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Dayton Food Trucks

Ribbon Cutting, Food Truck Rally and Car Show on Flag Day

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32340_500946306612490_1179577479_nCreative Banners Flags & Poles  will celebrate their 35th anniversary with a ribbon cutting and food rally on Friday, June 14th at their new location, 1006 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering.   This family owned and operated business will welcome the first 25 guests in after the ribbon cutting with a free 3′ x 5′ American flag.  Browse the selection of flags that include a variety of  US, state, college, sports and seasonal selections as well as custom flags and hardware to hang flags.  They also

Guests are invited to continue the celebration by dining at one of the  four food trucks that will be on site from 5pm  until about 9pm and enjoy a Classic Car & Muscle Car Show.  Scheduled to attend are Harvest Mobile Cuisine, G’s Cue  BBQ, McNasty’s & Zombie Dogz.

June First Friday MIX 107.7 Food Truck Rally!

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MVMFA_logo circletagFirst Friday brings the second ever Dayton Food Truck Rally to downtown!  Last month six trucks lined up at Riverscape and on a dreary day that rained off an on all day, no one was sure what to expect.  The food truck operators weren’t sure whether to cancel due to weather, or show up, but how many to prep for?  What they found was an overwhelming turnout, where guests lined up in the rain by the hundreds!  Lines reached from the streets almost back to the pavilion. The turn out  was huge and for some of the trucks it was more than they had on hand.  What they learned is that Dayton loves street food!

So this First Friday there will be a dozen trucks lined up, more food prepped and Synergy Incubators has been working with the Miami Valley Mobile Food Association to help the truck entrepreneurs to work on efficiency, and quicker customer service!  For many of these local entrepreneurs, they are learning as they go.  And they are not the only ones learning- existing local ordinances, laws and regulations pertaining to food service were written decades ago, long before anyone had ever heard of a food truck. Most cities and counties do not even acknowledge the existence of “food truck” in their code, which poses challenges, permitting delays and lack of consistent information for the modern day food truck warrior.  By forming the formal association (MVMFA) they can work together to help navigate and change the laws that allow these pioneers to bring food to underserved areas of town.  They are also educating the public, mobile food now covers so much more than just a hot dog cart with an umbrella (speaking of which Craig’s Pesto Hot Dogs serves up a yummy Reuben Dog).   A colorful, gleaming, fully equipped food truck can cost upwards of $120,000. Add to that the graphics wrap, menu development, gas, maintenance, insurance, truck storage, permitting fees, biz licenses and suddenly, what some may consider a weekend hobby, is now a full-on investment. And yes they do have to pay sale tax!1898_1366753074

These restaurants on wheels are creating a whole new business niche, serving up gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, locally sourced foods and gourmet cupcakes.  Many of them aspire to grow into bricks and mortar eateries .  Being mobile allows them to research locations that work best for their particular food offerings.  Many of the trucks have constantly changing menus.  What they all have in common is they love to serve up food and they thrive on the challenges of each outing.

Tonight’s event with Miami Jacobs College is Mix 107.7’s Pre-Summer Fest Party, featuring a live band, and ticket giveaways to the June 15th Sheryl Crow show at Fraze Pavillion.  The party will begin at 6pm at 110 North Patterson, and is scheduled to run until 10pm or until the food runs out!

Trucks You’ll  Probably See Tonight:

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Cheeky Meat Pies

Fressa

G’s Cue BBQ

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Harvest Mobile Cuisine


Horseless Buggy Eatery
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Kona Ice

Ringo’s North Star Mobile Eatery


The Monchon

945633_172982419537706_1042121669_nTik’s Thai Express Mobile

 

Another Food Truck Hits the Dayton Streets

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RingosTruckDayton’s newest food truck will hit the street this Thursday serving “the perfect combination of the familiar and the offbeat.”  Ringo’s North Star Mobile Eatery will feature favorites like gourmet burgers, quesadillas, and pizza, as well as unique and unusual items like apple-cranberry brie fritters and deep fried asparagus. Their menu  will change daily, and co-owner Joy Ring, who describes herself as chief helper to her  proprietor husband Dave, explains,
“the feeling that we’re going for with the truck is that of being on a road trip and discovering some cool little place along the way that you remember forever.  Our menu will vary, but we’ll always have pizza by the slice from our stone-hearth oven, and will most often feature a “road trip burger” based on various cities we’ve enjoyed visiting, like the Albuquerque burger topped with green chiles, or the Minneapolis “Juicy Lucy” with cheese nestled inside the burger.

