Small Bites: Southern Girl Desserts brings cupcakes to Lucy Florence; Frysmith truck officially launches today

Cupcakes come to Lucy Florence: Southern Girl Desserts, whose sweet potato pie cupcakes placed third in the Best Original Cupcake category at last year's LA Cupcake Challenge, has opened its first storefront at Lucy Florence Image. In addition to cupcakes, owners Catarah Hampshire and Shonijeh Robison specialize in Southern favorites like pineapple obsession, banana pudding and cobbler. 5671 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. (310) 686-8916, www.southerngirldesserts.com.

[UPDATED: A previous version of this post listed the telephone number incorrectly.]

Gourmet fries on the move: The Frysmith truck that we first covered back in July officially launches today, bringing its rajas fries (roasted poblano chiles, caramelized onions and shawarma-marinated steak with Jack cheese); kimchi fries (kimchi with Kurobuta pork belly, onions and cheddar cheese); vegan chili fries and chicken sweet potato fries to the hungry masses. Follow them on Twitter @frysmith, or keep up with all of L.A.'s food trucks.

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Sweet potato cupcakes from Southern Girl Desserts. Credit: Rob Takata / For The Times

The churro man tries to get ahead in the slow lane

El Churrero -- the Churro Man -- sidesteps tamale carts, squeezes between bumpers and beggars, working 24 lanes of idling vehicles.

He walks through shimmering exhaust clouds, hawking sombreros teetering atop his head and sweets held aloft in a blue basket. His churros are warm and moist. "Churros here," he yells. "If they're not hot, you don't pay."

Deciderio Mauricio Cantera first waded into the sea of traffic at the gateway to California in 1968 and set eyes on the bored and the hungry as they waited, fidgeted and honked, inching toward the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

This isn't a traffic jam, thought Mauricio. This is a swap meet on wheels.

To American border crossers, the ragtag knots of vendors have long evoked wonder, pity and annoyance -- symbols of disorder and desperation at the shabby entrance to the developing world.

But there's much more to it than that. Read the rest of Mauricio's story here, in this special report from the border:

Photo: Deciderio Mauricio Cantera moves through traffic at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Food truck profile: Little Spoon dessert truck rolls across Los Angeles

Melissa Hanna and Laurel Tincher think they've found their sweet spot. Backed by food truck juggernaut Road Stoves, the two college-age entrepreneurs recently launched the Little Spoon dessert truck (Twitter: @weliketospoon), bringing together a wealth of freshly made baked goods from a variety of local vendors. Prior to the current food truck craze, Hanna had spent two years developing a business model for a dessert company that was based on partnering with local bakers and chocolatiers. "We're not trying to be a cupcake truck," Hanna says. "That's already out there."

With more experience in publicity and event promotion than in working at a professional oven, the pair will leave the baking to others. Little Spoon has contracted with several different caterers to produce the truck's rotating menu of brownies, cookies, bars, layer cakes, eclairs, tiramisu, creme brulee, (maybe) cupcakes and novelty items like pumpkin brittle, macarons and cookie bark (layers of toffee and chocolate drizzled on top of cookies). Drinks include an assortment of high-end teas and vintage sodas.

After testing the waters during the last couple of weeks, Little Spoon will start to roll out on a regular basis, splitting its time between private catered events and public locations. Wherever a sweet tooth aches, wherever a worker needs a distraction, wherever 3 p.m. rolls around and energy flags, Little Spoon will be there.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photos: Courtesy of Little Spoon.

Sampler Platter: Veterans Day deals, Toshi Sushi celebrates anniversary, Ruby Tuesday gets posher, bacon envelopes and chocolate mousse Peeps

Even among fast casual eateries there's a caste system. And Ruby Tuesday wants to move out of the neighborhood it shares with Applebee's and Chili's and into the classier 'hood alongside Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse. All this and more essential food news:

