1 September, 2008: I met with Jinhee and John of Single Speed Designs today. Phil, who is going to handle the design/build joined us as well. It was a ton of fun. I talked too much, gave a tour of the truck, and asked some questions. John and Jinhee showed me some of the ideas they have been working through.… Read More
29 August, 2008: What do you think of this for the side of the truck? Comments welcome. Here’s an older one. This image dates to the day after I first thought of the food lab idea: Read More
29 August, 2008: See that big toe? Last night I dropped the LP gas tank on it. I think it might be broken. Anyway, it kept me from surfing this morning. I guess this is why people wear steel toed boots. I was actually looking at some the other week but couldn’t find any not in leather, so didn’t buy.… Read More
23 April, 2010: It’s a big day. We had our first price reduction. Oatmeal went from $3.00 to $2.00. If you haven’t had our oats we make them from raw rolled oats. They are cooked with water, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and finished with a bit of vanilla and 100 hard strokes. Rolando has this method of beating the… Read More
29 August, 2008: I couldn’t pass inspection without the name of the business, city, and phone number on both sides of the truck. This lettering has to be 2″ tall. Since the entire truck is going to get torn apart and re-built in a few days, I kept this simple. These letters were $2.48 for a package from Dickson Brothers.… Read More
29 August, 2008: Can-Am Auto of Hartford, CT, the place that sold me the truck, isn’t covering the kingpin repair. I’m protected by the law, but they wont budge. I think I’ll have to bring them to small claims court, but for now I paid for the $1,300 repair myself. The truck is now in top shape and has passed… Read More
28 August, 2008: This is a logo Brooke helped me draw. This was from 2 days after the basic idea was hatched. Here is the picture the logo was taken from: Read More
28 August, 2008: Remember the story about Chris O’Neil at Cambridge Licensing yesterday. Well today I got a call from Debbie at the Cambridge Chronicle legal advertising department. It seems Chris did the right thing and submitted my application. YES! Amazing though what a stark contrast between how helpful Debbie was (she even called to confirm) even though she doesn’t… Read More
10 March, 2010: This is Enzo. Vincenzo is OK, but don’t call him Vinny. Enzo ran into Rolando a while ago, I don’t know, maybe 9 months back? He’s a chef at the Four Seasons and used to be a student at JWU. Enzo came by the truck and has been digging Clover since. We have him by as often… Read More
27 August, 2008: This is where I’ve been spending a lot of time lately, Cambridge City Hall. Actually, the building I’m usually visiting is next door, and not as grand. Today I was running between MIT, having met with Richard Berlin, head of dining services, to confirm my spot, and city hall to get my application for food truck license… Read More
27 August, 2008: I did a “tea time” at IDEO Boston today. I guess they take time periodically to step away from work and sometimes have a guest. A friend invited me, and it was a ton of fun. Lots of questions and some really interesting ideas. One of my favorites: put up a sign on the food truck for… Read More
26 August, 2008: Last Friday I went into the Massachusetts Restaurant Association offices in Southborough, MA and took my ServSafe exam ($50). This is an exam that is required for “Foodservice Managers.” At John Olinto’s recommendation I’d skipped the course and opted for the online training. You sign up with the National Restaurant Association, give them $135, and take the course at… Read More
26 August, 2008: More truck trials. I thought I’d go get the truck inspected. I went to Everett Truck Repair, just around the corner from A1. They did the state inspection and claimed the king pins are bad, so it failed inspection. Turns out this is a $1,350 job ($700 parts, remainder labor). Boy. I don’t think the king pins… Read More
3 December, 2014: Michael Docter delivers most of his crops on bike. We said…certainly not in winter. But he said yes, especially in winter. The city of Hadley plows, and then Michael is usually the next vehicle out on the road. Why? He has a goal to make his farm carbon-neutral over the next few years, which is part of the reason.… Read More
26 August, 2008: OK, so it took showing up at 7am Monday morning with a “Box ‘O Joe,” a dozen assorted donuts, and a lot of energy, but the hood is now done, and done right. It’s not perfect, but better than anything else I’ve seen on a food truck. We got an “inline” fan, which means it fits right… Read More