and mine in travel sales and marketing seemed like a good fit for a food truck.
5. How would you describe the food you serve?
We feature American comfort food from around the United States. I’ve traveled and lived all over the country and wanted to recreate some of my favorite food finds. We like our food to remind people of their childhood. Some of our top sellers include Disneyland Monte Cristos and Capt Crunch Crab Cakes. We want people to smile when they see our truck and our menu.
6. What’s your favorite thing about running the business and what is your biggest challenge?
My favorite thing about running the truck is the three of us getting to spend time together. In our past careers we were seldom home (or awake!) at the same time. I would say the biggest challenge is trying to find spots to park that the city will allow. They are very strict about where you are able to park. We would love to go to some parks or beaches but those are pretty much off limits to us.
7. What are some things that are different than you expected about running a food truck?
I wasn’t expecting to get requests for our truck from such a diverse group of people. We’ve done wedding rehearsal dinners one day and school carnivals the next. I really like the variety. Every day is different.
8. What would you say is your most popular item?It depends on the crowd but overall everyone loves our Disneyland Monte Cristos and our New England Lobster Rolls.
Two for the Road's Brooklyn Burger
9. What is something “off the wall” that you would love to put on your menu but aren’t sure people would go for?
We always laugh about Oprah’s favorite “DEEP FRIED BUTTER!” from the Texas State Fair.
10. I have heard that there is a lot of paperwork, permits, inspections, in order to get on the road. What did you think of that process? How long did it take from start to finish?
There are a lot or permits and hoops you have to jump through to finally get on the road. I seems like every time you think you have it all something new is required. Insurance and registration was a lot more expensive than we expected. It took us about 5 months to get on the road after we purchased the truck.
11. What is the best thing you’ve ever eaten from any food truck? Which truck was it and where?
I loved the chocolate covered bacon from the Sweet Treats Truck here in San Diego. Bacon and chocolate – does it get any better than that?
You can find Two for the Road at http://www.twofortheroadsd.com/ or on Twitter as TwofortheroadSD. They are also available for catering.
