By Joy Summers | CityPages.com
Spend any amount of time with Kari Offerdahl and Amy Frechette of Fork in the Road food truck and it’s apparent they’re so much more than business partners. “Can you work in that Amy’s single?” joked Kari. Friends since the age of two, they grew up in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood. Their families were friends and stayed close through the years.
Until last year Amy was living in Los Angeles, while Kari stayed in Minnesota, got married, and began raising a family. The two remained tight and knew that some day they would like to do something together–something big.
A fan of the L.A. food truck scene, inspiration struck Amy, but she hesitated calling Kari right away. “I was scared. I think I waited a week -“
“A day,” interrupts Kari.
“At least a day before I called her. I mean, what if she said no? I called her up and said sit down, get a glass of wine.”
“So, I grabbed a Miller Lite and sat down.” Amy needn’t have worried, Kari loved the idea.
The thrill and terror of starting their own business built. They tracked down a truck through eBay, a journey that brought them out to Las Vegas to find a nearly new truck that was bright purple. With a little help they got it back to Minnesota and got it ready, as Amy packed up her life in L.A. and made her way back home. Kari and all their friends and family surprised her with the now nearly neon orange truck and customized T-shirts and hats. Everyone that cared about them was on board with the big move. Both their dads have helped with the occasional truck repair and tweak.
They launched last year and were the only truck crazy enough to stay on the roads this entire, frigid, long winter. “We might be reconsidering that this year.” Their weekend catering business has been keeping them busy when they aren’t cruising the streets.
While both hail from Minneapolis, the truck can be found primarily in St. Paul, which they say has been great to work with.
Typical menu items are the devourable pulled pork with carmelized onions, an egg salad sandwich so popular that customers demand it even when not listed on the menu, and the salty, creamy, crunchy turkey with bacon sandwich that comes dressed with a lichen-colored avocado mayonnaise. The Fork in the Road truck ladies were kind enough to share the recipe with us. “Kari and I eat this as a dip with chips, too. It’s simple and delicious.”
Avocado Mayo
1 cup of Hellman’s mayonnaise
1 large clove of garlic, grated into the mayo
1 large avocado, small dice
Pinch of kosher salt
Mix all the ingredients and enjoy!
