Feast your eyes
If you have a thing for grub on wheels, you’ve probably seen “The Great Food Truck Race.” And if you haven’t watched it, now’s the time to start. The show comes back for its ninth season tonight, and the Southwest will play a major role.
“The Great Food Truck Race” is cooking through the Southwest this season, with the Food Network show airing two episodes shot in Arizona.
A Phoenix Sonic Drive-In and Rawhide Ranch are featured in episode 3, “An Oasis in the Desert;” and the historic Yuma Territorial Prison is featured in episode 4, “Bordertown Boom.” Here’s the lowdown:
❚ Chefs have to make a savory dish inspired by a signature Sonic Drive-In drink, and the team raking in the least amount of money in sales for the day is sent home at Rawhide
‘The Great Food Truck Race’
6 p.m. Thursdays on Food Network. Ranch.
❚ The teams have to incorporate artichokes and bacon into their original menus and start selling to the people of Yuma at the site where the desert’s outlaws were incarcerated.
Season 9 kicks off Thursday, July 26, with seven food truck teams battling in their mobile kitchens for a chance to win $50,000. Celebrity chef Tyler Florence hosts the show.
None of the teams this season hail from Arizona, which last featured a food truck, Spice It Up, in 2015.
From around the United States, meet the seven teams that trekked to the desert in Season 9.
Buns ‘N Thighs from Chicago
Ian Sherwin, Victoria Nones and her mother, Marla Nones. Specialty sandwiches.
Chops’ Shop from Pearland, Texas
Bryan Soliz, his mother, Sandra Soliz and his aunt, Sonia Buckelew “Texican” tamales and other barbecue dishes.
Heroes on a Half Shell from Frederick, Maryland
Teammates: Donna Sheron and her kids, Clinton and Danni Sheron.
Type of food: Health-conscious submarine sandwhiches.
Just Wing It from New York
Teammates: Steven Crowley, Kevin Pettice and
Sharon Shvarzman.
Type of food: Wings, hand-cut curly fries and custom sauces.
Mobile Moo Shu from Detroit
Teammates: Michelle Gautier, Chelsea Smith and Marley Vanderbrook.
Type of food: Asian-inspired comfort food.
New England Grill from Newport, Rhode Island
Teammates: Kevin Des Chenes, Ed Gallagher and Christine Hurley.
Type of food: New England bistro cuisine — think lobster, scallops and Yankee pot roast sliders.
Sassy Soul from Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Teammates: Paris Henry, aka “Sassy,” Lauren Carson and Parris Jewel.
Type of food: Soul food.