trailer food diaries

Farm to Table becomes Farm to Trailer: The incredible chefs producing gourmettrailer fare

Lardo
Royal Fig Catering and The Seedling Truck
Photo by Bonnie Berry Photography
Royal Fig Catering and The Seedling Truck
Photo by Bonnie Berry Photography
Royal Fig Catering and The Seedling Truck
Photo by Bonnie Berry Photography
La Boite
Photo by Jeff Kauffman

Food trucks and trailers across the United States are becoming more and more involved in the farm to plate movement. It’s hard to believe that artisan, gourmet food is being produced in such a small kitchen. But part of the allure of using products from local farmers is that chefs (and diners) are guaranteed a menu change on a weekly basis, dependent on what is seasonally available — just another element of the food trailer world that encourages curious foodies to explore beyond the beaten path in search of the Next Great Chef.

In Austin, we are familiar with the story of the beloved Odd Duck Farm to Trailer helmed by award winning chef Bryce Gilmore, who went on to open the successful brick and mortar restaurant, Barley Swine. Here are a couple new food trucks that promise farm fresh cuisine with an artisanal quality produced by some of the coolest chefs I’ve ever met.

La Boite is an Austin food trailer that bases their euro-bistro menu on what is available at farmers market each week. A little different than the usual airstream food trailer, La Boite has two locations in industrial boxes that open into a street side café. In addition to incredible sandwiches, La Boite serves specialty coffee and amazing macarons. This week's specials, for example, include a pistachio and chocolate ganache, hazelnut, and fleur de sel caramel macarons.

Chef and owner Rick Gencarelli cooked for over 15 years in high-end restaurants before opening his own food cart Lardo, in Portland, Oregon. Lardo is best known for its locally sourced porchetta sandwich, which is garnished with a caper aioli and gremolata. For the novice foodie, a porchetta is an Italian culinary tradition that uses the whole hog by layering stuffing, meat, fat and skin and then roasting. It's a labor of love that takes an entire day to create. Aioli is a mayonnaise-like sauce that has multiple variations, and a gremolata refers to chopped herbs.

You can see from just this one menu item the amount of effort it takes for one man to purchase, cook, clean and serve this gourmet dish out of a food cart. Chef Rick is passionate about supporting area producers and bases his menu on what is readily and seasonally available.

The Seedling Truck was born out of Royal Fig Catering, locally owned and operated by husband wife team Kristen and Dan Stacy. After working with Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle in New York City, Dan began to develop his own rustic comfort food menu and brought it to Austin a few years ago.

“Our whole mission is sustainability with an emphasis on doing things as locally as possible,” Kristen explains. With relationships from over 20 farms, the couple uses Farm to Table to source their food — an Austin-based company that gathers items from local farms and delivers to restaurants. Seedling's bestseller (and most tweeted photo) is the polenta cake, which comes with a poached egg and kale pesto for only $5.

So the next time you think of food trailers, consider that they are not just a bunch of taco experts slinging hot sauce. There are some incredibly talented chefs, supporting local producers, creating highly memorable dishes that would love your business.

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From picnic to dish

Farm-to-table cafe replacing Picnik in South Austin is open now

Photo courtesy of Dish Society

Dish Society is known for its refreshing menu.

When Picnik left its space on South First Street, some locals were disappointed to lose the holistic menu. However, the Houston-based Dish Society swooped in to fill the gap; it's now open at 1600 South First St., Ste. 110.

This is the second Austin location for Dish Society, which also has local ties through its founder, Aaron Lyons, who was born in Austin and went to the University of Texas at Austin. It also fits right in with the local farm-to-table ethos while remaining casual —a balance treasured by many in Austin dining.

The first location arrived in the Mueller neighborhood in 2023. A press release calls it an "overwhelming success."

“Our reception in Austin has been phenomenal, and we’re thrilled to introduce Dish Society to the vibrant South First community,” said Lyons in the release. "South Austin is buzzing with energy and growth. The area is full of amazing restaurants, shops, and plenty of walkable and bike-friendly streets—perfect for the kind of people who love what we do. As always, our goal is to be that go-to neighborhood spot where you can drop in multiple times a week."

Dish Society culinary director Brandi Key, COO Trent Patterson, founder Aaron Lyons From left to right: culinary director Brandi Key, COO Trent Patterson, founder Aaron LyonsPhoto courtesy of Dish Society

The new Dish Society is located within the Willa mixed-use development, which also includes the shoe boutique Blue Suede right across the patio. Another perk is complimentary parking.

The space has been redesigned by Chioco Design, whose work Austinites might recognize from Paperboy on South Lamar Boulevard, Bambino on Springdale Road, and the famous Torchy's Tacos on South Congress Avenue.

The new interior isn't majorly different, with more earthy, neutral colors and a similar seating arrangement. The restaurant still has seating on the covered patio: 60 seats outdoors in addition to 80 indoors. The bar offers full service and TVs for watching sports, plus, there's a walk-up window for takeaway and coffee.

According to the release, Dish Society gets more than three-quarters of its ingredients from suppliers in Texas. While ingredients do the heavy lifting in the restaurant's healthy image, the menu gets to have some fun with comfort foods and "American classics." That's all thanks to the work of culinary director Brandi Key.

Existing fans of Dish Society can enjoy favorites like brisket-loaded sweet potato, a shaved Brussels sprout salad, and fried chicken and biscuits. There are also plenty of new additions: ranch-style eggs, a granola yogurt bowl, and kale-mushroom bucatini.

Grain bowls, salads, sandwiches, and signature sides fill out the menu, plus an option to make your own plate with a protein and two sides. The beverage program also offers cocktails, mocktails, Texas craft beers and wines, coffee, fresh-pressed juices, and more local beverages.

Dish Society South 1st Street interior The new interior of Dish Society.Photo courtesy of Dish Society

Finally, Dish Society is conscious about worker wellness with perks like cross-training opportunities, educational incentives, PTO for hourly staff, paid volunteer hours, and more.

Dish Society maintains the same hours for both locations. They're open from 7 am to 9 pm Sundays through Thursdays, and 7 am to 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays. Social hour is weekdays from 7-9 am and 2-6 pm, and weekends from 4-7 pm. The restaurant will also offer online orders and catering.

openings sandwiches cocktails mocktails