Forgive us if you’re already a part of the movement, but we’ve still got some work to do to put one of Buffalo’s own food trucks on the national scene in a huge way. Lloyd Taco Truck is currently in third place in the Food Network contest, The Great Food Truck Race, but they led the pack at the top spot for some time. They held first place for over a week before dropping to second, and then third, where they have been for the past week.
Click here to vote for Lloyd: http://foodtrucks.teamdigital.com/?t=514
You can also vote by texting FT182 to 66789.
The Food Truck receiving the most votes through September 12 will be named America’s Favorite, receive $10,000 and a chance to be on the show. Yesterday, the truck’s owners generously pledged to give half of the prize money – $5,000 – to the Food Bank of Western New York, should they win the contest.
Winning the contest could bring Buffalo and the city’s first food truck a great deal of fame. Pete Cimino and Chris Dorsaneo, co-owners of Lloyd, want to share any notoriety they may get with Buffalo.
“We owe Buffalo for so much because Western New Yorkers have embraced us and our food, and we’re really grateful for that,” said Cimino. “We want to win this thing for Buffalo. We would use some of the money to buy a new truck in order to keep serving if we were on the road for the show. We couldn’t leave our loyal customers without Lloyd!”
If you’ve never seen the show, it’s quite entertaining. The challenges the truck owners and employees face are as diverse as they are amusing. Tyler Florence, host of the show, recently spun a wheel to reveal what makeshift obstacle they would have to contend with while cooking that day. Drama comes in the form of flat tires, empty propane tanks, and barren plaza parking lots and festivals that promised to bring droves of hungry customers. Contestants have to be flexible and creative, all the while staying enthusiastic about their food offerings, which need to be top notch in their own right.
You realize the trials facing the culinary pioneers working in those trucks, which transform into hot boxes during serving hours. Imagine being in a tin shed with a stove or grill (or both) running for a few hours straight. Oh, and you’re the one making the food, and greeting customers as “front of house,” and plating as “back of house,” and likely serving the food. But they live for this. The excitement in those who shine on this show reminds us of a couple of guys we know slinging tacos on a truck in Buffalo.
Back to the mission at hand: let’s make Lloyd take back first place and get Buffalo on the Food Network for something other than our beloved chicken wings. How fun would it be to see the Lloyd guys on that show? Time to rally for Buffalo! Click here to vote: http://foodtrucks.teamdigital.com/?t=514