20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 8-14, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Rolling Forward Sam Shokir is at the window, working the grill and checking the pantry, seemingly all at once. The owner of Nuevo Cairo Mediterranean Street Food, a food trailer parked permanently beside a gas station in Monterey, is finishing a large order. The customer reminds him about garlic fries. Shokir pauses, apologizes and promises “two minutes.” As that customer leaves the window, a mother and her two boys arrive, sending Shokir into a frenzy once again. A young couple follows, then another car pulls up. “I would say it’s definitely a lot easier to purchase a food truck than it is to sign a lease,” says Orlando Osornio, the former owner of a mobile kitchen. “But it’s definitely not any less work.” While Osornio gave up his food truck, Tortas al 100, three years ago—“I got elected as a city councilmember and had a daughter in the same year,” he explains—he remains enthusiastic about the platform. This spring he launched What’s Grubbin’ Salinas, a monthly food truck gathering at the Salinas train station that will run through October. The first featured 18 trucks, including a hibachi grill, one serving barbecue, another dedicated to all things potato and more. Surprisingly, given his former vocation, Osornio invited only two vehicles preparing Mexican dishes. “Salinas has a huge number of taco vendors,” he says. “We wanted people to think of it as a food truck festival.” Along with mobile kitchens, Osornio assembled live music, a wine and beer garden, as well as a game zone on the grounds. The second festival, held at the beginning of May, drew interest from as far away as Anaheim. “Obviously anytime an organizer can get that many food trucks together, it’s going to be a success,” he concludes. Food trucks have gained in popularity over the past two or three decades in cities across the country, although the scene is more With a new food truck festival drawing crowds, the scene in Monterey County is growing. By Dave Faries People gather at What’s Grubbin’ Salinas, a new monthly festival of food trucks. Organizer Orlando Osornio says that one reason for the rising popularity of mobile kitchens is that owners now pay attention to the appearance of their vehicles. NIK BLASKOVICH
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