Food Truck Craze!

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As a child I watched the workers at a local plastics plant line up in droves at noon for a shiny aluminum delivery truck with a large window on the side. Money exchanged hands has foods wrapped in waxed paper were passed through the large window. The workers with food in hand would either find a tree or curb to sit on or just remained standing while eating their lunch. They were called Chuck or Chow Wagons. You normally only saw them at large plants or places of business with a lot of employees, the industrial area of the city. Offering a few assorted sandwiches, ham or cheese burgers, hot dogs, varieties of beverages and maybe a soup of the day, menus that would be on any wagon. No menus a simple poster taped on the side with a hand written menu. Only a few wagons were riding through the city in hopes of making a buck or 2. Flash forward 20+ years. Gone are the shiny aluminum delivery truck. Gone are they parking lot feeding lines and gone are the common everyday street foods. No longer called Wagons, they are Food Trucks, flashy painted , bright logoed and a colorful easel sign to display the menu. Many even travel with light weight patio furniture for their customers to sit and enjoy their meal, still packed as walk away food, but you can have a option to sit. Food Trucks are individual, each have their own cuisine, you'd be hard pressed to find what my kids call a old time Food Truck that served the basics. Whatever your taste, there is sure to be a truck. Feel like Tai, Italian, Mexican, French or how about a waffle based menu, the choices are endless. No longer in the parking lots of the industrial district, you can find them in any city just about on every corner. Having sampled many varieties, they are all pretty good in their own right. The prices reflect that. A lunch that would have cost 2-3 dollars could cost as much as 10. Is it worth it? Sometimes yes and sometimes no, just like any other restaurant. Is this the future of our dining expirence, walk away food at higher prices? I think there is room for both, the market supports it. One thing time tells us, everything even the walk away meal has room for a upscale.