Food truckers rallying again on Sunday

May 16, 201310:14 a.m.

The Flying Stove food truck

Wichita’s food truckers, headed up by the guys at the Flying Stove, have decided to start putting on monthly food truck rallies, usually on the last Sunday of the month.

This month, to avoid Memorial Day weekend, the truckers are gathering a Sunday early. The usual suspects, including the Flying Stove plus B.S. Sandwich Press, .SCakeface, Espresso To Go Go, and R&J Concessions will gather from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at WaterWalk Pavilion. The rally is starting to attract festival-type concessionaires, too. This month, Bakerman Concessions, which specializes in cinnamon rolls, will join the crowd.

The gathering will also have live music, and representatives from the Kansas Humane Society will be there ready to perform on-site adoptions.

Expect the rally to grow in June. Two new trucks, The Hopping Pita and Let’m Eat Brats, have said they’d like to join in, too.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , , , , Filed under Food trucks, Uncategorized | Comments

Food trucks throwing a Cajun party

Feb. 14, 20135:04 p.m.

The Flying Stove’s new Cajun menu

Hold on to those Mardi Gras beads you collected on Tuesday.

The local food truck fleet is gathering in a couple of weeks to put on a belated Mardi Gras party. Spearheaded by the Flying Stove, which just today put out its tempting Cajun menu (mmmmm, Po’ Boy), the event will be from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2, near the WaterWalk Pavilion. The truckers have obtained permission to close down part of Water Street to set up the event, and they’ll have a live jazz band performing.

So far, the usual suspects such as   B.S. Sandwich Press, MMM Sandwiches, Cakeface Bake Shop and Espresso To Go Go are on board and are planning Cajun items for their menus. The Flying Stove guys encourage any other food truckers who are interested in joining in to contact them via their Facebook page.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , Filed under Food trucks | Comments

Flying Stove’s first birthday party

Dec. 11, 201210:53 a.m.

The Flying Stove’s first day in business was Dec. 8, 2011.

A year and hundreds of servings of crying tiger Thai tacos, Umami burger and rolled chicken doobies later, Wichita’s original food truck is celebrating its first birthday surrounded by a bunch of restaurants-on-wheels that followed in its footsteps tire tracks.

The Flying Stove’s owners and operators, brothers Jeff and Rob Schauf, have organized another food truck rally, scheduled for noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22 in the parking lot south of Intrust Bank Arena at Commerce and Waterman. Many of Wichita’s food trucks will participate, including  B.S. Sandwich Press, MMM Sandwiches, Cakeface Bake Shop and Espresso To Go Go. Those same truckers got together in October for a Halloween-themed food truck rally.

If all of you cooperate and vote correctly, I will be reunited with this amazing banh mi sandwich on Dec. 22.

The brothers will be serving free birthday cake and selling their new T-shirts at the Dec. 22 event.

The most exciting part (to me, anyway) is that they’ll also be serving a menu of their greatest food hits from the past year, as voted on by their customers.

The Flying Stove’s Facebook page has on it a slide show of some of the truck’s most popular dishes, including my all time favorite banh mi sandwich. They’re asking customers to vote for their favorites by “liking” the pictures. The top vote getters will make it on to the new menu, which will be served at the rally.

I beg of you all: VOTE FOR THE BANH MI!!!!!!!!!

Voting is open through Friday. Go to the Facebook page and look for the post that’s titled “2012 Greatest Hits Menu.”

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , Filed under Food trucks | Comments

Cake Face: Highway terror and free lunch

Oct. 17, 20121:09 p.m.

The Cake Face food truck and its owners, Summer Schoenhals and her husband, Dave, had a pretty terrifying Monday.

It was before 7 a.m., and they were hauling the trailer on I-235, en route to the Royal Caribbean offices, where they planned to set up for the day.

They hit a bump, and somehow, the trailer detached from the pickup. It was a terrifying few seconds as the trailer drove itself down the highway, headed for the median. Dave thought quickly and pulled his truck in front of the trailer, slowing it down to a stop. Although his truck was only slightly dented, the trailer’s plumbing, flooring and hitch were pretty severely damaged.

The Schoenhals spent the past few days fixing things up, aided by Espresso To Go Go owners Warren and Ann Tandoc. They’ll be back on the street on Thursday, which brings me to my second bit of food truck news.

