Coolhaus is probably the most unique of all of the LA nouveau food trucks that I’ve heard of. They sell architecturally-themed ice cream sandwiches with fun names like Frank Behry and Mintimalism. One of the truck’s two founders, Natasha Case, took some time out of her busy schedule to respond to a few questions.

1) So really, what’s Coolhaus all about? Are you guys just big architecture nerds or what? Are you architects yourselves?

Coolhaus is the first project under the Farchitecture (food + architecture) umbrella. Farchitecture actually has academic roots – while Natasha was at UCLA Architecture Grad School, she did an independent study class exploring the relationship between food and design. Coolhaus is the first attempt at marrying the two through the use of mobile food (becoming everyone’s local restaurant despite the urban sprawl of LA), edible wrappers (questioning the “building envelope” and practicing sustainable eating by consuming the wrapper rather than throwing it away), and introducing Architects/Architectural themes into the mainstream dialogue (by naming the sandwiches after them). And yes, we are big nerds. Natasha is an Architect and Freya is a Real Estate Developer.

2) What the heck does architecture have to do with ice cream sandwiches anyway?

I think the real question is, why the heck not?! Visually and literally, the ice cream sandwich has a similar structure to a house: there is a cookie slab, ice cream walls, and a cookie (shed) roof. Ice cream also has such universal appeal, and we really enjoy using ice cream to deconstruct flavors ie we are coming out with a “breakfast sandwich” which is made of brown butter bacon ice cream between waffle slabs. The ice cream sandwich seemed like a perfect vehicle/product for our first Farchitecture project.

3) How do you make them? What makes an ideal ice cream sandwich? What’s your background in food/cooking/eating? How’d you decide to start this?

Lots of experimentation and taste testing! We started out making all the cookies and ice cream “in-haus,” but because we’ve grown so fast, we have outsourced our recipes to companies that pride themselves in using all-natural ingredients (ie, Milk) who makes our ice cream.

I think an ideal ice cream sandwich is definitely made-to-order, freshly created on the spot and custom-built according to the customer’s desires (custom creations have a more architectural sensibility). The sandwiches have soft cookies that aren’t too thick or too sweet that it overpowers the ice cream taste; in between is a hunky scoop of ice cream that is soft enough to compress. The variety of flavors range from extra rich and creamy, to subtle red wine reduction flavor, to light and fruity sorbets…something for everyone!

4) Has Frank Gehry ever showed up to try Frank Behry? What would happen if he did?

Funny you should ask! We actually went to Gehry partners a few weeks back and Frank Gehry had a sandwich, but not the Frank Behry. He actually decided upon the Orange Julius Shulman (I think he may have a bit of a dairy problem).

I wasn’t there for the event, but I hear he cut the line and demanded to have his sandwich made very quickly! Oh, Mr. Behry.

5) What’s your favorite food/taco truck in LA?

Besides ours? Hmmm…I know Freya loves Taco Zone (I’ve never actually tried it! yikes!). We both love the Green Truck and the Border Grill Truck!

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I was contacted out of the blue by Akash Kapoor, of Curry Up Now, a new Indian taco truck based in Burlingame, Calif. (near SFO airport, in San Mateo County). I haven’t had the pleasure yet of trying its wares, but boy does it sound good!

1) What’s Curry Up Now all about? How’d you get started? What’s your background in food/cooking/eating?

Curry Up Now is essentially authentic Indian street food served on the street, where it belongs. We have mixed in some burritos and tacos in the menu to keep the spirit of a lonchera.

We originally thought about this 10 years ago but other business interests kept us from getting started. Seeing the success of Kogi and other ethnic trucks in SoCal, rekindled the idea and three to four months later, here we are. We have absolutely no background in the food business. We are foodies who have a passion for cooking and sharing.

2) What trucks have been your inspiration? Why start a truck, anyway? What are your favorite local trucks and why?

The success of Kogi and other trucks in LA have been a huge inspiration.

Since our focus is Indian street food, we wanted it to be just that, street food served from a truck.

Believe it or not, we haven’t eaten from a truck, local or anywhere else as yet. One of our associates tried the Kung Fu taco truck in the city and had good things to say about them. I plan on visiting them, Liba SF and El Tonayense soon.

3) What’s been the permit process like? I see you’re operating in San Mateo County, not San Francisco. Is that any easier/harder? Is that a deliberate decision?