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Henry David Thoreau Quesidilla

Because we’re also avid readers, we have a line of literary quesadillas (there’s the offbeat part) like the Henry David Thoreau with mushrooms, leeks, and goat cheese, or the Larry McMurtry with chicken, cheddar jack cheese, and “Texas caviar” salsa featuring black-eyed peas, multi-colored peppers, onions, and cilantro.  Our goal is that each experience will be a new adventure, like finding a new favorite place while traveling that becomes the highlight of your trip – that special combination of comfort and discovery, a little vacation in the middle of even the most ordinary of days.”

The intend to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner on the street, at your workplace, at private parties and festivals, too.  If you’d like to request the truck for an event feel free to give them a call or text at 937.474.4944 and be sure tot follow them at twitter.com/ringosnorthstar for menu and locations updates. 

Here’s where you can catch them this week:

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Brie fritters stuffed with apple and cranberry

Thursday, April 25, 11-1:30: Our Dayton metro area debut!


Bing Design
126 Center College St.
Yellow Springs, Ohio

Saturday, April 27 5-10 pm: Great local food, great local beer!

The Dayton Beer Company
912 E. Dorothy Lane
Kettering, Ohio

And, yes—they accept credit and debit cards! 

Walking Dead Food Adventure & Zombie Dogz at Horror Hound Weekend

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‘Juan of the Dead’ Zombie Dog

Here is something you will not see anywhere else.  The Big Ragu and Crew had a VIP experience at last weekend’s Horror Hound convention in Sharonville.  We had a Food Adventure with Merle & Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead (Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker)!  Featured along with the Cast of the Walking Dead and many celebrities was a Dayton’s own,  Zombie Dogz.  Typically a food truck, it was a little different this time for the gourmet hot dog masters.   They operated out of a catering booth inside the convention center.     Owners of  Zombie Dogz,  Lee and David VanArtsdalen and Horror Hound Magazine’s Eric Crowley personally invited us to the event and set us up for an unforgettable Food Adventure.

The Big Ragu and Crew shared some iconic Dayton foods with the celebrities:

We had a Zombie Dog with a Reservoir Dog.  That’s right, we dined and joked with Michael Madsen.  Michael was a great sport, and he didn’t carve our ear off.   He shared some good Hollywood stories and laughs with us.  We also learned he was telling other celebrities about his time with us and the Zombie Dogz.

Legendary horror film director John Carpenter also enjoyed one of Dayton’s Zombie Dogz with us, while he was wearing some pretty sweet black velvet sweat pants.  It was almost as scary as his film “Halloween.”   Meeting this giant of the film industry was priceless.

We gave a hungry Twisted Sister Frontman Dee Snider some Mikesell’s Good n Hot Potato chips.  In fact, the whole cast of his show “Holliston” shared the bag.  What does Dee wanna do with his chips?  ‘He wants them hot, HOT !’   This Celebrity Apprentice star loved the taste of Mikesells, and we were not ‘fired’ in the boardroom.

Dee Snider from Twisted Sister & Celeb Apprentice loves Mikesells Chips

The star of the scary Candyman movies Tony Todd, loved the box of Esther Price Candies we gave him.   He enjoyed them so much, he gave us a high five the next day.   Even movie stars like the Candyman love Esther Price Candies !

Remember the classic 60’s TV show The Munsters?  Well, we ate Muenster cheese with Eddie Munster, thanks to Murray’s Cheese from Kroger in Centerville.  Eddie, played by Butch Patrick, appreciated it so much, he signed a photo for us!

The  Big Ragu and Crew ate lunch with Bengals Defensive Tackle Domata Peko .  We enjoyed some LaRosa’s Pizza while sitting with his family.  Domata is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.  He is also a horror movie fan like us,  and was excited to meet the various celebs.

