nosh nook #182 - tuesday, november 24, 2009

5-month-old seattle food cart crowned best in the country (link)
11.23.09 - seattle post-intelligencer - by monica guzman

make no mistake about it--2009 has been the year of mobile food here in america, with food carts & trucks offering diverse cuisine springing up in cities all across the country. nyc could be seen as the capital of the food cart revolution, but portland, OR definitely vies for that title, with over 500 food carts scattered throughout the city. the carts & trucks have become such a big deal that every news outlet imaginable has done some sort of coverage on them, which has only helped fuel their popularity. personally, i'm sick of hearing about them, but do see that they've become an important alternative to the more costly, less mobile brick-and-mortar restaurants.

on sunday, good morning america jumped into the fray, announcing that seattle's marination mobile was the best food cart in the country. as the seattle post-intelligencer reports, the seattle-based truck, which is only five months old & serves korean-hawaiian cuisine, was, in typical food truck fashion, voted in by a strong customer base who got out the vote via social networking sites. in fact, marination mobile, which won on the strength of their spicy pork taco, is so beloved that "about 30 people came out to the cart at 4 a.m. sunday morning to support the business during a live feed on 'good morning america.'" mmm. 4am tacos.

marination mobile took home the best food cart title by defeating three other finalists from around the country. the first, nyc's street sweets truck, was the only dessert truck among the finalists, entering with the "marcarella," "a thin coconut macaroon filled with the hazelnut-chocolate spread, nutella." portland, OR's garden state food cart, with "sicily meets new jersey" style cuisine, is known for their handmade sandwiches, including their entry, a chickpea sandwich. the third finalist, local 647, which serves up american fare including a tasty hamburger (their entry in the competition) showed that you don't need to be in the big city to be recognized as one of the best, as they operate out of rural delaplane, VA. still, as marination mobile proved, if you want to have good morning america recognize you, you have to "have a really broad network of people who support [you]." the big city's always better for that.