The permit process has been brutal. The San Mateo County permit was a breeze but most Peninsula cities have been unwelcoming. This is due to unlicensed trucks all over El Camino Real from Daly City to Mountain View. However, we are hoping Burlingame, Foster City and Belmont will work things out with us. Burlingame has been most helpful and have allowed us to be out on a weekend to weekend basis as of now. We should have the Redwood City permit in a few days as well.

Our truck is in the shop this week to be readied for Santa Clara and San Francisco permits. We will be in the city and South Bay within 3 weeks. We wanted to start with the Peninsula and have a truck each in the city, South & East Bay.

4) What’s the best thing on your menu? How did you come up with these specific items? How does what you’re offering differ from traditional Indian street food?

I’d say the chicken kathi, deconstructed samosa with meat & chana and the doubles (from Trinidad & Tobago). The chicken kathi was inspired by frequent visits to Nizam’s, Kolkatta as a kid but we have changed it a little bit. A few people in the family prefer the samosa shell to the filling, thus was born the deconstructed samosa topped with meat keema. We remove the filling from the shell, top it off with chana, meat keema, onions, jalapenos, tamarind & mint/coriander chutney. Doubles is basically chana bhatura Trindiad & Tobago style. chana bhatura figures in the top five favorite Indian street foods and we had to have this on the truck even though its a pain to make on the truck. We have tried to keep this as trini as possible and have been pleasantly surprised with the response. Since the deconstructed samosa is a home grown recipe, I would rate it as the best thing on the menu and it tastes amazing to boot.

Our food is traditional and authentic Indian Street food, however, we have ‘taco truckized’ the menu with burritos and tacos. We will be featuring a curry from a different region of India each month as well.

5) Thums Up or Limca?

None, Pepsi 0 . We will have Limca & Thums Up on the truck along with mango lassi and mint lemonade.

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Just around the time that twittering taco trucks took off, Los Angeles artist Sean Finocchio started doing this series of taco trucks. From his website you can get one for $25 or a pair for $40. I’m *this* close to forking over the money to get a couple. I think they’d look great in my kitchen or bathroom. I hit him up for a query-laden quintet.

1) How did you come up with the idea to do taco truck prints?

I spend a lot of time in my car commuting to and from work. I take a camera with me daily to take pictures. Taco trucks kept showing up and I decided to do a series of them. I had previously done a series of mobile homes. The taco truck series was completed back in the fall of 2008. Most of my artwork is of everyday life in and around Los Angeles. Markets, Liquor stores, alleys, apartment buildings, etc.

2) How are these trucks selected? Where are they located? Are they your favorites?

All of my images are completely random. They are just trucks seen around town. Some were found downtown, Hawthorne, Mar Vista, Venice, Hollywood, etc. Taco Trucks are everywhere in LA. I’ve also changed the names on all of the trucks. I have taken some creative liberties while creating these images. My artwork celebrates the culture of the taco trucks — not necessarily a specific truck.

Full disclosure on the taco truck series — I’ve changed the names on all of the trucks. All the names are fictitious. I didn’t want to exploit these trucks because I realize these are family run trucks (usually) and I did not get their permission when taking the pictures. I didn’t want to get in a legal mess. So — you wont find these exact trucks around town. They do exist, but I don’t remember exactly where they are located. And finally, the red truck and the yellow truck were not actually taco trucks but a fire and rescue truck and a delivery truck. I was looking to complete a set of trucks and needed to find a few more — most of the trucks I came across are all the same shape and I wanted to have some different looking ones.

I’m telling you all of this because your site appears to celebrate specific trucks and I don’t want people to ask you or me what part of town “La Mexicanita” is at on Tuesdays. I’m not trying to be accurate- I’m an artist. My artwork really is just to celebrate the beauty of the taco trucks and the culture — not any truck specifically.

3) How many of them have you sold? Have you ever given/sold to these (or other?) taco trucks?

Taco trucks are pretty popular right now. It has been a happy accident. I’ve sold quite a few of these locally and nationally. People tell me they like them because of their love for LA and their love of taco trucks. I haven’t approached any of theses taco trucks with my artwork. If they were interested in one of my print I would gladly give them one or trade for some tacos.

4) What’s most visually appealing about taco trucks for you?

I’m attracted to the different shapes and colors of the trucks and the artwork on the sides of the trucks. It is a completely random process. I usually spot a cool truck and take a picture from the other side of the road and keep going. Unfortunately I haven’t eaten at any of these trucks.

