Photos by Lillian Reid
The normal Wednesday night food truck event was shaken up this week when seven new food trucks rolled onto the scene.
The Phoenix Street Food Coalition put on a larger-scale food-truck event, dubbed Food Truck Mania, by bringing in a slew of new and old trucks to sell their food. A total of 14 food trucks were in attendance.
Trucks at the event featured expanded menus to include smaller items that cost between $1 and $3.
“The big idea behind the Food Truck Mania event was to gather a bunch of different types of food and have people sample them at each truck,” said Tonya Saidi, owner of Mamma Toledo’s Pie.
Saidi has been featuring her truck since October and generally operates on Wednesday nights at the food-truck event. Her business will make an appearance as a special guest at this week’s Food Truck Friday.
The regulars of prior Wednesday night food-truck events were present, including Short Leash Hot Dogs, Emerson Fry Bread, Pizza People, Hey Joe! Filipino Street Food and Torched Goodness.
“Short Leash Hot Dogs and the creme brulee place, Torched Goodness, are my two favorite food trucks,” Dominique Howard, 43, said.
Howard works at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and usually comes to the Wednesday night food-truck event and the farmers’ market on Saturday. This Wednesday, Howard said he tried Hey Joe! to be adventurous.
A new truck in attendance Wednesday was Shinobu Diego’s Tacos y Burritos, a “Japanese Engine, Mexican Vehicle.” This truck featured a mix of Mexican and Japanese food, including tacos with a Japanese twist.
“The big idea about tonight’s event was to bring people back to the food-truck scene,” said Marc Shelton, owner and chef of Shinobu Diego’s.
Shelton opened his truck on Feb. 1, and this event was his first at the Phoenix Public Market location. He has taken the truck to Sleepy Dog in Tempe and different spring training events.
Vincenta Ditto, 31, said she has been a regular at Wednesday events for the past couple of weeks.
“My favorite would have to be Hey Joe!, but after having Shinobu Diego’s tacos, I think I might have a new favorite,” Ditto said.
Another newcomer to the Phoenix Public Market location was Luncha Libre, which features Arizona-inspired cuisine.
Owner Tim Cobb started up his food-truck business at the end of December and normally roams around different Valley locations.
“A lot of us together attract a lot of people,” Cobb said, commenting on the big idea behind the Food Truck Mania event.
Erika Ovalle, 31, also was new to Wednesday’s food truck events. She said she normally comes to the Phoenix Public Market on Saturdays for the farmers market.
“We drove by and saw the trucks,” Ovalle said.
Ovalle is a vegan and was surprised to see the variety of food and especially the vegan options some of the trucks had. She said her current favorite truck is Short Leash because of its vegan food and great taste.
The food trucks circled the farmers market as usual, but they pushed the circle out onto Pierce Street, blocking off Pierce Street between First Street and Central Avenue.
The upcoming Food Truck Friday is as regularly scheduled.
Contact the reporter at aldugan@asu.edu
