What started as a handful of food trucks in Montgomery County is now blossoming into a mini-fleet, with more reportedly on the way. Here’s the lowdown on two new trucks in town:
L.A. Taco
Erle Burke is the rare food truck operator who started out in the brick-and-mortar restaurant business, and moved to mobile. Burke, who lives in Bethesda, was the chef-owner of the venerable Tucson Cantina on Connecticut Avenue in Woodley Park from 1976 to 1996. The Tex-Mex restaurant then moved to Wheaton, where it operated until 2000.
After that, Burke dabbled in construction and the solar energy field, and continued doing small catering jobs.
Now, with his brother Bruce, who helped run Tucson Cantina, Erle is having fun on the streets, and acknowledges that compared to running a restaurant, a food truck is easier (but not easy) and far less costly (but not inexpensive).
“Food trucks are real restaurants, just mobile ones,” he says. “But with brick and mortar, you have to get the people to come to you, you have to build a reputation and advertise like crazy. The overhead is massive. With mobile, we go to the people. We hit the streets and see what works and what doesn’t. We get to control what business we do.”
At L.A. Taco, the Burke brothers offer a sampling of the dishes they served at Tucson Cantina, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and chili con queso.
I remember eating at Tucson Cantina in the 1980s, and thought it was good but not great. That’s about the same I’d say for the tacos I tried at L.A. Taco. Among the beef, bean and chicken versions I sampled, the chicken was the most distinctive, stuffed with shredded dark and white meat seasoned with cumin, oregano and tarragon. And bravo for the terrific homemade hot sauces—the red, green and chipotle have just enough bite without killing the flavors.
www.LATacoTruck.com. Twitter: @LATacoTruck
Linda’s Luncheonette
Linda Jo Kushner, an interior designer who lives in Silver Spring, was at a point in life where she wanted to either expand her nearly 30-year-old design business or try something new. She opted for the new.
The result is a snazzy, nostalgia-themed truck that sells meat loaf and mac and cheese along with mugs, T-shirts, lunch boxes and hats.
That meat loaf is a moist rendition that marries ground turkey with caramelized onions, chicken stock, tomato paste, seasonings, Italian bread crumbs and eggs, and gets covered with a “1960s ketchup top,” as Kushner calls it.
It pairs perfectly with the mac and cheese, a rich and uber-cheesy casserole made with Jarlsberg, Fontina, Monterrey Jack and white and yellow sharp cheddars; it serves as a bed for tomato slices and homemade garlic bread crumbs.
Linda’s Luncheonette also serves a trio of chicken, egg and tuna salad sliders, a chopped salad, ramen chicken salad, smoothies, double-wide Krispy Treats and chocolate chunk brownies.
www.lindasluncheonette.com. Twitter: @LLuncheonette