5) Are you going to do another round, given the new twittering generation of trucks?

I might do a different series in the future. I take pictures daily and I have a bunch of new images that I have taken in the last few months.

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Earlier this summer, a former Wolfgang Puck chef, Antonio Medina, started The Gastrobus, a fun new mobile restaurant roaming the streets of Los Angeles. I hit up Medina for the standard fiver.

1) Gastrobus? Is it really a bus or a truck? How’d you get that going? Why a bus? How’d you convert it?

The Gastrobus is a truck, it just took a paint job and a name to turn it into a school bus. The idea came from the need to work together as a family. The name is a play on words ‘gastro pub’, which is the type of restaurant we wanted. School busses are also cool looking and familiar to everybody.

2) Tell me about yourself. What’s your cooking/food/eating background? What’s the biggest difference cooking in a truck/bus rather than restaurant kitchen?

I have been cooking professionally for the past 7 years, during which I was the Executive Chef for Wolfgang Puck at the Pacific Design Center, worked for catering companies in Hollywood and at a couple of restaurants in the city. The food at the Bus is my take on American gastro pub fare, accentuated by my Latin roots.
Kitchens are kitchens, whether it’s a five star restaurant, a catering company, a pizza joint in the Caribbean or a Bus. I just do my best with I have.

3) Man, root beer floats! I love it! Are those difficult to concoct on a truck? Is there room for a freezer? What kind of ice cream/root beer are you using?

Floats are an American summer classic. We tasted many root beers and ice creams (big brands and microbrews) and nothing beats A&W with homemade vanilla ice cream. There’s no freezer in this truck, but we know how to keep things cool at The Gastrobus.

4) How’d you pick your menu items? What’s the difference between the regular menu items and the Los Feliz Farmer’s Market menu items? What are the specials and how do we find out about them?

The menu looks really simple, but all the items have been thought thru, from the bread to the garnishes, each component adds some flavor/texture to them. “Organic Sundays” is our new project at Farmers Markets, and is completely improvised each time. Sunday mornings we shop at the market and whip up small plates using the best local produce that the farmers bring. It is a very interesting approach to the “market-driven” concept that some restaurants have. Check out the website for menus, bus stops and our latest creations at the Farmers Market. Or follow us on twitter (@thegastrobus).

5) What are your favorite food/taco trucks in LA?
Coolhaus! They have the best sweets on the road.

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While most trucks tend to be lunchtime or late-night operations, a new truck is trying to capitalize on the most important meal of the day: breakfast. Enter the Buttermilk Truck. Owner Gigi Pascual served up her story.

1) A breakfast truck? Seriously? Are we talking breakfast burritos here? What’s the deal? What’s on your menu?

Yes a BREAKFAST truck:) I love breakfast all times of the day especially homemade from scratch recipes. We will be featuring fresh baked and housemade assorted pastries such as scones, breakfast cupcakes [pictured], turnovers, and granola. We will have breakfast sandwiches using applewood smoked bacon, and chicken apple sausage topped with a fried egg and sharp cheddar cheese on our housemade buttermilk biscuits. Also a Portuguese sausage sandwich on hawaiian sweet bread. A vegetarian option is available as well on our housemade corn bread topped with sauteed mushrooms, spinach and pepperjack cheese. Buttermilk pancakes, donuts, french toast sticks are a must as well as omelettes. Our late night menu will replace pastries with our fried chicken and buttermilk cinnamon waffles and something we call the buttermilk “brick”… a stick-to-your-ribs for those late night breakfast cravings.

2) When/where do you launch?

We plan to launch mid-November in West Los Angeles area.

3) What’s your background in food/eating? Why a truck? Why now? How’d you decide to get started? Who’s behind this, anyway?

I graduated from The French Culinary Institute NYC in Pastry Arts. I interned at Nobu NYC and worked as a Pastry Chef at Bin 8945 in West Hollywood. I always wanted my own bakery or breakfast joint but the start up costs were beyond my means. The truck was a feasible way to share my love for pastries and breakfast. It is a meal that is often skipped due to time restraints of our daily routines and our late night breakfast options are
always the same 24 hour joints. I wanted to fill that breakfast void. All the recipes are mine and have been fine tuned over the past years and months. I have close friends helping with PR and marketing. I am currently in the process of hiring my Buttermilk Truck Team.

