Food trucks rumble into South Point bringing gourmet fare

By Gregan Wingert

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Pairing sushi, lobster, grilled cheese and fried chicken will be perfectly acceptable Wednesday night as the South Point hosts a gourmet dinner party that doesn’t require forks to be on the right.

From 5- 9 p.m. thousands will scramble to the Gourmet Food Truck Fest: Dinner and a Movie held at South Point’s parking lot on Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

“We like to take events that exist, tweak it a little bit and put our South Point style on it,” said Tom Mikovits, marketing director for South Point.

Admission is free and prices of food depend on what’s being dished up at more than 25 local and out-of-state food trucks — some seen on TV — will be rolling in for the festivities.

“They’ve taken the concept of brick and mortar and put wheels on it,” said Patty Harding, principal of Cluster Truck Events, a food truck wrangling firm.

Gourmet food served out of the window of a truck hardly sounds possible, but those in the industry say it’s a growing trend.

“A lot of the first-timers are blown away,” said Dennis Suh, senior director of operations for Mobi Munch, a food truck company.

Those new to food truck dining often have the idea that they’re all taco trucks or roach-coaches, Suh added.

Suh directly oversees LudoTruck, a food truck roaming Los Angeles cooking up a fried chicken recipe of celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre.

“His truck is just known the world over,” Harding said.

Lefebvre has competed on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and his truck has made an appearance on Travel Channel when visited by Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations.”

Though Lefebvre won’t be on board the truck at the South Point, his fried chicken, honey lavender biscuits and double-fried french fries will be.

“We like coming to a different market,” Suh said. “The whole food truck phenomenon is taking food to people who normally wouldn’t get to it.”

Another California-based truck pulling up to the South Point has also been in the reality TV spotlight. Nom Nom, a Vietnamese sandwich truck, was runner-up in the first season of Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race.”

Though trucks won’t be racing one another, they will be traveling in from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix and Denver.

Local trucks such as Slidin’ Thru will also be there offering sliders with unexpected ingredients like sauteed onions and arugula.

The fest attracts all types from foodies to families.

About 10,000 people attended the November fest, Mikovits said. Last year there were 18 trucks, this year more than 25 trucks will be parked in the lot waiting for visitors with appetites.

Longboards Ice Cream, Pin N Burger, Foxxy Lady’s Cupcakes and Rolling Sushi Van are some of the trucks on this year’s food truck roster.

“We’ve added a few more trucks to decrease the lines,” Mikovits said.

While attendees of the fest wait in lines they’ll be able to watch the classic John Wayne movie “The Searchers,” that will be projected on a big screen.

The event has proven successful for the South Point as 60 to 70 percent of the attendees from last year’s fest made their way into the casino after attending the outdoor festivities.

“We’ve been planning it ever since the last one ended,” Mikovits said.