Surely you've passed by a construction site during lunch or break time and seen a bunch of workers standing around a silver truck waiting to buy a hot meal or a cold drink. Officially, I think they are listed as 'industrial caterer'.
Around here, they're commonly called "The Lunch Truck" When they arrive, you can hear them blow a very distinctive horn... there's no mistake. Lunch has arrived!
If you know the lunch truck you may have heard slang names for these guys... like "Tomane Truck" "Vomit Wagon" "Gut Truck" "Barfmobile" and... the ever famous "Roach Coach"
There was an old B rated movie about 3 women who went into the lunch truck business... the name on the truck was "Love Bites" and I think they may have been prostitutes as well... Yes, there are women lunch truck drivers, but it's a tough business and a very small percentage of women do this kind of work.
I don't envy these 'lunch truck' guys and the service they provide. Typically, they are on the road before 5am so they can arrive on the first jobsite before 6:30 and make a few stops before the 7am workforce gets going. I know it's very territorial for them as they often drive 200 miles a day making their rounds to visit as many places as they can. We have one truck that serves some of the businesses in the area. He's not the only one and once a route is set, they don't cross over another drivers stop or they are apt to have a serious fight.
When they run a regular route, many of the workers who buy food from them do so, on credit. The driver has a book with names and amounts owed and often they come by on Friday to cash paychecks. What a business... deliver food and (for a fee) cash paychecks. Yes, many have to carry guns because they carry so much cash.
So how did they get these horrible names like "Roach Coach" ??
I'm sure in the early days, some lazy drivers didn't take the food out at night or didn't clean the truck as often as they should and they ended up carrying roaches...
They have too much at stake now and the trucks I have seen are always cleaned and the foods are properly displayed. The many selections of tasty hot foods are as good as most cafeterias.
From experience, I've found the lunch trucks that visit mostly construction sites, tend to have more ready-made sandwiches (sealed in plastic wrap) and the trucks that service local business' and industrial parks have trays of foods so you can choose do-it-yourself meals.
The guy who comes by our woodshop is like that. Today, he arrived at 11:50 and his selections included:
Cuban style, thin steak & onions, Southern style fried chicken, spicy chicken wings, fried batter fish, pork chops, Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, white rice, yellow rice with peas and carrots, chopped pork and Spanish style shredded steak, Cuban style plantains and fried bananas. I almost forgot. He usually carries Pizza both Cheese and Peperoni.
Amazing. He's got 3 types of bread and rolls, 4 different types of Cuban pastries, fruits, fruit salad, slices of avocado, onion, tomato... 20 selections of cold drinks, cookies, cake and pie... sheesh!
I better stop calling his truck "The Roach Coach"
This guy deserves much better... maybe tomorrow, when I hear those horns again, I'll have to announce "The 'Cafe De Movealong' has arrived"
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lazareth
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Nov 10 @ 8:26PM
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Oh boy, I had to read this..... when I was a little kid my Dad ran one of these in between farming the tobacco fields. We used to ride with dad around to all of the businesses in High Point. The food really sucked and if ya watched it being made every morning ya sure didn't eat the sandwiches.
but it was a great way for the 3 of us girls get collect some loose change cause many of the folks my dad "catered" to would always give us a little change they had left over from their purchases.
Eh, the hot chocolate wasn't bad though......
Thanks for the memory.... of of the very few good ones I have of my dad... 
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missliss78
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Nov 10 @ 8:35PM
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 Fun blog, chat!
We don't have these lunch trucks around here so much nowadays, though I do remember them from many years back.
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scorpiogirl36
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Nov 10 @ 9:49PM
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when I hear those horns again, I'll have to announce "The 'Cafe De Movealong' has arrived" I had to laugh...they'll always be referred to as the "Roach Coach"..it's too late to change the name and apparently it's the same across the country. Even funnier is no one seems to really mind. 
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daisy315
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Nov 10 @ 10:50PM
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Ahh.. the memories...
there are quite a few women driving these trucks now.. moms that can be home when their kids get out of school.. The food has greatly improved over the past 30 years.. the last time I bought lunch from one, the selection wasn't large, but the food was hot and tasty.. and Chris always had a hidden jug of fresh squeezed lemonade for his favorite customers..
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TallBlonde1
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Nov 10 @ 11:17PM
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I used to work in uber-trendy downtown Pasadena with probably 50+ great restaurants in walking distance, but some days I be across the street at the construction site getting something freshly made off the coach for breakfast or lunch. The hygenine codes for them and their trucks are just as strict if not more than the restaurants and the food is made right in front of you. The best part is they'll make almost anything you want, exactly the way you want and it's usually quite tasty. It can't be an easy job to with all those hours, all that cooking, cleaning, restocking and driving though. You've got to respect folks like that.
Nice blog Chat.
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KnittinKitten
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Nov 11 @ 11:11AM
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It's been awhile since I've had lunch from one of those wagons...A friend from school days had one near where I worked and I enjoyed lunch there often, years ago.. I NEVER called those wagons anything but "Lunch Wagon" and I never felt a moment's hesitation as to the cleanliness...they sure looked spotless, to me...
Thanks for bringing back some fond memories....the food was VERY tasty.....and, inexpensive.
Fondly,
KK
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