By Portia Bode
Published: December 07, 2009

By Portia Bode
Daily Titan Staff Writer

Many lunch trucks are using Twitter to spread the word about their niche cuisines.
Don Chow Tacos, Border Grill and Let’s Be Frank’s goal is to bring delicious, but inexpensive food to the masses through lunch trucks.

Lawrence Lie and Dominic Lau co-founded Don Chow Tacos – a fusion of Chinese and Mexican food.
Lie and Lau went to USC together 10 years ago.

They wanted to experiment with having a lunch truck to see if the mix of Chinese and Mexican food was a hit.

They made only $42 in sales the first night; however, their business has been much more successful since then.

Lau wanted to give the public a place to go after going to bars or clubs.

People ask Lau and Lie if there is competition between the different lunch trucks, but Lau’s response is, “We don’t really think of it as competition; it just raises the bar and brings credibility to the industry.”

He added that the recent growth is only helping, and it’s “friendly competition.”

Don Chow Tacos’ main items include Chinese tamales, or “Chimales,” which have Kung Pao chicken or Chinese barbecue pork; a “Dirty Taco” which is a taco with carne asada, bacon and grilled onions; traditional tacos (carne asada, carnitas and chicken) and more.

“Twitter is a very critical part of the business, but it all comes down to the food,” Lau said.

For more information on Don Chow Tacos, check out DonChowTacos.com or Twitter.com/DonChowTacos.

Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, owners of Border Grill, are also new to the lunch truck industry with their Border Grill truck. They have been in the food industry since 1981 when they opened their first restaurant City Cafe on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.

Between 1990 and 1999, they have opened Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., and Ciudad in Downtown Los Angeles.

They hosted “Too Hot Tamales” on FoodNetwork from 1996 – 2001, taping 396 shows, Milliken said.

They have also taped five shows of “Chef du Jour.” They have also written five cookbooks, which can be found on their Web site.

According to MarySueAndSusan.com, they also have a line of prepared foods under their “Border Girls” brand at Whole Foods Market.

Milliken and Feniger have been thinking about the lunch truck concept for years and are very excited about finally having one. After a three-month trial, they said it was “widely successful” and have been “amazed at the reaction.”

They like the mobility of the truck and “being able to bring the food to (the public). It’s a great option for people,” Milliken said.

The Border Grill truck is run by chef and manager, Loretta Peng, and sous chef, Teresa Montano. Border Grill and the truck are well known in the city for being service-oriented and making sure that customers are served quickly.

“We really like to use high quality products,” Milliken said. Border Grill tries to differentiate themselves by the six different tacos they serve: cillantro chicken, Yucatan pork, carne asada, crispy Baja fish, avocado and potato rajas.

To make it easier to eat, they serve a green corn tamale and Peruvian ceviche in cones so that customers can eat without getting their hands dirty. Their specialty drinks include lemonade and iced Mexican coffee.

Border Grill has received a warm and generous welcome from all sorts of venues and neighborhoods to get the food to where they are, Milliken said.

For more information on Border Grill, check out BorderGrill.com or Twitter.com/BorderGrill.

Let’s Be Frank, a hot dog vendor, was co-founded by Sue Moore and Larry Bain with their goal to “change the world one hot dog at a time,” according to their Web site. Moore and Bain have a hot dog trailer at the Helms Bakery Complex in Culver City. They started selling from their truck in Silverlake and Culver City in the spring of 2008.

The meat that they use comes from cows that are grass fed by ranchers; the meat is consolidated and only a few people control the supply chain. The lamb casing gives the dogs a snap, Moore said.

The dogs are simple and uncured and have “a cleaner taste,” Moore added.

When it comes to condiments, the ketchup, sauerkraut, pickles, relish and onions (which they grill) are all organic. The only one that isn’t is their deli mustard.

They have received a positive response from the public.

Recently, a woman who was eating with her daughter at the trailer came up to the window and said, “That hot dog tastes how all hot dogs used to taste. Thank you.”

Moore explained that their type of old-fashioned hot dogs were difficult to find these days.

“We’re trying to change the food system on a very basic, street level. We want to support the change in our food system. … Theoretically, with every dog we’re getting that much closer,” Moore said.

For more information on Let’s Be Frank, check out LetsBeFrankDogs.com or Twitter.com/LetsBeFrankICT.