On June 21,
Mike Kettelberger and I hunted down three food trucks that were driving around
Annapolis for Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race.” It was definitely both a fun and educational
experience. Because of the secret nature
of the show, we had to track down the trucks via Twitter, texts, and word of
mouth, all while trying to get some great photos.
Kettelberger
and I arrived in Annapolis at about 12:30.
As he drove, I used my iPhone to look up information on the event. What I found was minimal. We discovered that the show is secret in
nature, down to the location of the food trucks, and what time they would start
serving.
Upon
arriving, we went in search of the food truck Aloha Plate. That truck was our only lead, knowing only
vaguely knowing it’s downtown location.
Once we reached the spot where it was supposed to have been, we saw no
food truck. Fortunately, I spotted a man
wearing an “Aloha Plate” shirt.
The man,
Bruce, turned out to be a friend of the truck’s staff and was trying to assist
them in securing a parking location and recruiting customers. We learned that the earliest time the truck
would be serving food was 1:30.
With no
other leads, Kettelberger and I decided to kill time by sitting outside of a
restaurant. However, within 15 minutes,
I received a text from a friend in Annapolis with information on where the
trucks would be and at what times, as well as their Twitter handles. Tikka Tikka Taco would be by the harbor at
1. We quickly switched from sit-and-relax
mode to hustle-mode.
We
speed-walked over to the location, and found a long line of people leading up
to Tikka Tikka Taco, waiting to purchase $15 tacos. I envisioned a great photo opportunity of the
vendor handing food to a customer. So I
whipped out my camera, focused, and waited… and waited… and waited. After about ten minutes, I was finally able
to snap some shots.
It was then
that Kettelberger discovered some puppies.
Via Twitter, we knew that Aloha Plate and the third truck, Philly’s Finest
Sambonis, would not be arriving for another hour and a half or more, so we
decided to interview some people both waiting in line and eating. However, we also ran into some adorable
puppies in an unrelated event, and had to spend some time with them.
We slowly
strolled over to Ram’s Head On Stage, where Philly’s Finest Sambonis was
supposed to be at 2 or 2:30. We snapped
some pictures, talked to some of the customers already lined up, but saw no
food truck. Finally, there was a tweet
saying that the truck had changed both times and locations, but with no update
as to where or when.
We again
had time to kill before Aloha Plate would arrive by an intersection, so
Kettelberger and I stopped into another restaurant, constantly checking Twitter
the entire time, seeing no updates. When
time came to go see Aloha Plate, we paid our tabs and strolled off.
There were
only a few people lined up at the location, including our prior contact, Bruce,
who was more than willing to talk to us about the experience of working with
Aloha Plate and Food Network.
After
waiting for over an hour, the truck finally arrived. As I didn’t have any cash, Kettelberger
invested in the $15 chicken sandwich.
Overall,
the trip was definitely an experience.
It was a lot of fun trying to track down the food trucks and talking to
people who sought them out for consumption reasons. The major thing I learned was patience. There was a lot of waiting around, and not
just for the right camera moment. The
other thing I really got comfortable doing was approaching complete strangers,
asking them questions, and taking their picture. I keep questioning whether or not I’ll
actually watch the show when it comes out.
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