Friday, October 31, 2014

Pit Beef From Upslide Down Dave, And Taqueria Los Primos Gets A Profile In Howard Magazine

Pit beef from Upslide Down Dave
Next week, I'm going to try get myself back to U.S. 1 for a multi-food-truck lunch.

Allison Eatough has a nice article in Howard Magazine about Hugo and Manuel Sanchez and their food truck the Taqueria Los Primos in Jessup.

The Sanchezes are now on the top of my list -- along with Milita's Tacos on U.S. 1 near Rte 100 that people have talked up for years.  Eatough's profile outlines the Mexican food that they're cooking and the 14-hour days, seven days a week that they're working to run their business.

The U.S. 1 corridor is a great place to hit up roadside barbecue and Mexican.  Many of those trucks are stationary and reliable.  You get a picnic table and good grub. There are some other set-location trucks like Gourmet Grilling in Columbia, David Welch in Savage, and Thomas Waffles Saturdays in Clarksville.

But there are also some food trucks that work a moving circuit of lunch stops and special events. I got pit beef from Upslide Down Dave at the Maple Lawn fall festival.  Nice beef charred on the edge and tender inside, sliced to order from a grill station set up beside the truck.  For their regular business, they do sliders -- often in Maple Lawn.

A Korean food truck at the Maple Lawn fest
One of the best ways to check out the moving trucks in Twitter where they often post their locations. Upslide Down Dave, La Pearl Waffle and Cookie Ride all post regularly.

I'm sure there are more because there are also several newer barbecue trucks that I haven't tried yet.  Bullhead Pitbeef has been serving meat and tweeting both locations and photos of their new truck.  Madame BBQ is working out their truck with the health department.

I have posted about other trucks in the past.   I'm always impressed with folks who strike out on their own like the Sanchezes and the owners of these other trucks, and they really add zest to the dining scene -- whether you're dining on US. 1 or hitting up a truck at a festival.  I assume they're even-better for folks who regularly eat out lunch in Howard County and like some variety.

Does anyone track Howard County food trucks like the Washingtonian does on Food Truck Fiesta?  Are there any regular days at local businesses? I have seen that the University of Maryland has begun promoting a Thursday event in West Baltimore. Is there something like that at APL or any of the office parks?

If you run a food truck or would consider a food business, check out the county's idea of a food incubator.  They're currently asking people to take a survey about what help they could use.

Thanks for Jessie X for flagging the new food trucks on Twitter. Jessie does a great job promoting local businesses, local bloggers, and both on social media.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing at APL – would love it if there were! Seems like a great opportunity.

kevlar51 said...

Sadly I'm pretty sure Milita's Taco has closed down.

Los Primos is solid though. Go for the al pastor and chorizo tacos.

I've had upslide down once and I can't bring myself to go again. It was clear they put a lot of thought into presentation, but the bread on all three sliders was stale and what was between the bread didn't taste especially fresh either.

Nikki said...

Madame BBQ food truck is up and running now. We are doing lunches around Columbia, Elkridge, and EC. We parked in the Wine Bin parking lot this past Saturday and sold out of nearly everything. What a fantastic turnout! We will serve lunch again next Saturday at the Wine Bin.
Nikki (the Madame)

kevlar51 said...

Following up on my post regarding Milita's Taco--the truck is still there but it's operated by someone else and absolutely nowhere near the flavor or quality.