Brace yourselves: a smorgasbord of new Vancouver food trucks are on their way.
Fifteen new food trucks, including the city’s first pedal-powered coffee cart, will be rolling onto city streets beginning next week.
Vancouver’s new street food offerings will range from Australian hand-size pies, kosher Israeli fare, and Filipino-inspired eats.
The new carts will be parked in under-serviced areas outside the immediate downtown core, Deputy City Manager Sadhu Johnson told media on Thursday. Those areas include Abbott Street and the Olympic Village.
“Where there’s bit of a food desert that can be served by a new oasis of food carts,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The new outlets were chosen by a panel who vetted 29 applications for the 15 spots this year. Points were awarded for nutrition and use of local ingredients, diversity, and “jazzy” marketing strategies. The panel members worked independently and points were simply tallied.
REEL Mac and Cheese is a bright orange and yellow truck adorned with large faces of Hollywood stars such as Judy Garland and John Wayne.
“All classics - everything is movie-themed on our truck,” said owner Suzanne Poudrier.
Hungry patrons will be able to tuck into bowls including “The Breakfast Club” – classic mac and cheese topped with a fried egg and caramelized onions – or deep-fried mac and cheese balls aptly named “Run Fat Boy Run.”
For the health conscious, Culver City Salads will be offering gluten-free, vegan meals from a converted 1980s postal truck. Owner Christina Culver and co-founder Jesse Savath had been working on their application since last summer.
"It was intense," said Savath.
The hard work from the city's 114 street food operators seems to be paying off.
In April, Vancouver was named to have the third best food truck cuisine in North America by Travel and Escape Digital Magazine.
Check out pictures of some of the newest street food:
