Tretakoff Musings

Count me as one of the fans of the exploding gourmet food truck revolution: the quality of these lunch or light dinner bites, combined with the short term availability, make them a compelling draw for me. Here in SF, we have amazing choices, like the Bacon Bacon truck, the Rib Whip , and An The Go , among dozens of others. One of my favorite parts of the summer was the Friday night Food Truck Crush at the Larkspur Ferry building: 5 or so of the region's finest, lined up to tantalize me with their offerings as I disembarked from the City. Delicious. Recently, the food truck phenomenon is getting a little uglier. Traditional restaurants, paying rent for fixed space in a desirable location, are seeing their customers siphoned off by trucks parked just outside. Free economy, right? Sure, but these trucks are sometimes coming to the same spot daily, staying for hours, and taking up parking and commerce spots, in some cases obscuring the storefronts of their competition. Restau...

How's this for a "fresh" way to use Twitter? The BakerTweet is a device that allows bakeries to post the goodies coming out of the oven to Twitter. Passionate baked goods fans already are salivating, but the ability to get notified when the latest warm bready creations are served piping hot down the street from you should attract even the most jaded culinary tastes. Because the bakery staff should not be distracted from their craft, the BakerTweet allows the user to simply rotate a dial to the current steaming delicacy, and press a single button: no laptop typing, no cell phones. This is being used in the UK so far, but the warm ovens of the selected US purveyors should definitely take note, especially with the recent popularity of Twitter and those roving gourmet food trucks.

I've been delighted with the comeback of the slider. From the humble White Castle beginnings, it has shown up with increasing regularity in many eateries, such as The Cheesecake Factory and more. The best sliders I've ever had were lovingly, organically made by some of the most loving, organic people I know, and still are the gold standard I compare everything to. Word comes today that I may be able to enjoy some sliders on my airport trips, as Johnny Rockets, that ubiquitous throwback eatery, is now adding 6 varieties of sliders to the menu, along with other so-called "mini-foods." I expect to see more clever variations on the theme soon, at other establishments. Salmon sliders? Buffalo sliders? Ostrich sliders? Maybe a chain that just serves miniature food? Oh, the marketing possibilities... In any case, join me in hailing the current ascent of the slider in our world. Go grab some for lunch, and celebrate.