by Nikki M. MascaliStaff Writer
In New York City, you can’t swing a plastic fork without hitting a food vendor. The city’s like a smorgasbord spread out before hungry people. Where else can you get a Sabrett hot dog, jerk chicken, roasted nuts, falafel or a cupcake without even leaving the streets that never sleep?
Certainly not here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Sure, food vendors set up on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square a few months out of the year for the Farmers’ Market, and yes, some hot dog carts can be found in Scranton. But that’s about it.
Jeff Diaz, aka Chef Jeff, is looking to change that with Da Taco Truck.
“When I was out in California, they have these trucks all over the place. I wanted to prove that out of a ‘roach coach,’ you can sell gourmet food,” Diaz explained with a laugh Thursday afternoon from inside his cart. “After doing the personal chef business for some time, I thought I’d do something different.”
Just big enough for him and his provisions, Da Taco Truck debuted a few weeks ago and can be found on North Washington Avenue outside Alexander’s Salon & Spa weekdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and outside The Bog on Adams Avenue from 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Diaz said that as long as he is at least 400 feet away from another eatery, he can set up shop anywhere within city limits.
“I figured in wintertime, (the North Washington) block is good because there’s tons of businesses and I’m only a couple steps away,” Diaz said. “I figured this would be a good spot.”
While he’s not eaten at Da Taco Truck yet, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty loves the concept.
“Chef Jeff’s a great cook, and I’ve been a great admirer of all the foods he’s done,” Doherty said. “He’s always been innovative. We have a lot of street traffic, and these vendors see that there’s money to be made.”
“With restaurants closing at 11 p.m., it’s good to have a place to grab something,” added Brian Craig, an owner of The Bog, Da Taco Truck’s weekend neighbor. “I had two burritos there, and they were marvelous.”
A DAY IN DA TRUCK
With no marketing budget, Diaz went viral, following in the footsteps of big-city food trucks like Cupcake Stop in New York City and Kogi in Los Angeles. Both businesses use social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to let people know their whereabouts. Both roving food trucks have racked up thousands of followers and national press.
“It’s definitely creating a pretty nice buzz for me,” he said of his Twitter and Facebook pages, “and it allows me to advertise for free.”
Another plus for using social media sites for promotion?
“You can place your order on Twitter,” Diaz said, “and I’ll have it ready for you when you get here.”
Despite last Thursday’s frigid temperatures, North Washington and Lackawanna avenues were abuzz with lunchtime activity.
Two women rounded the corner with to-go containers, and one was overheard exclaiming “A taco truck? Really? I wish I didn’t just get lunch!” as Joe Bryan of Wilkes-Barre made his way to Da Taco Truck.
“I’ve heard some good things about it, and after checking out the Web site, I decided to stop by,” said Bryan, who works in a building on Lackawanna Avenue. “It seems intriguing, and I wanted to try something new, something different. You hear about trucks like this in big cities; it’s kind of like a lost art.”
Another selling point for Bryan is the fact that Da Taco Truck takes all major credit cards, thanks to a laptop with a virtual terminal.
“I’m not a big cash carrier,” Bryant said, “so seeing that he takes credit cards is big!”
When asked Thursday if he’s concerned with anyone tampering with Da Taco Truck after hours, Diaz said no.
“It’s been OK so far … they’re going to have to load up a 2,000-pound cart,” he joked.
The question was a bit of unfortunate foreshadowing: Sometime on Sunday night, someone broke into Da Taco Truck after Diaz’s associate moved it to the driveway where it spends the night.
“I’m struggling as it is to try and make it with this, and someone does something like this,” Diaz said Monday. “I guess I have to be a little more cautious.”
Despite having many things stolen and the cart trashed, Diaz was optimistic, although he was baffled. But he remained open for business.
“Who says, ‘Hey, let’s go break into a taco truck?’ Maybe they didn’t like the name?” he wondered.
ON DA MENU
Da Taco Truck — which Diaz named partly because he wanted something catchy and partly to poke goodhearted fun at the dialect often found in NEPA — doesn’t just serve chicken, steak, pulled pork or vegetarian tacos. Diaz’s menu also features quesadillas, a crispy fish taco, the macho burrito — macho because its huge — and a Korean short rib taco made with marinated grilled short rib topped with julienned romaine and cabbage in his homemade soy vinaigrette, sesame chili Thai sauce and onion-cilantro relish.
“It’s got a bit of a bite,” Diaz warned.
Thanks to a few customers’ suggestions, Diaz on Friday unveiled a blackened chicken taco topped with orange marmalade and pico de gallo and a falafel taco.
“I need to please the customer because without them, I don’t exist,” he said.
Diaz starts his prep work about two hours before he opens for business. He uses only fresh ingredients that he usually gets at Wegmans and Schiff’s.
“I don’t use anything frozen in here, and I think people would tell the difference,” he said. “I cut the meat, make the rice, beans and hopefully, it’s a beautiful day.”
ENJOYING DA COOKING
Diaz knew at 13 that he wanted to be a chef.
“I just enjoyed eating and seeing my mom cook all the time,” he recalled. “I was always curious and tried to make everything like she did.”
A graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, Diaz has been in the restaurant industry for the past 18 years. He traveled all over the country before working with the Baja Fresh restaurant chain in California. After moving back to NEPA, Diaz founded I Don’t Want to Cook, a personal chef business. Most recently, he owned Comida Grill at 116 N. Washington Ave.
“Comida Grill is in a transition period,” Diaz said, “and due to a non-disclosure agreement, I can’t comment on it right now.”
Diaz does miss the buzz of a restaurant and creating a huge menu.
“I’m a fan of everything running at a fast pace, and I miss the ego aspect — though I do get some of that here when people tell me how good some of the items are,” he said. “I don’t miss the stress level, though,” he added, chuckling.
Diaz said he’d like to see Da Taco Truck expand into Wilkes-Barre sooner than later, and that he’d eventually like to lease bigger trucks and have a commissary where he’d make some of the stuff ahead of time.
“The goal with the Wilkes-Barre location is to kind of franchise it, to lease it, so (someone) can own their own business. I think it will go well.”
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