MSL Chicago

Pop quiz: What recent phenomenon combines convenience, community, spontaneity, digital savvy and delicious cuisine? I’m talking about food trucks—gourmet, inventive, upscale, quality and often organic eats that roam the streets and require you to follow them, via social media, to find out where they’ll stop next. 

Back when I lived in L.A., I frequently tracked where Kogi BBQ, The Green Truck or Coolhaus would show up next.  Whether it was 2 a.m. or 4 p.m., buzz on the various trucks’ locations quickly grew via twitter feeds and word of mouth. It seemed like every few weeks, both the number and originality of the trucks grew exponentially.  After settling back in the Midwest, I often wondered why, when cities like San Francisco, NYC, Seattle and Portland were bringing their unique treats to the streets, Chicago wouldn’t take part in the trend.

It would seem I’m not the only one wondering. Professional chefs and eaters across the city are rallying to bring food on wheels to Chicago. Chicago All Fired Up is one truck that has managed to get through the red tape. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been so easy for others, as Chicago’s law that mobile food vendors can’t cook food on-site, along with several other issues, is causing a food revolution unrealized in the Windy City. Despite the setbacks, supportive websites, new Twitter feeds and grassroots campaigns are popping up every day. Entrepreneurs and chefs are coming up with several new concepts and ways to affect change.

Local chefs Philip Foss and Matt Maroni have been working to get our city’s mobile food vendor licenses amended and started chicagofoodtrucks.com, creating both a Twitter feed and Facebook page to provide a forum for discussion and creative solutions. Local Top Chef Master, Rick Bayless, has offered his support via his Twitter feed, and Time Out Chicago recently launched Street Food Now to “speak out on Chicago’s right to eat meals that come on wheels.”  Can you imagine being able to step outside during lunch for fresh macaroni and cheese, meatballs or even flatbread from a parked truck? These are real ideas in the works.

The good news is that you won’t have to wait long for a preview–  another business appears to have the go-ahead beginning May 10. You’ll have to follow Flirty on Twitter or Facebook to find out where you can get sugary goodness like the CBFF (chocolate w/ Nutella ganache) handed to you from a mobile cupcake shop. I assume they bypassed the restrictions because cupcakes don’t require on-site preparation. Hopefully Flirty is one of the many in a long line of Chicago vendors that can successfully join this literal bandwagon. I’m interested to see what happens next– what will supporters do differently or next to persuade lawmakers to change their mind? How big of a role will social media continue to play?

So, what do you do if you’re game for tacos on wheels? Speak up. Time Out Chicago offers a quick tutorial on who to contact and what to say. Do you want Chicago to be the next city to hop on the food truck trend?