The Great Food Truck Race

[Harmony2000]

I just got my cable back - who went home? Who won? Who became more of jerks?

If Seabirds did say that? Then they are idiots. Colorado is a granola munching state! Yes, it may be cattle country but they are a healthy living cattle country! The smart thing to do would have been to market themselves as a healthy truck. They don't have to compromise their beliefs, they can still say they are vegan but along with that they can push that whole healthy thing that Colorado is so into.

BTW, Seabirds is heavily connected to PETA. If that gives you any insight into why they are acting the way they are. I, unfortunately, live right next to PETA central (their headquarters) so yeah.....they love their Seabirds and how ethical they are.

Back to them being idiots, more and more of us are trying to correct years of abuse on our bodies. More and more of us are trying to make healthier choices, they are missing a golden marketing opportunity by not tapping into that. Organic, sustainable, nutritious, healthy are major buzzwords now. So much so that even here, in pig country (ham loving Virginia lol) the Wal-marts will post giant posters advertising where they bought their vegs, fruit, meat and how organic/local it is. Those items fly off the shelves (or bins as the case may be).

[Tilden]

[QUOTE=Harmony2000;4375470]I just got my cable back - who went home? Who won? Who became more of jerks?

If Seabirds did say that? Then they are idiots. Colorado is a granola munching state! Yes, it may be cattle country but they are a healthy living cattle country! The smart thing to do would have been to market themselves as a healthy truck. They don't have to compromise their beliefs, they can still say they are vegan but along with that they can push that whole healthy thing that Colorado is so into.

BTW, Seabirds is heavily connected to PETA. If that gives you any insight into why they are acting the way they are. I, unfortunately, live right next to PETA central (their headquarters) so yeah.....they love their Seabirds and how ethical they are.


Yes, they said that. I did feel sorry for Seabirds during the sausage challenge, because they were at a disadvantage, because they stuck to their principles about not using meat. I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, but I thought it was admirable that they stuck to what they really believed rather than try and do something against their principles, just to win a silly challenge.

But I cannot agree with their seeming attitude toward anyone who isn't vegan. It's like they can't conceive that people who aren't vegans might still deliberately choose to eat something vegan now and again, for any variety of reasons--they want a healthier option, they want something lighter that day, or even they just want to try something new. Honestly, did all three of these women start out as vegans from birth? If not, they must be able to come up with some reasons to encourage people to try the food, just as someone must have encouraged them to try vegan food the first time. They don't have to hide the fact that they're vegans but they could wake up to the fact that the food they serve could conceivably be considered tasty by people who aren't vegans--and that if they find it tasty enough, they might even consider becoming vegans, which I'd think would make Seabirds happy, wouldn't it?

Last night I baked a spaghetti squash and topped it with a marinara sauce and fresh mushrooms. Had I not topped it with Parmesan cheese--which I could have skipped or substituted with a soy cheese--it would have been, I believe, acceptably vegan, even though what I was aiming for was just something light and fresh. It was, IMO, great. Why couldn't they market their food to non-vegans as exactly that: simple, fresh, and light. Depending on where they're getting their produce, they could throw in locally or organically grown (or both). Given the horrendous crowds at our local farmers' markets, I presume locally grown is becoming a big deal, though, selfishly, I wish it were less of a big deal, as going to farmers' market used to be a pleasure and it's starting to feel like going to the mall on a crowded Saturday.

At any rate, I hated that when they heard they were going to Manhattan, Kansas, they presumed that they'd have to rely on being "cute girls," because there wouldn't be any vegans there. It's a college town. I bet there are some vegan/vegetarians there. And, again, there are other reasons people might want to try their food. It's almost as if they think it's somehow impossible to interest an omnivore in a vegan item, even as a potential snack (last week they had fresh watermelon in a cup for $2--do they think only vegans eat watermelon on a warm summer day?) or worse, demeaning to have to serve anyone who doesn't wholeheartedly share their beliefs. Look, I'm not Jewish either, but I love lox and challah bread and have eaten plenty of both. Why is it inconceivably that I--or someone like me--wouldn't also deliberately choose a vegan option just because it happened to sound good to me? Is their food that dreadful that the only reason anyone would eat it is because he/she was a vegan?

[Maybaybie]

The Seabirds are really starting to drive me nuts. If I hear them remind us they are vegan one more time I may poke my eyeballs out!!

