trailer food diaries

Our favorite vegan trailers (plus a mouthwatering molasses cornbread recipe)

Homegrown Smoker: Fufish and chips
Homegrown Smoker: Vegan burrito
Biscuits and Groovy
Photo by Aleta M/Yelp
Arlo's Food Truck Austin

Vegan: n. A person who does not eat or use animal products.
Trailer Food: n. Gourmet street food cuisine served out of a repurposed cart, trailer or truck.

If you take the definition of vegan and the typical description of food trailers, a vegan food truck is an unlikely pairing at first glance. But there are several entrepreneurs taking their vegan concept to the curb with food trailers and trucks across the United States. Don’t be afraid of the V-word: Here are a few recommendations, plus a recipe to get your vegan on at the food trailers.

Arlo’s Truck (Austin, Texas)

Named for the co-owners' dog and best known for their vegan cheeseburger, Arlo’s is a vegan truck situated in the East 6th enclave among several local bars and hideouts. Serving local, organic non-GMO vegan food for dinner six days a week, their vegan fare offers a healthy alternative to those in need of a midnight meal. They are the sister restaurant to Nature’s Express in Berkley, California.

Biscuits and Groovy(Austin, Texas)

Offering comforting vegan biscuits with a variety of breakfast and brunch toppings, this trailer just off of Duval sells thousands of biscuit dishes each week. They do have items for carnivores as well, but anything on the menu can be converted into a vegan meal. The groovy part comes in with the free mixed tape swap available to all customers. Additionally each menu item has fun musically inclined names. For example, you might want to try the Philly Nelson, which contains biscuits slathered with your choice of gravy, Philly cheesesteak meat, bacon, sausage, bell peppers, onions, cheese and chives. Maybe the M.C Hammer is more your style with scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage and cheese on top of a homemade biscuit. Or there’s the simple Bee Gee for just one dollar which is a biscuit with butter and the jam of the day (as in jelly, not music).

Homegrown Smoker (Portland, Oregon)

“I’ve been bar-b-cueing for fifteen years; I wasn’t about to give up BBQ just because I decided to quit eating animals,” says owner John Ridabock. This Portland trailer has a BBQ-centric menu that is 100% vegan. The SloSmoMoFo has slow smoked soy curls (a unique Oregon product made from a soy bean paste), on a bun with maple bourbon BBQ sauce and their homemade chipotle cole slaw. The Loafaroni was created with the help of an eleven-year old customer. It has two slices of smoked field roast, BBQ sauce and mac-no-cheese on a bun. If you’re new to the trailer, you might want to get the combo meal, which allows you to pick two proteins, two sides and a piece of their famous cornbread.

‪Gluten Free Vegan Sweet Molasses Cornbread
Courtesy of Homegrown Smoker

Makes 2 pans.

‪2 cups Multiblend GF flour
‪2 cups Medium Corn Meal
‪3 cups Fine Corn Meal
‪2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
‪1 teaspoon Salt
‪1 ½ Cups Apple Sauce
‪2 Cups Soy Milk
‪1 Cup Canola
‪1 Cup Molasses
1/2 Cup Cider Vinegar

‪Mix dry ingredients together; add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into two sprayed pans. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Don’t forge,t you don’t have to go to a ‘vegan trailer’ to get vegan food. Many trailers have vegan items on their menu and are happy to make modifications upon your request. Many of the ethnic cuisines have prominent vegetable-based dishes that utilize their country’s spices.

For more information on food trucks, visit www.trailerfooddiaries.com or follow @trailerfood.

unspecified

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.