North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 39 In addition, The Taco Guys also offer a beef Colorado taco with stewed Meyer Ranch beef, corn salsa, queso freso, and a rotating selection of veggie tacos. After seven years of serving up these fold- able crowd pleasers, The Taco Guys have got their game down to an epicurean art. "Through all our years of culinary training, we wanted to trick people by serving them fine food in the form of tacos, as to provide them with a great experience at taco prices," explained Hoffman, adding, "There's just so many things we could do with the taco format." Who hasn't heard the term "taco truck?" But that's far from the only dish coming out of the mobile kitchens at Off The Grid. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee and Charleston, South Carolina, Arthur Chang and Rachel Hundly met in New York before deciding to head west where they created Drums and Crumbs, serving up fried chicken and other traditional Southern cuisine. Chang and Hundly met and became friends at the church that they attended. "She actually talked me into moving to California to start a food busi- ness, when she moved out here in 2011," said Chang. "I moved here in late 2012." Although their food is based on traditional Southern recipes, the two chefs have gone the extra mile to appeal to the healthy sensibilities of West Coast cuisine. "We try to use organic, or all natural ingredients that are sourced locally to give things a California feel," explained Chang. "We definitely believe that the extra steps like brining the chicken, seasoning your flour coat, and not rushing the frying process, and using healthier oil in deep frying make a big difference in our chicken." In addition to the crispy fried favorite, Drums and Crumbs also serves up an amazing fried chicken breast sandwich topped with dill pickle coleslaw on a brioche bun, not to mention some delectable sides like baked mac and cheese, spicy black-eyed peas, Carolina coleslaw and the Southern staple, collard greens. Owners of both businesses agree that they've seen their fair share of food trucks come and go, but ultimately it's the quality of the food that keeps people coming back. "If you have a good product then you'll last," Hoffman said. "We've built a good following in Marin and I see the food trucks as a business model that will continue to grow." Off The Grid opened nine new markets in 2015. "The food truck industry is thriving," explained Cohen. "There is a huge trend right now of popular food trucks establishing brick- and-mortar restaurants, but the opposite trend is also true brick-and- mortar restaurants are creating food trucks or applying to become tented vendors at our Top photos, clockwise: Drums and Crumbs specializes in authentic southern cuisine including fried Arthur's fried chicken and fried chicken salad. – Photos provided by Drums and Crumbs. Bottom photos, clockwise: The diverse menu board at The Taco Guys truck; Maui fish, Colorado beef and Kalua pork tacos; and a fish taco and two BLT tacos.– Photos by Stuart Lirette >> con't on pg. 41

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