Heather Donahoe - The Southern food truck cookbook: discover the South’s best food on four wheels

2013 by Heather Donahoe

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Photography by Stephanie Mullins

Food Styling by Teresa Blackburn

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Donahoe, Heather, 1980

The Southern food truck cookbook : discover the Souths best food on four wheels / Heather Donahoe.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4016-0498-1

1. Cooking, AmericanSouthern States. 2. Food trucksSouthern States. I. Title.

TX715.2.S68D66 2013

641.5975dc23

2013007676

Printed in Mexico

13 14 15 16 17 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

I f theres a better way to spend a summer than on a meandering road trip, I really cant imagine what it would be. Iced tea in the cup holder. Air conditioner working overtime. Stopping for a farm stand peach or a great photo on a whim. And when that road trip just happens to wind its way through the South, with stops along the way for street food from some of Americas most imaginative chefs and culinary artists... well, thats the sort of summer thats pretty tough to top.

This book is the result of that summerweeks spent on the road, stopping at festivals, outdoor concerts, beaches, town squares, city street corners, the parking lots of office parks, and pretty much any other place where a tiny kitchen on wheels could find a place to park for long enough to dish up a chalkboard menus worth of foods that can be enjoyed from a paper tray. Pssst... heres a secret: there arent many foods that cant be enjoyed that way.

The best part of my journey? Thats easy. Its the abundance of recipes these food truckers shared for this collection.

When I started this project, I was surprised by two of the responses I sometimes heard from friends and family: There are food trucks in the South? Really? Thats cool. Enough for a whole book? Wow; and Whats a food truck? You mean like a delivery truck?

I got pretty good at answering these questions.

First of all, yes. Yes, there are food trucks in the South. Hundreds of them! Second, if youre reading this right now, I feel pretty confident you know what a food truck is... but just in case, a food truck is a large delivery- or RV-style vehicle with a kitchen built right into it and a window for customer ordering and serving.

Previously, only certain parts of this country really knew the delight of street dining. Californians have been buying tacos out of Airstream trailers for decades, and New Yorkers have been noshing on hot dogs from stainless steel carts for even longer. But during the last decade (oh, hallelujah!), the notion of street food has crept inward from the coasts, giving the rest of us a taste of this culinary tradition.

The great thing about Southern food trucks is that theyre often run by people whove lived and worked in places outside the South. Theres the truck in Atlanta run by a couple who love sharing the flavors they embraced while living in Central America. Now theyre fusing Latin flavors with fried green tomatoes, watermelon, and pork ribs.

Theres the guy in Little Rock whod worked in restaurants and country clubs for years, but discovered what he truly enjoyed was making Chinese-style pork buns for his friends, who inspired him to bring those buns to the masses.

Food trucks are cropping up all over the place. From Charleston to Memphis, Louisville to Birmingham, entrepreneurial cooks are dishing up familiar flavors and experimenting with new ideas in their tiny mobile kitchens.

Many of these food truckers have held jobs far beyond anything even remotely related to food service; but theyve seen the street food tradition take root in other places, and theyve been brave enough to ask, Why not in the South too? I met a former carpet salesman, commercial real estate broker, animal rescue worker, medical coder, teacher, and paramedic. Theyre all food truckers now.

And, of course, there are plenty of industry iconoclaststhose restaurant chefs and culinary school grads who just wanted to break out of the windowless restaurant kitchens and interact with their customers. I heard it dozens of times: Theres nothing better than getting to watch your customers take that first bite.

Roughly estimated, there are at least five hundred food trucks/carts throughout the Southeast region, including Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Whether theyre serving up comfort food classics or ethnic-inspired specialties, these mobile restaurants are providing another way for the South to enjoy local culinary talent.

I should probably stop here and provide a bit of a disclaimer. You may get to the end of this book and find yourself wondering why your favorite food truck isn't included. There are, after all, some very strong feelings around which truck is THE BEST in every city. It is possible that your favorite truck politely declined to be included, or maybe I wasn't able to catch up with them. Food truckers are busy folks! Please know that any glaring omissions aren't intentional. While the food trucks in this book are particular favorites of mine, I urge you to explore every food truck in your communitynot just the ones I've profiled.

I am not a former chef or high-profile culinary expert. Im just an eatera massively experienced one. Studying recipes has always enhanced the eating experience for me. Ive long loved the quiet luxury of stealing away with a cookbook and discovering how flavors can reach their full potential. Of course, getting in the kitchen is the most important part of that discovery, and I hope these recipes will push you to do just that in your own kitchen. These recipes are crowd-pleasers, by the way. Theyre the sorts of dishes youll become known for among your family and friends. Your personal masterpiece could very well be right here in this book!

Most important, though, I hope The Southern Food Truck Cookbook helps to spread the food truck gospel in the South. If youre not already eating at the food trucks in your community, its time to get out there. The menus on these trucks are a gorgeously delicious homage to the foods weve always loved here, and the foods weve yet to discover. So, hit the street, and get to eatin, yall! When youre done there, head home and see what you can create in your own kitchen!

M obile dining is not restaurant dining. And that is a-ok. While food trucks each have different approaches to service, street noshing is a unique experience altogether. Here are some tips to help you enjoy it.

RECONSIDER SOUTHERN. So, yes. This is The Southern Food Truck Cookbook, but you better think again if youre imagining two thousand miles of nothing but fried chicken and barbecue. Yes, youll discover remarkable renditions of regional mainstays, alongside new interpretations of old favorites and