On any given weekday, how often do you see a food truck in downtown or midtown? Think about it. While it's true that there will be about 27 street food vendors under the freeway on Saturday for SactoMoFo 6, the question must be asked: Why do we rarely see food trucks in the city? Two years to the day after SactoMoFo 1, nothing has changed with city ordinances and this has, in fact, caused most of the regions food trucks to give up on the city altogether Ordinances have been at an absolute stand still since last September when the City of Sacramento's Law and Legislation Committee put a kibosh on those pertaining to food trucks on the street. Nevermind that a group of food truck owners, r

Kombucha Kulture debuted its mobile vending trailer Saturday, Oct. 27, offering a host of different flavors of the fermented tea drink growing in popularity. The trailer features six flavors of kombucha, according to a press release, and the Zombie 5K run at Miller Park was the venue. The brewers were Revive, Bùcha, House and Lev’s. A 12-ounce glass runs $3, and a 16-ounce glass costs $4. Owned by Joseph Melrose and Brianne Giatras, Kombucha Kulture was originally envisioned as a brick-and-mortar store to replace the old Hina’s Tea space at 24th and K streets. Unable to secure traditional bank funding, the duo tried to raise $50,000 via the Internet fundraising platform Kickstarter, an

Efforts are still under way to raise funds for rebuilding the McKinley Park playground, which was torched in a suspected arson fire July 28, and a food truck even scheduled for Sunday gives you the chance to grab some grub while supporting the rebuilding efforts. The free event hosted by SactoMoFo will be held at Sutter’s Landing Park at 28th and B streets from noon - 4 p.m. Sunday, and at least 14 food trucks are scheduled to attend. Vendors include Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen, Miz Shirley Marie’s, Simply Southern Foods, Brickoven Pizza, Annie’s Sno Biz Hawaiian Shave Ice, Smoothie Patrol, OMG Burger, Om Karmabile, Volks Waffle California, Swabbies, Tacos Chavinda, Dave’s Dawgs, Coast to

You're used to seeing Sacramento's food trucks in parks, on the streets and, maybe, delivering to your office. But on Saturday, Oct. 13, you can expect to see a gaggle of mobile food vendors at the William B. Pond Recreation Area hosting an event to support the American River Parkway Foundation. Food trucks belonging to the Northern California Food Truck Association will be in attendance, including OM Karmabile, Wicked 'wich, OMG Burger, Fuzion Eatz, Pizza Box, Kombucha Kulture, Squeeze Inn, Mama Kim On the Go, Leila’s Lumpia, Off the Mapp Mobile Espresso, Papa Dale’s Drivin’ Diner, Miz Shirley Marie’s, California Love, Willie’s Burgers and Gypsy Mobile Boutique, according to a press rele

OM Karmabile, a recent addition to the Sacramento food truck scene, serves Indian food with a Fiji twist – and a dose of social responsibility. Like many food truck owners, Voltair and Seronika Ignacio tried to open a traditional restaurant, but couldn’t secure loans in the post-Great Recession business climate. According to Seronika, it turned out to be a good thing. “This seems more convenient for family life,” she said. “We work four days a week, and it’s flexible, and I get some time to stay home with the kids.” Together, they make Indian fusion food based on Seronika’s lifelong pursuit of the culinary arts from Fiji and Voltair’s more traditional Indian tastes. Seronika said she i

It’s been a dream for Sacramento food truck lovers for years: a permanent location for food trucks. A place where a variety of mobile food fare can be available. Somewhere that allows live music, art and other family-friendly events. On Saturday, Sacramentans will get a glimpse of that as a food truck pod sets up at 1425 C St. Property owner Skip Rosenbloom said the industrial buildings currently in the space house artists’ studios, a music recording studio and a glass blower’s workshop. “I think the food trucks are synergistic with lots of complementary uses,” Rosenbloom said. From 5 - 9 p.m. Saturday, more than 10 trucks will take up station in what is being called the “Truk Farm,” a

Twenty food trucks are scheduled to set up at West Sacramento's River Walk Park on Saturday for SactoMoFo's Trucktoberfest mobile food fair. The event is a gathering of food trucks accompanied by live music from local bands and beer, and it serves to celebrate West Sacramento's 25th anniversary. Food trucks scheduled to be at the event include Addy's Paella (paella and tapas), Chairman Bao (Asian fusion), Chando's Tacos, Coast to Coast Sandwiches, Crave (new debut by Krush Burger), Curry Up Now, DavePops, Dave's Dawgs, Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen, El Porteño, Krush Burger, Leila's Lumpia, Simply Southern, Smoothie Patrol, Swabbies on the River, Sweet and Mellow, Volks Waffle California, We

Sunday's Foodmob Street Food Fest is being billed as the Sacramento area's largest gathering of local food trucks to date by Wicked 'wich owner Chris Jarosz. Running from 3 - 8 p.m. Sept. 16, the event will be held at Elk Grove Regional Park, 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Road in Elk Grove. Live music and entertainment will also be on-hand. Food trucks scheduled to be at the event are as follows: Addison's Originals, California Love Truck, El Matador Mobile Mex, Fuzion Eatz, Heavenly Dog, Kombucha Kulture, Local Kine Shave Ice, Mama Kim on the Go, Gypsy Mobile Boutique, Miz Shirley Marie's Cuisine on wheels, OM Karmabile, Off the Mapp Mobile Espresso, OMG Burger, Papa Dale's Drivin' Diner, Ste

This is shaping up to be a good year for Krush Burger owner Davin Vculek: His original food truck is the basis for a traditional restaurant set to open at the end of the year, Sacramento will soon vote on a less restrictive food truck ordinance, and he is a few weeks away from rolling out his next food truck – doing with tacos what Krush Burger did with burgers. “It’s Crave: Modern American Tacos,” Vculek said Wednesday. “We’re going to have a couple of fish options, a shrimp option, a really good pulled pork taco, chicken and possibly a steak taco.” The truck is in the final stages of construction, but it is scheduled to be at the Sept. 29 SactoMoFo Trucktoberfest in West Sacramento. T

The next SactoMoFo mobile food fair will be held at West Sacramento’s Riverwalk Park Sept. 29 to celebrate the city’s 25th anniversary. Dubbed “Trucktoberfest,” it will feature 15 local trucks and five from the Bay Area, though event organizers said the final list of trucks isn’t yet determined. “We’ll have a wide variety of beer offerings, and it’s going to be right on the river,” said Paul Somerhausen of SactoMoFo. Having the event at Riverwalk Park, near the Ziggurat Building at 707 Third St., is something that wouldn’t have been possible when the city incorporated, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said. “This is a celebration for how far we’ve come,” he said. “You couldn’

Most Americans have never had a true Belgian waffle, said Terry Jeske, owner of the Volks Waffle California food truck, and he hopes to give Sacramentans the chance. So, what makes a Belgian waffle truly Belgian? “In America, when you make waffles at home or IHOP or Denny’s, they’re made out of batter, so you pour the batter onto a griddle or an iron,” Jeske explained. “Mine are dough-based. It’s a completely different animal.” Jeske imports his dough from Belgium, where he said bakers have more than a 160-year head-start. Since the dough is the backbone of the business, he won’t say where, exactly, it comes from, but – after being frozen – it leaves the production facility on a truck,

One of Sacramento’s favorite food trucks is expanding to a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the River District north of downtown. Krush Burger – formerly the MiniBurger truck – is expected to open in the new California Lottery Headquarters at 700 North 10th St. sometime in December, owner Davin Vculek said. “It’s going to be our first restaurant,” he said. “That’s why we started this company: to build a quick-service restaurant.” The menu will be similar in content and pricing to that of the Krush Burger truck, but it will be expanded to include more as-yet-unnamed burgers, entrée salads and breakfast. The Krush Burger truck serves about 1,000 burgers per day, including the Ninja, which

About 30 food trucks will gather on Saturday for SactoMoFo 5 under the freeway at Sixth and W streets. What started more than a year ago as a showcase of the food truck scene in protest of city ordinance that food truck operators regard as unfair has gathered a strong following of both trucks and those who love the food. According to SactoMoFo, Saturday’s event will be the biggest one yet, with the amount of new trucks and, like last time, beer. Sacramento’s newest food truck, OMG Burger is scheduled to participate in the event as well [Update: Due to a last-minute permiting delay, OMG Burger will not be able to participate in this SactoMofo, according to event organizers.] The event i

Meet Sacramento’s newest food truck: OMG Burger. Owner Ben Jones said he’s always had a passion for mobile food, and since food trucks are such a popular craze at the moment, he decided to toss his hat in the ring. “I wanted to serve the best burgers in town,” he said Friday. The truck’s signature burger – the OMG burger – is ground-up bacon blended into a beef patty topped with Cool Ranch Doritos and homemade ranch dressing. “All of the burgers are original and creative,” Jones said, adding that the Bahng-Gu Burger is a nod to his half-Korean heritage, a cheeseburger topped with Korean bulgogi and fresh kimchi. His favorite burger, he said, is the Dirty Sanchez, which features carne

No stranger to producing food in a small space, Squeeze Inn owner Travis Hausauer rolled out his newest venture recently – The Squeeze Inn Truck. “Part of it is of course getting in on the food truck craze, but it’s also having the ability to be more involved in the community,” truck owner Ken Bourquin said Tuesday, adding that he has had the truck at fundraiser events for the SPCA and other entities lately. Currently, the focus is making sure the famous burgers match the quality of the ones served in the various brick-and-mortar locations throughout the region, he said. “We have a big name and a good reputation, so I want to make sure that we’re doing justice to the history of The Sque

Pour House will open by the end of next month or early August, operator Trevor Shults said Thursday, adding that the 32 beer taps will feature only craft brews, while whiskeys and bourbons will play a central role in the business’ appeal. “It’s tough to turn the big guys down, but we wont have Coors Light or Bud Light or any of those on draft,” Shults said, adding that he wants to stock local brews such as Ruhstaller, and some up-and-coming beers from the region, with one in particular from Lincoln. “We hope to be the first to bring Hoptologist Double IPA from Knee Deep Brewing,” Shults said, adding that it recently beat Pliny the Elder in a tasting contest. By the time bottled brews ar

Rachel Sprinkle-Strong might just have the perfect name for her bicycle-based ice cream business, Popcycle Creamery. The 44-year-old Sacramentan recently bought a bicycle from a specialty shop in Portland, which has a freezer mounted on the front, which can hold enough of her artisinal ice cream to fit in more than 200 push-pop containers, and she’s already been hitting local events. “I’m really going for pushing the envelope with the flavors,” she said. Flavors include basil with honey and pine nuts, goat cheese and cherry, lavender honey, strawberry balsamic and lemon verbena. “I try to use seasonal ingredients locally sourced whenever possible,” she said, adding that she uses mint f

With this year's extremely crowded playing field, it becomes increasingly important to examine Council candidates' positions on a variety of issues. Trade groups, meeting organizers, advocates and others can't do an analysis of every candidate's position on every important subject facing Sacramento, but we can zero in on on particular areas dear to our hearts. In this vein, SactoMoFo has put together this chart to illustrate candidates' support - or lack thereof - for food trucks, and what role they see restaurant owners taking in the regulation of their competition. A copy of the chart is embedded below, but the full version is eaiser to read and be found here.    Many people see suppor

A new food truck alliance launched in Sacramento last week, one that aims to fundamentally shift the relationship the trucks have with both restaurant owners and the city government. The group, Norcal Food Trucks (@EatNorcalTrucks), was started as both an alternative and a companion to the organization that has represented the food trucks so far – SactoMofo. While SactoMofo is run by food truck advocates, Norcal Food Trucks will be run by the truck owners, according to Chris Jarosz, the owner of the Wicked' Wich truck and one of the organizers behind Norcal. “We want to start representing ourselves,” Jarosz said. “We want to start showing that we have respect for the community…. We want

Tuesday on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program, I talked to host Beth Ruyak about the arena deal, a local business’ history, a new bicycle event and the upcoming SactoMoFo 4. With Friday’s dissolution of the arena deal as it was planned, all parties involved are trying to figure out what to do next. While the Maloofs discussed the possibility of renovating Power Balance Pavilion, city leaders and Think Big Sacramento said Monday that they are still looking into placing an arena in the downtown railyards. A local grassroots group, Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP), is trying to gather the approximately 21,000 signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot that wou