Each Monday I recap food truck news as it relates to the Triangle area (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). Bringing news that impacts food truck owners, fans, or those curious.
Interested in New Food Trucks? Check out the Weekly Radar
Next Big Event: Durham Central Park Rodeo (January 25th)
Durham Central Park Rodeo – January 25th
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Brush off your picnic blanket, grab your favorite chair, and run like a bull to Durham. The George Washington of Triangle rodeos, the rodeo that coined the term rodeos is kicking off 2015 this Sunday. I checked the weather forecast and there will be sunny with no rain. If you remember the last rodeo, the weather seems similar to then.
Check out your favorite food trucks to see if they will offer any special recipes. One I am excited to see is Captain Poncho’s tamales.
As always, live music will be here. Performing at this rodeo will be Luis Del Rio y Los Calaveras.
For a full list of the trucks, see Durham Central Park’s page.
Food Trucks and Sweet Potatoes
This February is North Carolina Sweet Potato month. In celebration, North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission created the “Signature Sweets” promotion. Chefs and food artisans have put together creations highlighting the root vegetable. Food trucks AmigoSan, Bam Pow Chow, CockADoodleMoo, and Valentino’s are all participating.
Here are some of the recipes:
CockADoodleMoo: Ginger Thai Sweet Potato Bisque. Check Gadaboutfood’s post about the recipe (you may recognize her from a recent Chew episode).
Valentino’s: Potato Chic~Pig Hero, Tender grilled chicken & bacon topped with a reduction sauce spiced NC Sweet Potatoes and Fullsteam Beer. Steve hinted more items like gnocchi and zeppoles.
Sweet potato fries w/Kobiyaki sauce, spicy mayo, black sesame seeds @BamPowChow @loneriderbeer http://t.co/wPWCL0yVER—
(@BamPowChow) January 17, 2015
2015 Chinese New Years Festival
Celebrating the upcoming Year of the Sheep, those in the Triangle can celebrate Chinese traditions at the Dorton Arena on January 31, 2015. There will be a wide range of performances, craft shops, and other activities. BulKogi will feed the masses at the event. The event looks like a lot of fun and looking forward to making it out there.
Details can be found at their Facebook Page.
Big Easy: Mardi Gras Party
From Noon to 10 pm on February 17th, Big Easy will throw a huge party on Fayetteville Street for Mardi Gras. The food truck line-up is starting to fill out, so far I’ve seen CockADoodleMoo, Hibachi Xpress, and Stuft. More event details at their website or their Facebook Page.
Morehead City food truck wins Rookie of the Year
While 2014 had come to a close, the first few days of 2015 had 2014’s new trucks on the block battling for “Rookie of the Year.” In the end, Dank Burrito gathered enough votes to claim the honors. I am sure some people wanted to know where Morehead City was located (just keep going East on US 70), because I know I had only heard of it as a kid during Hurricane season.
I had Dank Burrito at the last Raleigh food truck rodeo and I could see how it gathered the popularity. Inside the top 5, the Triangle took honors with Stuft (3rd) and Bam Pow Chow (5th). Congrats to all three food trucks in North Carolina. It furthers how strong our food is here.
New Retail Spaces
In case you hadn’t heard, Chick-N-Que, Big Mike’s BBQ, and Bikini Bus all opened locations this month. See below for addresses of these new locations.
The Parlour (Downtown Durham) is temporarily closed for renovations to expand. We’ll update as we find more information.
Trucks Opening Locations
Coming Soon
Sol Tacos (as a Sol Tapas concept) – estimated early 2015, Downtown Raleigh. Hints have been out about an April 1st opening.
Deli-icious: Location is in Clayton with a 2015 date expected.
Captain Ponchos: location in Southern Village, Chapel Hill. Got word they are looking forward to February 14, 2015. So tell your date (I guess my wife will find on this post), you are going here for dinner. They are not holding back and they will a mariachi band there.
