July 8, 2021
Larry Abney grew up cooking alongside his mother in the kitchen, but he didn’t consider becoming a professional chef until after college.
“Growing up I worked on a ranch and we would all go to a nice restaurant with the owner. It was the nicest restaurant in town, an Italian place,” said Chef Abney.
In the kitchen of the fanciest restaurant in his small hometown, Larry found his calling in the culinary world working first as a prep cook.
Larry attended culinary school and brought food to life from kitchens in Washington DC, New York and Aspen before planting his roots in Lake Tahoe, where he saw a need for healthy food that was fast, easy and had bold flavor; and thus, Red Truck was born.
Red Truck operates a café inside the Truckee Tahoe Airport serving up delicious breakfast and lunch options, as well as a food truck that you can find at local events like Truckee Thursdays, or rent out for private events.
“Red Truck food is an eclectic mix of Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine with a healthy Tahoe twist. People around here want to get outdoors, they’re athletes, they care about their bodies; I want to give people food that they are happy to eat and feel good about afterward.”
Chef Abney developed the Red Truck menu paying close attention to how ingredients are sourced.
Red Truck works closely with the Tahoe Food Hub, Hole in One Ranch and other nearby farms, using responsibly sourced, organic foods.
Chef Abney said his original vision for the food truck was to stick to an Asian-fusion menu but after working through logistics they decided the best way to pack a punch was by bringing a healthy twist to Indian-inspired cuisine.
For the home cook who could use a pro-tip, Larry says that everyone should buy an immersion circulator to enhance flavor with a sous vide technique.
“It’s super precise, they cook whatever you want to a perfect temperature. You could have the cheapest meat, chuck for example, put it in the bag with herbs, put the bag in the water and set it to 140 degrees, leave it for 72 hours and it will taste better than any prime rib because it’s cooked absolutely perfectly and you don’t cook off any of the flavors during the process – it all stays in the bag,” he explained.
Immersion circulators are more affordable than ever and make cooking gourmet dishes at home a breeze, you can even program it with an app right from your smartphone – what a time to be alive in the kitchen.
For people on the go who don’t want to sacrifice wholesome ingredients or flavor, Red Truck is the perfect breakfast or lunchtime option.
The Menu
Breakfast favorites include their delicious, moist quiche with a delicious flaky crust (every day Red Truck whips up a new quiche flavor), a breakfast bowl with quinoa, eggs, veggies, hash brown potato and yogurt tahini sauce, fresh muffins and croissants prepared daily, and breakfast sandwiches or burritos built to your liking.
For lunch, Red Truck brings amazing Indian-inspired flavors to life with healthy preparation methods. Stop in or order to-go their delicious tacos, quiche, soup, burritos, bowls, naan creations in sandwiches or hot-dog style, deli sandwiches, salads and more.
The menu is so diverse you won’t grow tired of the Red Truck menu anytime soon – everything offers powerful, yet well-balanced flavors and will leave you satisfied with wholesome ingredients.
The Pork Belly Bánh Mì is their most popular sandwich, and for good reason. The balance of sweet, salt and heat is elevated with the crunchy carrot and daikon topping and chef Abney was kind enough to share the recipe so we can try to recreate it at home.
The Atmosphere
As Chef Abney said, the people who live and visit North Lake Tahoe are health-conscious, hard-working people who care about their bodies and want fuel for the day that won’t hold them back.
Red Truck’s team is a well-oiled machine, everyone works hand-in-hand to deliver the kind of service you would expect to find at your hometown diner. Everyone is welcomed and treated like family for as much or as little time they have to spare on a lunch break.
Catching the Red Truck food truck at local events is an exciting time; you can’t miss it from its bright red paint job to the delicious smelling dishes they’re preparing, inside.
