Just a reminder, you can find out where the food trucks are by clicking the link Calendar of SoCal Food Trucks.  The tab is on top of the blog, or to the right in the tab under “pages”.  Please FOLLOW me to get the latest posts sent directly to your email.  The link is also to your right under Social Media.

It’s not QUITE a gourmet food truck, but it is going for a great cause!

On Sept. 18, a food truck operated by Irvine-based Habit Burger Grill will be offering a $5 meal special to benefit the nonprofit Share Our Strength.

The Habit Truck will set up in the visitor parking lot of The Orange County Register from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. serving $5 combo meals that include a charburger with cheese, fries and a drink. Other entree options will include a gluten-free lettuce wrap and veggie burger.

Habit officials said 100 percent of all funds will go to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, a nationwide effort to wipe out childhood hunger in the United States by educating families on how to cook healthy, affordable meals at home.

Habit Burger Grill is among dozens of restaurants across the country participating in programs to support the No Kid Hungry campaign. Along with this one-day event, Habit restaurants are also giving away a certificate for a free charburger with cheese for a $2 donation through Sept. 30. The certificate is valid for a customer’s next visit through Oct. 14.

The Register is at 625 N. Grand Ave. The visitor parking lot is open to the public.

This September, you can help end childhood hunger in America by dining out for No Kid Hungry. With over 8,000 restaurants participating from coast to coast, help us make the month a success by spreading the word to your family and friends. Do Good. Dine Out.

Supporting ‪#‎NoKidHungry‬ this month is as simple as dining out! Find participating restaurants near you at NoKidHungry.org or text “DINE” to 877-877.

Former food trucker, Lawrence from @TapaboyLA, my fellow food truck fan Gloria Vega, and Chef Bev Lazo from Hells Kitchen season 12 discuss food and culinary trends.

The @Coolinarytrends Show with @chefbevhk12 @zooey02 & @TapaBoyLA returns w/a brand new episode this Thur 8pm PST on http://t.co/KnMZNBlBl7

— Coolinary Trends (@Coolinarytrends) September 2, 2015

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Go to http://www.irantradio.com/#!coolinary-trends-show/c8r1 to tune in live on Thursdays at 8:00 pm.

Here’s a past episode from August 20, 2015:

Its not a “real” food truck, but its free food… 

Article by LA Times 

There’s a Panda Express food truck. And it’s full of free orange chicken.

Panda Express has a food truck. And yes, that food truck is full of orange chicken.

Be a food snob if you need to — but when there’s a plate of hot, sticky, crunchy orange chicken in front of you, I dare you not to eat it.

The truck will be launching a nationwide tour, and is headed to the KCRW Chinatown Summer Nights in Los Angeles on Aug. 22.

And all that orange chicken will be free. The truck will be doling out free samples of orange chicken and white rice, along with a Pepsi.

Next to the truck, an “orange chicken lounge” where guests can relax and eat orange chicken. And if you’re a die-hard fan, prove it in an orange chicken chopsticks challenge or trivia game.

No word on details for the chopsticks game, but we’re hoping it somehow involves eating as much orange chicken as you can, with chopsticks, in a span of five minutes.

The truck will also host an orange chicken chef challenge from 5 to 6 p.m. Four to five yet-to-be-announced chefs will make their own dishes incorporating the orange chicken. And a group of media and judges will crown the orange chicken champion.

943–951 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, www.chinatownsummernights.com.

Orange County chef Hop Phan, left, appears on NBC’s “Food Fighters,” in Episode 208, Adam Richman, right observes his cooking techniques. GREG GAYNE , GREG GAYNE, NBC

Santa Ana chef faces 14-year-old on “Food Fighters”

For one Orange County chef, the biggest take home from appearing on national television isn’t exposure or winning, but learning not to take himself too seriously.

“The shows really helped me to come out of my shell,” said Hop Phan, the Santa Ana chef behind the Latin-Vietnamese fusion cuisine of Dos Chinos taco truck and food stall in 4th Street Market.
“Before a certain point we were a little timid…but after [“Chopped”] I just didn’t care any more. I was going to do what I wanted to do.”

Phan will return to foodie TV again July 16 for NBC’s “Food Fighters,” after having appeared on the “Eat St.” “Cutthroat Kitchen” and “Chopped.” He is the second Orange County chef following Daniel Shemtob of the Lime Truck, to appear on the show this season.

“Food Fighters” pits home chefs against professionals in dish-by-dish contests.

“It’s a little different format, it’s very immediate,” said Phan of the contrast between “Food Fighters” and the other shows.

For the filming of “Food Fighters” episode 208, Phan faced off against 14-year-old Troy Glass, a former competitor from FOX’s “MasterChef Junior.”

“It’s really exciting for me to see how the younger generation is way better than us,” said Phan. “I can’t believe some kids start cooking at three or four, you know, it blows my mind. I didn’t start cooking until I was 19.”

Phan said that his decision to relax and have fun on TV came when a judge on another show gave him positive feedback on his dulce de leche walnut shrimp tacos. Up until that point, Phan had only offered the item as a special at his truck.

“I knew it was a good dish but I didn’t know how good it was until a famous chef tried it and said it blew his mind,” he said.

The shrimp tacos have since won top honors at competitions such as the Sabroso Festival in Santa Ana and the OC Weekly Taco Throwdown.

That boosted confidence also led Phan to put “stoner” fries on the menu of his food truck and stall.
Dos Chinos used to only offer the carne asada, roast pork belly, chorizo fried rice and fried egg covered “Stoner Papas” as a hidden menu item because of worries that some diners would assume Dos Chinos was run by “lazy stoners.”

“It turned out to be a good move because our stoner fries are one of our best selling things now,” said Phan.

Contact the writer: bmcmillan@ocregister.com