Crowd-sourcing my research: Somerville Food Trucks?

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

Hi All,

I'm trying to get a list of some food trucks for Somerville-based / Somerville owned businesses.

I know Redbones has food trucks. Who else?
As much as I <3, <3, <3 Clover, I believe they are Cambridge-based, and for my purposed today, I need Somerville.

Know of any?

Thanks, Davis Square!

Edit to clarify in response to questions asked in comments so far:

-I'm looking for Somerville based businesses ... I'm a little flexible on the exact definition of that, though. The business should have a clear Somerville identity.

-It does not have to be a truck. A bike-based venture would be wonderful.

-I'm looking ideally for something more substantially lunch-like than, say, Ocean City Pops (which are yummy), or Kick-Ass Cupcakes.

-The vehicle would arrive at the destination in the late morning and stay there for the afternoon, being self-sufficient in the mean time (not needing any kind of hook-up or water or whatever).

Comments

[ursamajor]

Are you looking for food trucks that *go* to various locations in Somerville, or food trucks where the "business/legal" address is in Somerville? (Redbones is primarily the latter, I believe; they have a bricks and mortar in Davis, but their trucks primarily go to Kendall Square and Boston proper), Does it have to be a "truck" or is something like a food "bike" acceptable, like Culinary Cruisers or Sweet Idea?

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for Somerville based businesses ... I'm a little flexible on the exact definition of that, though. The business should have a clear Somerville identity.

It does no have to be a truck. A bike-based venture would be wonderful. But I'm looking ideally for something more substantially lunch-like than, say, Ocean City Pops (which are yummy), or Kick-Ass Cupcakes.

The vehicle would arrive at the destination in the late morning and stay there for the afternoon, being self-sufficient in the mean time (not needing any kind of hook-up or water or whatever).

I'm not familiar with Culinary Cruisers... will google them now.

Thanks!

[ron_newman]

Culinary Cruisers

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

Ah, the same as Ocean Ave. Pops.

Pop, Donuts, and Kombucha. Tasty all of them, but also not lunch.
Redbones or possibly Posto seem like my best bets here.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Moe's Barbecue Trolly? I've seen them parked by Trum Field and other Somerville locations during the day, and in a driveway down the street from me at night. :)

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

oh, hm.... I could stop by Trum field and talk to him maybe. I forgot about him. I've ridden past him probably 1,000 times in the years I've lived here and never one stopped.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Kickass Cupcakes has a truck that I have seen at South Station.

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

I've just edited the post to clarify that ideally I'd find something a little more substantially lunch-like. I hadn't said as much before. Good thinking, though!

[ron_newman]

Ocean Ave. Pops? I'm not sure if they are based in Somerville or Cambridge -- you'll have to look or ask around.

There's also the Greek Festival truck that parks up by Tufts.

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

You remind me that I *also* want to call Ocean City Pops, but in this instance I'm looking for something a little more like a meal. I've edited the post to reflect as much. Thanks for the OCP reminder, though!

[ron_newman]

They are called Ocean Ave. Pops (not Ocean City), though.

[wombatbanana.livejournal.com]

I think Posto has some kind of mobile operation.

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

Oh! I did not know that... Thank you!

[ceo]

Flatbread/Sacco's has a mobile pizza oven on a trailer. Since Flatbread is a regional chain, I don't know if that counts in terms of having a Somerville identity.

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

Flatbread has been the plan, but they had to pull out at the last minute; I'm trying to replace them, alas.

While it's true they're regional chain, they're also deeply committed to Somerville and have a strong connection through their non-profit outreach, and they have a strong brick, mortar, and bowling-pin presence here.

[ron_newman]

a long Tufts Daily article about the Greek Festival truck, and a recent LJ post by pekmez about that truck.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I have not noticed them out in their usual spot during the crappy winter weather, but I believe they park the truck at the not-name-brand yellow gas station near Cedar and Broadway when it's not in use. (I'm not stalking them, it's just where I get my gas, usually!) The address printed on the truck is not in Somerville though.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

the bicycle cookie guy(s) at Tufts, do they count? I know that's more Medford than Somerville, but there's a lot of Somerville in their business.

[rachelmello.livejournal.com]

mmmmm... cookies....

tasty, but I'm specifically looking for a place that sells lunch (and for these purposes, alas, cookies don't count as lunch).

[ron_newman]

This article mentions "Patrick Gilmartin who lives in Somerville and runs a food cart called Staff Meal with Adam Gendreau in Boston.". I don't know anything more about them.

Also, several news articles mention a Somerville food truck called "Bark 'n Bite" which sells hot dogs. City Clerk John Long can probably give you contact info for them.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

Staff Meal closed down; I believe they are selling the truck. Patrick and Adam hooked up with someone else, and are doing pop up restaurants presumably with an eye on going Journeyman. They have had events in Magoun and Union Squares.

[ron_newman]

Thanks. What are they doing at Journeyman? I did not quite understand what you wrote.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

on *going* Journeyman. Journeyman started as an occasional pop up restaurant before they found a location.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

the last time I looked into food trucks (for reasons other than you, I suspect), the problem is that a food in somerville could not be sold more than 30 yards from the kitchen that the people preparing the food have access to, aside from farmers markets and special events. That was changed at the end of October last year, to allow for food trucks, since they are so viable in Boston, but it resulted in most of the people who were opening food trucks basing the business in other cities (even Redbones could not have set up in Somerville last year; the truck entirely operated in Boston and Cambridge). So there are no real *Somerville* based food trucks, because they didn't change the laws to allow them until after the end of the season last year. I expect that some of them may begin operations in the spring this year, but right now there's just very little scene here because of that.