For Seven Years, the Sizzle Food Truck Has Been Serving an Eclectic Menu in Denver

Originally from Ohio, Sizzle food truck owner Coby Weinstein has lived in Colorado most of his life. He graduated from East High School and then went to Colorado State University, where he majored in Spanish literature and culture.

After graduating from CSU, he "did all sorts of jobs," he says. "I landscaped and worked in some odd jobs here and there, like in factories and assembly." He also came to a realization: He had a passion for cooking. "And so I thought, let's check out culinary school," Weinstein recalls. "I was always interested in the science behind cooking, and that drove me...but on a personal level, it's more through experience, and trial and error."

He completed the program at the Culinary School of the Rockies in Boulder and landed a job at the now-closed Zolo Grill, followed by gigs at a few chain restaurants like Bennigan's and, eventually, a small Mexican restaurant. "I was the only gringo in the kitchen, and so my Spanish actually came in pretty handy," says Weinstein.

Other stints include being a baker at the Silver Grill Cafe in Fort Collins and the now-closed Nico's Catacombs, where he gained fine-dining experience. He then went on to work in corporate restaurants, beginning with Outback Steakhouse and later transferring to Bonefish Grill in Denver, where he worked for five years as the culinary manager. He also briefly worked at the Brown Palace and then at the Warwick Hotel, where he reached the level of sous chef. "So, I've kind of been around," Weinstein notes.
While at the Warwick, he started thinking about his future career path. "I was doing a lot of amuse bouche and specials, and I decided I wanted to work for myself," he recalls. He decided to enter the food truck business. "It took a while. I got the truck in 2015, and I sat on it for a while. I had it built, but the guy who did it was Larry Perez. Yeah, that guy," he adds, referring to the now-notorious food truck scammer that many in the industry had run-ins with before he was sentenced to eighteen months in jail last year.

"We had a contract and a list of things to do," Weinstein recalls. "I'd go to Larry's warehouse and check on his progress. One time I showed up and they were drinking beer in the cab with a screwdriver in hand because they lost the key to the truck. ... Another time, I found a bunch of parking tickets from Denver because they were using it to haul their junk."

Fed up with the lack of progress, Weinstein reached his breaking point and managed to get his truck back from Perez. With the project only partially completed, he decided to redo a lot of the work and finish the truck himself. He was also still running a kitchen — and having some second thoughts. "I had a family and was afraid to take that plunge and leave all that security. ... I was on salary and had health benefits and all that stuff, and to just go out there was a bit scary," he admits.

Eventually, though, he threw caution to the wind and officially launched Sizzle in late 2016. "I remember my first one was in the Home Depot parking lot. I was doing breakfast at the time and got kicked out of the lot. ... Then I started to get scheduled at breweries, and my first brewery was Great Frontier," says Weinstein.
Now in his seventh year of operation, he's happy with his choice to go all in on Sizzle, noting that he loves being his own boss and the creative freedom it allows.

"I do American fusion. It's kind of an eclectic and fluid menu," Weinstein says. One of his most popular dishes is the Samurai Rice Bowl. "It starts with jasmine rice and then we've got teriyaki salmon seasoned with a five-spice rub, topped with mixed greens, Asian slaw dressing, Thai aioli, pickled and steamed vegetables," he explains.

Other dishes on the menu include sliders, potstickers, wings and a Cuban hoagie. For those with a sweet tooth, Sizzle serves fried bread pudding bites. Weinstein also recently launched a new product that he sells on the truck. "It's a jalapeño hot sauce that is fermented with tamari and seasonings," he says. "I'm kind of in the middle of perfecting the best hot sauce. In this latest batch, I added some habanero, which gives it a little balance of heat and acidity."

Weinstein has looked at a few brick-and-mortar spots, but for now, he's sticking with the truck and his new hot sauce business. In the future, he adds, he may pivot to focus more on being a private personal chef. Until then, Sizzle operates four to five days a week. The truck's full schedule and current menu can be found at sizzlefoodtruck.com. "We're down to earth and we serve good food," Weinstein concludes. "It's what's kept us in business."