Georgia Magazine - June 2018 - 43

RYAN JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

though he is planning to move to a
larger building, "I won't give up the
food truck," he says.
You'll also find food trucks at several Georgia wineries and breweries
on weekends and when they open
for special events. At Etowah Meadery near Dahlonega, Anastasia Davis
brings Greek street fare, including
fresh-made pita bread and gyros, in
her Street Stix Catering & Food Truck
to pair with the company's meads
and sometimes wheels up to Terrapin
Beer Co. in Athens.
At Kennesaw's Dry County Brewing Co., you'll often find David Johnson with his Habanero Grill Food
Truck. A graduate of Kennesaw State

University's culinary program, he specializes in Southwestern and Mexican
street fare. Johnson relies on fresh
ingredients from local farmers and
makes fresh salsa daily.
Taking the farm-to-table concept
one step further, Brandon Wilson of
Gonzo Gourmet Food owns a farm
in Dahlonega. After ditching a career
in journalism, Wilson went back for
a culinary degree from the University
of Tennessee in Knoxville. He built
his food truck from the ground up
and landed in Dahlonega, where he
bought about 5 acres, in 2016.
"We make almost everything
from scratch" and use a lot of produce from his farm, he says, adding
that he specializes in Nashville hot
chicken and makes his own sausages.

CARLOS GALARZA / THE GAINESVILLE TIMES

National trends reflected in
Georgia

New York-born Kathleen Canavan-Lima, left,
and Elizabeth Esteves, originally from Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, share duties on their Oba!
Brazilian Cuisine food truck.
June 2018

No cuisine is off-limits in the
food-truck world. Matt Geller, founder and CEO of the Los Angeles-based
National Food Truck Association,
helps get food trucks started nationwide. He finds a wide variety in what
owners are offering, and their innovation, he says, is heating up the competition not only among food trucks
but also among restaurants, pressuring them to be more innovative.
"The trend is always different, in
constant flux," he says, adding: "At
first, there was lots of Asian fusion.
Now there's Indian street food. And
[now] lobster." He predicts there will
be more South American trucks.
Georgia reflects this national
More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

Left: Jacob Skelton's 302 South Street
restaurant in Carrollton has been able to
establish a thriving catering business since
launching its food truck. Above: The 302
South Street Food Truck serves a substantial dish that Skelton calls Loaded Pork Mac
'n' Cheese; see page 44 for the recipe.

trend of food trucks specializing in
lobster dishes. The Los Angeles-based
Cousins Maine Lobster food truck is
here. Its Atlanta truck owner, Tony
Harrison, is president of the board of
the Food Truck Association of Georgia, founded in 2016 and based in
Sandy Springs. The lobster roll, the
truck's signature dish, soon will be
available at its upcoming restaurant at
Lenox Square mall in Atlanta.
Georgia's food trucks also bear
out Geller's prediction of more South
American fare bursting onto the foodtruck scene.
Peru is famous for its street fare,
and Mikiel Arnold, born in Trujillo,
Peru, carries on this tradition with
his food truck, The Freakin Incan.
The truck's success in purveying such
Peruvian staples as lomo saltado (a
stir-fry of beef strips and French fries
served over rice) and ceviche has
led to brick-and-mortar locations in
Tucker and Roswell.
Warner Robins native Jada Smith
and her Venezuela-born husband,
J.C., opened Sofrito Fusion Food
Truck in March 2016-the first fulltime food truck in Houston County,
she says.
"We do a fusion of our two cultures," she notes. "We do empanadas-some traditional and some not,
such as a bacon cheeseburger and a
pepperoni pizza. And patacón, a fried
plantain sandwich."
Gainesville-based Kathleen Can43

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2018