4) Will you have egg and cheese on bagels like the street carts in NYC? What’s your fav item?

There will be modified versions of that NYC breakfast staple:) My favorite item is the fried chicken and buttermilk cinnamon waffles.

5) How many of your items actually have buttermilk, anyway?

A good 90% of our items contain Buttermilk

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A week or so ago, I came across Kung Fu Tacos, which seems similar to Don Chow Tacos down in LA. Fortunately for me though, they operate within BARTing distance of my house — in SF’s Financial District — obviously I can’t wait to try them out. I hit up co-owner Jonathan Ward (pictured above) for the details.

1) What’s a Kung Fu Taco? What are your various options? What’s on the menu?

Food with fighting spirit. We have a simple menu that we plan to evolve over time with various specials. For now there are 5 options. We have Asian Asada (beef), Nun Chuk Chicken, and Mushu Veggie for $2. The come topped with onion, cilantro, and our spicy Asian salsa. We also have two specialty tacos that are $3: Roast Ruck and Char Siu (glazed roast pork) that are topped with fresh mango salsa, green onion strips and green papaya.

2) How’d you guys get started? What’s your background in cooking/eating?

I have a product management background in the tech industry but have always had a passion for food and cooking. My business partner Tan has his own restaurant called Candybar in SF’s Western Addition.

I had been out of work for a year after the company I was working for folded and Tan was looking for a day time business opportunity. We had been following the popularity of the food trucks both in LA and NYC and we saw that there was a similar niche to be filled in the Bay Area.

3) I love that you guys are finally bringing more of this new taco truck goodness to the Bay. As I live in Oakland, I frequent Fruitvale taco trucks often. What trucks were you inspired by? What are your favorite trucks? How much of an inspiration was Kogi and Don Chow Tacos in LA?

El Tonayense was the first truck I tried when I moved to San Francisco a decade ago and I think it will always be my favorite. As for inspiration, I think that every one of the new generation of trucks owes a debt of gratitude to Kogi for kicking this movement into high gear. I haven’t had a chance to try their tacos myself but I hear they are delicious. We didn’t actually hear of Don Chow until we were well into finalizing the concept for Kung Fu Tacos. I have seen their menu though and it looks interesting. Would love to try their Chimales if I ever get back to LA again.

4) What areas of SF are you serving? Will you be coming to Oakland at all? What has been the most surprising thing about operating the truck?

Right now we are focused on our lunch business in the Financial District of SF. We have a space on the corner of Sansome and Jackson that has been very good to us. We are also working on expanding to do happy hour and after hours business so if anyone reading this has a club or bar with some private parking nearby we would love to talk to you.

No immediate plans to operate in Oakland but anything is possible once we start expanding.

I guess the most surprising thing so far has been the reception the truck is getting. People have been lining up since our second day of operation. We really didn’t expect it to catch on that quickly but are very happy that it did. We are working hard everyday to improve the service and keep the wait times down.

5) What kung fu moves can you do whilst eating a taco?

I have nearly perfected my five fingers of death punch but I haven’t figured out a way to do that and serve tacos simultaneously. Guess it is a work in progress.

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First there was the Dosa Truck. And now, there’s India Jones Chow Truck, bringing more delicious Indian goodness to Santa Monica (my hometown!) and West Los Angeles. I checked in with chef Sumant Pardal.

1) Indian food in a taco truck? Are you serving Indian tacos? What’s the deal here? Why a truck?

Our speciality is a FRANKIE. This is an Indian wrap from the streets of Bombay. Sort of an in between of a taco & burrito, but has no rice & beans. It is an egg washed roti (like a tortilla) with marinated sauteed meats, chopped onions, cilantro, special chutney and a spice blend. Once you have one, you want another one. A truck is exciting. And I have location, location, location.

2) Do you have any regional specialties? Where is the chef from? What’s your background? How’d you decide on the menu? How does real Indian street food impact what you choose to sell?

I am from Jaipur, India, 33 years of experience, and have owned 12 restaurants in LA in the last 22 years,
including East India Grill, which I opened on 8.8.88.

3) How much of an influence was the Kogi BBQ truck? How did you decide on your route? Do you have a set location/route? Being from Santa Monica, I approve of the Westside.

