(Photo: Pagva Victor)
By Jere Downs | The Courier-Journal
(Photo: Pagva Victor)
Question: What is your story?
Answer: We are the Traveling Kitchen. We specialize in Korean-fusion tacos and pan-fried or deep-fried dumplings. I opened my truck 3-and-a-half years ago, around the end of 2011. My name isPagva Victor. Traveling Kitchen was the first food truck on a busy downtown street at a parking meter to serve lunch, including locations at 5th and Market, Humana Waterside, the medical district near Preston and Chestnut Streets and Waterfront Tower. Before us, all the downtown crowd had never ordered lunch from a food truck. Nowadays on those spots, you could easily find at least 2 or 3 different food trucks. We typically sell out every single day. Even before we open our window, lines start forming. Around noon, the peak time of lunch rush, the line is 20-30 deep. That is normal. Even in winter time, around 30 degrees outside, we still sell a lot. I guess that I am trying to say is we are doing something right and all this hard work pays off.
Q: What food do you serve?
A: All our meats are hand-cut and marinated overnight. We have five different tacos. They are: Korean Bulgogi Beef Tacos, Spicy Pork, Teriyaki Chicken, Tempura-Fish, and Tempura-Veggie Tacos. The customers love to get a combo of three different tacos combos, what we call “Taco-Trio.” They also love to start with pan or deep fried dumplings (yakimandu or gyoza).
Q: How do people find you?
A:Facebook and Twitter are our main communication tools to let my customers know our location and hours. Also, the food truck locating apps are becoming a new gem. I don’t take advance orders. The social media help so much for food trucking business. The customers could find us, know what is special today and so on. I get lots of feedback from Yelp and Urbanspoon. For example, I receive around 100 hits weekly on Yelp.
Q: What are the biggest rewards of serving food from a truck?
A: We love to bring something totally new and unique. Nobody knew what is bulgogi or kimchi was when we started. Now, everyone wants it and has waited sometimes in the snow or rain in the line for 15-25 minutes and would not seem to mind!
Q: What’s your beef?
A: Our main complaint is probably the bad weather. However, we are proud to say Traveling Kitchen is the only food truck which has worked year around without having down time for the past 3 years.
Q: Which food truck inspires you?
A: Kogi, a Korean taco truck from Los Angeles, inspired me. Kogi was the first nationally recognized food truck.
Q: What is your mission?
A: Our mission is to bring unique, authentic food to the streets of Louisville. We truly believe the fusion is a new movement to bring more exciting food. I am very happy to serve the food which I grew up with to the public.
How to find the Traveling Kitchen
The Traveling Kitchen can be reached at (502) 533-0855, pagva@yahoo.com, on Facebook and @travelingkitche Twitter. You can also find Louisville area food trucks in real time at www.FoodTruckLouisville.com
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/food/2015/06/19/traveling-kitchen/28930603/