Where else can you see this kind of stuff?  Only here, only Food Adventures and Dayton Most Metro.  Often imitated, never duplicated.

The Big Ragu also shared French Bread and Perrier Sparkling Mineral Water with 80’s babe Diane Franklin from the movie “Better Off Dead.”  If you saw the movie, you get the significance of the food items, ‘and to drink…. Peru’ .  These days Diane is promoting her new book “Diane Franklin: The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s.”  You can buy the book here on Amazon.com.

We hung out with other famous horror actors including Lew Temple, Sid Haig, Tom Savini,  Irwin Keyes, Robert Mukes and many other costumed monsters.  The original car from the movie Christine was there, we wanted to take it to the Root Beer Stande Drive in but she turned us down.  Special mention to our friends at S.T.A.R.S Cincinnati, a costumed fan group of the movie “Resident Evil.”  They do charity appearances and their slogan is “We kill zombies for charity.”  Speaking of Zombies….

The “Calling in Dead” Zombie Dog has Mac N Cheese on top

About Zombie Dogz:

Have you tried a Zombie Dog?  These hot dogs are so big, that they almost look like kielbasa sausages.  The menu at Zombie Dogz is pretty simple.  It all starts with large, juicy all beef hot dog.    The hot dog is placed into a wonderful sandwich roll, strong enough to hold the hot dog and ingredients intact.  What makes a zombie dog special is the choice of toppings.  Each Zombie Dog has a creative name based on those toppings.  The menu is constantly evolving with new creations, but The Big Ragu and Hungry Jax ate these hot dogs all weekend and want to share our favorites.

Zombe’ Grande – The all beef hot dog is topped with cheese queso sauce, lettuce, cilantro sour cream, jalapeno bacon bits and crushed corn chips.  The mix of the cheese sauce and crushed corn chips are a gooey, tasty combination that won us over.  This was definitely one of our favorites

Juan of the Dead – An all beef frank topped with Swiss cheese, homemade bbq pulled pork, sweet and tangy mustard and pickles.  The pulled pork and pickles really make this gourmet hot dog.  The Big Ragu say this is a must eat!

The Nibbler – This time they wrap the hot dog in bacon, then smother it in spicy chili.  The zombie dog is then topped off with diced red onion, sweet & tangy mustard, and shredded muenster cheese.  This one really woke up our taste buds and is a Food Adventure in your mouth.

Owners Dave and Lee VanArtsdalen of Zombie Dogz, with Co-founder/Marketer Michael Whitaker

Calling in Dead  – This over the top creation tops the hot dog with homemade mac n cheese.  The creamy mac n cheese is cooked in truffle oil for a magnificent flavor.  The final touch in this hot dog is a sprinkle of truffle salt and cracker crumbs.  This hot dog was so rich, we could hardly finish it.  It packed a powerful punch on our appetites, but we couldn’t stop eating it.

Brain Daddy – This was the most Caribbean style hot dog that we tried.  The all beef dog is topped with slow roasted mango habanero pulled pork.  It was also topped with pineapple-cherry salsa.  The final dash of white and black sesame seeds finishes this masterpiece.  This gourmet dog promises to have your taste buds dancing the mambo.

The Horror Hound Weekend was incredible. We got to meet Dayton horror film makers like our pals from Concept Media Films.  We even bought a couple of their Dayton-made DVD’s!  Meanwhile The Big Ragu was distracted by the Jersey girls over at GorgeousAndGory.com.  Supporting local people and making new Food Adventure fans seemed to sum up this fantastic experience.

This Zombie Dog is called “The Nibbler”

Miami Valley foodies should keep their eye open for events featuring the Zombie Dogz Food Truck and their unique creations.  The hot dogs will satisfy your hunger at the not so bad price of $6.50 per dog.  There are even have veggie dog options.  Want to catch Zombie Dogz Food Truck’s next event?  Then visit Dayton’s Crafty-Con on April 5th.  The event will be held from 5pm to 11pm at the Yellow Cab Building on 700 East 4th St.   Tell the zombies that The Big Ragu sent you !

 

Feel free to comment on the Zombie Dogz Food Truck below.  Also share any thoughts about Horror Hound Weekend as well.

“Like” Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking here, unless you are scared of zombies and good times.

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