February 22, 2012

Food (Truck) Fight

Caplansky's vs El Gastrónomo

Zane Caplansky and Tamara Jensen prepare for battle.

If you think chip trucks are the height of mobile cuisine in the GTA, think again. Thanks to Zane Caplansky’s “mobile deli” and Tamara Jensen and Adam Hynam-Smith’s gourmet taco truck, the city has more hearty and (sometimes) healthy options than ever. Jensen and Caplansky give us the goods on their gas-guzzlin’ four-wheeled bitchin’ kitchens. Start your engines.

Name & year opened:
Zane Caplansky, August 2011 Tamara Jensen, July 2010.
Got a nickname for your truck?
Thunderin’ Thelma. It was named after my grandmother. We also call it the Delimobile. No name yet — but we’re open to suggestions!
How’d the food truck come about?
The truck idea came from the catering and special events we do. We were doing large festivals with like 5,000 people in attendance, and people loved the food, but we couldn’t make it fast enough.The truck is more efficient. My partner Adam was making gourmet tacos for fun one night at the restaurant he worked at in Ottawa. He came home and said, “We’re opening a taco truck.”
Ever put the pedal to the metal?
It’s actually governed, so there’s a device that prevents it from going over 110 km/h. We give ourselves plenty of time to drive to locations because the truck has a hard time going faster than 100 km/h.
Furthest you’ve travelled in the truck?
To go to Melancthon for Foodstock. We’ve travelled from St. Catharines to the east end of Toronto.
Signature dishes?
We’re a deli, so we serve a smoked meat sandwich, brisket sandwich, French fries, poutine, doughnuts, soups, grilled salami, and a Reuben sandwich is really popular. We serve globally inspired street food, like gourmet tacos, Southeast Asian soups and curries, fresh garden salads and whatever we feel like cooking!
Most people you’ve served in a day?
We’ve done over 500! Close to 700 in three hours.

 

This article appears in the January 2012 issue of Post City Magazines

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