SAN DIEGO FOOD TRUCKS!!! Part 1

For those of you that don’t know I am a Union Sheet Metal worker, and for those of you wondering what that has to do with food and food trucks, please allow me to explain. Most of the people in my profession think food trucks are the same as “ROACH COACHES”. Aside from the fact that they are mobile, I can assure you that they have no other similarities. From the styles of food to the design and styles of trucks all the way to the type of service and friendliness of the staff, these restaurants on wheels are a force to be reckoned with. Before I continue with the names and the food…..oh the glorious food, let me tell you what a roach coach is…

Roach Coach: Nasty, greasy, and 9 times out of 10 one of the most unsanitary "food service” vehicles around. I can almost guarantee that anything not in a sealed wrapper will result in you getting the worst case of “bubble guts”. They charge you way too much and you don’t get anywhere near your money’s worth. They can be found daily at construction sites “wallet raping” unsuspecting, hard working people everywhere.

Now this is what a Food Truck is…

Food Truck: Crazy delicious, amazingly tasty, kitchens on wheels, filled with some of the most outstanding culinary creations since fine dining sit-down restaurants. Each one has their own VERY unique sense of style, and cuisine. They range from your typical burgers and dogs (by “typical” I mean “life altering”) to pierogis that blow your mouth’s taste buds clean off and risotto that tastes like master chefs cooked them. The prices might be kind of high to those of you not in the know, but the flavors and amount of food you get are worth 10x’s what you pay! They can be found on Facebook, Twitter and at Food Truck Meet-Ups all over town. Let’s go hunting!

Now I’ve talked about Food Farm before, but I recently had the pleasure of going to a meet-up at 57 Degrees Wine Bar and got to try two new feats of culinary greatness. First I had the Soy-Rizo Fries, and they were absolutely amazing! I am not a soy-anything kind of guy, but everyone kept raving about them, so since Food Farm has never done me wrong I went for it. The flavor profile screamed “great late-night San Diego taco shop” with a healthy, refined and “guilt-free cause it’s soy” piece of mind to boot. I mentioned San Diego taco shops because yup…THEY’RE THE BEST AND WE KNOW IT…outside of Mexico that is. Like I said, I’m not a soy guy but I never missed the chorizo and I certainly did not miss the grease. Maybe there’s something to this healthy eating thing.

That something will have to wait till later, because what I had next was so AWESOMELY bad for me I would’ve thought I was at a county fair. Food Farm has these “out of this world” chocolate & banana fritters. When I first ordered them I thought it was going to be something along the lines of a fritter with chunks of banana with chocolate on the top. I could not have been more wrong. What I got was this warm, crispy donut hole-esk piece of heaven. It was deep luscious chocolate melted to perfection and wrapped in a thick, but surprisingly light, fried banana bread.  I was astonished by how wonderfully “homey” this felt. It warmed me from the inside and made me think about Christmas and how my wife makes cookies for all our friends and family. The house gets warm, smells delicious and when you take that first bite you know that it was made by someone that wants you to know how much they care. Yeah… it’s just like that, so the next time you see the Food Farm Truck stop them and get one of EVERYTHING!!!

Next, we have the Asian PersuasionFood Truck; this truck fuses Asian food (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, etc) with styles like sliders, tacos, burritos, and even BBQ. Let me tell you, the way that the styles mix is the perfect balance of each. The truck is run by Jessica (daughter) and Alfonso (father/ chef) and the two of them run the truck like they were born inside of it. The First time I heard of them was when my wife Anya and I were at the Asian Lantern Festival in City Heights. She had the FOB Burrito (2 perfectly cooked panko breaded Sole fillets, white rice, Asian slaw for texture and spicy mayo that is like a warm kick to the taste buds bringing it all together, wrapped in a warm flour tortilla) and absolutely fell in love with them. She went on and on about how wonderful it was for days after, to the point that she was trying to find them on a daily basis. Unfortunately, that night I wasn’t in an Asian food mood that night and opted for another truck. While it was good, I found out later just how much I missed out on! It wasn’t until one of the Eastlake meet-ups that I had my first taste of what will be a waist line enhancing relationship.

 I had the Longanessa Bowl, and this for a first impression was AWESOMENISITY to the max!! Filipino sausage, garlic fried rice, green onions and a FRIED EGG….ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! SOOOOOOOOO EFFFFFFFIIIIINNNNNNG GOOD!!! My mouth was screaming obscenities at me because I couldn’t fit more of this delicious concoction into it….hmmm…………. maybe I need a bigger spork!  The sausage had a light sweet flavor that reacted great with the saltiness of the fried rice and green onion. When I mixed that light fried egg and the yolk into the rest of the ingredients, my bowl went from “WOW” to “THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST ASIAN DISHES I’VE EVER HAD!!!!” It added a creamy element to the rice which really gives it a “stick to your ribs” feel and it gave me the “itus” too! All I wanted to do was curl up and take a nap afterwards….wait a minute…..could the Longanessa Bowl be Asian Soul/comfort food? I’m thinking mayhaps…mayhaps indeed. The best part of this dish is that it is so simple yet the way everything comes together gives it a complexity level that kept my taste buds intrigued from start to finish!

