Not surprisingly, L.A. and New York were two of the first cities to see the rise of street vendors on wheels – many of whom update their locations via Twitter, blog posts, text messages, and/or websites.  People scurry to the locations of the popular ones in droves.  L.A. is famed for Kogi BBQ which marries Korean food with Mexican (think a burrito with Korean filling) while N.Y. has such inventive ones as the Treats Truck and the Dessert Truck which serve up gourmet desserts on the street.  (The Dessert Truck was even featured on an episode of Bobby Flay’s Throwndown on the Food Network).

My near and dear city of Boston is sadly lacking in these types of mobile street vendors for the most part, but I’m heading to Seattle later this month and I’m excited to try at least one of their well-known street vendors.  The first vendor in Seattle that I heard about was Skillet Street Food, known for serving up gourmet, bistro-style food using local ingredients.  They serve up breakfast and lunch and they seem to be famous for their bacon jam (featured in burgers and other items).   And, you’ve got to check out the site of Maximus/Minimus because they have the most unique wheels – they’ll make you squeal!  And, the food sounds good, too – mostly pork and veggie sandwiches.  The sandwiches are available with Maximus Sauce or Minimus Sauce – Maximus is spicy and Minimus is sweet and tangy.  And, finally, Marination creates unique Korean-Hawaiian inspired dishes such as Kimchi Quesadillas, spicy meat dishes and even some Spam-based meals (think I’ll skip those…but the menu’s definitely intriguing).  Serious Eats has a great list of street food carts in the U.S. and Canada that use Twitter if you’re looking for more!

I love this concept – gourmet food for the masses – affordable, quick, and at a corner near you soon!