Reader: Food trucks need to keep friendliness on the menu

Denver's food-truck scene was already revving up before the The Great Food Truck Race landed in town this past weekend, and the contrast between the out-of-town characters, including the grilled-cheese whizzes behind Roxy's, and our homegrown crews had Denverites hungering for more. As Jason said: I've always found that one...

By Patricia Calhoun

May 11, 2011

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Denver's food-truck scene was already revving up before the The Great Food Truck Race landed in town this past weekend, and the contrast between the out-of-town characters, including the grilled-cheese whizzes behind Roxy's, and our homegrown crews had Denverites hungering for more.

As Jason said:

I've always found that one of the great things about street food in Denver is being able to chat with the cook while they're preparing food and, to that end, friendliness is certainly an important characteristic. I'm glad you noted the personalities on the Roxy's truck because, it was the only time I felt like a customer rather than a means to a 100k end this weekend.

So, friendliness counts. What are the other lessons that Denver's food trucks can take away from The Great Food Truck Race's pit stop in Denver?

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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