A Moveable Feast truck serves up unique dishes
In early 2012, a new kind of food truck rolled into town. And while many chefs claim to offer “inspired” cooking, for owner Doug Seed, his entire “A Moveable Feast” operation is inspired by none other than the late Ernest Hemingway.
Parked at 1000 W. Kettleman Lane every day except Sunday — and when the truck is catering events like local farmers’ markets or weddings at Lodi’s Mettler Winery — the truck salutes the eccentric author’s 1964 memoir by the same name.
Emblazoned on the lime green vehicle is a photo of the author at work, and clever phrases by other literary talents (“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch. — Orson Wells”). Inside is the heart and soul: a char broiler, a deep fryer and a steam table.
While food trucks are popular in Lodi, and in particular taco trucks, there’s surely no other vehicle that offers specialties like #11 French fries topped in ahi poke or pulled pork in bleu cheese or spicy Cajun sauce. The #11 fries are so-named because, according to Seed, they are so delicious that they exceed the typical one to 10 scale.
The idea came, Seed said, when he was looking for a fun, family business that he could set up with his son, Sam Seed. With a catering business already under their belts since 2008, food-on-wheels seemed like a natural evolution.
Customers now come for the creative, filling signature sandwiches like grilled chicken pesto, Cajun sirloin with grilled onions and peppers, a crab cake with tomato and mustard coulis, and burgers made with beef-pork mix, black beans and veggies, or salmon with teriyaki and a thick slab of sweet, grilled pineapple.
The chicken Caesar is particularly popular for its crouton bun that delivers extra crunch beneath a bed of romaine and shaved Parmesan. It, like all the food, is made to-order, and like all the sandwiches, can be served as a salad.
Or, as Seed notes, any dish can be served over fries, such as the popular steak combo with bacon and avocado.
Those in the know also order from the secret menu, scarfing up delectables such as a shrimp scampi pesto panino, fragrant with garlic and lemon, drenched in Cajun butter sauce and served on a toasted bun with a tiny bit of mayo and a generous helping of Cajun slaw. The scampi is even better with crisp bacon.
Another off-menu delight is the Yaki Burger, delivering a monster of a cheeseburger piled so high with Cajun shrimp, grilled pineapple, bacon and teriyaki sauce that it threatens to topple.
As Seed says, his Moveable Feast food isn’t gourmet, but it’s a step above every day truck fare, and oh-so-satisfying.
“This is fine grub,” he said.