Food Carts Vie for Spaces, Customers in Annapolis Finals

Tikka Tikka Taco was the first food cart to set up shop in Annapolis, while the two other vendors circled the city, shopping for the right spot.

The Great Food Truck Race, being filmed by The Food Network, kicked into high gear Friday afternoon in Annapolis, as three vendors vied for the final competition.

At about 3 p.m., Tikka Tikka Taco—which sells Indian and Mexican fusion cuisine—sold out of chicken. They had to close up shop to resupply by 5 p.m. 

During that downtime, Patch spoke with Tikka Tikka's co-founder Shaun Swaleh about the businesses' choice of fusion food. He said his decision was deeply tied to the cuisine he and his brother ate while growing up.

"We were just such a passionate family when it came to food," he said. "The food is like Mike (Mike Swaleh, his brother) and I, we are part Iranian, part Indian, part Hungarian, part Italian. We grew up eating food we didn't even know where it was from."

Business has been good in Annapolis so far, Swaleh said, particularly among the military crowd. A veteran of the U.S. Army having fought in Afghanistan, Swaleh said he could always count on the military to come out and support them in each of the cities they've visited.

The trucks have been through eight cities during the televised competition, with Annapolis being the final leg of the televised tournament, in which they're scored based on sales.

Friday afternoon, the other two trucks in the competition, Aloha Plate Truck and Philly's Finest Sambonis were having a tougher time than Tikka Tikka securing an outdoor location, but it all worked out in the end.

Aloha was headed to the Annapolis T-Shirt Company on Main Street, but soon discovered they would be in violation of local code by locating so closely to other Annapolis eateries, including Chick & Ruth's Delly. Instead, the group found a spot in front of Metropolitan Kitchen & Lounge on West Street, and opened there at about 3:30 p.m.

Samboni's parked in front of Loews Annapolis Hotel, also on West Street, at 4:15 p.m. and began selling their specialty Italian dishes.

If Friday was any lesson, it's become difficult to predict where the trucks will end up next. The location for the trucks over the weekend continues to shift. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.