Cake Face and B.S. Sandwich Press are teaming up with Cox and Verizon for a publicity event that will provide free lunches to visitors.

The events, which are Thursday and Saturday at various Cox stores, are designed to promote a partnership between Cox and Verizon Wireless. Those who visit will get vouchers for free food truck food (available on a first-come, first-served basis) and also can register to win prizes, including an iPad.

Cake Face will be serving from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Cox Solutions store at 1636 N. Rock Road in Derby.  Also on Thursday, B.S. Sandwich Press will serve from noon to 2 p.m. at the Cox Solutions Store at 21st and Maize. And from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Cake Face will be at the Cox Solutions Store at 21st and Rock.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Food trucks | Comments

‘Truck or Treat:’ All the food trucks together

Oct. 12, 20123:24 p.m.

The Flying Stove will be part of the Oct. 26 Truck or Treat event.

A who’s who of Wichita food truckers are planning to gather for a food truck-a-palooza on Friday, Oct. 26.

The Flying Stove, B.S. Sandwich Press, MMM Sandwiches, Cakeface Bake Shop, Espresso To Go Go and Jarhead’s will all be operating from 6 to 9 p.m. that night in the parking lot south of Intrust Bank Arena at Commerce and Waterman.

They’re calling it “Truck or Treat,” and the event will have a Halloween theme. The truckers are encouraging diners to attend in costume, and they’ll be passing out candy. They also plan to project a Halloween theme movie onto a building.

The truckers all got together for a meeting recently to plan the event. They hope to start putting on similar gatherings on a monthly basis.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Food trucks | Comments

Wichita food trucks gathering for a cause

April 25, 20124:09 p.m.

The only problem with the cooperative agreement worked out by three Wichita food trucks: How am I supposed to decide which one to patronize???

On Sunday, The Flying Stove, MMM Sandwiches and B.S. Sandwich Press will gather in one place to help raise money for victims of the recent tornado in Wichita.

All three will be set up in the parking lot of the Wichita Ice Center, 505 W. Maple, from noon to 3 p.m., when they’ll participate in the center’s Thunder Tailgate Party.

Here's what The Flying Stove will be serving. I have it on good authority that it's ALL delish.

That event lasts from noon to 4 p.m. and also includes a live band. The three food trucks will donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to tornado relief efforts.

Attendees are encouraged to bring canned food items, which will be gathered and donated to victims.

Actually, I’ll probably choose MMM Sandwiches on Sunday, simply because I’ve already dined at the other two trucks and one blog reader has informed me that MMM Sandwiches’ Cuban is “the best thing that has ever been in my face.”

UPDATE: I’ve just learned that all three food trucks also are teaming up with Johnson’s Garden Center on Thursday (4/26) for what the business is calling “Food Truck Thursday.” From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., one of the food trucks will be serving at a different Johnson’s around town. The Flying Stove will be at 21st and Woodlawn. MMM Sandwiches will be at 2707 W. 13th. And B.S. Sandwich Press will be at 802 N. Ridge Road.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , Filed under Food trucks, Fundraisers, Sandwiches | Comments

ANOTHER food truck: B.S. Sandwich Press

April 12, 20121:20 p.m.

The 'B.S.' stands for Buchanan-style, but owners will let you think what you wish.

Every time I go outside these days, I find another food truck.

Yesterday, I discovered B.S. Sandwich Press, which is actually sort of a food trailer. Owned by Doug Buchanan and run with help from his sister, Jodi, the orange trailer hit the streets earlier this week. It offers a menu of panini sandwiches served with hand cut fries and homemade chips.

The duo is still trying to figure out the best place to park their business each day but so far have been focusing on locations in south Wichita. When I found them on Wednesday, they were in a parking lot behind the Double Tree hotel at Mid-Continent Airport. They’ve also frequented the parking lot outside the 4501 Building at Spirit, which is at 47th and Oliver.

Owner Doug Buchanan and his sister, Jodi.

Like other food truckers in town, the Buchanans post their location each day on their Facebook page. For now, they’re just doing lunch but hope to find some places to park during evening hours as well. Their daily hours are roughly 11 a.m. to 1:30 or 2 p.m.

For more information, dial up the trailer at 316-494-3735.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Food trucks, Just opened, Sandwiches | Comments