[Tilden]

The Korilla truck had kind of the same reaction. They were all excited about "killing" it in Manhattan, until they found out it was Manhattan, Kansas. Then they seemed to think no one there would have heard of Korean food. First, the great plains are more diverse than people think they are, because of recent immigrants. Second, it's a college town; I'm sure some people there will have heard of Korean food. A local private college here has students from over thirty different countries, for instance--and it's not a large college. Third, people all across the country are now aware of more kinds of food, cooking, due to all the food shows on television, all the magazines, cookbooks, internet sites etc. Aren't these people aware that they're on a show on the food network, a national cable network available to a people all over the place? Do they think it would be a successful cable network if people outside of New York and L.A. weren't watching it too?

I could understand people worrying about a particular ingredient being less available or more expensive in a particular part of the country, because that's true. They might have to adjust recipes around that. But worrying that no one will try food they're unfamiliar with? I don't think that's nearly as true anymore as it might have been once.

I also think the Seabirds are missing out on an obvious way to compete with the other trucks. Roxy's specialty is grilled cheeses, right? They were working on a grilled cheese that was basically cheese, spinach, and portabellas, if I remember correctly. Substitute in a soy cheese, maybe a different kind of bread (assuming they'd need to avoid eggs, milk etc. that might be in the bread) or wrap, and advertise having a similar sandwich as having fewer calories, less fat etc. Hand out samples. Point out that it may not be exactly the same, but is the extra cholesterol worth it? They could basically do the same thing with any truck that happened to be in the same area.

Or, can't find a vegan restaurant? Try a farmers' market or a whole food store or even a regular grocery store. Do a cooking demo in the parking lot. Maybe there's a local gym or a weight loss center that would like to promote some healthier lunch choices for a day. Look into local produce that's in season--they're headed to Kansas. If the corn is fresh (I have no idea when this was taped, so I don't know what would have been in season), offer roasted corn on the cob with a non-dairy herbal butter. Trust me, plenty of people will pay a couple of bucks for an ear of roasted corn even if they aren't vegans.

These women just can't seem to think outside of the box at all, and it's coming off as if they are slightly prejudiced against people who aren't already vegans instead of looking at the plus side of getting people to eat even one vegan meal. They need to take a lesson from Paul and Linda McCartney. They promoted their line of vegetarian products by suggesting people just try going vegetarian one day a week as an experiment and stressed the healthy aspects of doing that. They didn't feel people had to commit to a lifestyle they hadn't tried just to be interested in trying their food.

[kireelady]

I agree with a PP about the speed bumps killing the show. The show came to Atlanta a few months ago when it was down to the final 3 and of course there was some dumb speed bump. I won't give anything away, but I have to say that as a customer, the speed bump made me really dislike the food trucks that I tried even though I know it wasn't their fault. Some people didn't know anything about the show and just stopped by because of the crowds. Some commented that they were glad they weren't from Atlanta because they would never support them. People were standing and waiting FOREVER in this ridiculous, stifling Georgia heat. It was so unreal to me at some points and I kept questioning how the producers would do that to people. Folks were very excited to support and be a part of the experience, but the wait in the heat was unbearable for many and some people just walked away even after paying for their food. And once the food was finally prepared, it wasn't all that great which I think had to do with the speed bump and not the quality of food that those trucks normally put out.

Okay, on to the show...I want to like this show, but I just can't get into it. I want to see more about the food and them doing what they do best. That to me is the real competition. A few road blocks here and there are fine, but some of this stuff is just ridiculous. Don't know how much more I'll watch.

[Tilden]

I agree with a PP about the speed bumps killing the show. The show came to Atlanta a few months ago when it was down to the final 3 and of course there was some dumb speed bump. I won't give anything away, but I have to say that as a customer, the speed bump made me really dislike the food trucks that I tried even though I know it wasn't their fault. Some people didn't know anything about the show and just stopped by because of the crowds. Some commented that they were glad they weren't from Atlanta because they would never support them. People were standing and waiting FOREVER in this ridiculous, stifling Georgia heat. It was so unreal to me at some points and I kept questioning how the producers would do that to people. Folks were very excited to support and be a part of the experience, but the wait in the heat was unbearable for many and some people just walked away even after paying for their food. And once the food was finally prepared, it wasn't all that great which I think had to do with the speed bump and not the quality of food that those trucks normally put out.

Okay, on to the show...I want to like this show, but I just can't get into it. I want to see more about the food and them doing what they do best. That to me is the real competition. A few road blocks here and there are fine, but some of this stuff is just ridiculous. Don't know how much more I'll watch.

