Great Food Truck Season 3 Finale!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

What's the marketing technique of this show to get people out in these cities?Not that it really matters, but I'm curious. Anyway, so I'm really glad that the Seoul Sausage boys pulled it out in the end, even if it was extremely close throughout this final three-city stop. I found the cities where they sold to be interesting, but am particularly intrigued as to why they only spent ninety minutes in the final destination, even if it was such a small town... did Tyler just want to wrap it up? I mean, I feel like the trucks drove a long way and did a lot of strategizing (to make the items under two bucks each!) in order to work in Lubec, Maine! I also thought that having to shuck 600 clams was a TON of work! I've never done clams, but I used to go on a weekend scalloping trip every year where we would shuck our own unless we had a particularly plentiful haul (which was only the final time, LoL!), and it took a TON of time! Of course, it's probably a little different when you don't want your hard-earned seafood to go to waste! So, what did you think? Were you pulling for the Jersey girls and their nonnas? Do you think that Seoul Sausage stands a chance in the real market?

The Great Food Truck Race "Where in the World is Lubec?" (S03E07): The teams have $500 to start their 335-mile finale which spans three cities. [on the one hand, that sounds exciting, but on the other, you know that those will have to be shorter stops, which isn't always as exciting.] The Truck Stop has the teams create a dish using New England Lobster, and local fishermen judge Nonna's dish to be better, though they both had their pros and cons. [Neither team knowing much about lobsters was odd, I felt. I mean, I understand that they're not the most typical food truck cuisine, but I feel like I would have gotten some basics pre-game if I didn't know ANYTHING about how to cook a specific meat!] Tyler doesn't call the teams with the results until the next day, and the prize is that Team Nonna's gets a head-start on heading to destination #2: Portland, Maine. [I think I would have gone crazy waiting overnight for the results!] Seoul Sausage can only join them after they shuck six bushels of clams (like 600lbs!). The next day, the trucks park close together, but soon they're told to move on anyway, 227 miles northeast to Lubec, a city of just 1600. [yikes! teeny!] It's on the Maine coast and is the easternmost point of the contiguous US. It comes with the bonus challenge that no menu items can cost more than $2. [difficult!] Before they get to Lubec, they were separated by only FIVE DOLLARS! They only sell for 90 minutes in Lubec before they have to pack up (even though they have lines of customers!) and head to Tyler for the final count. Seoul Sausage wins by just $107, $6,670 to $6,563.

Seoul Sausage, Korean Sausages, Los Angeles. For Boston, they call the HQ of a cupcake place they know in LA and partner with them for the day. For their Truck Stop, they poach a lobster in butter and put it on a roll with some apple coleslaw. [...doesn't sound that great to me.] The judges would have liked smaller pieces of meat in the sandwich (plus claw meat!), and a chilled sandwich with the coleslaw on the side instead. By the time they get to Portland, they don't have much time left to sell. The next morning, they raise their prices a dollar to catch up, feeling they're behind Nonna's. [not a bad idea.] They want to go with the full menu but with smaller portions in Lubec, and that seems to totally work for them.

TLC

Nonna's Kitchenette, Italian Grandmas' Recipes, NJ. For Boston, they call ahead and team-up with a local food truck, plus they add fried ravioli to their menu. [a new item in the final week? sounds a little risky to me...] For the Truck Stop, they do lobster cakes with dip, but the cakes fall apart a bit. They do fix that, though, and put them on their menu for Portland. [I thought that was a smart move. but did they buy more lobster or just only sell them for a short period of time?] For Lubec, they plan to go to a donuts-only menu to work with the low price point required. [I think that was a fail! why not at least offer a single meatball or something?? the ice cream sandwich? smaller root beer floats?]  

TLC