Eugene Weekly local news paper gives props to new vegan food carts

http://chow.eugeneweekly.com/chow/veg-out

Food Cart Open

With all the different ways to instant update on the internet, facebook, twitter, email, etc., I have fallen a little behind on this particular blog. Since finishing up summer vending in early October, I started working on building up my Eugene Street vending cart.

As of December 15th, it is now working weekdays in downtown Eugene. Hours are 11-4pm, Monday through Friday.

Additions to the menu include a delicious Vegan Tempeh Reuben Sandwich served on whole wheat organic Dave's Killer Bread. Also, a gluten free option, the Tempeh Satay served with peanut ginger sauce.

For more info on the cart and menu: http://eugenecooks.com/cart.html

Also, there is a Yelp! listing for the cart if you care to review it: http://www.yelp.com/biz/viva-vegetarian-grill---food-cart-eugene

Thanks!

Shiny Equipment

Yesterday I went to Valley Restaurant Equipment, a great place to buy used equipment here in Eugene. I'd been eying a stainless equipment stand (table) for a while. It was in good condition but priced a bit high. Usually the guys there cut quite a bit off the asking price, but I still wanted to research a bit to see what other used ones would go for in the area. I ended up getting it for a pretty fair price and took it home yesterday. It will be a necessity for the griddle I want to get.

I've been looking at 3 ft gas griddles for a while now, searching around for deals on used, and trying to find the best possible prices on new. I kind of have my heart set on a particular brand. But if I can get a good used griddle from another maker, I would go for it if the price was right. I went up to Rose's Restaurant Equipment last week and saw their huge selection of used and new. A lot of the used griddle were in poor shape, but apparently they fix and polish them up pretty good. Used seem to still command a high price, so this gives me a little peace of mind in that my investment will retain it's value if I have to lay out extra for a new one.

A griddle will be essential for the menu expansion in 2009. Cheesesteaks, quesadillas, and breakfast scrambles can be done with ease on this awesome piece of equipment. The only thing that isn't awesome is that is weighs 250 lbs! That is why I needed the heavy duty equipment stand above.

Organic Coffee

I just got off the phone with one of the roasters at Wandering Goat Coffee Company. They are one of the better organic fair trade coffee roasters here in Eugene, and fairly new. I have only been to their cafe a handful of times. I have purchased their coffee by the pound a few times as well. I've yet to be disappointed.
Anyway, I was talking over the possibility of adding WG coffee to my festival menu. We talked about practical brewing techniques that would fit my festival set up. He suggested cold water brewing the coffee, which yields a concentrate after 12 or so hours of steeping time.


Filtron Pro was the recommended tool for such a process. It is a $200 piece of equipment, but is still a relatively low investment when considering the cost of equipment that can produce similarly high quality product.

Without any experience using this kind of equipment, I still wonder if I could make something just as efficient for a fraction of the cost. I'll have to do more research.

Another cost to this process will be a high capacity commercial coffee grinder. I'll have to look into that as well. Fresh ground coffee gives the best flavor.

I'd like to be able to offer a delicious 20 oz. iced organic coffee or mocha at the booth for around $3.50. Hopefully customers will value the integrity of the coffee and decide it is a good value. I'll have to crunch some more numbers and see if I can make it work.