It would make more sense if the roadblocks were at least related to the food and occurred at the beginning of each day's competition, so that everyone had a chance to adjust to them, get a game plan, and stick with it. For instance, they could do a roadblock that was a Chopped kind of thing, since that's a FN show too. Give them each a basket and tell them they had to feature the ingredients in that basket in their menu for the day (to be fair, making sure the ingredients in the basket are vegan friendly, which would be all that hard to do). Then leave them alone to deal with it without further interference. Or set them all up next to one another and some local festival--no moving your truck to a better location. That's where you are for the day, period. Compete with each other without the assistance of local businesses.

I think another part of the problem is you really can't see them cooking, just because the vehicles are too cramped for much taping. We never really even see the food or hear more than a few comments from customers about what it tastes like. It really becomes a marketing competition, not a food competition, and that's not all that interesting to watch.

I also think they have problems with the rules, so to speak. The week Korilla decided to forgo the sausage challenge entirely and just keep the ingredients for the challenge for their actual sales points that out. It's not that they technically broke the rules, but they certainly broke with the spirit of the challenge--and it was pretty clear it never even occurred to their competitors that something like that was an option, particularly since part of the restriction that week was that everyone, other than the winner of the challenge, would have no more than $100 to spend on supplies. Letting Korilla keep the meat sent a really clear message: the only part of any of this that truly matters is how much you sell, so don't waste much time or effort on the original challenges if you can figure out a better way to work the game to your advantage. I was really sort of hoping that from then on, multiple trucks would opt out of challenges, until it really screwed up the show, just to stress how stupid it was of the show not to have some kind of way of dealing with such behavior worked out ahead of time.

I agree, though. Last season, I thought it was just the contestants involved. I just didn't particularly feel like cheering for any of them. I didn't find them all awful, but none of them were interesting enough to care much about, particularly since Nom Nom won practically every week, so the competition was so lopsided, it was pretty dull in general. But I don't care about it much this season either, so I really think it's the competition itself. It just doesn't work very well.

[kireelady]

For instance, they could do a roadblock that was a Chopped kind of thing, since that's a FN show too. Give them each a basket and tell them they had to feature the ingredients in that basket in their menu for the day (to be fair, making sure the ingredients in the basket are vegan friendly, which would be all that hard to do). Then leave them alone to deal with it without further interference. Or set them all up next to one another and some local festival--no moving your truck to a better location. That's where you are for the day, period. Compete with each other without the assistance of local businesses.

Now I'd love to see something like that. I think the show would be so much better.

[Tilden]

I'm surprised they haven't tried to figure out more tie-ins with other shows already on their network. The Chopped one would certainly be easy enough to do, and they could probably come up with others too. I feel like this show was sort of thrown together before anyone thought too much about how it would work and then they didn't bother to tweak anything to make it better for the second season.

[Shoepie]

I prefered last season when it was straight forward and all about their menus. They had some upsets and it worked for me. Perhaps they need to strike a balance with these roadblocks.

Having the trucks in the same area makes much more sense to me. The crowd has a chance to see all of what is offered and choose. Isolated venues are all about the hunger level of those passing by rather than a compelling menu.

I loved the Nom Nom truck! They had a good attitude, delicious product and the ability to handle a line quickly, all crucial for their business.

This show is still finding its legs. I have high hopes for season 3.

[Tilden]

And this week, the Seabirds go home. Not because no one understood their vegan mission or appreciated their food, but because they deserved to go home. They were really, really slow, and I have no idea why. Their menu doesn't appear to be that much more complicated to prep, and when you're trying to make the most amount of money in a specific period of time, you just have to move it. At the end of the show, they were going on about how they were slow because they wanted to turn out a quality product that looked pretty. Honestly, no one visiting a food truck for lunch is likely going to expect anything to look that pretty. They just want to grab their lunch and go. I couldn't believe it when one person said she'd been waiting in line for an hour and a half. I wouldn't wait in line for an hour and a half for haute cuisine, much less a roach coach. There has to be somewhere else in Manhattan, Kansas to grab something to eat. I'd go home and cook for myself before I'd wait in line for more than fifteen minutes for a food truck.

Also, does anyone know if there really is such a thing as food truck etiquette that makes it inappropriate for one truck to try and convince those in a long line for food at another truck to come their way instead? I'm surprised some people didn't just make the move on their own, unless they really, really wanted to try Korilla's food. And if they felt that way, I don't know that Hodge Podge could have convinced them to order from their truck anyway.

Bet Seabirds are kicking themselves that they went out this week, when next week it's an all vegetarian twist in Memphis, of all places. I'm sure there are vegetarians and vegans in Memphis too, but it's also a place where they like to joke that macaroni and cheese counts as a vegetable. I wouldn't think the vegetarian twist would bother Roxy's Grilled Cheese that much, and Hodge Podge and Lime Truck could probably get by, but it looks like Korilla is not happy about giving up their meat.