Street food has arrived. Heralded in the mainstream press, honored at its own awards ceremony, celebrated through a dedicated channel of video podcasts; we are in the midst of a full-fledged fad, dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as Food Truck Nation .
Philadelphia has a long food truck tradition. Generations of college students have patronized the legions of falafel stands, mobile soul food kitchens, and taco carts clustered in University City and on the streets around Temple. Fresh fruit stands, Asian noodle carts, and cheesesteak and sausages grills are noontime fixtures on the sidewalks around City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, and the Center City financial district.
The real game-changer has been Twitter. Tech-savvy proprietors have tapped into the real time marketing potential of Twitter's brief, cell phone-friendly missives. Like the jangly tune of a 21st century Good Humor truck, Twitter tweets broadcast menu specials and truck locations, drawing lunchtime crowds by the dozen, even hundreds.
For more information on Philadelphia's food trucks:
Pennfood trucks.com compiles reviews and locations for nearly 50 trucks in the vicinity of the University of Pennsylvania campus.
Yelp maintains a food stand category where contributors post their own user reviews.
Philadelphia Weekly has published a food cart field guide.
The podcasts on VendrTV, founded by University of the Arts grad Daniel Delaney, profile the street food scene for Philadelphia and beyond, including episodes contributed by the local team of Salt Pepper Ketchup.
