From the archives
For the side of the truck?
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
From the archives
Broken toe
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
From the archives
CLOVERFOODLAB CAMBRIDGE, MA
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
From the archives
Gooseberry’s at lunchtime
17 September, 2008: I think Gooseberry's, the Asian food truck at MIT, rocks. Obviously I'm not the only one. This is the line at lunchtime. Nothing special, this is an everyday event. These people are ALL waiting for that white truck up ahead. And it's not a very long wait, they process folks at a rate of close to 10… Read More
From the archives
Inspection passed
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
From the archives
Clover Food Lab early logo
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
From the archives
Debbie is my hero of the day
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
From the archives
Fun with Cambridge Licensing
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
From the archives
Garner
21 September, 2010: The guy with the onion rings is Garner. He's become a regular this summer. He works at the Apple store, and he's going to help me fix our iPod with the cracked screen. I dropped it while taking orders one rainy day and I felt really bad. Some of you may remember the post. Garner was one of the… Read More
From the archives
IDEO meets Clover
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
From the archives
ServSafe Certified!
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
From the archives
Rejection
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
From the archives
Hood fixed
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
From the archives
Order system
5 November, 2008: We thought we'd try a new system to track orders. It didn't really work. I had to reach across the workspace too often, and the buttons got confused. The idea was to move magnets across the board you see in the picture. We'll keep trying. Read More
From the archives
Giant blower fan disaster
22 August, 2008: Uggg. So I went to pick the truck up today after leaving it for the week to have a hood installed. You know, those big stainless steel things that restaurants have above cooking areas. Turns out they are very expensive, but required by code, even for our little truck. So this is what disaster looks like. The… Read More