Kogi has been a big influence in showing us that there is a lot of business to be done by way of a catering truck. They are heros of this world. Routes are decided, by invitation, office complexes, night clubs and various events in the city. We are also now hooked up with Bluebird Cafe in Culver City, where we have a beautiful courtyard and every Thursday night we serve food and Bluebird sells beer & wine and shows movies and videos on a big screen.

4) What’s been the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about operating a truck? Did you buy or lease it? How much harder is it to work in a truck kitchen than a real kitchen?

All businesses are hard work. But everything is working out beautifully.

5) What happened with the LAPD tickets two weeks ago? What will you be doing differently in the future?

It was not against me alone. It was a sweep to get us all out of there. I just caught the worst of it. Everything is fine now.

6) Thums Up or Limca?

One day. Need to find a wholesaler. Can’t buy retail and sell cheap.

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So after following the Twitterverse for new food trucks, I came across Marked5, which fires up “Japanese Style Burgers.” I sent them an email to get the inside flip. The photo above is of Marked5′s general manager, David Ly. Answers were provided by the company’s marketing guy, Wayne Chang.

1) What’s Marked 5 all about? How’d it get started? And what does the name mean? Who is behind it and what’s with the Japanese-ish burgers?

Marked 5 is a gourmet food truck with the mission of creating high quality burger/sandwiches with innovation and care. By focusing on three very important key points, quality, innovation, and convenience, we strive to provide the best experience for all of our patrons.

The name Marked5 actually is a literally description when a person is experiencing our burger, the rice patty imprints all five fingers as the patron making his or her own mark/claim on the burger!

David Ly is the founder of Marked5, who traveled extensively in Asia and decided to come up with this burger concept with a spin on our Asian American heritage and started his own Burger Revolution. In fact, the only Japanese-ish influence is showcased by the Katsu Pork Sandwich, and you will find that all four of our main items are really awesome in their own rights.

2) What’s the most expensive thing on the menu? How did you determine what’s on the menu?

All four main items are priced at $5 each, and we created the menu with the thought of being able to offer something for everyone! In experimenting with the menu, we had three criteria; unique, withstands the test of time, and transcend between all borders. We hired a chef consultant to come up with all our sauce. We didn’t want any store brought sauce. Everything is from scratch. We started with the (Torraku Beef) angus beef which we thought to be the most symbolic of the asian and american. Then we had (torraku) veggie which is a tofu patty mixed with egg, cheese and veggies. We had to do a Katsu pork. Lastly was our Chicken Curry which turns out be one of our best sellers. We do have occasional specials (burgers) ham & egg, Torraku Salmon and Spicy Tuna. Special prices varies.

3) How much of an influence was Kogi or other existing taco trucks? How long did it take you to get from concept to road?

Marked5 is really the only few trucks on the road that is completely original in its food offerings, you will not find any tacos near our truck Its all about the Burger Revolution!!

The pain staking process of developing Marked5 was a six-month journey from concept to road, and we have been officially in business for a little over three months. We are still actively searching for new ways to improve our items, and we will not rest until perfection is achieved; unlike most of the trucks out there we also operate out of a central kitchen to ensure the quality of our food.

4) What is your route and how did you determine it? What did you have to do to convert an existing truck to the Marked5? Did anything surprise you about this process?

Routes were a trial and learn process. It took a long time to figure out which location works. And some locations works sometimes and not others. We are still in the process of figuring that out. If you or anyone else have any suggestions on additional routes, PLEASE email me. We had to do so much to convert the truck. When we first saw the truck, it had no engine (it was just being tune, i didn’t know you had to remove it to do that). We had to add a fryer and fix the compressor. But riding on it, brings a sense of history. We are reminded everyday, of what this truck use to sell and how long it has come to be Marked5. we appreciate and give it a little kiss goodnight every morning before we head home for four hour sleep, then back to the kitchen to prepare for the day.

5) Asahi or Sapporo?

Asahi

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I’ve never heard of a shaved ice truck before, so I pinged Get Shaved for the inside scoop. Kristin Roskowick, a co-founder, responded to my queries.

1) Why shaved ice from a truck? Aren’t trucks hot, with like griddles and burners and stuff? How do you keep it cold enough? Why not a pushcart?