--Speaking of Applebee's, they're giving a free meal to Veterans today. Krispy Kreme giving away free doughnuts. Consumerist
--Ruby Tuesday upgrades with fancier decor, more expensive food. New York Times
--Toshi Sushi, "greatest omakase bargain in Little Tokyo," celebrates anniversary. Sinosoul
--Mendocino Farms to open 2nd downtown venue at 5th and Flower streets. Blog Downtown
--Portland brewer makes beer from Bac-O Bits, Nutella and more. Houston Chronicle
-- Food pioneer: Chef Fergus Henderson. The Times
--The folks who made Bacon Salt bring you Bacon Envelopes. J&D Foods
--Crispy tripas at Rambo's Taco Truck in Eagle Rock. Gourmet Pigs
--Miniature finger-food plates: Absurd or absurdly practical? The Kitchn
--Everyone loves the cheese dust. Dorito's DIY commercial contest returns.
--Burlingame officials try to run Curry Up Now truck out of town. California Taco Trucks
--Chocolate mousse-flavored Marshmallow Reindeer Peeps, new for the holidays.
--A roundup of pumpkin-based restaurant specials. Caroline On Crack

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: Toshihiko Seki, owner and chef of Toshi Sushi in downtown Los Angeles, prepares a plate of sashimi and rolls. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Sampler Platter: Mignon coming to downtown L.A., Santa Monica resists food trucks, loads of contests

How is it possible that Farrell's is opening a location in Orange County before opening another location in Los Angeles? I have no idea, but it's true. This and more in today's food news.

-- Mignon, from the owners of Bacaro LA Wine Bar, is set to open this winter next to Cole's/Varnish. Eater LA
-- Santa Monica resists nouveau food trucks. California Taco Trucks
--Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour makes its Orange County return on Wednesday, opening a new location in Mission Viejo. Fast Food Maven
-- The New Yorker profiles Jonathan Gold (and mentions local food blogger Teenage Glutster!).
-- With the demise of Gourmet magazine, Jane and Michael Stern will now be e-mailing their Roadfood newsletter once a week. Eating LA
-- Mattatouille has some lovely pictures from his recent foodventures in Japan, Indonesia and Korea.
-- New York firm recalls ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination. Safe Tables
-- Challenge Butter recently launched its "Taste of the West" contest. Prizes include a seven-day / six-night trip to Montana and an $850 kitchen package from Spice Islands and OXO.
-- Check out this infomercial, supposedly the first one ever, made in 1949. It's from Vita-Mix and features founder William G. “Papa” Barnard and a blender. Make your own absurd video and you could win Vita-Mix's Pitch Me! contest.
-- Marly Billings of Newport Beach, Shelly Mayo of Brentwood and David Walter of Los Angeles won Wahoo's Fish Tacos' recent naming contest with the three following dishes: Power Chopper Salad, Wafu Bowl and Baja-ladas Platter.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: 28-year-old Justin Dervaes (right) secures a smoothie being blended as his sister Jordanne pedals in the backyard of the family's urban homestead in Pasadena. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times.

Follow food trucks on our Twitter list; Asian Soul Kitchen rolling out Dec. 1

Using Twitter's new list function, I managed to harness one tiny atom of the power of social networking by creating a list of Los Angeles food trucks.

At the top (OK, technically, the bottom) is the newest of the nouveau food trucks, Asian Soul Kitchen. The brainchild of husband-and-wife team Richard Wright and Akiko Konami, it fuses American soul food and Asian food. The duo previously ran the Butta’Cup Lounge, a similarly themed restaurant in the Fort Greene neighborhood of  Brooklyn, before picking up stakes and moving to L.A. in 2008. Examples of their fusion cuisine include teriyaki beef sliders, salmon croquettes and their signature lollipop chicken (fried chicken with an optional tamarind glaze). Barring any delays, the truck should officially roll out on Dec. 1, but check their Twitter feed for test runs after the truck gets wrapped in mid-November.

Asian Soul Kitchen is part of the expanding fleet of Road Stoves trucks, which is also rolling out the Little Spoon dessert truck in the near future. More details to come.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Various food trucks park outside the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA for the Dwell on Design conference in June. Credit: Stefano Paltera / For The Times

Sampler Platter: promo Whopper has 7 patties, sparkling wine vs. champagne, urban chickening

Urban chickens and urban food critics lead this end-of-the-week roundup of food news.

