By Melonie Magruder
Lookout Staff

August 1, 2011 -- The food truck court that congregates Tuesday evenings in the parking lot of the Heritage Museum has all the makings of a terrific block party.

Launched last fall as a fundraising effort for the financially struggling museum, a dozen or so of the more exotic local food trucks assemble, fry-cooks furiously stuffing pulled pork sandwiches or blending smoothies, and feed a couple hundred residents for remarkably affordable prices.

Locals wander around the moveable food court pushing strollers and pulling leashed dogs, meeting up with neighbors and sampling everything from old-fashioned Philly cheese steak sandwiches to Clean Street Food’s Black Angus sliders.

Within minutes of opening (at 5:30 p.m.), the air is redolent with the smell of spicy salsa, fried chicken and honey-fried sweet potatoes. Long lines form in front of each truck and, shortly thereafter, the shaded lawn next to the museum is covered with families and take-out trays (all recyclable) of adventurous new cuisine, as well as some old stand-bys. It’s like a fourth of July picnic every Tuesday.

Tobi Smith, the director of the Heritage Museum, said that she proposed the idea of the weekly food truck event as a way to help the museum survive a steep decline in funding, and to reach out to the community (the museum garners a percentage of the fees paid by participating food trucks each week).

“I heard on NPR (National Public Radio) the other day that 70 percent of American museums of all stripes are in financial need,” Smith said. “This might be a non-traditional way of raising funds, but it connects us with our neighborhood and gives our local people a chance to get out and party a little.”

Smith praised The Victorian (the special events venue that shares the Heritage Square parking lot) for inviting food truck diners to their patio to enjoy live music along with their meal. She also pointed out that visitors could go to the Heritage Museum website to find a list of that week’s expected food truck vendors – there’s a rotating cast each week.

The Tuesday evening event is also something of a compromise with Santa Monica merchants who have objected to the presence of food trucks on the city’s main streets, claiming the traveling vendors are unsafe and obstruct views to their businesses.

In downtown Santa Monica, food trucks can take up multiple premium parking spots, causing merchants to grumble. According to Mayor Richard Bloom, the city is constrained by state law in regulating food truck parking and the city council is currently discussing how to balance the mobile food vendors with brick-and-mortar establishments in front of which they park.

Matt Geller, CEO of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors’ Association, was on hand for the festivities last Tuesday and he claims to be a free market advocate.

“If you’re going to have Farmers Markets, why not a food truck court,” Geller said. “Most of our area food trucks try to set up where they aren’t near restaurants or where they block sidewalk traffic.”

Meanwhile, most of the Tuesday crowd munched on exotic edibles, unaware of the controversy.

Duy Chau of the Mighty Boba truck offered samples of their popcorn chicken to passers-by.

Duy Chau and his Popcorn Chicken

“We call this ‘night market food’ and it’s a staple in Korean communities,” Chau said. “This is a very family-oriented weekly event, so it fits in with what we’re used to.”

Roberta Oglakhchyan tore in to a Gogi rib eye beef sandwich from Lee’s Philly Cheese Steak truck, saying, “This has got a great twist – Korean sauce.”

Cecile Collin, Chantilly Hofstetter, Camille Brady and Roberta Oglakhchyan chow down. Photos by Melonie Magruder

Chantilly Hofstetter was impressed with the braised pork sandwich with pickled onions.

One of the newbies to the event was The Poutine Truck. Poutine is a Canadian comfort dish comprised of French fries covered with brown onion gravy (or vegetarian velouté for the healthy-minded) and sprinkled with flavored cheese curds. Proprietor James MacKinnon said that he discovered poutine while on a visit to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics.

“I told my partner that this has got to be our first truck,” MacKinnon said. “We get 50 pounds of cheese curds every day from a local cheese maker. And our gravy is homemade. You’ve never tasted anything like it.”

Apparently, neither had anyone else, judging from the long queue in front of the truck.

The longest lines seemed reserved for the KaBob ‘n’ Roll Mediterranean sandwiches and treats. One young visitor stood for a long time in front of the truck, weighing her options between a kabob and popcorn chicken.

“If you go with the popcorn chicken, you’ll still have enough for a smoothie,” her mother advised. That settled the matter.

"If you're going to have Farmers Markets, why not a food truck court, most of our area food trucks try to set up where they aren’t near restaurants or where they block sidewalk traffic.”
    Matt Geller

“We call this ‘night market food’ and it’s a staple in Korean communities.”
    Duy Chau