When my husband and I were brainstorming ideas for our first business, we decided we wanted to do a shave ice and ice cream store because one, I’m a frozen dessert fanatic, and two, it is hard to find authentic Hawaiian style shave ice around here. We had two issues that we came across. One: we did not have enough money saved up to do the store the way we wanted to and it was nearly impossible for us to get a small business loan to cover the difference since we had no prior experience with owning a business (banks require a minimum of two years being in business before they will give you a loan — we couldn’t even get a business credit card!!) and, two, at that time (about two years ago), commercial leases were, what my husband and I considered, unreasonably high and we were concerned that we would be setting ourselves up for failure if we took on that kind of overhead. I think we were right for the most part because since then so many small businesses have gone under, due in part to their unaffordable leases.

Thus, we decided instead to create a mobile shave ice and ice cream store which required lower startup costs. Also, we believed it was less risky than a store because we would be able to go where the customers are.

Our truck was custom made specifically for shave ice and ice cream so there are no griddles and burners and stuff. We have a freezer that fits about 350 lbs. of block ice, an ice cream dipping cabinet which fits about 4 3-gallon tubs of ice cream, and a condiment refrigerator where we store our backup syrups, condensed milk, et cetera.

I think it’s obvious when you see the picture of our van that there is much more of a wow factor to our van than a pushcart which allows us to reach a much broader clientele. Also, we wanted a store on wheels and a pushcart did not give us sufficient storage space for ice cream, all of our syrup flavors (most pushcarts offer 4 or 5 flavors maximum, we offer over 20 flavors), and ice. We would also have to tow a pushcart which is much more of a hassle to park and unload versus driving up with our van.

2) What’s your background? When did you start?

I have a B.A. in Economics and my husband has a B.S. in Physical Education and Health. Before starting our business, I was working as a contract administrator for the Exposition Light Rail Transit Line in Los Angeles, and my husband was a property manager in LA. When we met over ten years ago, we always knew we wanted our own business but we never had the means (i.e. funding) until about two years ago. Planning started about two years ago but our actual operations did not start until October 2008.

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Elina Shatkin is the LA Times’ content producer for The Guide. Most importantly, she’s been keeping close tabs on what she calls “nouveau food trucks,” the likes of which we’ve been covering here on the blog.

I checked in with her for a fiver, and she replies:

“Let me just state up front, that these are strictly my personal opinions. I don’t claim to speak for anyone but myself. I don’t claim to be an expert about food or about taco trucks. I’m just someone who like to eat. A lot.”

With that aside, here we go:

1) So, what’s with your obsession with new LA food trucks? How do you find out about new ones? Why is LA obsessed with them all of a sudden?

1. When I moved to L.A. from the sheltered suburb of my youth and discovered street meat, I was in love. It was probably my one experience with love at first sight. I find out about new food trucks the same way most people do: from friends and food blogs. I have the added bonus of receiving tips and press releases because I write about food.

I think there are probably lots of reasons L.A. is currently so obsessed with what I call the Nouveau Food Trucks. They’re new. They’re inexpensive as compared with even the cheapest sit-down restaurant. (In a bad economy, they’re an affordable indulgence). Food and the discussion around it is a super-hot trend right now. (I suspect that desire was latent in the gen pop for a long time, but it’s been fueled by review sites like Yelp & Citysearch, by food blogs, by Twitter and other social networking apps. Basically, all of these avenues give “ordinary people” an avenue to express and argue their opinions.) And, not to be underestimated, NFTs represent a cultural fusion that’s a perfect fit for L.A.

2) Do you worry about the hipsterization/gentrification of taco trucks at all?

2. Nope. There are about 2 dozen Nouveau Food Trucks roaming L.A. In contrast, there are roughly 7,000 taco trucks in the city of L.A. (This number comes from Erin Glenn, CEO of the Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de California. I interviewed but didn’t quote her in my story about L.A. food trucks. She warns that this is a VERY rough estimate. The actual numbers may be much higher.) It’s not like these two dozen Nouveau Food Trucks are pushing out the thousands of traditional taco trucks. If anything, these Nouveau Food Trucks are really competing against each other for the same market segment.

Cultural influence is very fluid and hard to track, but it rarely occurs in a linear fashion. Rather, it’s an octopus-like creature that reaches out in all direction, sucking in and expelling matter. (Is that what octopi do? I wish I was a cephalopod expert so I’d know if my analogy was apt.)

Territorialism is another issue, but I haven’t seen the kind of food truck vs. food truck turf wars in L.A. that have occurred in N.Y. That may yet come to pass.

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