Monday, September 2, 2013

Great Food Truck Race 2013 - Frankenfoota Goes Home

OK, let's face it - they heated up store-bought hot dogs and put toppings on them. Not much impressive culinary talent there. Thus, after slipping by for a couple weeks Mirlinda, Dana, and Victoria - the New York girls competing as Frankenfoota - finally ran out of luck.

In the third episode of the Food Network's Fourth Great Food Truck Race, the contestants found themselves in Pocatella, Idaho serving up their food to people who know the potato well. To make it interesting, host Tyler Florence first limited them from any starch - including potatoes - and then turned the tables requiring them to dig up their own potatoes and feature them as the signature dish.  All teams responded well to these challenges, though some clearly adapt better than others.

Once again the Hawaiian guys from Aloha Plate continued to best the competition. After losing out to the Bowled and Beautiful girls for the second time on race to a prize of extra cash for the till, the Aloha Plate truck still pulled in a huge hall. The thing that makes me love and root for these guys so much is how genuine they are. The comments they make about their heritage - and grandpa teaching them that "fruit is found in the mound - you walk in the trough" - are quite endearing and impressive. They are linked to their food in a very special way, and I would love to see them take a food truck back to the islands.

The other teams are engaging as well, though I feel the Food Network is not giving enough press or air time to the Slide Show truck. These accomplished chefs with a great story - and seemingly tasty food - are a bit of an enigma to me. They regularly sit in the middle of the pack, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps they will make a run to the front, or be dismissed soon. Also, this episode offered some interesting twists, with two teams being fined for "selling out of bounds" which is new one on me, and the Philly boys surviving despite trashing a sign with their truck. Fortunately, they only had to pay a $500 deductible.

So, the girls head back to Brooklyn. And perhaps a hot dog cart will be a good place to start.

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