food trucks! vegan seabirds' tacos

The Seabirds Food Truck is based out of Orange County in California. The Great Food Truck Race welcomed them in Season 2. And these ladies run a VEGAN food truck! Heck yeah!

They left the race in week 4 after a slow start. They won the Truck Stop and the privilege to park in a money-making are of Manhattan, KS, but, they didn't work fast enough during service to make enough money to stay in the race. Such is life! Great food, good reception, but the attention to detail did them in. 

The Seabirds seem to be pretty popular. Above they are at the Ellen Show. And below they are visited by Moby. There are many other celebs patronizing their truck... let ME at a vegan food truck! That seems to be the way to go!

Their summer menu features Beer Battered Avocado Tacos. That sounds devine. I upped my ante and made Beer Battered Italian Tacos. I followed their same format, corn tortillas. cabbage, red onions, lime and jalapeno-cilantro sauce, but I replaced the avocado with slices of Italian Tofurkey sausage and yellow bell pepper. 

This was so good! That beer batter is amazing - it stays crispy even after I made everyone wait for dinner until the photos were done. Unhappy family during photo shoot, very happy family during dinner.

You can replace the sausage and peppers with thick slices of avocado, making this taco just like the Seabirds', or you can swap in anything. This one is a flexible recipe. 

Fry vegan Ho-Ho's if you must! 

Do they even make vegan Ho-Ho's? 

Beer Battered Italian Tacos Printer-Friendly Recipe

food trucks! bbq beet sliders

Another truck will be eliminated tonight on the Great Food Truck Race on the Food network. Unfortunately, last week I remade the Bold and Beautiful food truck, and they went home. Coincidence, I hope!

Good luck to these guys, who make, you guessed it, sliders. Their truck, The Slide Show, features unique, gourmet sliders. Each order comes with 2 sliders and a side of truffled fries. Which, to me, means that they added truffle oil to their french fries. 

Those who are fans of The Next Food Network Star might remember Das, the leader of The Slide Show, as a former contestant from Season 6.  Das was a high school culinary teacher. After his foray on the NFNS, he was all set to open a restaurant. Alas, his venture partner bailed, seemingly with all the money, leaving him in debt. 

Mo, Das and Ahren

Even if Das and his truck take the long road back to LA after tonight, I have a feeling that the Food Network will welcome him back on yet another show. He's charismatic and seems to be a good cook. And even if THAT isn't the case, he can still open a food truck, just not the exact one he drives on the show. 

Now all Das needs to do is recognize the need for some vegan sliders.

So, Das, here is my idea:

Beet Sliders. On the show last week he made Buffalo Sliders with barbecue sauce and fried onion straws on slider buns. I propose he use beets. Many chefs have successfully subbed the "t" for the "f" and consequently prepared beets instead of beefs. 

Cooking the beets in a flavorful, beefed-up broth and then searing the slices in a skillet, gives them an amped-up taste and mouth-feel. Not difficult or out-of-this-world unique, but it makes all the difference to the animals and those who care about them.

Just in case Das doesn't hear the plea, or you can't wait, make these sliders yourself. You can use your own BBQ sauce and grab a package of French's Fried Onions or home-make both -- up to you and the time you have. Grab some napkins, though, you'll need 'em!

BBQ Beet Sliders Printer-Friendly Recipe