Gourmet Food Truck Fest Comes to the West Valley

The Mobile Gourmet presents Los Gatos Food Fest 4:30-8:30 p.m., Friday, April 27 in front of La Hacienda Inn, 18840 Saratoga-Los Gatos Rd.

The event will include live music by The Jokers, beer and wine, and mobile food trucks such as The Shackmobile, House of Siam, Curry Up Now!, Big Shrimppin', Pollo Frito, Los Altos Taco and Curry Up Now!

"It's the up-and-coming thing," said former Monte Sereno mayor Curtis Wright, who's helping as a consultant for the event, the first-ever planned in the West Valley cities. "It's a new trend."

Wright noted the Bay Area is behind the times in terms of gourmet food trucks because cities like Portland, OR and Los Angeles thrive on such offering of food to the public.

"It's a cool event and it's all the rage!"

Wright also stressed the event will be free and will give Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and hopefully other West Valley residents from Saratoga and Campbell an idea of what the food truck craze is all about.

Russ Stanley, the owner of La Hacienda, is allowing his lot to be used for the event free of charge as a test, Wright added.

"We're trying to see whether this can be a viable thing ... It's a test run to see if this kind of cool event is something that's useful."

Stanley may make some money from the sale of beer and wine, but he will also have to spend money renting chairs, buying cups and other related expenses, Wright said.

Parking will be free and offered on site, Wright said. "The food truck trend is mostly an urban thing," he explained.

The Shackmobile will be serving its famous lobster rolls and chowder. House of Siam will serve its chicken curry and Los Gatos' own Project Cupcake will be selling its sweet creations.

The Mobile Gourmet is a shoe-string start-up formed by two women who've spent their career in the tech industry. Their mission, according to the company's website, is to introduce the joys of the food truck phenomenon to the suburbs.

The women say they've had great success at area events including Wednesday Lunches at Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos; Thursday Dinner in Portolla Valley; Friday Dinner at The 3rd Door in Palo Alto; and various other fundraisers and private events.

To learn more, check out the event's Facebook page by clicking here.