Vicksburg needs a food truck culture

Published 10:28 am Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Delicious. Efficient. Cheap.

These are the reasons I fell in love with the food trucks in Shreveport, first, and eventually other cities like Washington, D.C., New York and Seattle.

In Shreveport I fell in love with Dat’s Nacho Truck, Some Like It Hot (Greek Cuisine) and Jester’s Food Truck (Cajun/Creole).

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But it was Lilah’s Mobile Bakery that stole my heart. Artisan grilled cheeses with a ton of options that I didn’t even know I needed in my life sealed the deal.

The unique names also caught my attention, including the Southern Gent, Ragin’ Cajun and Grownup Grilled Cheese.

It’s gourmet food trucks like Lilah’s that have inspirited the food truck culture that has swept the nation by storm.

When I was in college in Ruston, La., everyone knew, loved and flocked to the Tacos the Guero.

I for one appreciated the late-night hours of the taco truck. While they were most likely intending to attract the bar crowd, it also succeeded in drawing in the late-night study crowd.

The convenience wasn’t the only thing that kept me coming back. Even with limited options, fish, pork or beef tacos or quesadillas made on corn or flour tortillas, the food truck still put Taco Bell to shame.

Now, less than an hour east of Vicksburg in Jackson, there is Dinner and a Movie: a Food Truck Festival. People from all around flock to the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Art Garden to catch a see a movie on the screen on the green and sample delicacies from various food trucks.

I know what you’re thinking, “yeah, but that’s Jackson. They’re large enough to support the culture.” A city much more comparable to Vicksburg, Tupelo has also starting growing a food truck industry with Two Dudes Mexican Food, Local Mobile and Memphis Style BBQ on Wheels.

According to the Mississippi Food Truck Association, trucks across the state are serving up serving unique specialties like brat, caramel apples and fried tamales.

Food trucks would only help Vicksburg economy and culture. The trucks generally have hyper-focused niches that could bring out foodies in search of exotic cuisine.

While the options offered by existing restaurants are great, having food trucks downtown would provide quick grab and go options for shoppers and increase the overall synergy of the area.

We’ve seen how popular food trucks and trailers can be at events and festivals such as River Fest and the Old Court House Flea Market, so why not push to bring them here year-round?

If you’re still not sold on the idea of food trucks, I recommend logging on to Netflix and checking out The Great Food Truck Race from Food Network. The series follows seven of the country’s best food trucks compete for customers as they cross the country.

Let’s bring food trucks to Vicksburg.