Meals on wheels

Mobile dining in Cape Town

The word on the street is: bricks and mortar are out, and mobile dining is in. It makes sense; four walls should be negotiable when you live in a city as fair as ours. Globally the street food movement has made big in-roads; with even large food chains, such as Sizzler and Subway in the US, jumping onto the bandwagon with their own fleets and food trucks. 

Here at home, Luca Castiglione, chef-owner of Italian restaurant Limoncello is pioneering the trend with the first food truck under the umbrella The Cape Town Food Trucks. His truck is the test drive, so to speak, for the operation. There are no other food trucks on the cards yet, but restaurants can approach the organisation, whereby they’ll help them set up a truck, and will essentially plug them into their network.

And like so many things these days, it’s the mobile phone that can aid this kind of eating. I had heard rumblings about the food truck, and well, at the first sign of a rumbling in my stomach I took a quick look at their website, which instructs me to tweet at them, @CTfoodtrucks, to find their location. Soon enough I get a response directing me to the Oudekraal Market on the road between Camps Bay and Hout Bay. (You can also call: +27 (0)82 502 3014.)

A short drive later and we find the retro-styled van in the small market set against the backdrop of the Twelve Apostles Mountain range. Luca is inside slicing squid for the spaghetti vera. The pastel blue and yellow lines, not to mention the wooden lettering of the Limoncello sign, hark back to the ‘70s—the time when food trucks (think ice cream vans) were at their most popular.

My partner’s calzone comes in two steaming pockets stuffed with ham and cheese. The spaghetti, straight from the pan, is a moreish mix of squid, olives, capers and cherry tomatoes. We eat perched on rocks overlooking the sea. It’s a perfect lunch: relaxed and simple without the trappings of a restaurant that can sometimes stifle the occasion—no waiters, no bills, no bottled water, just simple, good food in a beautiful location.

Other mobile eats to try:

Baguette Bicycle
This concept is oh-so-Parisian; vintage bicycles loaded with baskets of gourmet sandwiches traversing the city streets. Find a Baguette Bicycle conveniently parked either at Deluxe Coffee Works or Bean There Coffee Roasters. They deliver too: either tweet at them @BaguetteBicycle or call +27 (0)74 175 7144.  

Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour
This bohemian caravan’s tagline ‘purveyor of magical infusions and tasty curiosities’ is a hint to what lies within: loose-leaf teas from all over the world, traditionally brewed and then paired with a treat. Think tea-flavoured cupcakes, and savoury quiches. Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour travels from place-to-place and is also available for event hire. Find them on Twitter @Lady_Bonin or call +27 (0)83 628 2504. 

Mobile dining is still a relatively new concept in our city (not counting the ‘70s of course). Send us a tweet @CapeTownMag or post on our Facebook wall if you know of any other ‘meals on wheels’.

By Malu Lambert

Another retro trend seeing the light of day is roller derby, and Cape Town has its own league: Mother City Mayhem.