Think street food and one might picture Portland, or New York City, with their vibrant public spaces, mixed-use streets, and environments for social interaction (when has food not brought people together?) – not to mention diverse and ever-changing food menus. Last October, realizing that “street food is staging an impressive comeback in many North American jurisdictions,” the City of Ottawa moved to get onboard. With just 44 vendors in 2012 (22 trucks and 22 carts, compared to nearly 100 vendors just a couple of decades ago), the city opened a competitive process to issue new permits. And on February 15, 2013, following a panel’s review of 61 applications, 18 new street food vendors were announced, including 11 trucks and 7 carts. Among them? The Epicurean Munchie Truck (EMT), coming this May to Vanier’s Olmstead Street, near Montreal Road.
Competition for the permits – assigned to designated public spaces, either on city streets or sidewalks – was stiff, with vendors selected based upon proposed menus, their business plan and their contribution to Ottawa’s street food scene, with an overarching focus on diversity and innovation.
Peter G. Bowen, EMT’s lead, describes himself with his two partners as “young, passionate, and energetic,” ready to offer “health conscious foodie friendly locally sourced cuisine.“ EMT intends to offer daily and weekly specials with menu items inspired by health guru Dr. Oz. Bowen praises EMT’s executive chef, Mathew Gregoire, for his creativity in developing the menu’s items.
The EMT team is excited to become part of the street food scene in Ottawa, a scene described by street food critic Kathy Ferguson as similar to Ottawa’s nature as a government town: “conservative and unaccustomed to change.” With 18 new trucks and carts spread across the city, this could finally change. Bowen explains, “We have all watched in awe as the food truck craze has taken over North America. What excites us about street food is that we get to play the wild card. We want to run a restaurant on wheels - a mobile restaurant where we can participate not only in community events but provincial special events.”
EMT’s focus will also be on local, sourcing the majority of their product from Gordon Food Service. “They have an exceptional 100 km program focused on farm to fork.” And for the health conscious, Bowen suggests “a focus on sustainability not only for our planet but for our own bodies… this means no steroids, antibiotics and preferably organic without pesticides.”
As part of the City’s selection process, applicants were asked to identify their top five location preferences; EMT placed Vanier in its top three, with Bowen explaining, “we saw great promise in this community and location…. Suffice it to say that we were very pleased when we found out that we had been not only granted a permit but this location.” He’s looking forward to making a mark, not just in Vanier and Ottawa, but within the Ontario foodie scene (shall we be looking forward to Ottawa’s first Food Truck Rally, following in the footsteps of others?).
So, watch for our neighbourhood’s street life to get just a little more active. Across the city, and right here in Vanier, the new food vendors hit the streets and sidewalks as early as May.
By Mike Bulthuis
(Image credit: 123RF Stock Photo)