Name For A Philly Gourmet Sandwich Truck

What food trucks have gone on to become full-fledged restaurants?

In NYC, Dessert Truck begat DessertTruck Works. Pizza Moto begat Motorino. Technically, Shake Shack began as a street cart.

Why is there such a strong food truck culture in Philly?

I work on a food truck and can tell you that the culture is real. We have many food truck festivals in this city (all fantastic). Philadelphia loves food. We are one of the most obese cities in the country (unfortunately). Therefore, Philly loves food that is made to order, quick and delicious. Also, food trucks are an awesome concept. They are traveling kitchens. We love the idea, and we all have our favorites.

Do you eat street food, and if so, what do you recommend?

I have, and I still do, occasionally. My career has taken me to many countries, and I at least try local food in every place I travel. That said, eating street food can be risky in some places.As others have mentioned, India can be very sketchy with street food. Indeed, the situation is similar in most developing countries. Most local people have developed some immunity to local bugs, and can safely eat things that would give a foreigner a belly ache. It is usually dirty water that gets people sick.That said, street food can teach you a lot about a culture, is often very tasty, and is sometimes unique to a specific location.Some general rules of thumb:Look for vendors with a crowd. A queue is good when trying street food. Someone getting sick is not good for a vendor’s business.Eat things that are hot. An example is the pani puri mentioned in another comment about India. If the oil looks clean, and they are fresh out of the oil, they are probably safe to eat. However, another Indian snack, common at highway road stalls, pav bhaji, though it can be tasty, has often been sitting around at the wrong temperature. Soups, noodles, and stews are usually perfectly fine. Vegetarian is usually a safer bet than items with meat or fish.Avoid fresh vegetables (anything with lettuce, for instance), any drinks with ice, any unpeeled fruits.In some locations, street vendors are pretty strictly monitored for health and sanitation. Virtually any street food in Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, the USA and Canada, Japan, most of Europe, and Korea is safe to eat. In those places, cast your worries aside and enjoy!Look at the general cleanliness of the vendor. Is the cart / stall kept clean?

What are the best restaurants to try when visiting Eugene, OR? What should you try while you're there?

It depends where you're coming from. Eugene is a pretty small place. I relocated from the Philly area, and I have to say there aren't really any fantastic restaraunts in Eugene. They're all just decently good. Except Cafe Yumm. Cafe Yumm is disgusting. Hoagies R Us closed. Pure has pretty good sushi, but it's a bit expensive. Mame Sushi is a little weird. It's like someone’s living room. And super exclusive. I think it's the exclusivity that makes it appealing more than the actual food. Legend of Szechuan has legit Chinese food though. It's actually food, not Americanized fast food. Glenwood cafe is good for breakfast. Off the Waffle has some pretty superb waffles. Humble Bagel has the best bagels. Sizzle Pie and Whirled Pies are really good pizza places. Cornbread Cafe has amazing vegan comfort food, if you’re into that. Taste of India is super authentic and delicious. If you go to Saturday Market, there's this Pad Thai with extra peanut sauce and Thai tea that’ll knock your socks off. Red Wagon has the best ice cream. Sweet Life bakery has the best baked goods. Truly though, food trucks and beer are where it's at. Beer Garden, Samitch, West Philly, Viva Vegetarian (phenominal falafal), and there are literally amazing tacos everywhere. Sam Bonds Brewhouse on 8th has the best beer in town. Plus, you can get an amazing cheese plate. Beer Stien has good beer and fun food too. After a few beers, their soft pretzel hits the spot. (It's no Philly pretzel, but it's dang good.) But honestly, it's all pretty basic. If you're looking for a sit down place where the chef is an artist and is really pushing a creative 5 star dinning experience, you'll have to go to Portland. Or hey just embrace the comfort food here in Eugene. Orrr you could go to the coast and get fresh seafood! There's this seafood shack just south of Newport that has the best popcorn shrimp and clam chowder -- all fresh caught that day. You watch them cook it right there. Soo good!Hope you enjoy!♡ ilovefood

Who has the best pizza in Philadelphia?

Philly's an awesome city, and I loved living there, but they don't know from pizza. This is an urban area famous for "tomato pie," which is literally a cold square pizza with no cheese, just dough and cold tomato sauce. Yuck.New York City, on the other hand, is the uncontested champion of American pizza, and the closest you can get to a New York slice in Philadelphia is Lorenzo's on South Street.Of course, tastes vary, and some of these other places make pizzas you might enjoy very much. Just like I might occasionally enjoy eating that Chicago abomination they call "deep dish," but I'd never say it's the best pizza just because I enjoy it.The BEST is Lorenzo's, for sure.I can only assume anyone who names another restaurant has never been to Lorenzo's. The place burned to the ground a couple of years ago, depriving Philadelphia of true New York-style pizza for a year or longer before they finished rebuilding and reopened, so maybe that explains it. Or maybe these are people who live in the suburbs, where "pizza" is something you buy frozen at a massive grocery store. Whatever the reason, they are wrong. Objectively, unequivocally. Wrong.Lorenzo's is the best pizza in Philadelphia.

What makes a dish authentic (add a nationality)? I was at a potluck and someone commented that the dish was not authentic because when they visited that country the dish was prepared differently. The dish was created by someone from that nationality.

Some very authentic French dishes are : boeuf bourguignon, cassoulet, quiche lorraine. Having prepared them myself, eaten them in various restaurants and partaken of the same at friends’ houses, I can assure you that there are (almost) as many recipes as there are cooks. A foreigner having tasted cassoulet once in Toulouse might tell you that the one you served was not authentic because you made the one and only authentic cassoulet : le cassoulet de Castelnaudary.p.s. my husband’s relatives are very partial to “cassoulet de Castelnaudary”, the family having their origins in that part of France. I know, Toulouse is only 52 km from Castelnaudary, as the crow flies…Edit : I forgot to mention a lesser known variant : the cassoulet of Carcassonne, a city barely 35 km from Castelnaudary.Regarding these three versions of the dish, it is said that a gourmet cook from that region said : “Cassoulet is the God of Occitania. Castelnaudry’s cassoulet is the Father, that of Carcassonne is the Son and that of Toulouse is the Holy Spirit.”