American popular trends often begin in the large population centers on either coast. The ideas then seem to work their way into the middle land. For more than a decade both the New York and Los Angeles areas have been home to the phenomenon of specialty, gourmet food trucks. For about four years Arizona has been part of this mobile gastronomic feast-fest. If you think we’re talking about hot dogs, you need to keep reading: You are not up-to-date on what tasty delights are making their way around the streets of Arizona.
Gourmet food trucks run the gamut from Baja tacos to Caribbean food to pizza and barbecue. They include Latin-Caribbean fusion, Russian-Turkish specialties, and Vietnamese and Chinese offerings. The dessert trucks offer items that are greatly upgraded from the old ice cream trucks that roamed our neighborhoods with their bells and repetitive welcoming tunes. What used to be popsicles and drumsticks is now gelato, crepes, frozen yogurt, cupcakes and pies.
One unusual restaurant on wheels is called Griddler on the Roof. OK, so maybe it’s not so easy to tell by its name just what you’re going to find there, but owner Kim Bayne assures us it’s all going to be great!
“In Tucson, we do get a lot of the ‘deer in the headlights’ look from folks when they see the truck. After all, there’s not a tremendously huge Jewish population here. I’ve even been asked if we’re a roofing company!” But as Kim explains on their Facebook page, she came up with the name “In memory of my mother who shared her mother’s Jewish recipes with me; in memory of my father who played the violin; in recognition of my family’s love for Broadway musicals and all things theater; my business writing career versus my inability to steer clear of wordplay; and my belief that life is nothing without a sense of humor. There was simply no other name better suited.”
Kim was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Washington, D.C. Her maiden name was Miklofsky. When she was a pre-teenager, her family moved to Tucson so her father, Haarlen, could join the faculty of the University of Arizona as a professor of civil engineering and structural dynamics. They joined Congregation Anshei Israel where she became a bat mitzvah.
Her father played violin for the Civic Orchestra of Tucson and also trumpet for the Tucson Concert Band. Kim studied musical theater and music education in college. The musical/theatrical family also includes Kim’s sister, Ann, who is a performing arts consultant and concert producer and formerly a school choral teacher in Washington, D.C. Kim’s brother, Alan Miklofsky, owns Alan’s Shoe House and New Balance in Tucson.
After one year at the U of A, Kim spent a summer at a musical theater program in Colorado, where she met Bruce Bayne. “It’s so ironic that we met the way we did. We quickly discovered that we had been born in the same hospital in Washington, D.C., and that our families had each moved to Tucson about the same time. Yet we didn’t meet until this Colorado opportunity!” Bruce converted to Judaism, and the couple married and began their life together in Colorado.
When their daughter, Kaitlyn, was about 12, they decided to return to Tucson to be closer to family. Kaitlyn became a bat mitzvah at Anshei Israel as her mother had. Now the proud mother of 8-month-old Ryder, Kaitlyn is pursuing a career in theater production, focusing on set design.
Kim and her husband have put their performing days behind them. Kim is a writer and a blogger for Eat St., part of the Food Network (access at eatst.foodnetwork.ca). The more she saw and read about gourmet food trucks, the more the idea of starting her own appealed to her.
“My mother shared my grandmother’s recipes, which I had been making for years,” Kim explains. “My background was Ashkenazi, mostly Russian. I loved rediscovering my roots and heritage through the foods. Then I started researching, expanding my base and discovering Jewish recipes from all over the world. Must admit, it was hard to imagine olive oil instead of schmaltz,” she quips.
The menu alone for Griddler on the Roof will make your mouth water. It begins with “frishtik” morning favorites like cheese blintzes, challah French toast, matzoh brei, and lox and bagels. Then come “shtickles,” which Kim describes as “like Jewish tapas – a bissel this, a bissel that” (“bissel” is Yiddish for “little bit”). That section includes lochschen kugel, fried matzoh balls, sweet potato and carrot tzimmes soufflé, kasha varnishkes and an “angry knish,” which is made from peppery mashed potatoes, roasted garlic and caramelized onions.
The mitagessen (noon meal) section offers a variety of treats ranging from a lox and shmear quesadilla to borekas (Sephardic hand pies). And you can wash it all down with the “Trinken” (which Kim defines as “L’chaim without the buzz”) egg creams and Hansen sodas.
Mostly Kim takes the trucks to events rather than roaming the streets. “We sometimes partner with microbreweries that need food outlets, and we often participate in charity events,” Kim says. “Most food truck vendors have other jobs as well, as we do. It’s a tough job with long, long hours on your feet. But you have to do something you’re passionate about, and I do love it!”
Kim is grateful that Bruce often works the food truck grill while she shmoozes with the patrons.
The saying in the food truck world is “Restaurants have customers, food trucks have followers.” The website features a variety of ways you can follow Griddler on the Roof, including a calendar of coming appearances and a wide range of social media including Twitter and Facebook. You can sign up on Facebook as a Loyal Nosher to receive coupons, specials and other surprises.
