Food Trucks the New Community

Food Trucks the New Community by Dan Iehl

Its been six short months since I was bitten by the Gourmet Food Truck (GFT) bug. See “On the Outside Looking In”.  During that time I have noticed the “community” of food truck followers is rapidly growing. Us food truck followers I call myself a “GFT Groupie” now have a reason to not only interact via twitter and the like, but to go to a destination and hang out with others of a like mind. We all talk about the trucks we have tried, the good ones and the not so good. Where else can you have true 4 star restaurant food at a fraction of the price.

Over the course of time people have found different places to gather and socialize. Barber shops, drugstores, bars, restaurants and now food truck events large and small, street corners, vacant lots, parking lots and parks. You will see people with cameras and cell phones taking and sharing pictures (food porn), tweeting and updating Facebook. You stand in a GFT line and next thing you know your talking food and more often than not I find out the person i’m talking with knows me via twitter or I know them. Crazy world we live in.

The large and small gatherings of GFTs are changing how we plan our lunches, dinners, nights and weekends. I hear “Wednesday is Din Din a GoGo or I’ll see you Thursday at the LA Art Walk” and on an on. You see groups of people eating and laughing. WOW, life is good. All for a common goal, good food and a good time. You see all types, rich not so rich, all races, ages, shapes and sizes. Everyone is really just one big crazy GFT eating family.

Look at some of the places I have gone, I would never have considered six months ago. All because of GFTs.

Downtown LA
Santa Ana Art Walk
Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk
Outdoor Cinemas
Barnsdall Art Park
Silver Lake Jubilee

Large festivals all built around GFTs:
Orange County Foodie Fest
Long Beach Street Food Fest

Thank goodness for the Gourmet Food Trucks. They are uniting us a a people with one common interest and thats GOOD FOOD.

See you at the truck.
Dan