My name is Andrew Steifer, I’m a recent Culinary Graduate and student of the Wines and Spirits. Oh, and at one point I made my own Beer… I sorta miss it.
I’ve held a few entry level jobs throughout the industry, do a little private catering on the side, and organize wine/cocktail tasting dinners for the family now and then. I’ve lived north of the Minneapolis area for all of my life, but it has only been in the last 25% of it or so that food and drink has ruled me. Don’t ask me how I got into culinary, I still don’t quite understand it myself (I find one really does with the best interests…).
At this point one might be asking why I, of all people, am so qualified to tell YOU about food; hell, there are enough professional food critics as it is.
Well, in response there are probably a few things which I could say. I could tell you my recent years learning about Food and Wine has not only broadened my palette but my knowledge in a very wide hodgepodge of culinary thingamajigs; I could tell you I’ve eaten both the simplest of home cooked comfort food and the highest skilled techniques and every kind of gray in between; I could tell you that I’ve always seemed to have a good habit of understanding and observing the good and bad qualities of Food from multiple levels and viewpoints; I could tell you about the well organized lists of restaurants I make whenever I travel to a new city (along with map, dotted locations, updating… you get the picture); and I could tell you that I’m a highly opinionated b@$#%*! who has a habit of placing different kinds of food and wine techniques, items, etc into separate categories and qualifications to prove whether or not they’re good enough to be recognized.
I could tell you all of that and more, and I guess they’re all true to a degree… but they only have the smallest role in why I ever thought I should write this blog. The real reason, is probably the exact same as why you yourself are even reading this.
I’m a Foodie.
I love food, I love drink, but most of all for the current purposes I love Food Trucks! So much so I made a goal of eating at every single one in Minnesota, even before I even knew about blogs. And I love SHARING my discoveries with people, every single time I find something special I show whoever I can (just ask my Sis). In my opinion that’s the best qualification there is, because when I want to learn about a restaurant or new food movement, I prefer a Foodie like me who loves our world just as much as I do, because those are the people who are going to tell you every cool thing whether you want them to or not.
And that’s about it; there’s a cat sleeping on my bed right now I’m about to attack with pets and cuddles, so I shall leave you to understanding me through the words I speak. If there is anything else about my life you’re curious about, just ask; can’t say I’ll tell you everything, but I’ll try and at least say something sarcastic and funny to compensate.
She likes boxes… and sinks…
Enjoy my Blog!
Reviews on Wheels 
Andrew,
I love your blog. Thanks for covering this important topic. I was wondering if you might give me some advice. I would like to hire 1-2 food trucks for my daughter’s high school graduation party. I can spend a fair amount but was a bit surprised when I made my first call to Smack Shack and their minimum is $4,000. This is for June 2 (Sunday) from 4-7. Can you please make a recommendation for great food/reasonable priced trucks?
Thank you! Kathy
Thanks Kathy, I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying my blog!
As for the catering concept, I’m not sure how much I could help you there; I’ll officially admit that I haven’t paid too much attention on who caters and who doesn’t (thanks for helping bring this to light for me, it’s something I’ll consider from now on). And yes, Smack Shack is… exorbitant, to put it nicely…
Let me first say, if you don’t need the trucks to be there, Potter’s new restaurant opens up tomorrow and they do delivery, so there’s a possibility they might be able to do an interesting delivery-catering option for you. And you never know, they might be able to send a truck over for an event too (they do have two of them); if you can get them, I think they’d be a pretty fun, unique thing to have for a graduation party (and they make their daily special pasties from customer suggestions, so you could probably get your own personally-designed ones). You would definitely need to ensure you have a second food truck though, just pasties would be a pretty limited catering.
Of trucks that I know cater… Cafe Racer is a recent one I like, and their options really fit catered parties well. I think Bloomy’s caters, Roast Beef sandwiches and traditional sides, would make for a good basic kind of catering party.
Oh, World Street Kitchen should definitely be looked into; I know they officially catered this one wine tasting I was at, so I’m sure something could be worked out. And the food is fun and unique. R.A. Mac Sammy’s should cater as well, it’s fun and good but not sure if you want someone to cater purely around Mac n Cheese (though maybe you do, depends on how you feel like organizing it all).
And if you’re still unsure and want to look into Trucks with an interesting menu to cater, Vellee Deli and SCRATCH are always some of my favorites. They have different types of food with underlying flavor unities to make a fun focus for a party.
I HOPE this can help you a bit, it’s ultimately a bit difficult without knowing what you’re looking for. If there’s any styles or trucks you’ve narrowed down to, or have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Good luck, and let me know how the it goes along!
-Andrew
Nice blog, Andrew! I have a blogpost topic for you – St Paul Art Crawl is hosting food trucks for the first time this fall. Please contact me for details. – Rashelle Brown
i like your blog, andrew. when i lived in the states, i was super into food trucks as well. i’ve been doing a bit of travelling lately, and i’ve really enjoyed comparing street food culture in japan and the usa. ice cream trucks? nope. whole roasted sweet potato trucks.
i’ll be sure to stop by every now and again and see what you are up to.
Thanks for the attention misha! Would love to hear some of your thoughts on the comparisons between the various street food cultures. Now, if only we had a whole roasted sweet potato ice cream truck… screw brownie a la mode.
Sadly with the cold season what I’ll be “up to” in the recent months will probably be just random rants and cooking attempts, haha.
good luck with your cooking, man! i’ll be sure to throw in a comment or two when relevant.
i’m inspired now, maybe i’ll write a post or two about japanese street food on my blog. if i do, i’ll be sure to give you a shout.
Thanks for the kind review on my truck! I would love to open for the morning commuter…any thoughts where? Dana
To expand on what I mentioned on Twitter, I don’t know much about St Paul, though I imagine doubts on gaining much attraction in the morning on its streets *perhaps at the hospital* Minneapolis is likely the better bet, if you can get on a side street off of Nicollett, and in good view, I bet that has the best prospects. The trouble just comes into what you’re ALLOWED to do, as I’m not too versed on the exact regulations and allowances for trucks down there and at that time.