Food trucks growing in city

Imagine this: it's 1p.m., and your morning class has just let out.  You barely had time to brush your teeth this morning, let alone have breakfast, and you're famished.  As you stumble out of the elevator, dreading yet another soggy burger from Dairy Queen or bland wrap from Potbellys, you see it: a large white truck with an awning and a menu board, parked right outside the school.

Better yet, as you walk outside, you smell delicious flavors like wild boar belly, braised lamb and duck, and Eggplant caponata fill the air, beckoning you closer.  Suddenly, Dairy Queen feels a hundred miles away.  Am I dreaming, you wonder?

Well, this dream soon could be a reality, as food trucks are beginning to hit the street in growing numbers in Chicago, although not without a certain amount of hurdles still to clear.  As it stands, laws on the books prohibit certain types of food preparation from being performed in anything but a city-certified kitchen, which cannot be mobile.  Food must be prepared and then transported in hotboxes to its destination. This is why you see many vendors of tamales and hot dogs, as these items keep relatively well in such conditions.  

Chefs who value the freshness of their presentation often find these rules understandably hard to manage.  But two local chefs, Phillip Foss and Matt Maroni, decided to take the matter into their own hands, crafting elaborate business plans for food trucks and soliciting their local aldermen to help change the laws.  

Maroni's truck, called "Gaztro-Wagon," is already up and running, and the food is phenomenal: his "naanwiches," sandwiches prepared with the Indian bread naan, feature local and seasonal ingredients such as butternut squash, chicken thighs, fingerling potatoes, and even lobster.  

Most sandwiches are $7 or $8, and paired with an order of crispy, fried plantain chips ($2), it's a meal you're sure to remember, especially if you only had to walk a few feet to get it.

The Gaztro-Wagon informs potential hungry patrons of its whereabouts via twitter (@wherezthewagon,) or you can also sample their wares at their storefront in Edgewater at 5973 N. Clark St.  Better yet, suggest they park the truck around Wabash and Jackson for an hour or two.  I'm sure more than a few hungry students would be glad to see them.