Food Network Canada Shooting the Austin Trailer Scene

Austin’s recent surge of food trailer openings has not gone unnoticed by the national media. But the international media? That’s right, the Food Network Canada was in town this past weekend filming trailer chow. And they called me down to 6th and Waller for an on-camera interview in front of Lucky J’s new location.

The film crew was from Vancouver and the first thing I noticed is that they were hot accustomed to Austin’s late June heat. I arrived about 2pm on Saturday and it was steaming.The assembled Austin patrons (Lucky J’s is in a cluster of trailers ranging from biker fare??? to vegan) were cool but the Canadians were already flushed and sweating. Hence, nerves were a bit taut.

But they were pros and knew how to cut to the chase. My segment was to focus on my opinion of Lucky J’s along with some history of chicken and waffles in the South.

I talked about how Lucky J’s, in its first iteration on Burnet, had redirected the city’s attention to a once common restaurant staple that had fallen by the wayside in recent years. I’m a big fan of Lucky J’s so the first part was easy. But my interviewer seemed a bit reluctant to accept the fact that the birth of the waffle in the US is widely attributed to Thomas Jefferson (who actually brought a waffle iron back with him from a visit to France).

It’ll be interesting to see how much of my interview actually makes the final cut of the show. They also filmed at Jeff Blank’s Mighty Cone on South Congress and the quirky G’Raj Mahal off Red River. And they were absolutely stunned at the sheer volume of trailers operating in Austin. Apparently trailer mania has yet to hit Vancouver (one of the great dining cities in N. America). But we’ll keep you posted about when the show featuring Austin will air. In the meantime, go to foodnetwork.ca.