--Burger King's Windows 7 Whopper has 7 patties, 2,120 calories. Japanator
--The Atlantic explores six Australian foods worth trying and the role of food critics in the Internet age.
--Carpinteria hot dog vendor relishes his sales-tax victory. Los Angeles Times
--Sparkling wine is just as good as champagne (when it's well made). Consumerist
--The perils of urban chickening. New York Times
--David Lazarus asks: Is Smart Choices misleading? Los Angeles Times

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Bill Connell, 55, stands in front of his Surf Dog stand in Carpinteria. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Dogtown hot dog truck to roll out on Thursday in Los Angeles

[Update 3:56 p.m.: An earlier version of this post referred to Mike Rosa and Ryan Bailey as the former general manager and chef of Ma'Kai. Both men will retain their position at Ma'Kai while running Dogtown.]

The popular Let's Be Frank cart won't be Los Angeles' only gourmet hot dog vendor on wheels, after the Dogtown hot dog truck rolls out this Thursday. (Twitter: @dogtowndog)

Business partners Mike Rosa and Ryan Bailey, the general manager and chef, respectively, of Ma'Kai in Santa Monica (which may soon be replaced by a Red Onion, according to Eater LA), originally wanted to open "some kind of boutique-y location on the Westside" but decided it was too restrictive. Having followed the food truck movement, they quickly settled on hot dogs as their food of choice.

"We wanted to spruce up [hot dogs] a bit," Rosa says. "We've noticed the resurgence of the gourmet burger. We felt we could do the same thing with hot dogs. With hot dogs there's more room to get creative than with burgers because you can do so much with sauces and with toppings and that you can't do with burgers."

Using nitrate-free, grass-fed dogs from Rocker Bros., Dogtown will offer five basic hot dogs alongside one or two daily specials ($5 to $7). Aside from slaw, the only side (at least as of now) is tater tots tossed with sea salt and smoked paprika ($3).

Their signature dog, the Dogtown, comes unadorned except for a tart fennel slaw. The Chile Relleno Dog is coated in a corn masa batter and served with tomatillo ketchup. The Morning Commute Dog is topped with applewood-smoked bacon and a fried egg. For vegetarians, there's a meat-free Philly Cheesesteak made with grilled Portobello mushrooms, sliced onions and peppers. And the Trailer Trash Dog plays both sides of the highbrow-lowbrow coin, featuring a chili dog topped with crumbled Fritos.

"We want people to enjoy how tongue-in-cheek the hot dog can be," Rosa says, "and to be proud of its suspect nature."

-- Elina Shatkin

Logo: courtesy of Dogtown

Food trucks to converge at Beyond Eden Art Fair

The newly dubbed Beyond Eden Art Fair (it was the East of Eden Art Fair at its debut last year) returns to Barnsdall Art Park with a broader roster of contemporary and pop-surrealist art as well as a brand-new menu of culinary delights. The festival, which takes place tonight (VIP preview), Saturday and Sunday, will feature a food truck roundup on Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight. Bigfoot Lodge will also have a cash bar set up. 

The work includes "sculptural manipulation of found objects, paintings crafted from spray paint and stencils, and sweeping, dreamy visions of wide-eyed women." The food includes Baby's Badass Burgers, Coolhaus, Dosa Truck and Green Truck.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: The Coolhaus ice cream truck. Credit: Stefano Paltera / For The Times.

Sampler Platter: Cupcake car, Godfather vodka, KISS M&M'S, Kanye West on chicken

Ridiculous branded products (from vodka to candy), risky foods and fast food chains that are trying new tricks and treats... All this and more in today's food news roundup.

-- Squabbles between street vendors are becoming more frequent at the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Soto Street. The Eastsider LA
-- Five of the Top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods are vegetables and fruits. Booster Shots
-- Despite the down economy, food festivals are booming. Wall Street Journal
-- Chef Robert Danhi (brother of Grilled Cheese Truck founder Dave Danhi) leads tasting tours through Little Saigon, a.k.a. Westminster. Brand X
-- Burger King to overhaul all its restaurants in an attempt to compete with more upscale fast casual eateries. AdAge
-- Taco Bell tests cupcakes and smoothies. Fast Food Maven
-- Neiman Marcus' newest item: a $25,000 cupcake car. Slashgear
-- Godfather Vodka opens door to Oscar-winning branded booze. Movieline
-- Kanye West on chicken: I eat it because I'm black. The Boombox
-- KISS band members to be immortalized as M&M'S. KISS Army News
-- No more free cookies at Harvard faculty meetings. Oh, the humanity! New York Times

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Ground lamb skewers at the Anatolian Culture and Cuisine Festival held in April in Costa Mesa. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times