And KoKyu BBQ has kept its cards close to the vest, but recently notified Kickstarter backers that they are getting closer. I’ve been eyeing this opening like a hawk, because I’m interested to see the final restaurant and menu.
Recently Opened
Big Mike’s BBQ: 1222 NW Maynard Rd, Cary
Bikini Bus: 2476 Walnut Street, Cary (inside Salons by JC)
Chick-N-Que: 420 S. Main Street, Rolesville
Iced Cupcakes: 5911 Poyner Village Pkwy #103, Raleigh
Olio and Aceto Cafe: 400 S. Elliot Road, Chapel Hill
Sarge’s: 400 Southtown Circle, Rolesville
Sweet Traditions: 12516 Capital Blvd, Suite 106, Wake Forest
Big Events Coming
Durham Central Park 2015 Schedule released
The dates for next year’s rodeo have been released. They are: January 25th, March 8th, June 21th, September 6, and November 1. If interested, the Durham Central Park recognized Ben Weber, Becky Hacker (Pie Pushers) and Brian Bottger (Only Burger) as the rodeo organizers.
Knightdale Rodeo
Date set for February 21, 2015. Truck lineup has not been released. For more details, check out the town’s website.
World’s Largest Food Truck Festival III coming
Awhile back Generation Food Truck down in Tampa, Florida organized the largest food truck parade in March 2014. Looks like they want to organize another one this March 2015. The goal is to have over 200 food trucks at the State Fairgrounds outside of Tampa. If interested, email the organizer at Generationfoodtruck (at) gmail (dot) com. I did hear they will provide power for this event.
Brewgaloo
This event has been around, but this year was my first time. For beer (and spirits as local TOPO Distillery was here this year) and food truck fans, this is a prime event. Two stages on both ends of Fayetteville Street with beer and food trucks filling the asphalt in between. The date set is April 25, 2015 and is from 2-10pm. I know a bit early, but you might want to circle it and tell your family this is a great weekend to visit.
Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo 2015 Dates announced
The day after the last one Sunday, already 2015 has been announced. Be sure to catch them May 3rd, June 14th, August 9th (evening rodeo), and October 11th. Their dates are very similar to the 2014 Rodeo and are all Sundays.
Beericana
In 2014, the Triangle was introduced to an awesome event with local beer, food trucks, and music. Thankfully we will see this again September 12th, 2015. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for details on the blog.
ROAM is coming to Orlando, Florida
Hopefully you caught last week’s special post on the 2014 event.
Circle your calendars now for ROAM 2015 in Orlando. The dates are October 25th and 26th with the host hotel still being locked down. This is the only food truck industry conference that brings owners and industry-specific people together. I’ll have a special post just on my experience here in San Antonio. But in short, if you are someone in the food truck business, I think you need to be here. The dates are October 25 and 26th, which is Sunday and Monday. Hopefully, those are admin days and only 8 1/2 hours (by car) between the Triangle and Orlando. I hope we can exponentially expand our representation for this one.
Food Trucks and Restaurants to support (RED) in June 2015
I came back from the ROAM Conference early November was about the (RED) organization. The (RED) Organization fights AIDS in Africa where 2/3 of those with AIDS are located. In 2014, the organization had events around the food and beverage industry. However, they want to make it bigger and get everyone involved. It would be a nice scene to see food trucks featuring a (RED) menu next June!
For more details on the event, check out details at (RED)‘s website dedicated to the food and beverage industry.
Truck and Equipment For Sale
Green Olive Deli is selling their truck for $32,000 OBO. If interested, contact Hugh at 919.815.8451 or email him at greenolivedeli@gmail.com.
Jakki’s Juice Jam is closing up shop and selling their truck. If you are interested, contact them at 919-208-7405 or via their Facebook page.
If you got news, let the blog know. This is a weekly post summarizing food truck information in the Triangle area.
The Wandering Sheppard 