I also had a chance to try their short ribs, these things are “nothing special” if by that you mean so tender & juicy that you want to suck on the bone for hours, and full of deep Asian flavors! They serve them with plain white rice because when you have certain techniques down (like everything) you don’t really need a lot of crazy side dishes. The short ribs and rice are definitely a stick to your ribs (no pun intended, I’m just a dork), really tasty meal. All in all I give this truck an A+ for flavor, food and great service (and we know how I feel about service).  There are a few things that I haven’t tried yet, but that’s mainly because when I find a few things I like, it takes time for me to move to something new. I don’t know why I’m hesitating though, they haven’t disappointed me yet! I highly recommend them if you’re in the mood for great traditional but innovative Asian inspired dishes at a great price. Hunt them down and try anything today...you’re going to love it!

The last truck I will be talking about today (which in no way judges how I feel about them) is Chubby’s FoodTruck. These guys are what I mean by “life altering” burgers! Their burgers range from simple, clean and VERY fresh flavors to burgers that have beans and even chorizo on them! The crazy part is that there is really NO seasoning on the meat! They let the flavors of their Black Angus patties come through and for me when you can use little to no seasoning on something and make it taste like a high-end meal you would get at a fancy sit-down place, well my friend you are ahead of the game. The only real seasoning comes from the extras on the burger…in particular the “Chubby’s Sauce”, which is a house made honey chipotle that is ridiculous. Now I can’t really can’t describe the first bite because I was so in love with the burger that all of my “journalistic” (and I use the term loosely) trains of thought were derailed. This is because they are, as my wife puts it “Burger-Crack”. Allow me to describe the burger that I had and will continue to stalk this truck for, the Chorizo Burger!

This was my introduction to great burgers…yeah I thought I knew what they were before but WOW…was I wrong…so very wrong.  The main reason for this is the chorizo, and no it’s not something that the everyday person can make at home, let me tell you why.  This is not your “run of the mill” chorizo, it’s homemade and cured for 1 month and is some of the best I’ve had since my Grandmother back in Texas used to make it for me when I was a kid (I love you Grandma, but it’s true). They again, use their delicious black angus beef patty, that out of this world chorizo, onions, tomatoes, Chubby’s sauce (which is mmmmm mixed with wow and side of mouth kicks), and sour cream for a cooling factor. All of this is encased in between a toasted “hand-crafted” ciabatta bun.  I hope I didn’t miss anything. Together, this is truly a masterpiece that is not to be taken lightly. Each bite is an explosion that fills your mouth with Hispanic flavors. That’s right “Hispanic” flavors, think of it as a food version of “Spanish Fly”, because by the time you are finished with it you just feel sexy… and NO I am not going into further detail on that. Don’t get it twisted they do so much more than burgers…I just haven’t got around to them yet.

                No my friends they have a menu that ranges from burgers to burritos, salads to sandwiches, nachos and even desserts….amazing fried desserts. I hear their fried cheesecake (yup you heard me) is a crazy trip for the taste buds. Get there early because they go quick, sad to say that I have never had one, but I will because it is my new goal in life (so what if they’re lofty, they’re mine).  The people at Chubby’s are a wonderful bunch of people, Chicho Casillas-Owner/ Chef, Cary-Sous Chef, Veronica- Customer Service/Marketing, and Gloria and Norma on desserts….those delicious smelling desserts! This is more than a food truck it’s a family experience. Everything they serve on the truck makes you feel like it’s the same thing you can expect from a family BBQ at abuelita’s house (that Grandma for my non-Spanish speaking readers).Their homemade recipes and innovative thinking makes this one of my all time favorite trucks and a “must-taste” for foodies and first timers alike.

Alright everyone this is it for part 1 of my “San Diego Food Truck Review”, I hope you all enjoyed this and will try to find these guys. They will satisfy your hunger for great food no matter what you’re interested in! When you stop by (and you WILL stop by) let them know that you found them here…you won’t get a discount but it will just be AWESOME!!! Here is where you can contact these fine mobile establishments.

Chubby's Food Truck
San Diego, California
Follow us on
Twitter: Chubbysfoodtruk
Facebook: Chubbys Food Truck
contact us at
chubbysfoodtruck@gmail.com
Chubby Line (858) 752-3339

Asian Persuasion Food Truck
San Diego, California
Follow us on
Twitter: asianfoodtruck
Facebook: Asian Persuasion Food Truck & Catering
contact us at
asianpersuasionftc@gmail.com
phone line: 1-858-707-5491

Food Farm SD Food TruckSan Diego, California
Follow us on
Twitter: foodfarmsd
Facebook: Food Farm, San Diego
contact us at
Chef Kari


Until next time "KEEP ON TRUCKING"!

Editor & Chief of The Penguin Gazette,
Rudy