Shimond Bradley is pretty honest about why he got in the food truck business. "I wanted a restaurant, but didn't have half a million dollars," he says.
You have to respect that statement. It carries with it foresight and good judgment.
Bradley graduated from Johnson and Wales University's culinary college and has worked locally at the Libertine Bar, The Holy Grail and most recently Stonebridge Country Club. When he was ready to strike out on his own, the aforementioned $500,000 for a restaurant wasn't realistic.
So, for the past several months he's been driving around The Crazy Pig food truck, serving modern American cuisine with a touch of everything. Like the fried-chicken sandwich in the photo above with apple slaw and a Bearnaise sauce on a brioche bun.
From the snack menu are house-made pork rinds. Dinner entrees include roasted hen with a cilantro sauce, and top ramen made with pig cheek, noodles in a pork broth with the requisite egg. Or how about the fried pig -- a trotter and cheek terrine with hominy and fried greens?
The daily menu is tweaked based on what's fresh and, perhaps, what the chef is in the mood for at the time.
So far, the food truck business has mimicked the restaurant business. Bradley says there are good days and bad days, the major difference being truck repairs, "I've had to fix the transmission and the clutch already. And the propane regulator has broken twice. But, it just comes with the business. I just have to fix it and keep going."
All in all though, he loves it. "I love being out in the open, doing different things and going different places," he says.
Restaurants never move. Half a million and you never even get to go anywhere. The Crazy Pig will be at Lakwood Brewing Co. this Saturday afternoon. Check their full calendar here.
