Even on an overcast day that threatens rain, customers scurry up to the mobile post known to its followers as PORC — Purveyors of Rolling Cuisine. Headed by a band of recent college grads, the truck and its business is manned daily in various D.C. neighborhoods. The tech-savvy can follow them by twittering. And when they catch up with PORC, they will find, among other dishes, pulled pork barbecue. That’s a favorite, says Josh Saltzman, who, along with co-founder with Trent Allen, began this on-the-go business model. Apparently so, because long before the official lunch closing at 1:45 p.m., people requested it, disappointed to find the pork had sold out. Others declared that they “needed” a Sloppy Joe, another popular menu item at PORC. Gone for the day, says Allen.
Saltzman and his partner in food, Allen, talked about how they began PORC, an offshoot of their food idea in college. “In our sophomore year in college,” says Saltzman, “we couldn’t find any good fried chicken in town [Ann Arbor. Mich.]. So we wanted to make and sell it, but we weren’t allowed to do that.”
After graduation and with no other job prospects or plans lined up, Allen says, the two decided to implement Saltzman’s idea to sell food on the go. “We looked at 50 other cities,” he says, “and moving from Michigan last summer, we started driving this old postal truck across country.”
| IF YOU GO |
| PORC |
| » Address and hours vary: twitter.com/porcmobile |
| » Email: [email protected] |
| » Phone: 202-567-7672 |
Neither PORC partner, nor driver/expediter Zach Spencer, has any formal culinary training. “Last summer,” says Allen, “I taught at a culinary camp” in Southeast. For his part, Saltzman worked as a farmers’ market salesmen and as a part-time sausage maker with sausage king Stanley Feder of Simply Sausage in Landover. As an adolescent, he worked at a hot dog stand on the Chicago beachfront. “I did it all,” he says.
How does that qualify them to sell some of the most popular street food in D.C.? “This is our family,” says Allen, pointing to Saltzman and Spencer. “All we do is cook.” Starting at 5 a.m. with Allen making the chocolate truffles and barbecue sauces and Saltzman working the smokers, the trio cooks food and arranges the truck for the day.
One snag is figuring out how much food to make. “We are looking for the right ratio of what people order and what to make,” says Allen, confirming that the pulled pork is the No. 1 seller. “The downside is that there is a finite amount of food we can pack into the truck, especially with the barbecue.”
When the last food is sold, the trio motors back to what has become their second home, a commercial kitchen on Georgia Avenue where the gracious owners have let them set up a smoker. “We went all over town looking for a kitchen,” says Saltzman, “and we were turned down by 10 places.” With that hurdle cleared, PORC can now take its fab food to hungry D.C. foodies.
What’s your comfort food?
Allen: Bologna sandwiches and Sloppy Joes
Saltzman: Matzoh ball soup. Otherwise I eat it all.
What’s in your fridge?
All: Ketchup, old head of lettuce, limeade, beer
What is your signature dish?
All: Pulled pork with hot sauce plus more garlic and pork drippings
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
Allen: “How to Cook Everything” and “The Professional Chef”. Also Alton Brown’s “Good Eats”.
Saltzman: Anything by Michael Ruhlman. And “Peace, Love, and Barbecue” by Mike Mills.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
All: Duffy’s Irish Pub. They make some mean wings.
Josh Saltzman’s Bacon-Wrapped Dates, aka Bacon Candy
Makes 30 pieces
1 pound favorite cured bacon
1 pound pitted dates
1/4 pound raw Spanish chorizo
1/4 pound blue cheese, preferably Spanish cabrales
Container of toothpicks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If the chorizo is in casings, remove and dispose of the casings. Finely crumble the blue cheese and mix with the chorizo. Place in a plastic bag, such as a Ziploc. Cut out a corner of the bag and pipe the mixture evenly into the cavity of the dates. Take the bacon package and slice the entire pack in half. Wrap each date in half a slice of bacon and spear with a toothpick to keep the bacon in place. Place wrapped dates on a pan, evenly spaced 1 inch apart (you might need to use two pans). Cook at 350 degrees until the bacon is brown and crispy.
